This story is rated PG-13. It contains themes, that while not sexual 

in nature, may be disturbing to more sensitive readers.  Caution is 

advised



This is not an easy story to write, nor I imagine, an easy one to 

read.  Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome is all too real and most 

definitely not something that happens because a person is "weak".  

Although I use it in this story, I by no means want to give the 

impression that I take it lightly.  Just the opposite.  There seems 

to be a perverse and endlessly complicated dance between pain and 

creativity.  I just wish I knew which was supposed to be leading 

right now.  It would make my life a lot easier.  Anyway I suspect 

that there are more than a few who know all too well what Usagi is 

going through.



Thank you to a pair of very dear friends for putting up with me 

during this tale.  My dear Lost One and Masked Maiden, your support 

means more than you may ever know.  You both show that wisdom comes 

with youth as well as age. 



Standard Disclaimer – I don’t own Sailor Moon.  This shouldn’t come 

as a complete surprise.



 

 

"Moonfall"



By Meara



Chapter Two





 

The room was almost dark, save for the meager illumination given by 

the hallway light that shone from under the closed door. The darkness 

suited Chiba Mamoru right now. It was a friend that allowed him the 

illusion of privacy. In the dark he could indulge his emotions, 

letting the tears fall without having to explain them to anyone. 

Mamoru could let loose his deepest fear. The one he only acknowledged 

in the blackest hours of the night. 





"Usako," he whispered. "Don’t leave me."



His beloved, his soul mate could have been killed when the car struck 

her. That Usagi had been grateful for the chance to die, even for a 

fraction of a second, frightened him beyond rational thought. She was 

in such pain from the memories she carried. How could he have not 

seen that? Mamoru was supposed to protect her and he’d failed – 

again.



His watch beeped at him. It was 6:00am. Mamoru had promised the 

nurses that he’d wake Usagi every two hours. She had a concussion and 

it was standard procedure. He knew it was an over reaction, but 

really didn’t want anyone else near his Usako right now. If she had 

to be awakened, Mamoru wanted it to be to him, not some stranger.





Shaking himself from his fears, Mamoru went to where Usagi lay. She 

was badly bruised from the accident. A large purple lump on her 

forehead drew his eyes. He was careful not to touch it as he gently 

stroked her face and called her name. Mamoru’s heart thumped 

painfully in his chest as her sky blue eyes slowly opened.



"Mamo-chan?"



He managed to put a smile on his face. "Hey there, sunshine. I’m just 

checking on you." Mamoru said as he reached for her hand and gave it 

a squeeze. With his other hand he held up two fingers. "Look at my 

hand, Usako. How many fingers?"



Usagi gave a weak chuckle. "Tuesday."



"I’m engaged to a comedian." He sighed as if aggrieved. "How are you 

feeling? Any pain?"





Usagi closed one eye in concentration. She was pumped full of various 

medications and they made it hard for her to think. "A little, not 

too bad. Just so tired." She seemed to fade on him, her eyes closing 

again. A thought came to her and the eyelids rose half way once more. 

"And hungry, too."





"Mako’s coming by in a couple of hours, and I can almost guarantee 

that she’s been baking. If you wait you a while can eat something 

good instead of hospital food." He leaned over and kissed her gently 

on the cheek. "Go back to sleep, my love. I’m here with you - you’re 

safe. Sleep."



Usagi’s eyes were drifting shut. She took a single breath that 

shuddered in her throat. "…Safe? Promise?" and fell back into 

slumber.



The longing in her voice shattered his composure. With great care, 

Mamoru raised her hand to his cheek. "I promise." he whispered. With 

infinite tenderness he placed a feather light kiss on Usagi’s hand 

before putting it on her stomach. Then taking himself back to the 

comfort of the dark corner, Mamoru placed his face in his hands and 

silently wept.



 

********************

 



As she saw it, Makoto had two options open to her when she finally 

left the hospital. She could use the nervous energy that ran 

screaming through her to find some miscreants and beat the living 

hell out of them. Or, since sleep was very unlikely, she could go 

home and bake. It unfortunately seemed to be a slow night for thugs 

and Mako chose to bake instead.





It kept her busy and allowed her to concentrate on the task at hand. 

Mako didn’t want to have to think about what could have happened. The 

thought of losing Usagi brought up all those old feeling from when 

her parents had died so many years ago. Just when she thought she’d 

found peace with her past, Mako discovered that some wounds never 

completely healed.





