Something About that Girl Rhyaniwyn, Lady of Crying Shadows Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all associated characters are the exclusive property of Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Ltd., Toei Animation, Co., Ltd. The English dub is copyright 1995 DiC. Forword: Please e-mail me at alyanawhitemage @hotmail.com with comments. I enjoy reading e-mail, so even if you don't have anything to say, mail somthing. This title came from the first episode of SailorMoon A Moon Star is Born when both Darien and Luna say something to the effect. I liked it, I found it amusing. This is kind of a retelling of Sailor Moon that focuses on Serena's motivations. I'm changing it, but in the beggining it's like as not to be nearly identical to the show. Dedication: For Serena. ~Something About that Girl~ (Part I: The School Uniform) Serena jolted out of bed at the sound of her alarm clock, she knew then how this day would turn out--she was going to be late. It was her first day at her new school and she was going to be late. Groaning, she tore off her pink pajamas and grabbed the uniform. She didn't mind the uniform though once she'd thought she'd probably hate it. It always seemed that no matter how hard she tried, she always seemed to be either late or tripping over something. And to be perfectly honest, her grades weren't the greatest either... Well, she'd really hoped that she would make a good impression on the first day at this school, but it seemed that was not to happen. She decided she'd do as she always did, and just not worry about it. She ran to school as fast as she could, wondering if the teacher, her name was Ms. Haruna, would give her a detention on her first day. She slid into the door of the classroom about five minutes after the bell and recieved a warning look from Ms. Haruna. Serena tried to take a seat as decourously as possible, but it seemed that the fates were against her. As she approached an empty desk, she tripped over someone's books and fell, cracking her head on the desk. "Oh!" she exclaimed. A petite red-haired girl shot out of her seat. "Are you okay?" she asked, concern evident in her voice. "Yeah, fine," Serena replied, suprised at this obvious display of friendliness. "My name's Molly," she whispered as she sat back down. Class started without comment about her clumsiness, but Serena's face was burning red all the same. She clutched her now-growling stomach with dismay. In her haste to get to school she'd forgotten to eat even the most sketchy of breakfasts. She wondered if Ms. Haruna would mind if she had a bit of her lunch now, so she could pay attention to the lesson instead of her empty abdomen. Shrugging serumptuously, she dug inconspicuously into her rabbit-adorned bag for a container of noodles. She tipped the new english book up to hide her activity and prceeded to eat. She was totally caught off guard at Ms. Haruna's, "Serena, did you learn any of this at your old school?" Serana struggled to swallow the noodles without choking, and, not having the faintest idea what the class was talking about, mumbled, "I'm sorry Ms. Haruna, what did you say?" Maybe she would reveal the subject of her question, Serena hoped fervently. Unfortunatly, Ms. Haruna had taken the opportunity provided by Serena's discomfort to sneak up on her. She now stood above Serena, scowling. "Are you eating in my class?" she raged. Serena was at a loss for words, "No, I...um... Well, you see--I was-uh ... Checking to make sure it hadn't spilled while in my bag!" she exclaimed triumphantly. Ms. Haruna's expression plainly revealed that she didn't believe a word of it. "Good one... At least it would have been if it had come off a little smoother. Detention after school, young miss." Serena trudged home after detention, her mom was going to be angry, and it was getting dark. She hoped her mom would understand. After all, she knew Serena had left without breakfast... And Mother was a firm believer in breakfast. The cycle had started, as far as Serena was concerned. Not once did she manage to make it to school on time and spent each afternoon in detention until it was dark. It frightened her a little to walk home in the dark. There had been several mysterious disapearances lately... And it worried her. That was the only thing that worried her in the following months, however, at least the only thing she admitted to bothering her. She gave up on her idea of doing things right in this school and just concentrated on having fun; sleeping, eating, playing video games, and talking to Molly. That feeling of friendship from the first day had grown, and now Serena considered Molly her best friend. Better still, Molly had the same philosophy as Serena, fun. Molly did much better in class, though... And she NEVER got detention.Serena wondered what was wrong with herself. 'This morning even the alarm didn't wake me,' Serena thought dazedly as she sprinted to school. 'That dream I had. Brrrr! I can't quite remember it... But, God, it was horrible. I couldn't bring myself to even turn off the light after I woke from it, much less go back to sleep while it was still dark out.' She suddenly tripped, and went sprawling on the pavement. "Ouch!" she burst out. "What the? I must have tripped over something." Looking down, she spied a black cat, "Oh, kitty! Did I hurt you? I'm so sorry!" She bowed respectfully to the cat, then shook herself, wondering why she was bowing to a cat. The cat mewed pitifully. "Poor kitty," Serena said as she bent and picked the cat up, "Let me look at you. Oh?! What's that mark on your forehead? A moon? How strange!" The cat growled and lept nimbly from her arms. "Sorry!" Serana said, "I didn't mean to offend you!" A feeling struck her abruptly. It was as if something was calmly assesing her... Suddenly she was terrified. 'No!' she thought franticly, and fled. End Part I Afterword: Like it? No? Too bad! :) Tell me what you think at the address in the Foreword. You can even give me ideas for future parts. I'm going to try to come out with a part every week or so. I'm writing more than one at a time, so hopefully those who like it won't have to wait. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Something About That Girl Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all associated characters are the exclusive property of Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Ltd., Toei Animation, Co., Ltd. The English dub is copyright 1995 DiC. Forward: In the previous part, I feel compelled to mention that, in the original Manga, that is the way Serena meets Luna, by tripping over her. Please send me e-mails at alyanawhitemage@hotmail.com I love to get feedback and I promise to answer if I possibly can. This picks up after Serena has gotten to school a week after running from Luna. She and Molly are at lunch and are talking. Dedication: My boyfriend... And Serena. ~Something About That Girl~ (Part II: The Nightmare) "Oh, Molly. My mom is going to kill me for this grade!" "Why are you worrying, Serena, you never cared before?" "Oh, it's just that lately..." "Lately what? You can tell me, Serena." Serena sighed heavily. "Well, Moll, I'm tired. Not just tired from lack of sleep, but tired of going to school. I feel so worthless, no matter how I try I can never seem to get things right! I so wanted this time to be different, but it seems like something inside of me just won't let me do thing the way I know I can do them. And, Moll, even with you... I'm so lonely. Even when I'm at the arcade in the middle of a group of friends, I'm lonely. It's as if something's missing from it, that its empty somehow." Serena cut off abruptly. "No, Serena, I'm not mad. Please, tell me what's wrong." "I've been having these nightmares every night for a week. Every night it gets clearer and I remember more, like the thing that's causing it is getting closer. I don't know how to explain it really, it's mostly hazy pictures and feelings. I'm--somewhere--and it's cold, so very cold. I can't feel anything in my body, except that there are tears on my face and my hands are burning... But whatever is burning them isn't touching the skin. It's like they're burning inside. I'm sad. I'm sadder than I've ever been in my life. That scares me more than almost anything, that and what comes next. I'm so filled with sorrow, I'm blind with it, it's like everyone's dead or something. Then I have this sense of terrible urgency, I have to do something and I have to do it THEN, the right way, otherwise... I don't know the otherwise. This terrible face looms in front of me, it's black and shadowy... Its eyes glow red. I'm terrified of it, so scared I can barely move. The burning in my hands get worse, and I try to kill it with them, but I don't think I can do it without--someone--and then there's this horrible pain. And then... And then nothing at all. Just black." "Serena, that sounds horrible!" Molly exclaims tearfully. "Yes. It's even worse to expeirience. And even before I had the nightmare, I was scared. I was just walking around being scared of something-it doesn't make any sense! It's gotten even worse lately... I'm so scared, Molly. And I don't even know what I'm scared of." End Part II Afterword: Anyone know what she's talking about? Hee-Hee. mail me! I COMMAND you! And, yes, I know it was way short... But it was neat... At least I thought it was neat.... ________________________________________________________________ Something About That Girl Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all associated characters are the exclusive property of Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Ltd., Toei Animation, Co., Ltd. The English dub is copyright 1995 DiC. Foreword: Here ya' go! I know the last one was short. It was mostly important character developement and an attempt to rope you into the story. Did it work? e-mail at alyanawhitemage@hotmail.com This one will be longer than the others. By the way, asterics ** dentote telepathic communication. I usually use these symbols < >, but I thought that might interfere with posting the story, since you use them in http script. I really don't know so I decided to just use **. Dedication: For Serena, and her memories. And my boyfriend. :) ~Something About That Girl~ (Part III: Hazy Past, Clear Destiny) Serena trudged home, tired down into her very bones. Wiping her shoes on the rug and then taking them off, she entered the house. "Serena!" her mother yelled. Serena grimaced. She hadn't been sleeping much lately, trying to escape from having that nightmare and she was sore all over, even her ears, "Yes, mother?" "Give me that test. If you didn't pass..." she trailed off menacingly. "Don't worry, I didn't." She handed her mother the exam, it wasn't her worst, she'd been trying, but she hadn't studied at all. She'd gotten a 73. "A seventy-three? Is that a 'D?'" Serena's mother inquired sweetly. "Yeah. This new grading scale is really hard." "Out, Serena." "What?" "Out. Now." "Mother!?" "Go!!" her mother roared. "I'm going," Serena said resignedly. "Don't come back until you've thought about it." "Why not?" "What do you mean, 'why not'?" "Exactly, why not think about it?" Serena turned silently and walked out of the door, remembering to grab a jacket on her way. She walked the streets of Tokyo, hands shoved deeply into her pockets, and avoided the eyes of others. No one payed any attention to her, thinking her just a girl on her way to some chore or another. She walked for hours, from the park to the Tokyo tower and back. Finally she capitulated and sat down on a bench in front of a University. She watched the students uninterestedly, seeing them pass through the gates on their way to home or class. Not one of them caught her eye. She felt like she was supposed to be here for some reason, and normally she would have run away, for that feeling meant that this had something to do with her dreams... Her death? No. She wouldn't think about it. A raspy voice jolted her out of her reverie, "Hey, lookie! It's Serena! How are ya' girlie?" She knew who it was. The boy was in detention more often than she, that was where she'd met him. The difference was that HE was in detention for worse things than tardies and eating or sleeping in class. He was a top rank jerk, and a troublemaker to go along with it. "Fine," she responded shortly. It would have told anyone else that she didn't want to talk, and put them off, but not him. "So, Serena, how's about a movie?" he leered at her. She sighed, "No, thank you." "Whad'da'ya' mean by that?" "I mean I'm not interested right now." "Suppose I don't care if you is or not?" "Then I suppose I'll have to call for help." "You won't be able to," he said evilly. She felt her muscles jerked as tight as a spring coiled to the breaking point. Without her own volition, she rose and leaned toward him. 