Author's Note: If you wish to comment on my story, either positively or negatively, don't hesitate to contact me at [email protected]. Sailor Moon and all related characters are the property of Takeuchi Naoko, Toei Animation and DIC. So, please, don't sue me because I haven't any money. I do this strictly for entertainment purposes, not copyright infringement.
Blood on the Moon
by Jeffrey C. Branch
Part One: The End Of Innocence
Rating: PG-13
To Serena Tsukino, it seemed that the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.
Despite being eighteen years old and only four months away from graduating high school, Serena, now a beautiful, graceful young woman instead of a clumsy, childish girl remained very much a creature of habit. And this particular habit, going back to her grade school days had yet to change: she still woke up late for school nearly every morning.
"Oh, no! Not again!" she cried, jumping out of bed. She looked at her alarm clock and gasped in horror at the time. "I'm gonna be late! Dammit, Luna! Why didn't you wake me up?"
Sitting on Serena's dresser, Luna casually stretched and stared at her pupil. "Serena, dear child, we've been through this farcical comedy routine seemingly every day for the last four years, and the end result is always the same. No matter how hard I try, you never wake up when you're supposed to. Strapping two alarm clocks to your head would probably work much better than anything your mother or I can do."
"Thanks loads for the sarcasm!" Serena snarled, pulling off her pink satin sleepshirt. "Whatever would I do without you?"
"I shudder to think."
Muttering something under her breath about cat gut and tennis rackets, Serena threw on a robe and rushed out to the bathroom to shower.
Luna shook her head, partly in awe, most from humor. Serena's older, wiser, considerably more mature, yet, hardened and occasionally bitter from a life of constant danger as Sailor Moon. Still, in some ways, she hasn't changed a bit from the first day we met, thought the Moon Kingdom familiar. For that, I remain eternally grateful.
The cat the dwelled on how Serena used to be when she first met her. How this happy-go-lucky though lovesick, accident prone girl with a monstrous appetite didn't have so much as a care in the world----except getting to school on time and maintaining her grades once she got there. Then Luna came into Serena's life and everything changed, and not necessarily for the better.
When Luna revealed to Serena her destiny as Sailor Moon, leader of the powerful Sailor Scouts, everything fell apart for Serena who only wanted to lead a normal life, but was instead thrust into the awesome responsibility of defending Earth in an almost neverending war against the dreaded agents of evil from the Negaverse. It was a responsibility the then 14 year old Junior high school student never wanted from the start and had to be dragged kicking and screaming by both Luna and the other Scouts into the role fate planned for her so long ago on the Moon. Her destiny, and past life as Princess Serenity of the Moon Kindom.
Once Queen Beryl had been defeated and the memories of all the Scouts had been erased, Luna watched as Serena once again became the bubbly, lighthearted girl she had been. Unfortunately, that didn't last long. When Ann and Alan arrived on Earth from the Negaverse, using Cardians to sap energy from helpless victims to revive the sinister Doom Tree, Luna was forced to restore Serena's memories so Sailor Moon could battle this new evil. Serena wanted no part of her past life as a warrior, she even fought the Luna mind meld, desperately trying to hang on to what she had, but, when push came to shove, Serena reluctantly accepted her fate.
And while Serena never came right out and said it, Luna got the feeling that Serena never forgave her for taking away the joy of her normal, mundane existence. Luna remembered seeing the tears of rage that streamed down Serena's face when she encountered the first Cardian, accusing it in a pain filled voice of ruining her life and felt those words had been directed at her. That was over three years ago.
Sailor Moon's saved this planet and its people untold times, thought Luna. But did Earth's safety come at the terrible cost of Serena's well being? Did my actions, well meaning as they were cost this poor girl her happiness? Her future?
Over the years and the countless battles against enemies human, inhuman and alien, Luna watched as the cheerful, happy girl grew up to become a somber, almost dispirited young woman. Oh, there were flashes from time to time of the old Serena who was filled with the boundless energy of youth who enjoyed all that life had to offer, but only until some sort of monstrous danger reared its ugly head, requiring her to fight it as Sailor Moon. Then, all the light, all the happiness, all the life would go out of her eyes as duty called. Luna's heart ached when she saw that happen, it was as if every time Serena went into battle, she lost a tiny piece of her soul. Luna couldn't help but wonder how much of Serena's spirit was left after all this time.