It was almost seven in the morning before she finally finished 

cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. It would take a lot longer to 

clear the rubble from her heart. Gathering up a staggering load of 

freshly baked goods Mako headed out.



 

********************

 



Ami thought she’d prepared herself for just about anything she would 

find in Usagi’s room. That her dearest friend would look much worse 

by the morning was a given. The bruises would have had time to bloom 

over night and she’d steeled herself for it. The very act of opening 

up to all of them last night could have started Usagi on another 

round of flashbacks. Ami gone online to find the very latest 

information about the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress. For Ami, 

knowledge was power, and she intended to be very powerful, indeed. 





This, however, was not one of the situations that she’d anticipated. 

So when Makoto burst into the small and increasingly stuffy hospital 

room, the petite Senshi of Mercury nearly fainted with relief. Being 

a referee was not something Ami did very well.





As for Mako, she couldn’t fail to notice that Mamoru was sitting in 

one corner, Haruka and Michiru in the other. If looks could kill, 

rigor mortis would be setting in right about now. Ami was milling 

around restlessly in the middle. Placing her load of goodies on the 

small table Makoto, just as Ami had hoped, cut straight to the point.





"And a cheery good morning to you. What’s got your knickers in a 

knot?"  Mako addressed that comment to Mamoru, then turned to look 

directly at Haruka. "And that goes for you, too. Where’s Usagi?"





Down getting her ribs X-rayed again." Supplied Ami helpfully as Mako 

handed her a still warm muffin. "Mamoru and Haruka are discussing…"





"Who the hell do you think you are keeping this serious a problem a 

secret?" Growled Mamoru, arms folded across his chest."



"…The situation." Sighed Ami, putting a hand to her temple. She was 

getting a headache.



Mamoru continued unabated. "You should have told me months ago." "You 

had no right…"



"I had every right, you pompous ass." Replied Haruka with just as 

much heat. Michiru groaned inwardly as she recognized the tone in her 

lifemate’s voice all too well. Haruka was just getting warmed up. "In 

case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t have to report to you. My promise 

was to Usagi.  If she wanted you to know, then the Princess would 

have told you herself!"





Mamoru didn’t so much as move, but his eyes narrowed with anger. "And 

you did such a great job of handling this that Usagi was ready to 

kill herself last night. Well this the end of your involvement, both 

of you. I’ll handle it from here on in."

 

"Over my cold, dead and unprotesting body you will." Snarled Haruka.



Mamoru leaned forward. "That can be arranged."



"What in the name of the Moon do you think you’re doing?!" 



All eyes in the room turned toward the door. Mina and Rei were 

standing there, frozen in shock at the sight of Mamoru and Haruka at 

each other’s throats. The voice had come from Luna (smuggled into the 

hospital in a small basket). It was a constant wonder how so much 

volume could come from such a small cat. "Have you two lost your 

minds? What if Usagi walked in on this petulant little display? Are 

you trying to drive her over the edge – because if you are you two 

are doing a splendid job of it!"



Rei quickly shut the door behind them. It wouldn’t due to attract 

unwanted attention from the nursing staff. Although Makoto had left a 

generous portion of muffins at the desk, there was only so much 

leeway a baked good could achieve. Things were tough enough without 

trying to explain Luna’s presence. 



Luna popped out of the wicker basket Mina carried and onto Usagi’s 

empty bed. "If you have a complaint, Mamoru, take it up with me. I’m 

the one who sent Usagi to Haruka and Michiru for help."



Mamoru was surprised by the anger that suddenly burned so fiercely 

inside him. "Why, Luna? Why them and not me? How could you keep this 

from me?"  He advanced in the cat so enraged that Mako stepped in 

from of him. 





"Calm down Mamoru, right now." She grabbed at his arm and held tight. 

"You are way out of line, here."

 

Mamoru slowly turned to look at Mako. She noticed that there were 

dark circles under his eyes and he was in desperate need of a shave. 

Mamoru glanced once at the arm restraining him. "I’d move that hand 

if you don’t want to lose it."



"Enough!" said Luna sharply. "Mamoru either control yourself or I’ll 

have to ask you to leave." Haruka gave a feral smile that left no 

doubt that she’d enjoy tossing Mamoru out on his princely butt. "And 

that goes for you too, Haruka" added Luna.



"He started it." mumbled Haruka as Michiru gave her a consoling pat 

on the shoulder.