'No' she thought wildly, 'This can't happen!' She was perilously close to panic, and she couldn't seem to stop herself from it, even though her intuition told her that panic would only fuel the power.His lips covered hers obscenely and her carressed her hands, working his way up her arms. "I told you so," he whispered, then he began to kiss her again, delving into her mouth with his tongue. He had rancid breath, she noticed, and almost wanted to cry hysterically at such a stupid observation at a time like this. She couldn't move her own body with her will. Inside her mind, she felt a pressure begin to build, slowly. It was causing her forehead to tingle almost unpleasantly. 'HELP!!' her mind cried. She knew no one would hear or help her. God knew he was making her look willing enough, forcing her to draw herself close and trace sensual patterns on his back. "This is only the beggining," he promised her. 'No, no its not. HELP!' About the only part of her she could still move was her eyes. They rolled around wildly, like a spooked animal. Then they lighted on a young man with rich black hair and eyes so blue she could see them from even this distance, couldn't she? That was beside the point, she knew his eyes were blue. He drew her like no one else had the entire afternoon, he interested her. *HELP!* she cried silently to him, and suddenly she was free! She shoved her attacker violently and the man looked up and walked toward them. His eyes were definately blue, she saw. He had reached them, "Is there a problem?" He glared pointedly at Yeksan, her attacker. Darien didn't know what to make of this. One moment the girl was kissing the boy, the next she had shoved him away like he was trying to rape her. Worse, he felt--jelous? No, he was just angry that this boy might have been assaulting the girl. The girl nodded at him frantically. "Go away," he growled dangerously to the boy. The boy had looked like he was about to argue, but then his body had jerked straight and he had left. "Are you alright?" he asked the girl. Serena nodded, "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed fervently. "Well, that's good. He didn't hurt you? By the way, my name's Darien. What were you doing here, putting yourself in that situation. That was really stupid," he said abruptly. Serena paled, "My--I went on a walk. You don't even know what was going on! How can you call me stupid?" "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." He looked genuinely confused, so she relaxed. "I'm Serena." "That's an interesting hairstyle you have there, odango-atama." 'Dumpling head? How dare he!?' Before she could retort, he jumped as if startled and said quickly, "I'm sorry, I have to go." He half-ran in his haste to go. He was running from her and he knew it. Why, though? She was... "Something about that girl... She's..." he whispered. Serena shrugged and looked at his departing figure. The part of her that had felt a need to come here was exuding a sense of achievment. Serena felt a chill of fear down her spine. Whatever had happened, it was too late to stop it, still--her fear wasn't rational, and she flew, legs pumping, away from the university. When she got home, her mother was in a flurry of worry and guilt. She sent Serena to bed with some hot tea, ordering her to rest. "You've been looking so tired lately," she'd commented. Even though she knew the tea would make it near impossible for her to fight off sleep much longer, she couldn't resist it. Her eyes ached from strain, and she knew she had to close them and let them rest for just a few moments, or she thought they might explode from her skull. In moments she was sleeping so deeply nothing could have woken her. Wind blew around her, freezing her to the core. Nothing she had done had prepared her for this cold. She couldn't feel anything from her body, she was so cold. And her outfit wasn't helping. 'What?' Suddenly she was crying, and the tears were freezing onto her face. She knew she had to stop, she had to face... But they were dead! 'Who?' Her hands were aching, tingling, she looked at them... They burned with power from the--- 'What?' She knew she had to fight-- No one of the few left would live if she didn't fight-- 'Who?' Suddenly the enemy was hitting her face. She struck out at it wildly, swinging her stinging hands at it. She was rewarded with a pained yowl, like an injured cat's. 'A cat?' She opened her eyes. She was no longer asleep, she noted, and saw the black cat from several weeks ago. She recognized the ominous feeling the cat evoked and the strange symbol on its forehead. "Well," the cat said, "You didn't have to hit so hard!" "Oh, my god," Serena wailed. "Your power is already opening. It's lucky I got to you in time, otherwise you might have hurt someone. Well, someone other than me. Here, Serena, take this, it will help you to control your powers until you know how to use them conciously, and with it you will be able to transform into Sailor Moon! Oh, yes. I'm so sorry, my manners have failed me! My name is Luna, and I will be your guard, guide and teacher." Luna looked at Serena strangely. "Is something wrong?" Serena forced a laugh, a not very convincing one, "Wrong? Oh, no, of course not. How do you know my name, cat?" "My NAME is Luna. I know your name because I have been observing you to determine if you were Sailor Moon. You ran away too quickly for me to see the first time, and I only have just made sure. You never stay in one spot long enough for me to evaluate you!" Luna stared at Serena when she did not respond. The girl was sitting on the bed, rocking back and forth, head buried in her arms. Luna thought she was--humming? No, she could hear her saying faintly, "I'm dreaming, this is a dream. It's got to be a dream, I was so careful. Cats don't talk, I don't even know who Sailor Moon is! I'm dreaming. This is a dream!" Serena looked up, a smile on her face, and giggled. "This is a dream, right? I get it, I'm dreaming, and you're in my dream. That makes sense, more than a talking cat does." "No, Serena, this isn't a dream." "Yeah, right." Serena smiled brightly. "I'll prove it to you! Take up the brooch and say, 'Moon Prism Power Make-up'!" "No," Serena said stubbornly. "If this is a dream, it doesn't matter, does it?" Luna said slyly. "Well, okay... Moon Prism Power Make-up!" she muttered relunctantly. There was a sullen beam of light around the hand that held the brooch. Next, a series of flashing blues and pinks surrounded Serena. Pink ribbons formed an outfit similar to her school uniform, with a shorter skirt. Serena was Sailor Moon. "Sailor Moon," she murmered, "Sailor Moon. Oh! Just wait until Molly sees what this thing did to my uniform!" she chirped, "She'll freak! This is so weird! Oh, my gosh!" Luna watched tolerently Serena's tirade of silliness. This was precisely what she'd expected of the girl, vapors. She was shocked to see Serena sigh and sit down onto the bed, her head bent in defeat. "What do you want me to do?" she asked in a discouraged tone. Luna as speachless with suprise. The abrupt change of attitude had shocked her immeasurably. Before she could respond, Serena's face went blank and vacant. *Serena? Someone? Help, please help!* It was Molly's voice, Serena knew, but it seemed to be coming from inside her ears... "Serena, there's an evil monster on the loose. You've got to kill it before it manages to hurt someone!" Serena burst into tears. "But I don't wanna go!" she wailed pitifully. "I don't know what to do!" "Serena, you must fight evil when it confronts you. You cannot give into your fear. It is your destiny to purify the world of an evil force, and to guard the reincarnated princess of the Moon Kingdom. Go and fight. You will know what to do when the time comes. I promise you, you WILL remember!" Serena kept wailing and sniffling. "Oh, all right!" she snapped, "Just let me finish first! Molly, I'm coming!" "Molly? What does she have to do with this?" "Come on, Luna! Let's go save Molly!" Serena wiped her eyes free of tears and ran to Molly, guided by some internal instinct, somehow knowing exactly where she was. The monster's shape was of a beautiful, beguiling woman. It had long, silky black hair and dark, mysterious eyes. Serena wondered if that was what it always looked like. The monster must have noticed her out of the corner of its eyes, because it turned to her, grinning cruelly. "So, you've finally come to join us, Sailor--Moon? How, interesting a name. I tell you, no one of the Negaverse could have missed feeling the shock waves of your transformation. It seems Luna has finally suceeded at reviving a scout. Funny that I don't remember a Moon. Who are you?" "I'm, well, err... I am Sailor Moon, the defender of justice! On behalf of the Moon, I will punish you!" "Unimpressive. You must have died at the beggining. And so, you must be weak!" It raised its hands, a whirling ball of darkness forming between them. Dodge! something commanded her. She sprang to the side as the monster released the ball. Words welled up in her from somewhere, like a hazy memory, "Moon Tiara Discus!" she cried and tossed the Tiara, now a razor sharp frizbee imbued with power, at the monster. It screamed horribly as it slowly disentigrated. Then, when only its ragged face and arms were left it smiled. "Harghhh!" it grunted, throwing a whirling ball at Molly just before it completely disappeared. Molly collapsed weakly, thousands of cuts covered her, bleeding sluggishly, but profusely. She was badly burned, and all of her skin was black. "No! Molly!" Serena cried, and tossing her mask off of her face, ran over to where her friend lay. She folded her dying friend protectively in her arms, and sobbed over her pain-racked, but not unconcious, body. Her tears fell on Molly's wounds in great profusion, sparkling with some internal power. Amazingly, as the tears contacted Molly's skin, the rends closed over without scarring and the burns vanished. Molly opened her eyes and smiled at Sailor Moon. "I--" she cut off and her face went still. She saw a winged horse flying over the moon, and a palace of crystal. Outside the palace and astride the pegusus was the same woman. A beautiful, light-haired woman in a flowing white gown trimmed in silver and gold. Her hair was in what many called odango-atama or meat-balls. It was the same style that her friend Serena wore, and that this amazing heroine was wearing. Molly wasn't stupid. Tears gathered in her eyes. She jumped up, and kissed Sailor Moon on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered and fled before the girl could see her crying. She understood clearly now how different Serena's destiny was from her own. Those blue eyes held secrets now, or would soon. Serena climbed into her bedroom window, and wearily collapsed onto her bed. In moments, she was sleeping soundly. Luna watched as Sailor Moon's outfit faded into the clothes Serena had been wearing when she had transformed. The more time the girl spent in her Sailor Moon form, the more her power would grow, and the more her memory of her previous incarnation would return. She'd suprised Luna a lot this day, saying things Luna