The girl ran out of the store and screamed for help. Inside, the creature’s icy hand tightened around Usagi’s throat as it lifted her off the ground. Its inhuman screech echoed in the store’s ransacked emptiness. Usagi’s vision blurred. She could feel her strength fading, and for a split second, she embraced death.

  Then an engine roared to life.

  Mamoru burst through the store’s shattered entrance. His motorcycle raced across the floor at breakneck speed. Usagi’s eyes widened as she recognized him. He was heading straight for her and the creature. At the last possible second, he launched himself off the bike and rolled across the ground.

  Distracted, the creature released its grip on Usagi. She collapsed and gasped for breath.

  The motorcycle smashed into the creature with a crash and sent it reeling back into the wreckage of the store. Usagi coughed, her throat raw, as Mamoru hurried to her side.

  “Come on!”

  He grasped her hand as she staggered to her feet. Usagi locked eyes with him, grateful he was alive.

  “Are you okay?”

  Mamoru’s voice was strained.

  “Right now, I have to be.”

  A crack marred his helmet. A thin line of blood dripped from a cut on his brow. Usagi wished she could tend to his wounds, but there was no time.

  They rushed out of the store. Mamoru scooped up the terrified girl into his arms as they ran into the street.

  Behind them, the creature staggered back to its feet, then charged out of the store and onto the sidewalk. The impact had damaged part of its face. Underneath the gash, mechanical parts lay exposed.

  Is this thing some kind of robot?

  The creature looked around, then locked eyes on its prey.

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  “Now what?” Mamoru asked.

  Usagi’s gaze darted around the street. There! A large truck barreling toward them. It was their chance.

  “Get ready!”

  He nodded without hesitation. He trusted her without question.

  As the truck thundered between them and the creature, it blocked the creature’s view for just a moment. The three of them disappeared from sight.

  When the truck had passed, the creature stood alone on the sidewalk. It let out a guttural screech of frustration, its head swiveling in all directions. Where had they gone?

  The night was silent except for the fading echo of the truck’s engine. The creature searched for its quarry in vain.

  ***

  Usagi, Mamoru, and the mysterious girl stumbled through the front door of the apartment. They looked like they had just emerged from some subterranean nightmare. Their clothes clung to them. They were wet and reeked of sewage.

  Dried blood marred Mamoru’s normally composed face; his helmet lay discarded somewhere beneath the streets of Tokyo. Usagi’s neck bore the bruises of a too-close encounter with the creature. Their bodies screamed for rest, but they were alive.

  Usagi wiped a smear of dirt from her face.

  “That… was… disgusting.”

  She groaned. Her voice was thick with exhaustion and frustration. Left with no choice, she had led them down a maintenance hole and into the labyrinth of the Tokyo sewer system. They had escaped, but not unscathed.

  Mamoru slumped onto the couch with a wince.

  “I think I might have a concussion.”

  He touched one hand to his temple as a wave of dizziness appeared to sweep over him. Usagi stared at him as the sewage from his clothes seeped into their coach.

  “We’re going to need a new couch now, for sure.”

  The girl, who had remained quiet until now, giggled from her spot near the doorway. Her giggle felt out of place after everything they had just gone through. Mamoru glanced at the girl, then at Usagi. They both turned toward her in unison.

  Usagi knelt in front of the girl. Her eyes narrowed.

  “Alright, we had a deal. It’s time to tell the truth. What is going on here?”

  The girl’s smile faded as she straightened. She bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke.

  “I’m from the future.”

  Usagi blinked.

  “The future?”

  The girl nodded. Her hands fidgeted with the hem of her damp skirt.

  “I’m just a kid. I live with my mom and dad and go to school in Tokyo. Everything was fine until…”

  Her voice wavered, but she pressed on.

  “I came home from school, and something terrible had happened. Mama… Mama sent me back in time to find Sailor Moon and her Guardians. She said I had to help them awaken their powers to save the future.”

  Usagi’s heart skipped a beat. Her voice was almost a whisper when she spoke next.

  “Your mother? Who is she?”

  The girl looked up, her wide, tear-filled eyes locked onto Usagi’s. Her next words hung heavy in the air.

  “You are… or you will be. My name is Usagi Chiba. Daddy calls me Chibiusa.”