Thanks again, Jeanette Cheuk, for the wonderful job cleaning up after my lingual 
blunders! 
Disclaimer-wise, Sailor Moon and her friends are the property of Naoko Takeuchi, 
and they're copyrighted by her, and to a lesser extent, DiC. Most of the other 
things spawned from my own imagination, so I'd like credit for such. Enjoy! 
Comments, criticisms, compliments to schoudh@eos.ncsu.edu 
---------------------
A Rei of Hope:
The Mists of Confusion
by Soumitra Choudhury
---------------------
Emerging from the horizon of the street, the figure stumbled forward, apparently 
weary. The foul wind that blasted across the land tossed her midnight hair to 
and fro, forcing her to keep her face down. Occasionally, she lifted her dark 
eyes to survey the landscape, a confused frown touching her dirt-smudged lips. 
Another weak step forward. 
She made an attempt to warm herself by wrapping her arms closer to her chest, 
but it aided her little. When she had awoken from... she couldn't remember why 
she had fallen asleep to begin with... she had found herself in a tattered 
outfit that resembled a sailor fuku. Slashes and burns marred the outfit in all 
kinds of places, revealing injuries beneath trickling painfully, some even 
encrusted with dried blood, matching the color of her fuku. 
Another stumbling step further. 
Her head spun dizzily every few moments, probably from the blood loss, but she 
didn't want to collapse out in the open again. She had already witnessed a 
number of corpses, some hideously burned down to the bone, others ripped to 
horrifying shreds, and still others with no apparent injuries at all. 
The skeletal shells that once were buildings loomed above her on either side, 
sheltering her from most of the wind. Those same derelicts held too many moving 
shadows, though. Some of them whispered and groaned as she approached. 
A tingling sensation traveled up her spine, a sense of something evil close by. 
How she knew she couldn't tell, but she instinctively planted herself into a 
defensive position, albeit a bit wobbly. Her strength was nearly spent. 
From somewhere else within her, she could feel the roiling, simmering burn of 
liquid fire. The same that had protected her for the last hour of consciousness. 
She would have to use it again to save herself, but the price would be more of 
her waning strength. 
Her hands clenched to fists, her eyes hardening. she vowed to herself, 
Five horrid beasts padded out of the buildings, gliding smoothly over the 
debris. A menagerie of claws, fangs, and matted, glistening hide, the young 
woman found it difficult to comprehend such creatures. Instead, she focused on 
their lupine eyes, gripping her courage for the battle to come. 
With little strength to begin with, the outcome was inevitable. By sheer force 
of will, she managed to fry two of them to stinking ashes, but in doing so, she 
had opened herself up for a multitude of attacks. The shield she tried to summon 
held off a few blows, but fell in the end, exposing her left arm to a vicious 
slash that tore skin, tendons and muscle alike. 
Agony coursed through her, mingling with eternal fatigue. Stumbling on rubble, 
she fell heavily, tears of frustration burning in her eyes. Within her, the last 
fluttering flickers of her powers blew away. She was alone know, and powerless. 
The remaining three circled about her, seemingly enjoying the helplessness of 
their prey. Gibbering cackles tore from their muzzles, melding with the constant 
throb of pain. "Come, then," she gasped out, firming her resolve, "come and get 
me." She sucked in a breath, coughing weakly. "Perhaps death will answer my 
questions." 
The beasts snickered in response, missing the silken cloud of black that dropped 
in behind them. As the young woman slipped into the darkness of pain, she caught 
the flash of a gleaming blade humming through the air, and in its wake, one of 
the creatures split cleanly in two. 
*****
Before her, the seraph continued to focus immense energies toward her, and it 
was only a rapidly thinning eldritch barrier that kept her from vaporizing. 
"You will feel the suffering of losing everything, Archmagi," whispered a 
seductive voice in her mind, sounding like her own. "You will be the last to 
perish, alone to hover in a world of madness." 
She tried to look upon the face of her nemesis, but a shifting blur prevented 
her from distinguishing any features. 
And then she heard the words that threw fear into her soul... or rather, what 
was left of it. They were words spoken by someone kind and true, once again in 
her mind, but different from the cruelty of the angel. Perhaps a friend? A 
goddess? 