wouldn't have expected from her and being brave...even if she did cry. What other suprises did the girl hold in store? Serena saw a man with thick, wavy red brown hair, as long and silky as a woman's but with broad shoulders and an obvious strength. Then she saw Molly run up to him, and he embraced her, but his eyes held a faint tinge of red that wouldn't be banished. Then she saw the same man, looking younger and with no evil aura about him, kissing a woman with her long brown hair bound into a ponytail. Who was he? Serena woke slowly, confused and trying to escape from the dream. Before she could open her eyes she saw a flash of blue and heard many male voices echo, "Get out of the way, Mercury!" The voices faded away resoundingly as she open her eyes and blinked. She gripped the brooch tightly in her hands and cried silently. Were her dreams going to come true? She wiped at her eyes and sat up, waking Luna. She pasted a smile on her face and said brightly, "Hi, Luna! Did I wake you?" She got out of bed and changed into her uniform. She would get to school on time today, at least. Her smile faded and she turned again to Luna. "It's going to happen now, isn't it?" She turned slowly and walked briskly from her room. Luna's kitty brow furrowed, "What?" Oh, well, she thought. It's probably nothing. She forgot about it as she settled in for a cat-nap. End Part III Afterword: Hmmm. What did I use in here that needs explanation? For those few who might not know, odango-atama is what the word for meatball head is in Japanese. But it really translates to dumpling head, I think. The pegusus is from some series much later than whats been aired in America. I do not believe that it ever lets anyone ride it, all I know is that it was in the show at some point. The riding part was symbolic. Ummmm... In the manga translation I read the "Moon Tiara Magic" was called "Moon Frizbee." I took an artists license and changed it, since I hate the way "Moon Tiara Magic" sounds. Please e-mail me at alyanawhitemage@hotmail.com with any ?'s or comments. Remeber that I like to get any e-mail at all, and will always try to answer. ______________________________________________________________ Something About That Girl Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all associated characters are the exclusive property of Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Ltd., Toei Animation, Co., Ltd. The English dub is copyright 1995 DiC. Foreword: Is this getting boring? Let me know what you think at alyanawhitemage@hotmail.com Can't think of anything to say before this part. Dedication: For my boyfriend, who likes bloody anime. There is blood in it, but not much. ~Something About That Girl~ (Part IV: Ami) Serena's steps lagged with fatigue, being the champion of justice took up a lot of free time... Especially sleep- time. No naps for Sailor Moon. "Oh, come on, Serena, it was only one night. You can make up the lost sleep tonight," she said to herself. "What?" a feminine voice asked. Serena looked up guiltily. A girl was standing there, she had a placid, slightly sad expression on her face. Serena had never seen her before. Averting the subject from her own comment, she said, "You must be new here?" It was more a question than a comment. "Yes," the girl said quietly. "My name is Ami." "Well, Ami, I'm Serena and I have to get to class." With that, she scampered off, blushing at being overheard talking to herself. Ami stared after her for a few moments, shaking her head as if to clear it. "Something..." she murmered. After the last bell Serena and Molly stood in the hallway. "Have you seen the new girl, Ami?" Molly asked. "Yeah. I talked to her for a minute this morning," Serena replied lazily. "I heard that before she moved into town she went to Brighton Acadamy. You know, that school for really smart kids that's out in the country?" "Yeah, I've heard of it. Saw the campus once," Serena said shortly, frowning. 'She must be really smart. I wish I was smart... "But she probably spends all her time studying," she murmered specutively. "I bet she never has any fun," Molly agreed. "She might be stuck up, she might not talk to people that aren't as smart as she is." "Serena, do you think so?" "Well, no, not really," Serena admitted shamefacedly. "I was just thinking out loud. I'll talk to her sometime, if I think I can without being mean. I have to say that I'm kinda jelous that she's so smart. I wonder why she left Brighton?" "Dunno," Molly replied, "But its time to go home, so lets get out of here!" As Serena trudged home after walking Molly to her house, she started to get a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. The image of blue-haired Ami flicked through her head. "Ami?" she wondered aloud. Suddenly she clutched her head and fell to the sidewalk. A peircing scream tore through her skull, pounding on her brain until she wanted to scream herself. She looked around frantically for the source of the noise, scrabbling at her ears to try to shut out the sound. Luna ran over to her, "Serena, hurry up! You've got to transform, tell me you brought the brooch." "Yeah." A picture flashed through her mind, the apartment complex a couple of blocks over. She ran, panic stricken toward it. This monster wasn't pretty. It dripped a slimy gelinous goo, like mucus from all of its pores. Its sticky mouth gaped open, black inside. "Moon Prism Power Make-up!" she cried. She ran closer to the slimy thing. She then saw who it had in its grasp. "Ami!" she whispered. Running toward it she front fliped onto its back to get its attention. Using the momentum of its reflexive rearing to spring off, she landed--almost gracefully--a few meters away. "I am Sailor Moon, the champion of justice. On belhalf of the Moon, I'll punish you!" 'I kinda like that, it has a nice ring.' "I'll defend those who cannot defend themselves!" She struck a pose. "I was having a shitty day before, but now you've really ruined it." She ran over to it, yelling, "Sailor Moon kick!" Leaping out of the way of its counterstrike, she then flipped near to it and kicked it again, in the head. The monster was enraged. It attacked her with a blast of frigid air, she jumped to the side to avoid it, but tripped over Ami's books. Unable to get up in time to dodge effectively she grabbed her tiara, "Moon Tiara Discus!" The monster ducked, and she plucked the tiara out of the air as it came back, now standing again. 'Try again.' "Moon Tiara Discus!" It took the opportunity to attack her just as she was releasing the blazing tiara and knocked her off her newly regianed balance. She was knocked to the ground with the monster on top of her. It began clawing at her. Her outfit rended and tore, sticky mucus streaming onto it. She struggled madly, trying to force it off of her. Suddenly Ami was there, attempting to pull it off of her. As she did so, a blue sign appeared on her forehead. Luna saw it, "Ami, say Mercury Power Make-up! You can save Sailor Moon!" Ami's eyes went wide as she looked at the cat and her face flickered with slight memory for a moment. "Mercury Power Make-up!" A blue transformation pen, with a sign matching the one on her forehead, appeared in her hands, blue power ribbons streaming from it to form her Sailor Mercury outfit. "Mercury Bubbles!" A freezing fog formed around them all. The monster lept up, eyes casting about for the cause of it. Sailor Moon cried, "Moon Tiara Discus!" weakly, and the monster disentegrated. Serena took Ami's hand quietly. "Maybe we'll be friends after all," she murmered, then brightened, "Hey, you can help me with my school work!" Ami laughed happily. Abruptly her face sombered. A vision flashed behind her eyes of a tower made of ice that denoted some horrible fate. Then she saw a flickering ball of crystal set in gold in front of a dead planet. Her brow furrowed and she waved good-bye to Serena and went home. Luna had a strange feeling that something wasn't going the way it was supposed to. Something felt very wrong. Very wrong. She shook her head and turned to Serena. But Serena wasn't there. She went to where she'd last been standing and saw a track of blood leading away, a heavy stream of it. Luna gasped in horror and ran, tracking Serena by the trail. Serena limped weakly into a park. "Find a bench..." she muttered hoarsely. Leaning on a tree, she slowly slipped down it, vision going black. End Part IV Afterword: Okay. Serena is now dying. Ha-ha! After that little piece of information I think I'll make the few poeple who might be reading this as it's posted (or at all) wait for the next part. Remember that you have to e-mail me because I said so. alyanawhitemage@hotmail.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- --- Something About That Girl Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all associated characters are the exclusive property of Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Ltd., Toei Animation, Co., Ltd. The English dub is copyright 1995 DiC. Foreword: Yawn. My eyes hurt. I was rewrapping the lines on Parts II-IV. It took about half an hour and made my eyes sore. One positive thing came of it. I now know exactly where I want the lines to stop. Other than that... It was really a big waste of time. Dedication: My poor sore eyes. ~Something About That Girl~ (Part V: Rei) The trail of blood ended at Serena's prone body lying under a tree. Serena's breath rattled in her throat, chest hardly moving. Her abdomen and chest both were torn open and bled profusely. Luna could see the whiteness of her ribs exposed by the ragged slashes. Serena's eyes fluttered open momentarily. "That thing had claws," she choked out as she came awake. "Find help?" She passed out again. Luna was near to hysterics. She ran off blindly to find someone --anyone--to help Sailor Moon. Rei Hino sat in front of the sacred fire. She couldn't see a thing, but she just KNEW something was wrong. Her vision slowly cleared and the fire showed her a shadowy figure lying under a tree. Rei felt a strange compulsion and, hands tingling, she called, "Grandpa? I'm going to the park for a little while!" She ran off before he could reply. She walked toward the park briskly, and started to jog, her robes fly-ing out behind her, as the sense of urgency increased. Suddenly she went sprawling onto the ground. "What the?" she muttered. Hearing a disgruntled "meow" she glanced about to find a black cat glaring at her. It meowed again and nipped at her hand lightly then ran off in the direction Rei had been heading. Rei shrugged, instinctively following the strange cat. Rei actually ran past the girl, before noticing that the cat had stopped behind her. She turned around and saw the girl lying completely still under a tree. Rei gasped and kneeled beside her. "Are you okay?" she asked. "What happend to you?" As she removed the girl's mask, her eyes fluttered open for a moment, then closed again. "What beautiful eyes!" Rei exclaimed in a muted whisper. She lowered her voice further, "If the eyes are the window to the soul, then this girl has a lovely one." Rei's hands moved briskly, but gently over the girl, inspecting her wounds and noticing that she was wearing a slightly strange outfit. It was ripped all over and covered in some slimy black substance. As she watched, the mucusy matter began to bubble, and the cloth became burning hot under her hands. "Ouch!" Suddenly the substance was gone and, miraculously, the girl's clothes began to knit back together, tiny threads glowing silver as they rejoined. "But her skin isn't," she noticed. "I've got to help her before the cloth completely reknits. I can't very well rip it, obviously, and I don't have scissors. There's no way to get this thing off, either." "You have to do something quickly, before her uniform reforms completely," Luna said, "The black substance is keeping her power from regenerating her. Her uniform burned it off, but her skin can't do that." Rei started to nod, then stared suspicously at the cat. "How come you can talk?" she demanded. "Don't worry about that, that's not important right now. Help Sailor Moon!" Rei sat back. How could she move the uniform out of the way to look at the girl's--Sailor Moon's?