Dejana's Writing

Otherside
a Sailormoon fanfiction by Dejana Talis
-not to be used without permission-



The world disappeared with a flash, like a light bulb burning out. It was as abrupt as an eyeblink. One moment there was sunshine and color, the next, only darkness.

It wasn't just the light that vanished. All sound was cut off by absolute silence, the air became perfectly still, and a chill feeling of emptiness rushed in.

Luna blinked, and couldn't be sure if the darkness surrounding her was the absence of light or the loss of her sight. It was thick and oppressive, without the hint of a boundary.

The support of Usagi's shoulder had vanished from beneath Luna's paws. She lashed out frantically with all four legs, but her desperate claws found nothing to cling to. For a terrifying moment she braced herself, unable to determine if she was floating or falling. After several seconds passed without impact, the lack of air movement convinced Luna she was hovering in midair.

She reached out tentatively, stretching her limbs in all directions. There was no ground beneath her, nothing around her, and although her eyes were adjusting to the darkness there was still no hint of light. Luna was surrounded by pitch-black emptiness, an utter void. It was like being awake in unconsciousness.

A tiny wave of panic beginning to grow in her stomach, Luna lashed out hard with a front paw - and her claws caught in fabric. She yanked it closer, clinging to whatever it was and shaking with relief. Curious paws explored the pieces of fabric in the mysterious weightlessness. It was hard to tell without light, but it seemed to be a school uniform. Luna pulled the garment close to her nose to smell if it was Usagi's.

The clothing had no scent. Neither did anything else in this place, for that matter. Luna sniffed at the fabric, but there was no sensation of movement in the air.

It was at that moment that Luna realized there was no air. That she wasn't breathing. That her heart wasn't pounding in growing panic because she had no pulse.

She screamed.

There wasn't any air, but somehow there was still sound. Luna's shriek sounded stretched, however, like it was being dragged off into the darkness never to return. There was no echo, but there was an answer.

"Bloody hellfire! Will you knock that shit off!?"

Luna was so startled that she cut off her frightened scream, but the unseen speaker was joined by other voices.

"What the hell's going on?"

"Can't a spirit get a little sleep?"

"If someone's got it into their head to start storing tripped alarms in here, so help me..."

The voices ranged from rumbling to high-pitched, bearing various accents and lilts, but all sounded angry.

"I'm sorry!" squeaked Luna, clinging to the school uniform for dear life. She hoped the unseen speakers were as blind as she was; some of them sounded rather unpleasant.

"Oh, she's sorry, is she?"

"Think it's funny to wake everyone up, do you?"

"That's one thousand-year dream I won't get back in a hurry, let me tell you..."

"I'm sorry," Luna repeated, equal parts frightened and relieved not to be alone. "What is this place?"

"Oh, now she wants to chat!"

"Come on, cut her a break, she's obviously new."

"If I have to explain the works to every new mascot, spirit and avatar that comes through here, I'll never get any sleep!"

"You never do anything but sleep. None of us do."

"What else is there to do while we're waiting to be used?"

"Right, nothing wrong with a little sleep..."

"Nothing wrong with a little variety, either."

The emptiness was filled with the clamor of voices, through which no answers seemed to be forthcoming. Luna probed the void experimentally while the mysterious voices argued, and her questing paws stumbled upon a variety of puzzling things swimming in the ether. Small trinkets. Corked vials. Various items of clothing and armor. Staves and wands and amulets. The handles and heads of what seemed to be large hammers.

"Just shut up and go back to sleep, the other side'll hear us!"

"Right, like anyone ever-"

The din of voices ceased, cut off as abruptly as flipping a switch. The odd objects surrounding Luna popped out of existence. Light, color, sound and gravity returned in a sudden burst that set her mind reeling. She toppled over and was caught in a pair of warm arms.

"Luna! Luna, are you all right?"

Air, real air, returned to Luna's lungs, along with a rush of Usagi's scent. She blinked in the rush of bright light and stared up at Usagi's worried face, breathing hungrily as her heart kicked back into action. Usagi's school uniform was back in its proper place on her body. The other girls were crowded around, also in their normal clothes. The battle was over.

"Don't ever," Luna gasped, "forget to put me down before you transform again."


The End
Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon and its associated characters and canon are the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha.
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