Notes: The first few paragraphs of this story were used as the basis for the recent 600k fan fic contest, which required entrants to complete the story. Here is the entire story, as I originally wrote it, in case anyone might be wondering how, or if, I finished it myself.

It was a night like most other nights in the Tsukino household. The hour was late, and one-by-one, the family members trundled off to bed. Usagi yawned unabashedly, as she slowly made her way to her bedroom. "Good night, everyone", she offered, in a voice that revealed more fatigue than enthusiasm. "Good night, Usagi," her mother echoed from down the hall, "Have sweet dreams."

Usagi shut the bedroom door behind her, sighed lazily, and looked longingly at her bed. Suddenly, she stumbled. "Whoa!", she cried, as she struggled to regain her balance. "I must be more tired than I thought. I'm falling asleep on my feet!" She managed to giggle, in spite of herself, but the wisp of levity quickly turned to alarm, as she felt the room start to spin and sway around her.

It was as if she were being pulled in several directions at once. She vainly tried to steady herself. "Waaaahhh!!", she cried, as she was hurled across the room, "What's happening?!" She had no opportunity to cry out a second time. Suddenly she felt herself spinning through the air, enveloped in a darkness that was as absolute as it was frightening. She was paralyzed. She could neither move nor speak. After what seemed an eternity, the spinning stopped, and the darkness was broken by a soft glow in the distance.

"Where am I?", she queried in a whisper.

She reposed on a cold, rocky landscape that offered a stark contrast to the warmth and softness of the room she had just left. The nearby glow appeared to brighten. She squinted, struggling to make out the details of this dim light that was now approaching her. She gasped, as she observed a pair of eyes amidst the curious glow that drew ever closer.

"Sailor Moon," announced a low, soft voice from the midst of the light, "I have been waiting for you..."

"You're... you're... you're a teddy bear", Usagi whispered.

The fuzzy, two-foot tall bear smiled politely. "More than just 'a' teddy bear," he began, "I'm your teddy bear... at least I was yours, until you threw me in the trash last year."

Usagi was dumbstruck. She blinked once or twice. "Uhhh, I'm sorry... but, hey! How did you get here?"

"You see," the bear explained, "I managed to find my way to the Kingdom of Toys, a place where cast-offs go when their owners no longer want them." He walked toward a nearby hill. "Come, Usagi, you can see our city from here."

Usagi hesitated a moment, then carefully climbed the little hill. She gaped in disbelief, for before her lay a wondrous land that stretched far into the distance. There were rows and rows of brightly-colored doll houses and majestic toy castles. Tiny dolls, puppets, and marionettes of every description, strolled merrily through the narrow streets. Stuffed animals romped happily through the town. A squad of wooden soldiers stood guard at the gates of the city, and a pair of airships floated lazily through the sky.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" exclaimed Usagi. "I never knew a place like this even existed!" She gazed in awe at the miniature world that lay before her. "It's incredible!"

"Yes, but there is a dark cloud that hangs over this seemingly peaceful land." He pointed to a section of the town in the distance. "Look, over there. Can you see it... those houses that have been burned, and lay in ruins?"

"Why, yes," Usagi replied, "What happened, was there a fire?"

"No, it was the work of Princess Asphodel," he stated sadly. "She's an evil sorceress who has demanded we crown her queen of our kingdom. If we refuse, she's vowed to destroy us with her magic. The ruins you see were caused by a fireball she sent as a warning. Her powers are epic, and we are truly frightened, for if we refuse, she will destroy us; if we agree, she will enslave us. Neither choice is a very happy one."

"I see," replied Usagi, "But how do I fit into all this?"

"As Sailor Moon, you are our last hope," he explained. "We are powerless against her. You must intercede on our behalf. You must confront her, and you must defeat her." He clapped his hands, and presently, a detail of brightly-uniformed wooden soldiers appeared. "These guards will accompany you to the edge of the forest - the realm of Princess Asphodel - from there, you will be on your own. You must find and defeat her."

"I... I... Okay, I'll do my best," promised Usagi, after a moment's hesitation. She then bade farewell to her long-lost teddy bear, turned, and followed her escort off into the distance.

After a brief hike, the party came to the vast forest that surrounded the tiny kingdom. The soldiers wished her well, then returned to their duties. Usagi was now alone. Before her, wound a narrow trail into the heart of the forest. She wasted no time. She quickly transformed into Sailor Moon, took a deep breath, and strode into the realm of Princess Asphodel.

In time, she came to a clearing. She wondered if she had not taken a wrong turn in the trail. Before her stood an elegant castle, complete with drawbridge, and lofty towers, capped with rainbow-colored banners. Surely this couldn't be the home of an evil princess, it was far too lovely! As she stood admiring the story-book dwelling, she noticed the drawbridge was being lowered. Anon, a soft and gentle voice spoke invitingly, "Greetings to you. Won't you please come inside and visit? I'm Princess Asphodel."

Sailor Moon gasped audibly. So this was Princess Asphodel's castle, after all! Yet, still puzzled, she couldn't understand how the lovely castle was home to such a reputedly bad person. "There's only one way to find out," she decided, and with that, she ventured across the wooden drawbridge into the castle.

