NOTES (on a preview? Well...yes...): Hi! Thanks for looking into these, BTW, and I hope these whet your appetite for these coming stories. Which won't be written for awhile, unless I manage to do all of these concurrently, write the Manga, and finish some SW fanfic. Not a friggin' chance, if I say so myself. Anyhoo... This story is set...well, mainly in an AU Silver Millenium (aren't they all?), but taking a leaf from "Past Lives" (without originally intending to, but hey, credit where credit is do, neh?), it begins in sorta-modern day Tokyo. In a library. With a book of stories written by authors that should be familiar...even if some of the work doesn't exist yet. But it will; this I foresee. BTW, the time frame is hazy, but between SuperS and Stars sounds REALLY good right now, neh? As always, Sailor Moon belongs to a lot of OTHER people, not me. I am poor--poorer than most, as I am a college student--and there's no creative infringement intended anyways. Also, various cameo characters belong to their respective big shot business/lawyer peoples too, so don't sue! Really!! On the other hand, there is one particular character that does belong to me, and trust me, you'll know him when ya meet him. Don't steal (ANYTHING!) without asking, or I'll send Shenlong after you. With Uranus riding shotgun. Onto it then! PRISONERS Pre-Ch1: The Background There are some people who enjoy libraries, big or small. They like to wander the shelves--the older and cleaner, the better--and enjoy the scent of books decaying mixed with cleaning agents along with a dash of new pages. They can lose themselves anywhere in the building and be upset when they are found. They are a rare type of people these days, but you can still find them here and there, sitting in the aisles or the hard chairs libraries provide, totally absorbed. Tsukino Usagi was not such a person. Well, at least she didn't THINK she was. For one thing, she REALLY preferred to be reading manga than a musty old book. That reminded her of school, and...well, the world knows what Usagi thinks of school. And...and well, she didn't really liked to get lost in the shelves... she always ended up in some creepy part of the library where everything was black and peeling, and if she turned the corner some old guy was leering at her, and... Suffice to say, she had not had many pleasant experiences. But today the library had become a sort of group excursion. It started when Rei had remarked that she needed to go do some research for a shrine project she was starting, and it eventually snowballed into Rei, Usagi, Minako and Ami all heading to the library. Both Mamoru and Makoto were working, otherwise they would've come along as well; still, after a half-hour of shelf hunting, Usagi was thinking that they were the lucky ones. she wondered as she carted another load of books back to the table. She and Minako had been chosen as bearers, whilst Ami and Rei looked up and organized the information they had gotten. Mina was enjoying herself at least, as Rei had made this a "mission" for her, and she was taking it quite seriously. For Usagi, though...it was rough and boring. Resisting the urge to whine became her primary goal. That was until she and Minako were sent on one last run. They found themselves in one of the older sections of the library, looking for some books on myths and legends of ancient times. The regular soft sounds of the library seemed to fade here, and the air became still, yet potent; it calmed Usagi, and even Minako quieted down a little. "Is this it?" Mina asked, stopping at a row of mostly bare shelving. Usagi checked the paper they'd been given, and nodded. "We need to look for these," she added, pointing to the numbers. "Un," Minako replied, stepping into the aisle. Immediately, she shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. "Brrr," she whispered, "it's a little cold here." Usagi followed, and once she stepped two paces into the section an immediate chill went up her spine, and she began to shiver as well. "Let's find these books quickly, Minako-chan," she whispered, voice coming out as almost a semi-whimper. "Yea. Let me see the list again, 'kay?" Minako replied, and Usagi handed it over. As the girl skimmed over it looking for the correct numbers, Usagi wandered down the rows, looking at the books. They looked about as old as this section felt, the bindings warped and wrapped in places, dust and time turning the surfaces a tan-gray color. She stopped and ran her finger down one of them, wiping the surface clean, and once again a chill ran down her spine. She started to turn and ask Minako what she could look for, when her eyes caught sight of another book. This one looked relatively new compared to the rest, with a binding of a sort of pale colored paper. She walked to it and looked at it for a moment, then took it from the shelf. The pale color of the binding went all the way around in a sort of marbled way, but their were no characters designating the title or the author on the front or sides. Instead, there was only a simple design, a golden sword with a silver moon draped over the bottom of it, outlined in a rainbow of faint colors. She tipped it this way and that to watch it shine, and felt a smile come to her face as she ran her finger over it. The smile froze as a sudden warmth whispered across her chest. Her eyes widened, and she nearly dropped the book, for it was very rare for the Silver Crystal to make its presence known outside of...well, she couldn't recall the last time it had. Yet the warmth didn't seem to be warning her, but rather encouraging in its own gentle way; suddenly, it seemed as if the potent air about her was whispering in a voice solem as wind chimes. /Take the book./ /Read the book./ She shook her head for a moment, staring it somewhat wide eyed; yet the voice softly laughed and admonished her, once again: /Take the book./ /Read the book./ Then, it paused, and added: /Know your past./ That clenched it. Though her memories of the fall of the Moon Kingdom had come back to her some two years ago, she often wondered what her life had been like in totality, beginning to end. As well, she wondered what it had been like before she was born--as peaceful as Luna and Artemis said it was? They wouldn't share when she had asked them, simply saying that, "It was the past. You will see it again someday." she thought as she lazily meandered out of the aisle, book clutched to her chest, a small smile on her face. "Neh, Usagi, can you look for..." Minako began some minutes later, her finger on the list. She stopped, then looked up, realizing she had heard not a sound from her friend in quite some time. And to her shock, she realized she was in the aisle alone. A sudden shot of fear swept through her, and she gathered up the books she had gotten and scurried back to Rei and Ami. They had just made it through the last pile when Minako came (softly) roaring up, dropping the books she had gathered on the table in front of them. "Minaaa..." Rei growled as the pile splayed all over the work she and Ami had just accomplished. "Usagi's gone!" Minako barked out before Rei could get any further. Then, embarrassed, she leaned over and lowered her voice, repeating, "Usagi's gone. We went to the same aisle, but she just...was gone when I looked up next." "Did you look for her, pasta brains?" Rei growled back. "No! I thought it would be best if we all looked for her together. Just in case there are any E-N-E-M-A-S around," she replied. "It's E-N-E-M-I-E-S, Minako-chan," Ami corrected gently, smiling faintly. "And I do think she's right, Rei-chan; this could be the work of something dark and mysterious." "For cryin' out loud, she probably just wandered off and got lost!" Rei retorted fiercly, somehow managing to keep her voice low. "Rei..." Ami pleaded, giving her a soft look. "You know Usagi; she doesn't LIKE the library at all. Why would she wander off?" "She's right, Rei-chan," Minako replied. Rei sighed, then nodded. "Yea. All right, let's take a break and see if we can find Meatball Brains." Ami and Mina both grinned, and the three girls went off to search for Usagi. Thirty minutes later, the three were rushing out of the library towards the shrine to call a Sailor Senshi meeting. Why? Because though they had searched for her, paged her, called her communicator and called her house, they could not find her. Usagi truly had gone missing.