--wounds? She couldn't very well burn it off with sacred fire! The tingling in her hands turned to a chapped sensation. Well, for lack of anything better, she thought. She lay her hands on the girl's chest, and concentrated on burning off the black slime, but only the slime... In a cloud of steam, the sludge dissapeared. "Ha!" she crowed triumphantly, not noticing the red light emitting from the symbol on her forehead. "Mars..." Luna whispered.. Suddenlly, a swirling hole of black appeared in the night sky. Out of it stepped a monster. It resembled a spider streched into a grusome human form. "I am Arachnia," it hissed, "I have come for this... Sailor Moon child. Please move away from her, mortal." Trembling a little inside, but knowing for certain that she could not allow this...thing...to get the girl, she jumped up, eyes blazing. "No, I will not move. You can eat...Well, bugs! If you think you can take her without getting past me first." she challenged. "Not that I'm overly formidable or anything..." she murmered worriedly. Something about this girl... She knew she had to protect her. Apparantly Luna had heard her doubts. "Yes, actually you are!" Before Rei's mark had a chance to even fade in brilliance Luna cried, "You are Mars!" Mars? There was something pricking at her memory... *Mars Power Make- up!* something cried inside her. "Mars Power Make-up!" Rie yelled defiantly. A transformation pen formed in her hand. The mark blazed, and streams of red light poured from the matching symbol on the pen to form rings of fire around her. Rei was now Sailor Mars. Luna cried out, "Just like the sacred fire of the preistess, you control the spirit of the fire. You are the warrior of fire, Sailor Mars." "Well, hey, I like fire!" Rei said confidently. "Burning Mandala!" The creature dodged. "Man, it's pretty fast. I've got to slow it down some. Hmmm... Can I use my priestess charms at the same time as the Mars power? It's worth a try!---I call upon the power of Mars to banish this evil creature. Mars fireballs charge!" She tossed the oufada at Arachnia, now charged with Mars firepower. The creature froze, now was her chance. "Burning Mandala!" It shrieked as it was consumed by fire. The girl had gotten up at some point in the fight and Rei turned toward her to wink. 'She's so beautiful,' Serena thought, wishing she had hair like that. "Thank you so much," she said. "No problem," she replied, "My name's Rei." "I'm Serena." They shook hands and Rei paused for a moment. Images in her head... A black-haired man, a pink-haired girl... A Queen? There was a crystal palace surrounded by a multi-colored shield... Blue, red, green and a yellow-orange. 'What?' Rei thought, 'this isn't like my other visions...' "I've got to go, " Rei said, "I live at the Cherry Hill temple. I'm a preistess-in-training there. Come to see me tomorrow." End Part IV Afterword: Till we meet again. Something About That Girl Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all associated characters are the exclusive property of Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Ltd., Toei Animation, Co., Ltd. The English dub is copyright 1995 DiC. Foreword: Ye gods, but school is boring. About the only thing it does is take up time when I could be writing. I've got two classes that I actually learn things in. Perhaps one that is useful. Anyway, here is Part VI. This one's about Rei, Ami and Serena. Lita will join soon, don't worry. This takes place a few weeks after Rei saved Serena and she is now transferring into Serena's school. Rei's already formed her infamous opinion of Serena's worth. Please mail me at alyanawhitemage@hotmail.com. I like getting e-mail, again, so I'll worship you if you tell me you like my stories. An author needs feedback of some sort, you know, to feel as if they have self-worth. Dedication: To myself, because I feel the need to have something dedicated to me. ~Something About That Girl~ (Part VI: The Midnight Black) Serena smiled happily, Rei was going to start coming to her school now. Rei had said that it would be a good idea if they were all together. Serena paused, Rei had waltzed right in and taken over... She really didn't mind, in fact, that took the pressure off of her to do things... But Rei could be really mean. She was always making fun of Serena. She hoped Rei was only kidding--she really admired Rei. Rei was beautiful and smart, and very talented. Plus, she was a preistess. Serena shook away the thoughts and skipped toward where Rei had told Ami she'd be. 'Why didn't she tell me?' Serena wondered. She shook her head again, becoming a Sailor had made her paranoid. She went to the meeting-place and sat down to wait. Rei was taking forever, and that suprised her. Rei seemed like the type who was never late and never clumsy. Suddenly the sky blackened. One moment it was a clear blue, the next a brooding dark. Serena stared at it blankly. "What the?" she asked aloud. "Serena!" It was Rei! Serena jumped up, grinning. "Hey, Rei! What took you so long? I was starting to--" "Oh, shut-up, Serena! There's a monster in the school! Get your ass in gear now! We don't have time for chatter!" Rei looked at her disgustedly. "You did bring your transformation brooch?" "Well, yeah. I--" "Serena, NOW!" "Sorry," Serena whimpered. "Moon Prism Power Make-up!" 'Wait a second, what's she yelling at me for? She's not transformed either!' Serena thought. "Mars Power Make-up!" "Mercury Power Make-up!" They ran toward the courtyard where the students sat before class. There loomed a monster of nightmarish ugliness. "Ewww!" Serena shuddered. The thing looked up at them. It's eyes narrowed and it released the student it had been mauling. Tossing the body away like it weighed nothing, it stepped toward the three scouts menacingly. Serena shook slightly. It was like something from one of her dreams, that evil aura, the blacked, pocked skin. Ami and Rei took defensive postures, waiting for the monster's first move. It didn't do anything but stand there, face hidden looming over them. "What the hell is it doing!?" Rei demanded of Ami. "How should I know?" Ami responded. "Maybe it's waiting to see what we're going to do about it--" Rei interupted, "Like it's challenging us?" "Well, something like that," Ami agreed. "So, what _should_ we do?" Rei inquired. "Wait for it to get bored and move?" Serena suggested. Rei gave her an ugly look. "That sounds promising," she said acerbically. Suddenly the thing looked up. Straight at Serena. Serena cried out. 'It's eyes,' she thought frantically, 'There's something about... It's eyes. I can't move. The eyes--they're so blue, so human. It reminds me of someone! Who? Who do I know with dark blue eyes like the ocean on a stormy day? Who?' Whimpering, she sank to the ground. Her hands were clenched into fists, nails digging into her palms and drawing blood. 'I can't move. I can't look away. I can't think clearly. I don't know ANYONE with blue eyes like that. It's eyes... I don't understand!' Tears began to stream down her face. 'I... can't--move.' Rei turned to her angrily, her dark purple eyes flashed with rage. "What are you DOING!!??" she shrieked. "You're such a wimp!" "It's eyes," Serena choked out hoarsely. "What are you talking about?!" Rei slapped her, hard, knocking her face away from the creature's eyes. Still trembling, she looked at Rei. "Why did you do that?" "Because you're useless! In case you haven't noticed, there's a monster there, and you're sitting there crying!" She jerked away with a noise of disgust. "Mars Fireball!" she cried. The creature dodged deftly. It's bulk had hidden its agility, apparantly. "Mercury ice bubbles--freeze!" Ami cried out, freezing the creature's legs. Sailor Mars ran forward, doing a tiny twirling leap to land gracefully just out of range of it's periphial vision. "Mars Firebird--strike!" she yelled confidently. A firebird formed from flames and hurtled toward the creature. It's head snapped up, blue eyes wide--and the firebird swerved. Only slightly, and it soon moved back on course, impacting with the creature in a sickening thud. But, instead of consuming it, making a smolering funeral pyre of it, the creature disapeared. "What the...? Is that supposed to happen?" Ami asked. "I--don't know, really," Rei said. "I don't know much about these powers. But, say, do you want to come over to the temple and talk about it?" Ami looked at her suspicously, "Okay..." "Serena, why don't you go home and get some rest," Rei said condescendinly. Serena lowered her head, shielding her face from Sailor Mars. "That sounds like a good idea," she said slowly, trying to conceal the tremors in her voice. Serena collapsed onto her bed. "Luna, doesn't Rei like me?" she asked the worried cat. Luna was quiet for a moment. "I'm sure she does, Serena. Why don't you ask her about it some time. You may be surprised at what she tells you." "What makes you think she'll tell me anything at all?" "You have a gift, Serena, you see the good in everyone. Rei knows that, and she'll know that if you ask, then you're really concerned. People will tell you things they wouldn't tell anyone else all your life, Serena, it's just--something about you." Luna sighed. "Ooops. See what I mean? I didn't mean to say so much... I'm going to go outside. Will you be okay?" "Yes," Serena told her, "You go on." Luna hopped off the window sill to bat open the door. Serena thought she heard, though she'd never be sure, Luna faintly say, "Artemis..." _____________________________________________________________________ That night, Rei and Ami lay in Rei's bedroom at the temple. "Ami?" Rei tried hesitently. "Yes, Rei?" Ami replied. "Did I wake you up?" Ami sighed, "No." "Good. Um... What do you think of Serena?" she asked. "What do you mean? I think she's very kind and sweet, maybe a little flakey, but very sensitive. Why?" "I was just wondering. Well, no, I meant what do you think about her as a Sailor?" "I've only seen her in action twice! But... She did save my life, Rei, I'll never forget that. She was born clumsy, she can't help tripping every once in a while. And she's not overly bright... But she's loyal and she WILL sacrafice herself to save someone, Rei." "I don't think so," Rei hedged, then exploded, "I think she's a coward and a brainless dolt! I don't think she should be a Sailor Scout at all, Luna made a mistake. And, she's the LEADER! How can such a crybaby, weasely, loudmouth be the leader! And she can't even fight! She's weak!" "Shut-up, Rei," Ami commanded softly. "I understand what you're saying, but you're wrong. Serena just doesn't want to be a scout. She wants to be normal--I'd like to be normal too. Something is making you blind to Serena's good points, Rei. You'd better take care of whatever it is so that we can all work together. We need all of our strengths combined to fight these monsters effectively. And remember, Rei, you have faults too." Rei was speechless. "Okay. Good-night!" "Goodnight. And, Rei?" "Yeah, Ami?" "I'm sorry for snapping at you." Rei laughed, "Oh, Ami!" _____________________________________________________________________ Rei woke to the sound of the grandfather clock tolling midnight. 