Again, Sailor Moon gasped aloud. The floor of the castle was of white marble, polished to a mirror-like finish. The walls were fashioned of bright granite, and decorated with lamps of gold. Tall, thin, stained glass windows punctuated the long corridor, and the light from them cast kaleidoscopic patterns on the floor. At the end of the corridor, stood a huge chamber that seemed to reach to the sky. It was decorated with hand-carved furniture of palisanto, of ebony, inlaid with ivory, and further adorned with carnelian, turquoise, garnet, and jade gemstones. Vessels of gold and platinum rested on the tables. Richly-colored rugs spotted the floor, and overhead, crystal chandeliers were suspended in delicate elegance.

"Hello," intoned the Princess, as she quietly appeared before her visitor, "What can I do for you?"

Sailor Moon gasped for a third time, as she finally caught sight of the Princess. Asphodel was dressed in a long, flowing gown of pure white silk, embroidered with serifs of gold, into which were sewn clusters of glistening, multi-faceted diamonds. Her hair was a rich amber color, on which reposed a garland of freshly-picked daffodils. Her voice was soft and gentle, and her manner warm and inviting. In short, she seemed like anything but a creature of evil.

"Ummm..." began Sailor Moon awkwardly, "I've come here on behalf of the people in the Kingdom of Toys."

"Oh?", rejoined Princess Asphodel. "Well, let's forget about them, they've probably been telling lies about me again, haven't they?"

"Lies?", echoed Sailor Moon, quizzically.

"Of course. I bet they told you some outrageous story about me being an evil monster who wants to destroy them," continued the Princess, in her soft, musical voice.

"Well... ummm... something like that."

The Princess smiled. "There, you see? Do I look like the evil ogre they would make me out to be?"

"Ummm... well, not exactly..." stammered Sailor Moon. She was beginning to wonder if the Princess was right. Perhaps it was merely a misunderstanding. Perhaps the townspeople had overreacted. Perhaps their differences could be resolved. Perhaps.

"Then let us be friends," the Princess suggested, "I am known as a loyal, wonderful friend! I will offer you my love, and promise to be devoted to you forever. Our friendship will become legendary. This I promise." She smiled warmly at her guest, patiently awaiting her response.

Sailor Moon hesitated. "Will you go back to the Toy Kingdom with me, and try to work out your differences with the people?"

"For the sake of love and friendship, yes!" the Princess declared, with a broad smile. She raised her hand, as if making a pledge, "Now, let me seal my promise." With that, a bright ball of fire suddenly appeared in the Princess' hand. She hurled it straight at Sailor Moon. "Take this!" she sneered. "May you burn with the rest of your friends!"

The fireball raced through the air, just brushing a startled, but still agile, Sailor Moon, who managed to avoid it just in time. "Ah! You tricked me!" she cried out angrily.

"Hahaha!" chortled the Princess, "Here, have some more!" That said, she fired off a series of fireballs at Sailor Moon, who was barely able to dodge them in rapid order. "Very good! You are far more dexterous than most of my victims, but I don't think you will survive this." The Princess then conjured up an enormous fireball. It glowed and crackled ominously, as it danced eerily before the transfixed eyes of Sailor Moon. "Now, one more blast, and you will be finished!" bellowed Princess Asphodel, as she flung the mighty sphere of fire towards the frightened girl.

Sailor Moon tried to step out of the way, but tripped and fell helplessly to the floor. As the gigantic inferno drew ever closer, she held her arms over her head, and awaited what she thought would surely be the end...

Then, just as the wall of fire was about to consume her, a red rose whistled through the air, and landed on the marble floor just in front of her. With that, the flame flickered and disappeared. Sailor Moon opened her eyes and beheld Tuxedo Kamen standing at an open window, his cape flapping in the wind.

"If your heart is pure, you need not fear the forces of evil, Sailor Moon!" he stated, as he turned and vanished as quickly as he had appeared.

Sailor Moon arose, scowled at the Princess, and declared, "You have used the promise of love and friendship to trick me. It is wrong to invoke the name of love in order to deceive people. For that I will punish you!" She removed her moon tiara, and flung it at Asphodel. The Princess tried to invoke a spell of protection, but it was too late. The tiara found its mark, and she was reduced to a handful of dust that was quickly scattered by the wind.

"I hope you will forgive us, Usagi," pleaded a contrite teddy bear.

"Yes, we are sorry," added the magician. "You see, I specialize in pulling rabbits from hats, and when we had this problem with Princess Asphodel, I thought I'd try to pull Sailor Moon from my hat, so you could help us. I do hope the experience wasn't too terribly harrowing for you."

Usagi laughed. "No, no, it's okay," she reassured them, "I'm glad I could have helped."

"We will always be grateful," the bear promised. "Okay, everyone, let's hear a rousing cheer for Sailor Moon!" He addressed the assembled populace, all of whom had turned out to witness Usagi's departure, and to cheer her on her way. "Hurrah!" they shouted in unison, "Hurrah for Sailor Moon!!!"

"Thank you!" she said, as she waved to the adoring crowd. "Well, it looks like my work here is finished," she said to the teddy bear, "I'd better be getting back home before my parents start to worry about me."

"We've got everything prepared for your return trip!," he announced happily. "Now, just step into the magician's hat, and you will be transported back to your home." He took her by the hand, and led her to the hat, into which she dutifully stepped. She bade them a final farewell, before she quietly disappeared.

"Say, mom?" Usagi ventured at breakfast the next morning, "Could I have an advance on my allowance? Please?"

Usagi's mother raised her eyebrows, "But you just got your allowance yesterday. Why do you want an advance?"

"Well," Usagi explained rather sheepishly, "I'd like to buy myself a teddy bear."