"I wish..."> 
*****
With a jolt, she sprang awake, gasping for breath. A dull throb hammered through 
her head, working its way down her neck to her torn... arm? 
It was whole and unmarred. No tears, fleshy shreds, fractured bone, nothing. 
Only a soreness that was, even now, disappearing. 
"How long have I been asleep?" she murmured to herself, opening and closing her 
hand wonderingly. "Maybe I dreamed the fight." The last came out doubtfully, as 
she glanced at her ragged garments. All of the injuries she had sustained in her 
trek from... wherever... had mended, leaving only exposed skin through a torn 
fuku. A blush crept up her face as she noticed how much of her left breast was 
showing. She needed something to cover herself up better. 
Then she noticed the bodies laying about her. 
A distant pang of sorrow touched the dark-haired woman's heart, a sorrow of 
looking upon human death, mingled with a frustrated sense of loss. They all 
seemed the same age as herself, give or take a year or so, with one exception. 
All seemed to have died peacefully, for there were few distinguishing marks of 
injuries on them. Actually, each and every one held expressions of sadness upon 
their unblemished faces. 
She noticed with quizzical interest that all of the corpses were clothed in the 
same sailor fuku as herself, though of varying colors. She wondered if that was 
important: a blonde with an orange fuku, a blue-haired girl with a blue one, a 
brunette with green, a sandy blonde with darker blue, one with aquamarine hair 
and fuku, another blonde, though she had a white fuku, and a pink-haired girl 
with a pink outfit. The latter couldn't have been more than 14 or 15, maybe even 
16. 
A tear trickled down her face, slipping off the side of her chin. "Death, death 
everywhere, and not a soul to speak," she murmured sadly. 
"They were your friends." 
The woman twirled at the voice, instincts flaring alertly. That eerie sense of 
foreboding crept upon her again. No one greeted her, however. She heard nothing 
but the crackle of a carefully tended fire in one area of the room, giving off 
its cheery light and warmth. Wooden floors, no furnishings, rice paper walls, 
sliding doors, but no body to put to the voice. "Who's there?" she said aloud. 
"I do not wish to hurt you," replied the voice calmly, soothing to her suddenly 
taut nerves. "I brought you here when I found you injured." 
She pursed her lips, shifting her eyes furtively to catch a glimpse of this man, 
for indeed it was a male voice. "Where are you? Why don't you show yourself?" 
"I cannot." 
She waited patiently for an explanation. 
After a brief moment, a sigh floated through the room. "I am not a corporeal 
form. I am-" He paused here, as if searching for a word, "invisible, as you 
humans would say." 
"Who are you? Where am I?"" 
Silence, and then, "You may call me... Trust." 
Wiping away the trail of tears, the young woman snorted. "That's hardly proper, 
considering the condition of the city." She unconsciously crossed her arms 
across her partially exposed chest. 
"Are you sure about that, Rei-san? I may be the only ally you have." 
She opened her mouth to answer, then snapped it shut, clicking her teeth. "What 
did you just call me?" she whispered uncomfortably. 
"Rei. That is your name, is it not?" 
The woman wore a mask of confusion, attempting to dredge up some familiarity to 
the word. "Rei... Rei... It's almost... I don't know." She pressed her hands 
into her temples, trying to squeeze out something that would help her, but 
nothing came. 
The voice spoke again. "Then it is true. Your memories have been stolen from 
you." He said it in a deadpan, bland and unemotional, but those words stirred 
her to anger. 
"What do you know about my amnesia, Trust?" 
He chuckled, an unnerving sound like the rasping of dry leaves. "I saw-" 
At that moment, a slithering, shuffling sound carried from outside the room, 
coming closer to the sliding door. The woman who was called Rei backed away a 
few steps, frustration written on her features. She raised her hands 
defensively, preparing for the worse. 
The slithering sound grew, and through the rice paper, Rei could just make out 
the shadow of someone dragging something towards the door. Her frustration 
maintained itself, but now a manner of curiosity seeped through. Holding check 
for a moment, she glanced around again just to make sure Trust hadn't chosen to 
make his presence visible. Afterall, she really wasn't under any obligation to 
believe him. 
She saw only peaceful, sorrowful bodies. 
