It was not rare for Rea Marshall to have nightmares. Not quite common, per se, but certainly not rare. She had dreamed nearly every night for as long as she could remember, vivid dreams that she usually forgot in the morning, and usually ignored if she did happen to remember them. Some were strange -- typical dreams that people often described when they told you about them, with bench-pressing potatoes and belly-dancing chickens. Some were not so strange -- dreams of school, of sports, of family and friends. The ones involving love were especially annoying (it came with the territory of being a skeptic.) Occasionally, she'd find that she'd had the exact same dream as someone else had had the night before, and that was slightly bizarre, but for the most part, Rea felt there was nothing particularly strange about her dreaming habits. And of course, when you dreamed as frequently as she did, you were bound to encounter a nightmare or two along the way.

It was extremely rare for Helios to have nightmares.

Two pairs of eyes opened individually, one pair blue-green, the other a molten gold, both blinking a little as their sight accustomed itself to the familiar darkness. It was a familiar environment in general, one they had both gotten use to over the weeks, as they grew use to the world where they could talk, face to face. Where in the waking world they were the same, here they were two separate entities entirely, complete with two distinct bodies, similar in appearance – one in a white gown, the other in muted colors of everyday clothes. Both could feel the gentle brush of another person against their shoulders, their spine – they were standing back to back. Rea was the first to move, lifting a hand to brush her hair off her shoulder idly, taking a few steps away from the Dream Priest.

“If you have something comforting to say about Eve, you're wasting your time in calling us here. I don't want to talk about it, no matter how gently condescending I know you will be.”

On the other side, Helios turned, watching Rea's retreating back, a look of cautious bewilderment etched in her expression.

'I did not call us here...'

Rea froze, the words chilling the two of them at the exact same moment, along with the realization that there was something very, very wrong. Spinning in the darkness, she snapped her eyes to the other soul just in time to see the tendril of webbing shoot out from the darkness, tangling itself viciously around Helios' wrist, both pairs of eyes staring in shock at it. For a second, neither moved, too surprised to react, and in that span of time a second mass of webbing had shot around her other wrist. A third tangled around her knees, another around the wings at her waist, coming faster and faster, until Helios was nearly completely bound. Her face was more than shocked now – Rea stared into the expression of the voice she had come to know, horrified as she recognized the fear in it. Another second, and the webbing tightened, jerking the Dream Priest back into the darkness with a blood-curdling scream and out of the spotlight that usually kept them illuminated, the senshi of dreams stumbling a few steps forward, reaching out to try to grab her before she disappeared.

“HELIOS!”

Her sneakers made no noise as she ran after her into the darkness, running blindly, the only sounds that of her heart beating in her ribcage, blood pounding in her ears. Ahead of her, she could see the faint silhouette of the other struggling against her bonds, growing larger and larger as she grew closer. No other spotlight had appeared to illuminate her way, but she could see the faint glow of gold from the horn upon the other's forehead, providing a target for her to run towards. At the same moment Helios stopped struggling, Rea skidded to a halt on a floor that didn't exist, staring across the endless distance, her breath suddenly caught in her chest.

Helios hung, nearly upside down, her hair hanging limply along one bare shoulder. Her gown had been stripped away, the tangled mass all that was covering her, keeping her there.

Keeping her hovering in that golden cage.

“Helios...”

It was then she felt the icy fingers wrap themselves around her wrist.

~~~

“Your champion cannot save you...”

The voice in Helios' ear was soft and sickly sweet, low and deep in all the right ways. Seductive. Manipulative. She did not have to open her eyes to know the figure that stood just outside the golden bars, although she did so anyway, her lids sliding half-mast to stare back into the candle-lit pools that were Nehelenia's eyes. Before her, the Queen of the Black Moon stood as she always had before, arms just under her breasts, her hands loosely holding her elbows as she beheld her prize.

'Nehelenia...'

The black lipstick that she had worn those lifetimes ago curled a little in a smug smile at the name, and Nehelenia tilted her head a little to the side, continuing to stare up at the bound priest. The familiar feeling of being unable to move was prominent again, so distinct of that time that she felt a flutter of fear in her breast, her heart fluttering quickly.

“You remember me. I'm flattered.”

'Let me go...'

This time a small laugh escaped those lips.

“Yes, because that technique worked so well the last time as well,” the Queen replied, lifting one hand to rest it on her cheek thoughtfully, seeming even more smug at those words, “Don't you want to see if your champion can save you? She's done so well so far, for being hand-chosen by you...”