'It's so black out there!' she thought, 'Why can't I sleep? Am I feeling guilty about Serena?' There was a queit tapping at the window. Rei jumped, then looked out to see Serena, shivering in her pajamas. She opened the widow and grabbed a blanket. Pushing it at Serena, she asked "What are you doing here so late in your underwear?" "They--aren't--underwear--they're--bunny--paj--am--as," Serena said with chattering teeth. "Whatever," Rei said, "Why are you here?" "Why don't you like me, Rei?" Rei nearly jumped out of her skin. "You came all the way over here to ask me THAT? I do like you, what are you talking about?" "No, you don't, Rei. What's the matter?" Rei shot her a penetrating glance. "I don't get along well with others," she said in a fixed manner. Serena laughed. "You sound like you're quoting your kindergarden teacher, 'does not play well with others.'" "No," Rei said bitterly, "In kindergarden my mother was alive." "Your mother is dead?" Serena gasped. "Yeah. She died when I was really young. I guess she was kinda sick and very unhappy, because she just got weaker and weaker. Finally, she couldn't get out of bed and I had to take care of her and the house since my dad was always out at political functions. He never stayed home once or helped me, and she just wasted away," Rei spat. "Oh, Rei, I'm so sorry. Is that why you live with your grandpa?" "Yeah." Serena went over to Rei and put her arms around her. "I'm so sorry, Rei. That must have been terrible." She squeezed Rei tightly. She felt moisture on her neck. Rei was crying! "Shhh-shhh," Serena crooned to her friend. "Just go ahead and cry. If I know you, this is probably the first time." Serena understood that tomorrow, outwardly, nothing would change, but here, hidden by the midnight blackness, Rei could cry. End Part VI Afterword: That is a fact about Rei's mother and father. Next to come "A Prelude to Nightfall" part VII. e-mail me at alyanawhitemage@hotmail.com with comments. Please visit my homepage at http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Field/9869/ and tell me what you think of it. Man, this one was kinda short too, wasn't it? Don't worry, the next one should make up for it in length. Something About That Girl Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all associated characters are the exclusive property of Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Ltd., Toei Animation, Co., Ltd. The English dub is copyright 1995 DiC. Foreword: Hello again all six of you that've read this story and e-mailed me. If you haven't mailed me I'm not saying hello to you because you're mean. I think the last installment went too fast and was kinda weird, how about you? Yeah! Visit my homepage at ** http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Field/9869/ ** my Sailor Moon page is almost (nearly, sort of, kinda, a little bit...) finished. More pictures and a section explaining the series... That about it. Unfortunately my Evangelion and Blue Seed sections... Aren't worth speaking of---and I'm almost out of memory!! New page, new page, new page!! Anyway, you probably want to read the story now, don't you? Oh, yeah! I'm sorry to LadyIvy9 (or something close to that) I can't get through to your e-mail account, it just keeps returning my mail! I did try three times! Dedication: To LADYIVY9 (is that how it went?!?), because the poor dear was so worried about Darien and Serena in my other story... Read the sequel, "The Day Shall Fade." ~Something About That Girl~ (Part VII: A Prelude to Nightfall) Her feet hurt. Yes...they hurt. A lot. That was about all Serena was thinking about or paying attention to as she walked to school on a Monday morning. "I hate Mondays," she muttered illnaturedly, almost snarling. Her feet hurt, her back hurt, her eyes were sore... Suddenly she crashed right into a large rock. Shaking her head, she wondered 'What's a rock doing in the middle of the sidewalk?' Slowly her eyes traveled up the long length of high school student glaring at her. "Sorry?" she tried. His friends came up to stand behind him. "Sorry isn't good enough, girlie," one of them leered. "Nope. Sure isn't..." Serena began backing away. 'As if this weren't a bad enough day already,'she thought nervously. As she retreated, they advanced until she was against a wall. "How about your lunch money or something, kid!" one yelled. A light feminine voice floated confidently from behind them, "No... I don't really think she should give you her money. I think you dear boys should apoligize to the girl here... And go away." Serena raised herself up on her toes and hopped a bit. Damn, but she hated being short. She wanted to see who was saving her from these delinquents! A very tall, leggy brunette stepped forward. "I said that you should apoligize and leave?" she repeated mildly. Serena groaned a little. Why did everyone she meet have to be so much better looking than she was? Ami was adorable, Rei was gorgeous and this girl was casually lovely without thought. Then she snapped out of it, 'Why am I even thinking about this right now?!' she demanded herself. "Why do you care, anyway?" one of the boys asked the stranger, "Are you guys gay or something?" "Yeah, they probably are! But I think the little girl was challenging us, wouldn't you say?" "Yah... That was definitely a threat," the others agreed. "You know such an advanced word as 'threat?'" the girl asked them. Then she settled into a relaxed defense position. "Who's first?" They all rushed her at once, but with a few quick movements the girl deposited them all right on their asses. "C'mon!" the girl hailed Serena. "Wait!" Serena saw the girl turn and grabbed her things quickly, "Wait! What's your name?!" "Lita," the brunette said over her shoulder. "Lita..." _____________________________________________________________________ Gratefully sinking down on a bench at school, Serena listened idely to the conversations going on around her. "And so then...!" "Then what?" "Then... You'll never guess!" "Just tell me!" "Yeah, so who won the game?" "Falcons, I think... You know I don't pay much attention to that!" "Yeah, right. But your dad does! What was the score?" "Jeez! Leave me alone! How should I know?!" "Did not!" "Yeah!" "No way!" "Uh-huh!" "You're kidding!" "Nope!" "Can you believe how many new girls are transferring into our school?" Serena perked up. "Yeah... First that genius girl... Ami?" "Then that really hot chick from the temple, Rei Hino." "Now there are two more. One's from London, the other got kicked out of Limily for fighting." 'Fighting? I wonder if that could be Lita? Nah, too much of a coincidence,' she thought. The boys Serena had been listening to paused. "Who's that!?!" one asked. "That's the one from London," another replied smugly. "Wow! She's gorgeous!" "Hell, yes, she is." "Uh-huh!" they all agreed. Serena looked up to see a beautiful blonde girl stride past. 'Not fair!' she complained inwardly. _____________________________________________________________________ As the bell rang for lunch Serena was dragged out into the courtyard by an overwhelmingly curious Molly and several other friends. "Do you know anything about those new girls? We've been getting so many new students lately!" Molly asked urgently. Serena was confused. "Why would I?" One of the other girls flung her hand toward the school, "You seem to know about things there quicker than the rest of us!" "Yeah, Serena... DO you know anything?" asked Ami. Rei came up behind her, scowling, "Shoulda known I'd find you gossiping." Leaning close to her ear, she added, "I'm feeling a strange energy here." "Like what?" Serena whispered back, "Like those other monsters?" Rei shook her head slightly, "Get away from these ravanous beasts here and we'll all talk about it..." She and Ami waved and left, saying that they had some studying to do. "Jeez, Serena, you were right about that girl Ami. She studies all the time! I don't know how you found the time to be friends with her... Or rather, how you caught her in a moment when her head wasn't in a book!" a girl said. "She's not THAT bad," Serena asserted. "Yeah, but you could make friends with a dead toad, Serena. Don't be so modest!" Molly laughed. "Maybe." Serena smiled brightly and giggled. "But, speaking of spending all your time reading, I've got to go get a book from Ms. Haruna. She absolutely insists that I read it for extra credit." "Oh, you're no fun, Serena!" "You're abandoning us for a book!?" "Hey, guys, lets leave her to her books? Have you heard about that remake of 'Godzilla?' I heard that it was even worse than our old films here!" "Well, everyone knows that Americans can never capture the true spirit of a Japanese monster movie!" "Not that there's much spirit to capture..." the words faded off as the girls walked away. Serena breathed a sigh half of relief and half of disapointment. It was really too bad that she couldn't have stayed and talked to Molly and her old friends... She really missed them. "Hey! But, the scouts await!" she said brightly. "Did you say something?" a slightly familiar voice asked. 'Not again!' Serena thought, 'I've really gotta stop thinking out loud!' She turned to see Lita leaning on a tree holding a bulging lunch bag. "Not really... I was just--uh--thinking out loud," she said. "What was your name again?" the girl asked her. "Serena." "Yeah, Serena. Well, see ya later, Serena." Lita walked off to a bench some distance off. Then Umino popped up from behind the tree, adjusting his glasses. "You were actually TALKING to her!?" "Yeah, so?" "Well, Serena, I don't know if you've heard, but that girl got kicked out of her old school for fighting. She goes around LOOKING for fights, Serena. I'd stay out of her way if I were you. No one's going near her!" "Well, it's lucky for me that you're not me, then, isn't it? If you were, I might have to be you--and then where would I be looking like you?" Serena retorted. She bounced over to where Lita sat alone. "So, Lita, what are you eating for lunch?" Lita looked up at her and sighed. "I'd made a whole huge lunch for myself, but now I'm not very hungry. Everyone's been so mean to me today, no one'll talk to me." "I'm sorry," Serena said. "Oooh, is that a piece of cherry pie?" "Yeah. Do you want some?" Lita asked, holding out the little plate. "Well, if you're sure..." "I told you I wasn't hungry didn't I?" Lita replied. "Okay!" Serena took a bite of everything in the tray. "Wow! This is really good! Where did you get it?" "I made it," Lita preened a little. "I'm glad you like it." "I do! But, I've got to go meet Ami and Rei... Would you like to come over to my house after school?" Lita blushed a little. "I... Well, why?" "So you can make me dinner, of course! No, I just want to talk to you and I feel kinda bad for eating that and then running off. Do you want to come or not?" "Well, sure!" _____________________________________________________________________ "What took you so long?" Rei asked. "I stopped to talk to that new girl, Lita. She's very nice. And she's a really good cook... I invited her over--" "That's nice, Serena. Can we have a SERIOUS discussion now?" Serena stuck her tongue out at Rei. "So, Rei, what is it about the energy you're feeling that's so important? You're being so secrative. Just come on and tell us," Ami said. Rei looked around suspicously. "This is just really weird, guys. I'm not sure how to explain it. It's kinda like before a storm, when the air is all heavy. It's not evil, it's not good, it... It's potential." Serena's eyebrows drew together, "Potential? Potential for what?" "I'm not sure..." Rei jumped as the bell rang. "Time for class, Serena!" Ami said cheerfully. As Rei and Ami left, Serena's hands clenched nervously. "The calm before the storm," she murmered. _____________________________________________________________________ Somehow she'd managed to become late getting to class after lunch. She wasn't sure how... She'd only waited for a minute after Rei and Ami had gone. How long did they have to get to class after a bell? Ooooh, she hoped Ms. Haruna wouldn't give her another--- CRASH!!! "Ooof!" Serena grunted. "Ow!" an equally pained voice exclaimed. The two blondes looked at each other and began to laugh. "I'm so sorry!" said Serena. "It's okay. I wasn't watching out where I was going. It's really my fault," the blonde girl replied. Serena gazed at the girl. "I really love your hair. It's so long. My hair looks really horrible when I take it down." The girl looked surprised. "Thanks!" She held out her hand. "My name's Mina." "I'm Serena. Are you the new girl from England?" "How'd you know?" "Oh, I heard somebody say something about a new blonde from London... How has your day been?" "Well... It's been all right, I guess. No one's talked to me, really. I guess I did something, but I'm not sure what." "No, of course you didn't. It just takes kids here a while to get used to new people. Lita--Hey! I'm having another girl over today that's also new here. Do you want to come too?" "I--I guess so," Mina said cautiously. "Great! I just know you'll like Lita. We'll go out for ice cream!" Mina offered her a hand up, smiling. "Sure we will!" As she took Serena's hand, she froze. Ice. Darkness. Cold. LIGHT!!! Too much light, it was blinding her. *Something is wrong.