The woman returned her attention to the door at the same time she thought she 
heard a child's whimper. Whoever was on the other side dropped what he or she 
was dragging with a grunt, then dropped to his or her knees. Sobbing, a girl's 
sobbing, broke the stillness. 
A glint of hope pierced through the woman's instincts. Padding softly to the 
door, she reached for the door and slid it open. 
In the hallway adjacent to the room of corpses was yet another corpse, though 
this one male and dressed in black plate armor reminiscent of medieval times. 
That was all she cared to observe before she turned her attention to the weeping 
young child kneeling on the floor. With some surprise, the woman noted the 
sailor fuku the girl wore, this one of a deep violet. Dark, short hair framed 
her face, the latter hidden in her hands. Laying next to her, was a beautifully 
crafted glaive. 
Of a sudden, the child made an effort to compose herself, all the while not 
turning towards the open door. "He is the last I could find," she addressed, 
wiping an arm across her eyes. "Pluto is nowhere to be..." She trailed off, her 
eyes fixed on scuffed and dusty, though noticeably crimson, high heels on the 
woman's feet. With incremental slowness, the girl raised her head, until her 
saucer-wise eyes locked on the sorceress's own. 
The woman called Rei was amazed at how little the girl seemed, little and 
scared. She had the haunted look of one who had seen more than she was meant to, 
taking a burdensome toll. Skin pale and pasty, eyes sunken with exhaustion, face 
smeared with dirt, tears having run trails through the smudges. What's more, the 
girl seemed... unstable. Cracks in her sanity peeked through those huge orbs. Of 
this, Rei was certain. She took an unconscious step back. 
The slight movement ignited something in the girl, or rather the teen, as Rei 
now figured her age to converge to 16. With a sound between a shriek and a 
squeal, she tackled Rei in a powerful embrace for one so small, driving them 
back into the fire-lit room. A strange mixture of heart-wrenching sobs and 
hysterical laughter burst from the girl as she buried her face into Rei's chest. 
Occasionally, a muffled "Mars" escaped through. 
A flabbergasted Rei hesitantly wrapped her arms about the child, unable to 
understand her predicament. 
"Do you recognize a 'live' comrade?" Trust's voice slipped through the air. Rei 
caught the child flinch at the sound. 
"I... I... no," she answered, more confused than ever. 
The girl's head shot up, shock and madness fighting over her features. "What?! 
Mars! It's me! Surely-" Suddenly she twisted about and straightened one arm 
towards the door and hallway, her face a mask of impotent rage. The glaive, 
still lying where it had been left, flew to her outstretched hand. "This is your 
doing, fiend!" she screamed, and streams of black, ribbon-like energy slashed 
from her, tearing about the room haphazardly. It was all Rei could do to throw 
up a shield to save herself from several random strikes. 
Off to one corner, the dark-haired woman thought she caught a slight ripple in 
the air, like shifting water, but it vanished so quickly it might only have been 
her overwrought imagination. 
"You err, Saturn," Trust replied coldly, the tone reverberating with a grave 
chill. "Mars's condition is through no fault of mine. You are quite aware of the 
source of her amnesia." 
The storm of ribbons abated abruptly as Saturn collapsed to her knees again, the 
glaive clattering to the wooden floor. Looking miserable once more, she covered 
her face with her hands. "Perhaps I SHOULD destroy the world," she murmured 
softly. 
"Have you any idea what the Sailor Saturn speaks of? She occasionally spouts out 
this drivel about destroying the planet." Trust's voice was thick with 
exasperation. 
Rei shrugged unconsciously, all the while staring at Saturn, and then the 
bodies, especially the armored figure dumped in the hallway. Aloud, she asked, 
"Trust, you said you know something about my amnesia?" 
"I do, as does the child." 
She frowned, fighting the urge to look at Saturn. "I'm asking you, Trust." 
"You will not believe me." 
"The world is going down the proverbial tubes, there's no one alive-" she 
ignored the sudden glare from the girl, "-and I seem to have the utmost control 
over magical powers that are far from human norm. On top of that, I'm talking to 
a ghost! There's no such thing as not believing anymore." 
Saturn released a high-pitched cackle. "A ghost!? Ha!" 