~~~

Rea's first instinct was to pull against the fingers that had found themselves around her wrist, to get to Helios and not bother with whatever it was that was trying to keep her back. But the more she tugged, the more she found that she could not break free of whomever it was, the other jerking her back with double the force, until the redhead spun to face them, grabbing at those fingers and snarling at them angrily. But if Helios had looked scared before, it was Rea's turn to be petrified. Staring back at her, Linarite seemed incredibly pleased by this reaction, gloved fingers tightening painfully around the other's wrist and giving a rough jerk out of spite.

“Imagine that, you crossing my path again! Didn't get enough the first time?”

Through the breathless fear, Rea scrambled with her other hand for her pen, digging in her pocket before feeling the smooth coolness under her palm. She grasped it tightly, ripping it out and lifting it high into the air and away from the Negaverse Captain, shouting the words to henshin up in a strangled, high-pitched voice she barely recognized as her own. Only... nothing happened. Another wave of fear washed over her, worse than the first, and the bluenette smirked, her lips curling back in a cheshire grin.

“What's wrong, senshi? I didn't get your starseed last time... but don't worry...”

In her other hand, the redhead could see the gleam of Mindstopper appearing from the void, Linarite lifting the glave high.

“This time I'll finish the job!”

She wasn't aware if she screamed or not. Rea threw a wild punch, her fist connecting with nothingness, and she was stumbling into the darkness, sprinting towards the birdcage, her muscles burning with the effort. Helios' eyes were glazed over, drugged by substances unknown. They barely flickered in recognition at Rea's approach, the senshi of dreams closing the distance between them, grabbing hold of the bars with both hands. Both Priest and senshi screamed as electricity shot through their bodies, painfully arching, like a pair of twin concave mirrors, the searing agony twisting and distorting their limbs. Their bodies quickly gave out. Rea dropped to her knees, just as the webbing disintegrated, Helios collapsing at her side, palms catching herself before she slammed into the invisible floor. Pegasus' pen made a hollow clunking noise as it landed between her hands on the floor, turning to dust as the golden horn evaporated from the other's brow in similar fashion.

Then there was nothing. Nothing but their horrified pants; deep, sucking breaths, cold adrenaline seizing in their veins.

It was not to last.

The dream was not finished with them yet.

~~~

Helios was the first to move this time, a choked sound caught in her throat, staring at the dust. A gust of wind, and her eyes were following the grey flecks in devastation. They landed between two pairs of boots.

“You're useless to me.”

'Prince?'

~~~

“Useless.”

Blue-green eyes snapped upward unbidden, met with the disgusted faces of her Dream Team, Sailor Nemesis standing at the forefront, Chloe's hand on her shoulder. To one side, Flora had her back nearly completely turned, her front facing the shadows of what she knew to be the Zodiacs, her violet eyes staring coldly at her collapsed roommate. On the other, Nerissa decided to haunt her dreams once more, not even bothering to look at her. MuCephei seemed the only one who stood without preference, clutching her elbows.

~~~

'No... no I was not useless.'

Prince Endymion's eyes were cold, no familiarity lingering there. He didn't bother to answer. Beside him, Captain Kunzite stood as stoically as ever, the usual politeness he portrayed having vanished with her horn.

“Of course you were. You always were. Certainly never good enough to be one of my Cavaliers.”

~~~

They struggled to rise. The figures faded instantly, evaporating into the air like smoke before they could even begin to reach them, the two standing in opposite directions, shoulder to shoulder. By now, they were both haggard and shaking, stricken with grief, with fear, anguish. But the smoke was already reforming.

Black Lady Serenity, the black, inverted moon carved into her forehead.

Her sister Eliza, the ranks of a negaverse lieutenant on her shoulders.

Hands extended, forcing themselves through the heaving chests, squeezing the lifeforce residing there.

They screamed. And everything went black.





*****

In her bed in Crystal Academy, Reanna Marshall stared silently at the white stucco ceiling of her dorm, her body drenched in a cold sweat.