* 'Why can't I transform?' *What's going on?* 'Something bad is about to happen...' *It's so dark here, Mina.* 'Who's talking to me?' 'Why can't I see?' *The rose...* 'Why isn't there any sound?' *The crystal...* 'I can't see!!' *You're the princess, you're the princess, you're the princess, you're the princess, you're the princess, you're the princess, you're the princess, you're the princess, you're the princess, you're the princess, you're the princess, you're the princess, you're the princess you're the princess, you're the princess...* 'I'm NOT!!' Mina shook herself as she pulled on Serena's arm. 'What the HELL was that?!' she thought. *There's something wrong...* something whispered. "I've got to get to class, Serena. Okay?" Mina walked off dazedly. "That's strange," said Serena. "What happened to her? Must've been my imagination--but I thought she was acting weird." Serena then realized that she was REALLY late getting back to class-- and ran. _____________________________________________________________________ The three girls sat in Serena's living room, looking through a magazine and giggling, with a Sailor V cartoon playing in the background. Mina pointed to a tall musclebound weight lifter in an advertisement. "He's cute!" she cried. Lita made a face, sticking out her tongue. "Ewww. No, I HATE big guys, I think skinnier guys are cute! Mina noticed that Serena had gotten quiet. "What about you?" Wordlessly, Serena pointed to a tall, slender man posing for a T-shirt ad. He had slightly longish black hair and blue eyes. "Him?" Lita asked. "Well, I guess so... Yeah, he's pretty hot." Serena's head flew up, eyes wide, and she gasped. "No! No--no! I know him, that's all... I was really surprised to see him in a magazine is all..." "Well," Mina said, looking at the cover to check the date. "This one's pretty old. He probably quit. Modeling's hard work, you know? I'd give anything to be one, though! Ah, to be a superstar--I'd love it!" "Where did you meet him?" Lita asked. "Oh. I was sitting on a bench outside that University on Tharpe, and he went there. We talked for a second is all. He had a horrible personality. He was soooo rude!" The girls promptly forgot Darien and went back to flipping through the magazine. Mina looked up suddenly, a mischivious look on her face. "Hey, Serena, didn't you say we could get ice cream?" "Yeah!" Lita chimed in. "Well, yeah. Do you want to go now?" "Maybe... If you pay!" Mina said. "Hey, wait! I never said I'd treat you!" "She was just kidding, Serena! Let's go now!" Lita said. "Okay!" The girls walked the four blocks to the nearby ice cream parlor. Lita ordered vanilla, Mina ordered strawberry, while Serena dawdled. "C'mon, Serena, hurry!" Lita urged. "Well, I really like chocolate. But, I think I'll get mint." Mina looked at her, "You're weird." Serena stuck her tongue out at her. The managment was shooting them dirty looks by the time they left. Three girls took a while to eat ice cream cones through all their laughter. Lita open the door and looked back to say something to Serena. Mina had gone out ahead. Suddenly glass shards were flying around the two. Lita jumped over Serena, knocking her to the ground. One sliver hit the cashier in his arm, and he promptly passed out from shock. The two girls looked up nervously. In the center of the shop, convulsing and slobbering was a huge green thing. Its eyes glowed yellow as it looked at the two. "Death energy," it rasped. "Death energy?" Serena quivered. "What in the hell!?" Lita yelled. Running over to it, the tall brunette attempted to flip it. The thing held out its hand, and the air rippled, sending Lita flying back. Serena looked at the moaning girl. "Moon Prism Power!" 'Oh, I hope Rei and Ami get here soon! Please, Luna, someone... I don't think I can do this alone! I'm not good enough!' she thought frantically. Like a miricle, the cat and Sailors Mercury and Mars burst through the broken window. "I am Sailor Mars! On behalf of fire and the planet Mars, I'll vanquish you!" "I am Sailor Mercury! For Mercury and water, I'll defeat you!" The sight of these two gave Serena a leap of confidence. Hearing chimes in her head, she struck a pose. " _I_ am Sailor Moon, defender of love and justice. On behalf of the Moon, I'll punish you!" The thing snarled, sending drool flying onto nearby tabletops. "Ewww," Serena shrieked. Rei looked at her impatiently. "Did you expect table manners?" she inquired sweetly. "Hush, Rei," Ami mediated. Lita stirred and got up. "Who are you?" she asked upon seeing the three scouts. She looked at Sailor Moon with disbelief. "SERENA!?" Luna looked at the sitting girl through narrowed eyes. 'No one should be able to recognize the scouts. Those uniforms are supposed to blur them, make the person see what they expect to see. Why would she expect Serena?' the cat thought. As the three girls stared at Lita in shock, the monster lept behind them silently. It made a gesture to grab Sailor Moon, and Lita jumped up, eyes blazing. "No way!" she cried, leaping at the sludge. Her foot connected, and her forehead blazed green light. "Ah-hah!" Luna exclaimed. "Lita! Take this!" She tossed the girl a green pen with a symbol matching the one that now adorned her head. "Say, 'Jupiter Power!'" "I know," Lita whispered. Flashing through her head were clouds, trees, flowers... There was a beautiful woman in a white dress, and--something silver was shining. She saw two girls with crescents on their foreheads, and a whirling darkness.... Alone? Lita shook her head in determination. "Jupiter Power!" she shouted. Energy like lightning bolts streamed from the wand. Lita rose into the air, spinning. The energy formed a sign around her, and a green uniform with pink bows formed on her ephemeral body. "Ha!" she trumpeted. "I am Sailor Jupiter of the planet Jupiter. In the name of nature, I'll char you to dust!" _____________________________________________________________________ "Artemis!" Mina cried. "Artemis?! Is it time? They're in there, all of them! I have to help them!" Not waiting for the cat to answer, she cried, "Venus Power!" Out of her orange pen streamed yellow streaks of light. They formed a womb of stars about the nearly formless girl, then blazed as she spiriled out as Sailor Venus. In this form, she wasn't "Sailor Venus" but Sailor V, wearing a slightly different outfit and a mask. A golden crescent moon adorned her white choker. She flew through the shattered window crying, "Sailor V!" The other girls looked up. "With the power of light and the protection of the planet of love, I am Sailor V!" Mina cried. Serena eyed her hero appraisingly. "Mina," she said confidently. Sailor V smiled at her. Lita looked at her and smiled too. "Lets do it, Sailor V," she said. The two girls faced the monster. "Jupiter Flower Hurricane!" Rose petals swirled about the monster, tearing gashes into its hide and sucking its energy. "Venus Crescent Boomerang!" Mina called. The beam of light struck the blinded, struggling creature and destroyed it. Abruptly Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Sailor Moon began to glow softly with colored light. Artemis wandered in as Sailor V recipricated the glow. "Hmmm," he said. "It's a bit too early." "Who is she?" Luna asked. "The Moon Princess. Watch." The two-peice blue and red Sailor V outfit became the bodysuit of the other scouts, turning orange, blue and yellow. In the place of a tiara formed a golden crescent moon. "Mina, Lita!" Serena cried. "I'm so glad you're scouts too!" Lita grinned and Mina smiled, "We're glad too," they said together. "Humph," Rei grunted. Then she too grinned, "You did a good job on that monster!" Ami smiled also, and sighed. "This is probably just going to make Serena and Rei fight more... But I'm glad too," she told the new scouts. End Part VII Afterword: Dum-di-dah-dah... I hope LadyIvy read this, 'cause if she didn't, then she's gonna be mad at me and never read my stories again. For those of you who might not know, in the manga (which I consider the original Sailor Moon, as it was drawn and written solely by the creator) Mina is actually thought to be the Moon Princess. You'll find out later what went wrong... But I'm not gonna tell you so you can suffer, wondering "Why? Why?" Anyways. Tell me what you think, alyanawhitemage@hotmail.com Visit my homepage at http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Field/9869/ Part 8 "A Chance Encounter" to come soon!" Something About That Girl Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all associated characters are the exclusive property of Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Ltd., Toei Animation, Co., Ltd. The English dub is copyright 1995 DiC. Foreword: You know, this probably isn't a good idea. I've just had the worst day of my life (really!) and now I'm writing a mushy love story. Hmmmmm, lets see if it works out, eh? ~Something About That Girl~ (Part VIII: A Chance Encounter) Her feet felt heavy as she lifted them slowly, placing on in front of the other very carefully. Fighting those monsters combined with lack of sleep was making it very easy for Serena's mind to wander. Ms. Haruna had been yelling at her more than usual lately. She sighed, thinking that even so, for some strange reason, Ms. Haruna didn't seem to be too hot on the topic of detention. Not once in the past month had she been in detention. She was starting to miss it. 'Well, maybe,'she thought doubtfully. She noticed that her feet had stopped moving and glanced up at a huge Sailor V game poster up in the window of the Arcade. Tears prickled her eyes tentatively. 'I used to love playing Sailor V... What's happened to me?' Suddenly she felt a great determination well up inside her. "I'm going to go inside and sit there for at least an hour. I absolutely refuse to do homework or anything responsible for the next hour!" she resolved. With that the door to the game center was open, jangling loudly. Serena quavered a bit. "I think I could have opened the door a bit softer..." she murmered with a smudge of humilitiation in her tone. She dropped her head a little, surveying the room at an angle. Suddenly she met a pair of blue eyes that seemed slightly familiar. It seemed strange to her that nothing had registered but the eyes, but now she could see--slightly mussed black hair. "Hey! It's odango-atama!" he called. 'Ooops! Geez, Darien, just announce to the world that you've thought about her! For that matter, that you REMEMBER her!' "Ummm. Hi!" Serena said cheerfully. She twiched slightly, as if she were going to move toward a video game, and paused. "Wait a second! Odango-atama?!?! What do you mean 'dumpling-head'?!" His arm jerked on the controller. "Nothing... It just seems to fit, is all," he said coolly. "Grrrr," Serena vibrated her throat softly. She turned to leave the arcade--but then she remembered her resolution to do nothing for the afternoon and decided to stay. 