"Silence, child!" Trust boomed. 
"Or what? You're going to silence me? You're going to kill us anyway." 
The voice sighed magnanimously. "And where would that leave me? A world 
essentially bereft of life ruled by my worst nightmare. No, Hotaru-san-" 
"Don't you DARE say that name!" 
"- I require Rei's abilities," he continued, unperturbed at the outburst. "Your 
assistance would be most useful, and much appreciated." 
Saturn snorted derisively, but did not reply. 
"MY abilities? What are you people talking about?" Constantly fumbling in the 
dark was getting on the sorceress's nerves. "I can't even remember my own name." 

"Touche. Rei-san, please go over the Sailor Moon's body." 
Rei grit her teeth, clenched her fists, and hissed, 
"I-don't-remember-who-Sailor-Moon-is!" A crackle of lightning seemed to 
punctuate this. 
"The blonde with the odd hairstyle." He tinged his voice with disapproval. 
Blinking, she glanced about the room, her eyes falling on the blonde of the 
white fuku. Indeed, her hairstyle WAS rather odd. Sighing aloud, Rei padded 
across the room, careful not to touch any of the bodies. She kneeled down beside 
the blonde known as Sailor Moon, seeking nothing, expecting nothing. The body 
was unfamiliar, as it was when she woke up. 
"Do you see the brooch upon her bow? Open it." 
Rei faltered. "I don't think I should be bothering the dead, Trust." 
"She has no further use for it, and I believe this will aid in recovering your 
memories." 
The sorceress glanced at Saturn, but the girl seemed on the verge of tears once 
again. Lips pursed tightly, Rei removed the brooch from its placing on the bow, 
and pressed the catch. 
The ornate compact opened quietly, revealing a large faceted gem mounted within. 

Saturn rushed up, emitting a low gasp of surprise. Rei frowned. "What's is this? 
It's the ugliest piece of jewelry I've ever seen. Why would she wear it?" 
Indeed, the gemstone was blackened and smoky, minute cracks marring its surface. 
It looked as a piece of glass would left in an oily fire. 
"This is impossible!" Saturn whispered, horrified. "It's drained! Broken!" 
"Actually, your former estimate is more accurate, as far as I can surmise," 
Trust droned in a lecturing tone. "I believe it has been drained, which may be 
to our favor." 
"You see before you, Rei-san, the Silver Imperium Crystal, once the single most 
powerful object in the world, some claim the universe." A slight sneer in 
Trust's tone expressed what he truly thought about that sentiment. "This 
individual, this Sailor Moon, used the Crystal to... bind your memories, if you 
will." 
"But why? What did I do to her? This is crazy!" Rei exclaimed, snapping shut the 
brooch. 
"Unless Saturn can shed some light as to the why, I do not know the answer to 
those questions." 
Rei turned to the child, but the latter shook her head sadly. "I don't know 
either. Setsuna-sama made me promise not to leave the house when everything 
began to happen. I found them like... this... afterwards." 
Rei wanted to know who this Setsuna was, but Trust pushed on. "The why's become 
moot points then, I am afraid. What matters is that we figure out how to recover 
your memories. Now, remove the Crystal from the brooch. I want you-" 
"Wait!" cried Saturn, snatching the brooch from Rei's grasp. "You can't do 
that!" She twirled to yell at the air. "I knew you weren't to be trusted! You DO 
want to kill her!" She turned back to Rei. "If anyone other than the truewielder 
of the Crystal attempts to use its powers, they will be severely injured, most 
likely killed." 
Trust cursed softly, though both of the females could hear him. "Sailor Saturn," 
he hissed after a moment longer, "I could have killed her long ago. I could have 
left her to the dark minions that, even now, prowl the streets of Tokyo, 
searching for the last vestiges of life to take for their own. I could have 
destroyed her at any time while she lay unconscious within this very room hours 
before you came. I can still kill her, and yourself, like the pathetic dog that 
you are! BUT I HAVE NOT!!" The last came out in a roar forced both of the girls 
to cover their ears. "For the last time, I NEED YOUR HELP!" 
Saturn opened her mouth to retort, but Rei turned to her furiously and drew on 
her powers. Suddenly, the girl clad in white and violet found herself incapable 
of moving, even to speak. 