Serena's now less than cheerful personality was reflected in the decor of her room, long stripped of its once bright colors in favor of darker, more sedate shades. It seemed almost sterile, like a hospital room, more like a place Serena merely slept at night instead of lived. Yet, the lifeless decor was balanced by watercolor paintings on the walls. Two years ago, Serena developed a surprisingly vast talent for painting, a talent she spent a great deal of time developing. Luna stared at the gorgeous canvases, eight total, and all of the same theme, the Moon, and the crystalline spires of the great city she once lived in an eternity ago as the elegant young daughter of a wise and mighty queen.
Her home, thought Luna glumly, the point of the paintings driving itself home with a vengeance. When she was truly happy. Unlike now.
"Hey! What are you staring at?" asked Serena, rushing back in. Her unusually long blond hair, down almost to the floor trailed water since she hadn't fully dried it.
"Your home. A very long time ago," said Luna, a lump in her throat. "Oh, Serena, I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry."
Serena paused from drying her hair to stare at the cat in curiosity. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen Luna look so sad. "Sorry? For what?"
"For all the pain and suffering I've caused you since we first met. For the childhood innocence you lost and can never reclaim. For letting Sailor Moon deprive you of a normal life."
Serena stood still and dropped her head. Luna watched as Serena's chest heaved from a weary sigh. "You did what you had to do, Luna. I don't blame you for it. If it weren't for you, bringing the Sailor Scouts to life in the first place, our world would be a ruin today, and my family, my friends, all the people I know and love would be dead. If keeping this planet safe from harm means putting my life at risk every time I call upon the power of the Moon, then that's the cross I have to bear. Even if it's to my grave. I've never liked being Sailor Moon, and I never will, but I accept my responsibility. And my destiny."
Luna allowed herself a smile, her heart filling with pride for this girl whom she loved with all her heart. "Serena, there are times, like this when your wisdom far outstrips your years."
Serena returned Luna's smile. "What can I say? After all, I'm supposed to be a queen in another thousand years, so I have to practice being wise. Now stop distracting me! All the wisdom in the world won't save me from detention if I'm late for school!"
One of the proudest days of Serena's life came little more than a year ago when she earned her driver's licence. While her parents couldn't afford to get her a car like she wanted, they did acquiesce and bought Serena a motor scooter (that she painted pink) which made getting to school easier on those days when she ran late. And Serena loved riding on it as it made her feel more like an adult and less like a child.
Artfully maneuvering the scooter down one of downtown Tokyo's busy streets, Serena cocked an eyebrow at seeing a huge crowd up ahead along the route she regularly took to school. As she got closer, she saw crowds of people, numerous police cars and trucks, TV news vans, scores of cameras trained on the First National Bank of Tokyo and hard faced men in combat armor and bearing rifles. Parking her scooter a few yards away, Serena removed her pink helmet (oversized to accommodate her meatballs) and walked up to the nearest uniformed officer.
"Excuse me, sir. What's going on?" she asked the policeman.
The cop turned and shot her an exasperated look. "Three thugs surprised the manager of the bank and his head teller when they arrived to open up. The crooks say they're armed and will kill the hostages if they aren't allowed to escape."
Serena stared at the bank and frowned. While the police looked to have the situation well in hand, she couldn't bring herself to walk away from it. She had to do something. It was her mission in life to protect those who couldn't protect themselves, and this hostage crisis certainly fell within those grim parameters.
Walking back to her scooter, Serena chained it to a parking meter, strapped her helmet to the seat, then jogged around the corner and into a narrow alley. With each step she took, the frown on her face deepened.
Haruna will roast me alive for being late. But, as usual, I don't have a choice. I can't turn away from people in trouble. Taking a deep breath, Serena opened the brooch clasped to the bodice of her school uniform.
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"
Even though Serena didn't enjoy being a Sailor Scout, she couldn't deny the intoxicating rush she got from her transformation. The delicious tingle she felt from head to toe as blindingly bright, silvery energy enveloped her, magically altering her clothes into her white and blue Scout uniform while filling every cell in her body with incredible power, power that made her far more than human, power that made her a hero, a defender, a champion of justice. With the final touch being a golden tiara with a crimson gem in the middle that materialized on her forehead, it took only a moment for Serena Tsukino to disappear, replaced instead by her heroic alter ego. Standing tall in her high heeled, bright red boots, Sailor Moon balled her white gloved fists. She was ready for action.