The midnight feline sat down with a sigh. "This hasn’t been easy on 

anyone, I know. But I did what I thought was best. You Mamoru, and 

Ami, Mako, Mina and Rei, every time you were hurt…" Luna glanced at 

Mamoru and the Inners, "Usagi was left with the memories of the pain 

you suffered each time she healed you with the Silver Crystal. She 

used to remember it only in dreams. But now for some reason, she 

can’t stop these memories from intruding on her everyday world."



 

"Intrusive thoughts are a very common in people who suffer from Post 

Traumatic Stress." Said Ami quietly. Everyone turned to look at her 

and she blushed. "I read every thing I could find online about PTS 

last night.  I don’t imagine any of us got much sleep."





Luna continued. "You were all triggering these memories without 

meaning to. It got to the point where all one of you had to do was 

remark how quiet it’s been. Or how nice it is not to have to be 

fighting all the time and the memories would start cycling in Usagi’s 

head. That’s why I sent her to Michiru and Haruka." The lunar cat 

gave them a grateful look. "You two don’t seem to provoke these 

memories in her as strongly. Most importantly, you gave Usagi a place 

to go where there had never been any fighting. Somewhere she felt 

safe."





"So what do we do now?" asked Mina.



Rei had stood quietly through Luna’s explanation. It was very unlike 

her and the others had almost forgotten that she was there. So it was 

a surprise when she spoke up. "Now, we ask Usagi what she wants to 

do." 



 

********************

 



"You want me to what?" Asked Usagi through a mouthful of apple 

muffin.



"Talk to a therapist." Repeated Ami in an even tone. "I’m not sure 

any of us are really equipped to help you deal with the problems 

you’re having."





Usagi put down the muffin. It was suddenly tasteless and dry in her 

mouth. A cold wave of fear spiked insider her chest, slowly spreading 

across her heart. "I don’t think that’s a good idea Ami. Can you 

imagine what would happen if I opened up to someone? Hi there, " 

Usagi gave a tiny cheerless wave to the imaginary doctor, "my friends 

sent me to you because I’m having a few problems with recurring 

memories. They all died, you see and my magic crystal helped restore 

them to life! And I have this magic stone because I’m the freakin’ 

Moon Princess. They’d lock me up and throw away the key!"



"It doesn’t have to be that way, Usagi-chan." Said Ami.



"Don’t push her, Ami," said Rei softly. "We aren’t going to force you 

to do anything Usagi. But you can’t pretend that this will all just 

go away."



"I feel a lot better today, really" protested Usagi. She couldn’t 

talk about this right now and certainly to some overpaid stranger! To 

prove her point she took another bite of muffin. "See? Much better!" 

she said as crumbs flew everywhere. Luna shook herself and gave Usagi 

her patented look of disapproval.





Mina leaned over and picked up the pill bottle by her bed. "That’s 

the drugs talking, girlfriend." She said as she rattled it. "We could 

remove two of your toes right now and I don’t think you’d feel it."



Rei came to sit on the edge of the bed. With a practiced hand, she 

reached out to stroke Luna. "Mina’s right, you know. But we’ll let it 

go for the moment. Look, once we can get you discharged I’ll show you 

some meditations when we get back to the temple…"





Mamoru, who had fallen into a light doze, startled, "What do you 

mean, ‘back to the temple’? Usagi’s coming home with me."





The tension began to build in the room again. Mako broke it with a 

short bark of laughter. "That’ll go over well with Tsukino-san! Face 

it Mamoru, Usagi’s dad would go nuclear and I don’t think any of us 

want to deal with that right now."



 "My Grandfather call the Tsukino’s last night to tell them about the 

accident." The look on Mamoru’s face told her that he hadn’t even 

thought about Usagi’s family off in America. "The only thing that 

stopped them from jumping the next plane home was the promise that 

Usagi would stay at the temple until they get back."





"That and the promise to bring me a really expensive gift from 

Disneyland!" added Usagi. She managed to push the panic back down 

into a small place inside her.



Michiru came to the harried Prince and placed a calm hand on his arm. 

"You look exhausted. Why don’t you go home and rest some, ne?" She 

gently cut off the words of protest that were forming on his lips. 

"You can go by the temple and see Usagi later, but you really need to 

take care of yourself."





"Mamo-chan are you sick?" There was barely concealed panic in Usagi’s 

voice that brought him up sharp. "Are you all right?" She wanted to 

scream, -Are you safe? - But didn’t.