'He wants to duke it out, does he?' she thought, 'Well, we'll see...' She strode over to him confidently. "What was your name again, dear? David? Donald? Dick?" she inquired sweetly. He glared at her for a moment and then laughed. "You're cute, Usagi-chan. Sit here for a while?" he offered. He was playing the Sailor V game, she noticed. She'd wanted to play it, or some other game... But he seemed nice--sort of. Unable to give up her enmity so quickly, she didn't resist the urge for one last subtle dig. "Ooooh, well. I suppose." She glanced about her uninterestedly. "I don't see anyone else here that looks more interesting... I guess, _Darien_, that I'll have to talk to you." "Right, meatball-head!" he returned. Serena just sighed. Darien was fairly good at the game, she noticed. Better than she was in fact. He got a "Game Over" and looked up to see her staring wistfully at the game. "Want to play?" he asked her. "What?" She jumped. "Oh. No, that's okay. You were here first." "I just died anyway, and I don't want to spend anymore of my hard-earned quarters," he joked. "Play!" Serena smiled brightly. "Okay!!" She moved over to the stool he had just vacated. 'It's warm...' she thought, 'but it's not uncomfortable like warm seats usually are, it feels nice...' She shook herself. 'Play,' she commanded to her wandering mind. She cleared the first level with amazing speed, and the second, and the third, and the fourth, and the fifth, and the sixth, and the seventh-- and the EIGHTH! 'I've gotten better? How is that possible? I should be rusty!' Nine. Ten. "How many levels are there?" she wondered aloud. Darien was staring at her in disbelief. He saw Andrew and gestured for him to come over to where they sat. "I thought you said she was bad at this!" he said to Andrew. Andrew looked at the level and Serena's score. "Wow, Serena! That's REALLY good! You've gotten a lot better at the Sailor V game since you were here last! Where've you been playing it?" "I haven't--uh...--been--gotcha!--playing it anywhere else," she told him. Andrew smiled at the petite blonde girl, who didn't notice, so intent was she on her game. "Well, anyway, you're getting really good at it." He left to clean up a puddle of soda some kid had spilled. "Nineteen. Twenty! Twenty-one! Twenty-two! Twenty-five!? This is so great!" Serena exclaimed happily. Darien couldn't help but feel excited for the girl... He had a sort of secret fondness for video games, but he thought that most men did. She was so obviously basking in the glow of winning it. He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder. An electric shock sliced through her entire body from that one point of contact. 'Warm...' she thought. Her mind fazed out, her sight going dim. She concentrated on that single spot of warmth. Her hand knocked the controller. He was felt a kind of static charge go through his body when he touched her. His hand felt very warm. 'What's going on here?' The feeling became familiar. 'That's obscene! She's probably not even fourteen yet!' he thought furiously. She looked up at him, her eyes wide. "What?" "What do you mean 'what'? Nothing! Are you stupid or just dense?" he snapped. "I'm-- Wha..." she trailed off. Darien could have kicked himself. 'What's the matter with me? It's not her fault!' "I'm sorry," he murmered, "I shouldn't have said that." "Hey! Good job!" someone yelled nearby. Their gazes swung in sinc to the video game whose screen was adorned with stars, hearts, and the word, "Win!" over and over. "What the?" Serena muttered. Darien shook himself slightly. "That's really cool, Serena! I'm really sorry I said that. Do you want to let me treat you to icecream or something to make it up to you?" Never one to pass up an offer of food, Serena wholeheartedly agreed. The two sat eating icecream in the store, studiously not looking at each other. "Nice, um, decor they have in here, eh?" Darien commented. Serena would have laughed at the hilarity of the tension between them had she not been so nervous. As it was... "Ummm, yeah. I really like the, uh, colors of the wallpaper." Darien smiled at her. It hit her with tangible force. 'He is kinda cute...' she admitted to herself silently. 'Still, he's not all that nice. Except that he's taken me out for icecream. And he apoligized for insulting me.' She had to find something wrong with him or else she might start to like him! 'Ha!' she thought triumphantly, 'He calls me meatball-head!' Her face assumed a smug expression as she looked at him. "What?" he asked. Then his eyes focused on something behind her. "It can't be... Not in the daylight!" "What can't be in the daylight?" Serena asked. "Duck!" he yelled and rushed her to the floor, rolling them under the table. The now-familiar distinctive sound of breaking glass sounded above her. Fragments showered down around the table and a pair of muscular purple legs landed next to where they sheltered. Serena squeezed her eyes shut. 'Not here! Not now... What IS that thing this time?' Suddenly she became aware of Darien's weight pressing into her and the heat of his body radiating into hers. 'Warm...' She stifled a groan. 'Why am I THINKING about this NOW?' she complained to herself. The legs moved away from them, and Darien held her more tightly to his chest and rolled them from under the table on the opposite side. "Get out of here!" he told her. "But--" "Now!" So she ran. She heard him come out behind her and hoped that he would go in a different direction... He did. Going around behind the shop, she thrust her hand out. "Moon Prism Power Make-up!" she called softly. She felt herself become still and she felt like she was floating above the ground... But somehow ground didn't exist--and neither did time, at least for the moment. Even after so many times of this transformation she couldn't get over the liquid pleasure the power running over and through her seemed to create. It was exhilarating, thrilling, light filling her body... Light like moon beams. Power running over her in ribbons... Like the touch of a-- She dropped back down to the ground, and started running back to the front of the store. This monster looked like some child's toy that had been chewed up, swallowed, and regurgitated by the family dog. She took a fighting posture in the now-obsolete doorway. Familiar words, like old friends, filled her mind. "I am Sailor Moon, the champion of justice! In the name of the Moon, I will punish you!" She heard footsteps behind her. She looked back to see the others sprinting toward her. "How'd you find me?" "Dunno," Mars said, "You doing okay all alone, dimwit?" "Sailor Maaaars!?" Sailor Moon complained. "Hush, you two. I've got to analyze this monster so we can find out what we're up against here. Luna and Artemis won't tell me a thing!" Ami said a tad bitterly. The other four girls crouched beside Sailor Moon. "I am Sailor Mars! With my high heels I will punish you!" "I am Sailor Mercury! On behalf of the planet Mercury, I'll punish you!" "I am Sailor Jupiter! On behalf of Jupiter, I'll blast you!" "I am Sailor Venus, formerly known as Sailor V and I'll punish you!" The lump laughed, a horrible grating sound. "Nice... Little girls... You are here too?" it rasped dryly. Venus's brow furrowed. 'Here too?' she thought. Darien felt a stabbing pain just after he seperated from Serena. "Not again? What is this?" He materialized a rose in his hand and threw it over his head. In an instant he had taken the form of Tuxedo Kamen, a form he had only discovered he could have a few months ago. He had to protect--who? He ran back to the parlor, to finally get there before it was over for the first time. He saw five teenage girls clothed in psuedo-sailor costumes with dangerously short skirts. His eyes were drawn to the blonde one with her hair done up in two identical buns on the sides of her head. "It can't be!" he whispered urgently. The girls all lifted their hands to the masks upon their faces. With perfectly timed flicks of the wrists they tossed them into the air. "We are the Sailor Soldiers and we will defeat you!" they proclaimed in one voice. "Sailor Venus!" "Sailor Jupiter!" "Sailor Mars!" "Sailor Mercury!" Four of them stepped forward. "Sailor Moon!" SHE lept at the monster with the other four soldiers beside her. "Venus Crescent Boomerang!" "Jupiter Flower Hurricane!" "Burning Mandala!" "Mercury Bubbles!" The bubbles swirled around the room, turning it misty and rendering visibility near zero. The flowers swirled around the beast, keeping it penned as a crescent of light and fire hit it. "Moon Tiara Discus!" he heard a somehow familiar voice cry. With his mask on he could see through the fog the bubbles had created. The creature was one moment firmly defeated and the next it was flying toward the "Sailor Moon" with its claws streched out. He was siezed by a strange compulsion. 'I can't let anyone hurt her!' he thought frantically. His legs bunched and he propelled himself toward the frozen, defenseless girl. Somehow he reached her before the monster did, grasped her waist and arm and managed to knock her aside. "Ooof!" he grunted. "What the?" Blue eyes squinted up at him. The girl's face was again shadowed by a miraculously reformed mask. "Who-- Who are you?" "Tuxedo Mask," he replied grimly. He got up and gripped the baton in his hands firmly. He ran to the frusterated monster and pinned it to the wall, baton through its chest, before it could blink in his direction. "Tuxedo Kamen," he repeated. "I've come to get the Mystical Silver Crystal." As he said it he knew the words were true. "The Mystical Silver Crystal..." He heaved his body into the air and hurried away. "Who the hell was that?" Sailor Jupiter demanded. "I don't know..." Sailor Venus said. "He's never appeared before, or I would have heard of it." "Well, we have to find out. This is another variable in a damn confusing situation. And what's the Mystical Silver Crystal anyway?" Ami demanded. "If I knew what was going on we might be able to form a plan. But every time I ask Luna, she puts me off or says she can't remember. Remember what?" She frowned. Sailor Mars walked over to Sailor Moon. "You okay?" she asked. "Yeah, I'm fine." "Really? Well, then next time look out for the monster when you try to throw that stupid tiara of yours!" "Mars! Shut-up! I got enough insults today from Darien!" 'Darien!' she thought, 'Tuxedo Kamen looked just like Darien! No, he wouldn't be, that doesn't make sense...' "Who's Darien?" Lita asked slyly. "Yeah!" Mina chimed in. "Why don't you tell us a little about this Darien? I'm sure Ami would love to hear about that if she can't hear about these monsters!" Rei said casually. "Why not?" Ami grinned. End Part VIII Afterword: Okay. Kamen means mask--I'm sure most of you know that already. The "high-heels" thing is a joke--sort of. I think she actually says that in the manga once...I can't really remember. As for the attacks, I think I've said this before (can't remember that either--I'm just like Luna!), I use some attacks from the manga, and use my poetic liscense with them also. Discus sounds so much better... don't forget to visit my homepage at http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Field/9869/ and e-mail me at alyanawhitemage@hotmail.com if I've confused you with anything. 