The sorceress ripped the brooch out of her grasp without a thought, then turned 
to the direction of Trust's voice. "Enough! I am tired of both of you! I'M the 
one with the amnesia problem! I'M the one who has no clue what's going one! I am 
sick of her outbursts, but what's more, I'm sick of listening to your 
condescending, arrogant attitude! I'm inclined to trust neither one of you, no 
matter what either of you say!" She whirled back at the girl. "I trust no one, 
but Trust, or whoever he is, has not harmed me yet. If he can shed some light on 
my situation, I will accept it. For now, you will remain paralyzed until I can 
make sense of this chaos." 
"Well said-" 
"And YOU!" Rei turned, stabbing her finger into the air, "if you're lying to me, 
then so help me, I will find your non-corporeal ass and rip you to absolute 
shreds! STOP THREATENING US AND TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" 
If the ghost was affected by the rage, he did not give it any notice. "It is 
simple, if I am correct. Grasp the Crystal and concentrate on its magical flow. 
Though drained, I believe it has enough in it to allow you insight into its 
workings." 
"And then?" she hissed. 
"I do not know." 
Rei blinked. "What?" 
"I said-" 
"I heard you the first time!" The dark-haired woman flipped back a stray strand 
of her midnight tresses. "I thought you knew how this had happened." 
"I was present when the actual... curse... was laid upon you, but I have not the 
knowledge of the Crystal's workings. This may be difficult, and perhaps even 
dangerous, as Saturn has described, but then again, all things worth doing are." 

Rei sighed, letting her anger slide away. "Difficult or dangerous?" 
Trust did not answer. 
"It doesn't matter. I must know what's been done to me." She threw one last 
glance at Sailor Saturn, but the child could not reply. Her features were locked 
in her last position. 
she thought to herself, and reached out her senses to the Crystal, probing 
lightly at first, poking here, scratching there, trying to decipher the gem's 
mysteries. While she had paralyzed the girl, she still took Saturn's warnings to 
heart, expecting a trap of some sorts. 
Minutes passed in the room, silent minutes in which nothing moved. Rei's 
features bunched in concentration, tiny beads of sweat forming on her brow. She 
stood absolutely still, seemingly staring at the Crystal for all that it was 
worth, looking as if she could will the secrets to the surface. 
Deep, very deep within the charred gem, a prick of singular white flickered into 
being. 
Gasping, Rei shifted her eyes away, absently dropping the Crystal upon Sailor 
Moon's body. She groaned softly, rubbing her temples in long, slow strokes, then 
turned her attention back to the room. "I have it," she said simply. 
"What? What do you have?" Trust asked, a bit eagerly. 
The sorceress took her time to answer, formulating her words carefully. "I 
know... it. I don't know how to explain it. I suppose I shouldn't. It's as 
Sailor Saturn and you said. The Crystal is... WAS... magnificently powerful, but 
that has all changed. There's barely anything left in it, but what IS left is 
enough." She flexed her hands. "What is left was enough to give me a slight 
burn." 
"But you can use it to regain your memory?" 
"Yes." Waving absently, she released Saturn, who promptly fell to the ground, 
off balance. The sorceress turned to her. "I need all of my strength for this, 
Sailor Saturn, so I freed you. I beg you to stay out of this, for my sake. I 
cannot worry that the two of you will be at each others throats while I'm doing 
this." 
"You... you touched the Crystal?" The girl sounded shocked and mortified. 
Rei ignored her. "Trust, be prepared. You are not as you portray yourself, but I 
have no choice but to trust you. You have had ample opportunity to destroy me, 
as you say, but the fact that you didn't speaks well of you. I will accept that 
you have your motives, and for the moment, our goals coincide." 
Trust, once again, did not answer. 
Shrugging, the sorceress gingerly retrieved the Crystal into her grasp, then sat 
herself down, cross-legged. "Neither of you are to disturb me." 
With that, Rei brought the Silver Imperium Crystal to her forehead. 
The Crystal burst forth into a smoky cold, grey light, and every muscle in the 
sorceress's body clenched taut. 
From Rei's forehead, the symbol of Mars flamed into being, shining like a lit 
ruby.