"No, I’m fine Usako, just tired!" He allowed Michiru to take his arm 

and help him gather his sports jacket. "Maybe a nap would be a good 

idea."  Mamoru ran a hand over his face, "…maybe a shower and shave 

too."





Mina laughed brightly, "Definitely a shower and a shave too! Go home 

oh hirsute prince. You can hover over Usagi-chan later."





Under Michiru’s watchful eye, Mamoru gently kissed Usagi good bye. He 

stopped to give her a final smile as he shut the door. Michiru’s arm 

tightened on his in support as they walked down the hall together.





"Usagi’s almost fell apart again back there." Mamoru moaned softly. 

"Oh God, how could I have missed this for so long?"



 

The gentle Senshi of Neptune was surprisingly strong as he leaned on 

her. "What’s important is that you do know now. Usagi is stronger 

than a lot of people give her credit for. With your love and support, 

she’ll get through this."



 

Mamoru stopped and looked at the elegant and self-assured woman. 

"With the support of all of us, Michiru. Thank you for what you’ve 

done these past few months. I shouldn’t have shouted at you and 

Haruka like that. I don’t what came over me. I’m sorry." He managed a 

small smile for her, which she returned.





Michiru squeezed his hand gently. "I know, and it’s all right. Haruka 

will understand too, once she calms down a little. Now go home and 

sleep, Mamoru." She gave him a quick wink. "That’s an order!"





The elevator doors opened and Mamoru stepped in. "Far be from me to 

question an order from one of the Outer Senshi. Thank you, Michiru. 

For everything."



 

********************

 



Lucien sat on the hard and uncomfortably warm rock that was his only 

seat in the pit he now called home. That his current arrangement was 

vastly superior to the suffering he’d been enduring for almost a 

thousand years meant very little. What did matter to him was revenge.





Death and damnation had not changed the self absorbed little man very 

much. As always, Lucien was thought only about getting what he felt 

was his by right. If he had to be in Hell for all time, he was going 

to make sure that he held a position of importance.





How very convenient that the body that housed Serenity’s soul was so 

easy to manipulate. The girl had been having nightmares for years and 

it was almost too easy to use those dark memories. However, with the 

Post Traumatic Stress syndrome he’d provoked in her out in the open, 

it was going to be that much harder to achieve his goal. He had to 

make Serenity "come out" to bring his plan for vengeance to fruition. 

The girl, Usagi, was all ready on shaky ground. But he couldn’t take 

the chance that her friends would be able to help her get too much 

control of the dreams. He had to find a way to push her to the edge 

and fast. Lucien had made some promises in return for the power that 

he now held. And the Being he made those promises to didn’t take 

disappointment very well.



 

With a thought, Lucien summoned an ornate dagger to his hand. It was 

the very same one he’d used to kill the Moon King those many years 

ago. The instrument of his damnation, it was now the focus for his 

power and he used it with care. While the body he now inhabited was 

less than whole, it was a lot better than the one he’d exchanged it 

for. Rising to his feet, he shuffled over to a stagnant pool of water 

called the "Well of Dreams".





The shadows in the pit rose and came to him. As they gathered about 

him like a cloak, he pricked his finger. Lucien allowed two drops to 

fall into the well.





The oily water churned red for a long moment before quieting. The 

dream that haunted Usagi began to play in it.





"Time to up the stakes a little." Lucien mumbled. "Blood calls to 

blood…"





He leaned over the waters and whispered into them. The voice that 

went with Usagi’s nightmare was now audible. "I’m coming for them 

Usagi and you can’t stop me. It’s only a matter of time before this 

happens. Never relax your guard for even a second, because I’m 

waiting. Your pain will go on for ever and ever." A new twist was 

added to the litany. "There’s only one way out, Serenity. Only one 

way out."





Satisfied with his effort, Lucien stood as tall as possible. He 

snapped his burned fingers once. One of the shadows flowed from his 

hand. It coiled into a serpentine shape beside him.





"Why do you summon me, Shadowlord?" Came the shadow’s hissing voice.





"I have an errand for you." Replied Lucien with a grin. "One that I 

think you’ll have fun doing."



 

********************





Next – The pace picks up as Lucien pushes Usagi to the edge of 

madness. Her loved ones are in danger and in a situation she knows 

all too well. Will Usagi be able to save them and herself? Or will it 

call for the power of the last Princess of the Silver Millenium? Find 

out in Chapter Three – coming to this sight as soon as I can crank it 

out! Ja ne!

********************