"Time to go to work," she growled before pushing off.
Yoshi Amara couldn't for the life of him understand how his well thought out plan to rob the bank he had been fired from a few weeks ago could go south so quickly.
He had it all worked out, schemed for months after he had been caught by the manager for embezzling money from the safe to supplement his gambling habit. Amara hadn't stolen much, not even the equivalent of his paltry paycheck, still, the manager was unsympathetic and fired him. In retrospect, Amara was lucky the manager didn't have him arrested on the spot, but the manager told him he didn't want to go through the all the bother of filling out paperwork, said Amara wasn't worth it.
That made the former teller furious. Furious enough to recruit two friends of his in a plot to rob the bank and show the pompous manager that he was worth something. Now, as he held a snub nosed revolver to the head of the manager and looked outside at all the police cars and the hordes of heavily armed men, Amara was beginning to think that perhaps the manager was right after all.
"Yoshi! This is crazy! We're not gonna get away with this!" whined one of his pals, a squat, muscular, heavy set man who had the head teller, a terribly frightened woman in a headlock, a knife in his free hand.
"Yeah! What are we gonna do?" asked the other man, the youngest of the three, thin, tall and wearing glasses. He too held a knife.
Amara was stumped. So far, nothing had gone right after a passerby saw he and his buddies abduct the manager as his helper and called the police. He knew the police would not negotiate unless the hostages were released, but without the captives, he had no leverage, and no chance to escape. Amara shrugged. "I don't have an idea," he said.
"Well, I have one. Surrender," came back a woman's voice in a snarl.
All three stick-up men whirled around to the rear of the building and gasped at seeing Moon in the doorway, arms akimbo, her huge blue eyes sizzling from anger.
"Oh, no! It's that superhero chick! Sailor Vulcan!" cried the hood in the glasses.
Moon shot daggers at the man. Vulcan? Christ, a Trekkie! My day is complete. "That's Moon, Sailor MOON! Look, guys, normally I'd give you my longwinded spiel about being the champion of justice, but I'm running late this morning. Release your hostages and give up and I promise not to put any of you in traction."
Amara couldn't believe what was happening. Now, on top of being surrounded by the cops, he had one of the Sailor Scouts to deal with. That enraged him. "Screw you! Waste her, boys!"
At first, Amara's pals were reluctant to comply. Then, figuring they could take out a girl boldly charged Moon, genuinely surprised at their actions which she deemed extremely foolish.
You've gotta be joking, thought Moon. The thin guy in glasses came into range first, thrusting his knife at Moon's midsection. With an almost casual ease, Moon sidestepped his charge, grabbed his knife hand with her left and punched him in the jaw, using only enough force to knock him out. Considering Moon possessed the strength of three full grown men, the last thing she wanted to do was kill, which she could easily do. The heavy set thug, huffing from exertion swung his knife in a high, wide arc, the blade coming within a foot of Moon's face. Moon ducked under the swing, drove a fist into his solar plexus, blowing all the air out of his body. Then she followed up with a snap kick to his head and he crumpled to the floor. The one sided fight lasted all of a few seconds.
Moon then turned her attention to Amara who put the barrel of his gun in the ear of the frightened manager.
"That's as far as you go!" he warned. "Don't move or he's history!"
Moon didn't move an inch. Instead, she calmly removed her tiara and willed it into her powerful energy disc. "In case you're unfamiliar with me, I use this energy disc to wipe out aliens, monsters and assorted scumbags like you. Once I throw the disc, it moves at the speed of light and can slice through battleship armor like the proverbial hot knife through butter. I can take you out before you can blink and not singe a hair on that man's head. Let him go or YOU'RE history!"
Amara stared deep into Moon's eyes, hard, angry and menacing and saw that she wasn't kidding. He then glanced at the energy disc in her right hand and could actually hear it crackling from the power it possessed. Finally, figuring that a trip to jail was easier to deal with than a trip to the morgue, Amara released the manager who ran to a nearby corner. Scowling, Amara dropped his gun and kicked it towards Moon.
"That's a good boy," said Moon. With a thought, the energy disc reverted back into her tiara and she replaced it on her forehead. She then picked up the gun and emptied the chambers. "Now, be a dear and surrender."