2/18/99 Something About That Girl Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all associated characters are the exclusive property of Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Ltd., Toei Animation, Co., Ltd. The English dub is copyright 1995 DiC. Foreword: Ewww! I'm in for the long haul now! Things are starting to heat up for the scouts--and I've got school! Here ya' are... Part IX is here. This part also introduces something of vital importance later that will probably never be spoken of again until that time. Try and guess what. Remember to visit my homepage at http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Field/9869/ and e-mail me at alyanawhitemage@hotmail.com! ~Something About That Girl~ (Part IX: The Clouds Begin to Clear) Sailor Jupiter became a blur of green cloth and crackling electricity as she lept nimbly toward the silver-skinned monster. "Supreme Thunder!" she called, aiming the bolt at the creature, who dodged gracefully. "Shit!" she spat. "Mars Fireball!" Sailor Mars cried, missing by mere inches. "Grrrrr!" Sailor Venus growled in frusteration. "This one is very quick," Mercury commented. Sailor Mars rolled her eyes. "We see that, Mercury. Any ideas from that brain of yours?" Sailor Mercury did not deign to stick her tongue out--but she wanted to. Instead she ignored Mars's comment and yelled, "Mercury Ice Bubbles!" The creature dodged that too. Sailor Venus just sighed. "What else can we try?" "We have to wait for it to be weakened before we can use my attack," Sailor Moon put in doubtfully. "I don't think I can do it alone... Just by myself. It doesn't seem like I'm as strong as you all are. I don't have the powers you do..." Sailor Mercury laughed, "Don't think of it that way Serena." Sailor Venus agreed, "Yeah... Your attacks are more likely to kill that thing--if we can hit it, that is." "I wanna know why it's just staring at us!" Sailor Mars exclaimed in agitation. "We're standing here having a dandy conversation and it's not making a move!" Sailor Jupiter jerked away from a grey bolt of energy. "Not anymore!" "Lets try circling it..." Sailor Mercury suggested. The five girls cartwheel, flipped--or ran, in Serena's case, to surround the monster. Sailor Moon held her ground as the other scouts powered up their attacks. The monster took that moment to attack her. Its hands elongated into thin razor sharp blades and it made a hideous grinding sound in its throat. "Now... Now you die," it told her as it covered the short distance between them. A streak of red flew past, hitting the creature and Sailor Moon heard a loud gong. She gasped a little, her breath catching in her throat. She felt a strange excitement rising in herself. A slightly familiar male voice proclaimed, "I am Tuxedo Mask! Give me the Mystical Silver Crystal, monster, if you know where it is!" "Mystical Silver Crystal? Why won't Luna..." one of the scouts murmered. Sailor Moon wasn't listening to them, however, her eyes were rivited on a long slender male body encased in a black tuxedo. "Why a tuxedo?" she wondered aloud. His eyes swung toward her and her breath began to rasp slightly as her heart sped up, becoming audible in her ears. He lept down and took her face gently in his hand, leaning close. "You are Sailor Moon?" he whispered softly. "Y--yes! Hai!" she stammered. His face was so close, it dominated her vision. Her hands itched to brush away the stray lock of deep black hair that fell from underneath his hat. "Your eyes are so blue," he murmered to her. "Do you know where the Mystical Silver Crystal is?" "I don't even know what it is," she told him in a soft voice, giving in to the urge and gently she smoothed his hair back from his face. He flinched and jerked away. "Who are you, Sailor Moon? Who are you really?" he asked. Then he turned his back on her and lept again to the top of a nearby building, becoming nothing more than a streak of black in the distance. Sailor Mars noticed that again the monster stood there and did nothing. "Maybe... Maybe it has to rest after moving so quickly? Mercury--use your freeze!" Sailor Mercury's head jerked up and she called, "Mercury Ice Bubbles!" The creature didn't even twich as it was turned into a solid lump of ice. The other scouts smiled brightly. "Mars Fireball!" "Venus Crescent Boomerang!" "Supreme Thunder!" "Moon Tiara Discus!" they all called at once, Serena a little dazedly. There wasn't even a scream as the thing was ripped to shreds of silver flesh. The five scouts watched solemnly, thinking about the mysterious Mystical Silver Crystal. "I feel a storm coming..." Lita said. Her face grew tense. "I can feel the electricity in the air--but this isn't normal, scouts." "Let's go to your house and talk about it," Ami told Serena. "Yes, we need to talk to Luna," Rei agreed. Lita and Mina only nodded. _____________________________________________________________________ ____ "Luna, please tell us what's going on here! We've got monsters in Tokyo that are KILLING people and draining their energy, a weird guy in a tuxedo talking about the Mystical Silver Crystal, and--well, isn't that enough?" Ami said with a slight edge in her voice. "I'm sorry girls... I really don't remember much. We, we are to find the Princess and unlock the power of the crystal. The Enemy... I can't remember." "Great!" Lita threw herself onto Serena's bed. Mina frowned. "Will Artemis know?" "Well, no, not if I don't," Luna said. Rei's hand balled into a fist. "What's going on here! I've got a life, you know... There are things that are very important to me that I'm missing out on because I'm fighting for some cause--and I don't even know what the damn cause is!" "We're all giving things up, Rei!" Mina shouted, finally coming out of the quiet shell she'd built around herself. "I've been doing this for years, so don't complain to me about losing things!" "Hey, girls, I know you're all tired--and I'm sure this must be frusterating, but, but... Well, try to calm down! I'm sure I'll start to remember something!" Luna cut in. "Yeah, Rei, Mina, settle down a bit... It'll be okay," Lita said in a defeated voice. "God, I HATE this!" She punched Serena's bed. Serena looked up at them with wide eyes and shook her head slightly. "Hey, guys, I've got a headache really bad. I really want to take a nap or something... Can't we talk about this later?" Rei glared at her, "What's the matter, are the meatballs in your head bruising your skull?" Then she softened a bit. "All right, Serena... Let's leave her alone, right?" Ami didn't say a word, her brow was creased with worry and confusion. But the other two stood up and grabbed their assorted things, pausing to kiss Serena on the forehead as they left. "Ami?" Serena said tentatively. "What?" Ami looked up, startled. "Hmmmm?" "Are you going to go, too?" Ami looked around to find the others gone. "Oh! I'm sorry..." She picked up her school bag, left there before the fight, and moved to the door. Then she paused. "Can you keep a secret?" she asked Serena. "That's something I never expected to hear out of you! Of course I can, Ami, and I will." Ami took a deep breath and exhaled very slowly. "I'm worried. I'm really worried. You, Rei, Lita, and Mina are my only friends--I've always been too busy studying to have friends... And I think there's more to this than even Luna can say. I don't want anything to happen to you!!" Ami's voice rose, "And I can't help you if I don't know anything! The only thing I'm good for is thinking! --And right now...I can't think! Something's getting in my way..." Serena jumped up and hugged the girl. "It's okay, Ami, and don't say that about yourself. You know as well as I do that you're an important part of our team--no matter what." Ami raised her head and smiled weakly. "Thanks Serena... I'm just so... Well, 'bye!" Before Ami could step over the threshold, Serena laid a firm hand on her shoulder. "Ami?" she said, "I love you too." Ami didn't turn around, but nodded, and continued out of the door, which Serena closed firmly behind her. "What's going on here, Luna?! If you know anything..." she growled dangerously, "You'd better tell me now!" "There's nothing! Really, Serena, I can't remember any more than you can..." "What d'ya' mean any more than I can? Luna..." Serena sagged a little,dropping to the floor to hide her head in her arms. "Luna, I can't stand this. I don't know why, other than that we're all scouts, but I feel so close to all of them--even though we've only known each other for a month at the most! Luna, what are we doing this for? Why are we fighting--and why us?" Luna made a little scoffing noise in her kitty throat. "You're doing it because it's your destiny. You can't dispute destiny, you know!" "I'm just so confused..." "Well, Serena, there is this much. I didn't want to tell you this, since even she doesn't know it yet... But that mark on Sailor Venus's forehead--that's the mark of our Princess. Sailor Venus is the Princess and you HAVE to protect her with your life! She hold the key to defeat the Enemy... And it is your duty to always protect her." "That mark?" Serena whispered, "I knew, I KNEW there was something about that mark... It seemed so familiar somehow." "It did?" Luna asked incredulously. "Well, if you're remembering that, then our Princess shall awaken within Sailor Venus very soon, and then we will know of the Enemy's true nature." _____________________________________________________________________ _______ "Darien? Darien Shields? Mamoru... Chiba Mamoru...?" There was a beautiful girl in front of him. Her long wavy blonde hair streamed about her delicate face, blue eyes looked at him beseechingly. A crescent moon symbol adorned her forehead and she lifted her hand out to him in supplecation. "Help me? Help me be free End--" Darien sat up, gasping. "What the? Who is she?" His body was soaked with sweat and he eyed the clock distastefully. He slowly reached his hand into a small box he kept beside his bed, taking out a glittering stone. "Oh, mother, father... Why do I have these dreams?" One of the few things he remembered about his childhood were nightmares, his mother and father presenting him with this stone. He couldn't remember her name, her face or the sound of her voice, only, "If you hold this stone tightly in your hand, it will make the dreams go away..." she'd told him. "It's your special 'Dreaming Stone,' son!" his father had said. He thought... They had told him that, right? _____________________________________________________________________ 4:00 pm Outside Crossroads Junior High Rei's head jerked up at the sound of a scream somewhere nearby. 'Another monster?' she thought. Glancing around the crowded courtyard, she saw three familiar heads of hair coming toward her. "Ami, Lita, Serena! There's something over there!" she pointed. The heads swiveled to follow her pointing finger and Serena's face turned a white visible even at a distance. All four girls ran, pushing through the crowd, trying to find a place to transform where no one would see them. A few moments later Sailors Mercury, Mars, Moon and Jupiter lept in front of a tall, gorgeous blonde man. Rei gasped. "What?" Ami asked. Her eyebrows drew together. "Nothing... Just for a moment I thought I knew him... But I've never seen him before, so..." Ami looked confused but didn't ask any question. "Sailor Moon! The tiara!" Ami called to her friend. But Serena couldn't move. Again she was struck with a strange paralysis. 'Why blue eyes? Why blue eyes?' she asked the part of her concicousness that threw the pictures at her. Then she realized that the eyes she saw were no vision, but the eyes of Tuxedo Mask on a nearby rooftop. "I'd like to know how I can see his eyes so clearly when he is so far away!" she grumped. "What are you talking about?" Rei demanded. Lita laughed at her. "C'mon, Sailor Moon, use your tiara on him!" The man just floated above their heads, staring at them. He looked directly at Sailor Mars and his mouth twisted into a cynical sneer. "Give me the Mystical Silver Crystal and none of you will have to die... At least, probably not," he said coldly. "Moon Tiara Discus!" Sailor Moon cried, tossing the sparkling razor sharp circle at him. He caught it contemptuously and tossed it behind him. "Child's tricks," he said. "Haven't you learned better yet? How is it that you managed to defeat my servents?" He looked down at the girls and laughed slightly. "No matter. Not this time. I'll be back, Sailor girls--remember me well. I am Jadite, the General of the East. Yes, remember well..." Then he was gone, leaving not a trace of the energy he'd exuded. "This time I don't think I want to know," Ami said. The girls left and detransformed, not saying a word to each other. 'How can I know him? I recognize those eyes, though... Oh, God!! That monster! The one that held me when... Oh, God!! But we killed it! No, I know it's not the monster somehow... But who? End Part IX 2/26/99 Afterword: I'm scrambling to finish this before six--but I don't think I did--so those of you on A Sailor Moon Romance are probably getting this late. You poor dears! :) Don't forget to visit my homepage!