Usagi looked down at the phone clutched in her hands. No one had answered. Her friends were out there, living their lives. They hadn’t abandoned her, but they weren’t with her, either. Not anymore.

  She tucked the phone back into her pocket as if it were some precious treasure and closed her eyes. Never in her life had she felt so alone.

  The creature’s screech reverberated once more through the shattered clothing store. She pressed her back harder against the counter and tried to suppress the terror that rose inside of her each time the creature made a sound. The girl beside her was silent but wide-eyed.

  Usagi closed her eyes and forced herself to focus.

  What should I do?

  “Moon Prism Power, Make Up.”

  She had whispered the words without thinking. She knew her powers were gone. Still, when nothing happened, no glow of transformation, the disappointment was sharper than she had expected.

  The girl beside her gave her an inquisitive look, one eyebrow raised, as if to say “what do you think you’re doing?”. Usagi suddenly felt a strange affection for the girl.

  She sighed.

  What did I think would happen? I’m not Sailor Moon anymore.

  Her thoughts drifted. What about Serenity, that other part of her, from another life? She had felt her once, so full of rage and strength and desperation. She had been dangerous, unpredictable…and yet, she could have saved them both right now, couldn’t she? If only she hadn’t disappeared.

  Usagi took a steadying breath, trying to feel that part of herself again. There was a place, deep down inside of her soul, where that other persona had hidden away. There, they had met face to face and spoken as equals.

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  For a moment, when Usagi reached for that place, she thought she felt a flicker of something. No, there was nothing; no hidden strength, no alter ego to rescue her.

  The creature screeched again and smashed through a nearby rack of clothes. Any minute now, it would find them. Usagi’s pulse quickened. She felt so small, so weak. What could she do?

  She realized with a quiet dread that she might die right here, hidden like a coward. Mamoru may already be gone, lying lifeless in the street. Maybe, just maybe, they’d be reborn again. She clung to the hope that they would find each other once more, in another life.

  Usagi considered the girl next to her. Her eyes were so wide and so scared. She looked at Usagi as if she were some kind of superhero. It would be funny if it weren’t so tragic. Usagi had never felt further from being a hero.

  Still, despite the fear in her heart, there was something about the girl that stirred her old instinct. She thought she had left it behind when she lost her powers, but it was back: the desire to protect.

  Maybe it didn’t matter that she wasn’t Sailor Moon anymore. Maybe that didn’t change who she was deep down. She leaned closer to the girl and whispered in her ear.

  “If we get out of this alive, you owe me an explanation. Deal?”

  The girl nodded.

  “Alright, listen. We’re going to sneak toward the door. If that thing sees us, I’ll distract it. You run. Don’t look back.”

  The girl’s lips trembled.

  “But…you’ll die.”

  Usagi smiled.

  “You barely know me and you already care that much? Don’t worry, I’ve gotten out of much worse situations than this.”

  She sounded much surer of herself than she felt.

  They moved toward the door, careful to not make a sound and stay out of sight. They hid behind overturned racks and fallen mannequins and edged their way ever closer toward the door. Every creak, every tiny noise, felt like a death sentence.

  When the creature’s footsteps came too close, Usagi and the girl froze and held their breaths. They waited and hoped with all their might that it would move on. Eventually, it did.

  They had almost reached the door and Usagi let herself hope they might escape. Then the girl’s arm brushed against a fallen mannequin. Debris around the mannequin shifted. The noise was unmistakable.

  The creature’s eyes locked onto them, its screech louder than ever as it charged.

  “Run!”

  Usagi pushed the girl forward as she stood, bracing herself for what came next.

  She took a deep breath and sent her thoughts, her love, to Mamoru.

  See you soon.

  Then she took a fighting stance. In a shaky but determined voice, she called out to the creature.

  “I’m Usagi Tsukino and… in the name of the moon, I will punish you!”

  The creature lunged. Usagi was ready to meet her fate.