She never thought it was possible for anything to hurt so badly. Her heart felt like it was about to explode in her chest, it hurt so terribly. The tears that now silently crept down her cheeks seemed to pain her more than when she'd been sobbing straight out. And she was exhausted and lost on top of everything.

Usagi, as she still thought of herself when she wasn't trying to get herself used to Serenity again, sighed, just trying to relieve some of that grief-caused pressure in her chest. And she'd thought it had hurt bad when Vegita left after Koneko's disappearance, or when all her friends were either encased in crystal or taken from her back to their own dimensions. No, nothing compared to this pain, not even death.

Soft white wings settled around her, and she had to fight the urge to cry again. Surely she could not have any tears left in her, and if she did and she let them out, she'd mostly likely pass out. She didn't want to do that, not when she wasn't sure in all the worlds she was.

She closed her eyes to fight back the tears that still threatened to spill over her eyes, but a few slipped out as the images replayed themselves. A bright flash of light, and the Moon Palace was replaced by darkness. And in that darkness, noises began to become apparent. The sounds of flesh hitting flesh, sounds she recognized from listening to Vegita and Gokou sparring. Those sounds had chilled her to the bone even she when she knew it was just a somewhat friendly spar; when it was someone she lo - cared for a great deal who was being beaten to death, it left her in the state she was now in.

And in that state and through those tears, someone sat down beside her. She glanced up to see who it was and nearly blurted out the first thing that came to mind, but no, that wasn't right. This wasn't an adult ChibiUsa; the hair color seemed to be the only thing the same. She wore a long red cape and glasses that covered much of her face and hid her eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked, her voice soft and sweet.

Usagi shook her head. "I can't say," she choked out.

"I'm Tira Misu," the pink-haired woman said, grabbing one of Usagi's gloved hands.

"Usagi Tsukino," she slowly answered. "Hajimemashite, Tira-san."

"So now, tell me why you're crying, Usagi-chan."

She took a deep and shaky breath and thought about how she could say this. Flat-out seemed best. "Have you ever seen someone you liked very much die?"

Tira frowned. "My parents died when I was very young, and my sister and I went to live with Carrot's family. Other than that, no." She glanced closer at Usagi. "Is that what upset you so badly, Usagi-chan?" A silent nod. "Tell me."

Usagi gulped air in deeply and slowly and quiet began to speak, choosing her words carefully. "There was someone once that I liked very much. Everyone said he was horrible, but he was always nice to me; he even saved my life. But. . . he had to leave and go back to his own home and I had to go back to mine. That was. . . many years ago. Then today, I went to where he was. . . and. . . and. . . "

"And you saw him die," Tira finished. The blonde woman nodded. "How?"

A soft sniffle, then, "Murdered." A fresh wave of tears followed, then she found herself leaning on Tira's shoulder. A bit startled, she pulled back and looked at the pink-haired woman in shock, blinking her large blue eyes rapidly. "Doomo, Tira-chan," she whispered.

"It's no problem, Usagi-chan. Are you feeling better?"

"A bit. Thank you again."

"It's no problem." Tira reached up and slowly took off her glassesss. Pink eyes, was all Usagi could think for a moment.

A single light blue flower appeared in her field of vision. She glanced up, to see a young man standing in the fading light. The sun behind him kept her from seeing much of him, but she could easily see a wild mop of wild hair, a tanktop, baggy pants, and a sword. "Here."

"Carrot," Tira whispered.

"You found her," another voice stated. There was an explosion of smoke, she and Tira jumped to their feet, and their surroundings changed. "Greetings, Queen of the Moon."

"What's going on here, Big Mama?" Tira asked.

"I'm sending your new friend home so that she may protect her world," the tall blue-haired woman answered.

She faintly felt Tira's arms wrap around her, heard the woman whisper, "If you ever need us, we'll help you however we can," before she disappeared again.

She collapsed to her knees against the cold, smooth surface of the Moon Palace as soon as she was completely back in her own dimension without the support she hadn't known Tira had been giving her. She curled up and slowly rocked herself back and forth, tears she did not know she still had in her streaming down her face.

For a brief moment, she relived the moment that sent her to that new dimension. The bright flash of light, the green planet, and the sounds of flesh hitting flesh. She looked down to see a small whitish creature holding Vegita up by his throat and placing strategic blows on him. When it threw him to the ground and blood exploded from his mouth, she'd turned and fled like a coward. She felt his life going out as she changed dimentions.

"I'll never fall in love again," she whispered brokenly.

::Fin::

27 October 2000

[A.N. I apologize for how long this took, but I'm still waiting on Dragonball CT. . . beyond the first chapter anyway. I hope you understand now why I decided to wait. ]