Amara ran to the door and threw it open, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Don't shoot! Please! Don't shoot! We give up!"
As Moon removed the knives from Amara's unconscious friends and broke the blades, the manager and head teller walked up to her.
"That was a very courageous thing you did, Sailor Moon," said the manager, flashing a huge smile of relief. "Thank you!"
"Oh yes! Thank you. Thank you so very much!" said the teller, giving Moon a hug.
Moon warmly returned their smiles. The looks of gratitude on their faces gave her a feeling of great satisfaction. "No problem, folks. That's what I'm here for."
"Before you leave, could you do me a huge favor?" asked the manager.
"Sure. What is it?"
The manager grabbed a steno pad and a pen from a nearby desk and timidly handed it to Moon. "Could I have your autograph for my son? His name's Taki. He's your biggest fan."
Moon giggled and scrawled a quick and crude caricature of herself, followed by her autograph below it. Sometimes, she thought, there was an unexpected perk to being a superhero.
"It's about time you got here!" Amy Anderson hissed to Serena after she rushed into the classroom and sat down next to her. Amy's brows were knitted from annoyance behind the wire rimmed glasses she began wearing full time two years ago, making her look even more like the droll, brainy bookworm she's always been. "Roll call was twenty minutes ago! What kept you?"
"I had to stop at the bank for a withdrawal," Serena replied between breaths from running. "I'll explain later. Where's Haruna? I figured she'd be waiting out front to read me the riot act for being late."
"She's in the nurse's office. With Molly."
Serena did a double take. "Molly? What happened? Is she sick?"
Amy shrugged. "I'm not sure. Molly looked terribly depressed when she arrived and wouldn't talk to anyone. And her eyes were bloodshot, like she had been crying. Then, right in the middle of roll call, Molly burst into tears and wailed like a banshee. No one knows why."
"Correction. I know why!" said Melvin, sitting down behind Amy and Serena.
Serena spun around and glared daggers at Melvin who hadn't changed a bit since she first laid eyes on him in her freshman year at Crossroads Junior High. Short and thin with spiky hair, he was the textbook definition of a geek with his whiny voice, thick, coke bottle glasses and his singleminded predisposition for academia over people. One reason in particular that Serena never had much in the way of patience for Melvin, the class genius with all the personality of a rock was that he was an even bigger gossipmongerer than most of the girls in school. And, as Serena grew older, she came to hate busybodies like him.
"Yeah, right. Like we need to hear any asinine gossip from you right now!" Serena grumbled.
"Not gossip, Tsukino, gospel," snapped Melvin who found Serena's flighty, boy crazy antics particularly annoying to him. "Molly's American boyfriend, the guy you couldn't stand was murdered last night."
Amy and Serena's mouths fell open.
"What? Are you serious?" Amy asked.
"Like a heart attack, Amy. I saw it on the news this morning. I guess Molly saw it too," Melvin replied in a whisper. "The cops couldn't identify Roy because his wallet was missing, so they were calling him John Doe. But I'd seen him plenty of times before. No one with a badge is saying how Roy bought it, but the media's squawking that he's the latest victim of the Deep Throat Killer, that nutcase who's tears out people's throats and bleeds them dry."
Amy took off her glasses and wiped her eyes, her face a mask of sorrow. "Dear Lord. Not again. Poor Molly."
Serena, stunned, her mind reeling couldn't talk, couldn't move, couldn't think. Suddenly, she burst out of her chair and bolted from the room.
Her heart pounding in cadence to her footsteps as she raced down the hall to the nurse's office, Serena's mind drifted back in time, nearly four years to be exact, to one of the most heartwrenching moments of her life.
The events occurred only a few months after Serena first became Sailor Moon and eventually teamed up with Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury as they battled Nephlyte, the second of Queen Beryl's evil generals who was in search of the scattered Seven Rainbow Crystals and, in the guise of Maxfield Stanton had put Molly under his thrall to accomplish his mission, or so she thought.
But it was different, moreso than Serena could have possibly imagined as Molly fell in love with the handsome, though dangerous agent from the Negaverse, even going so far as to step between Nephlyte and Sailor Moon's energy disc during one battle which would've destroyed him. But, what no one could have anticipated, not even Nephlyte himself was that he developed deep feelings for Molly and, in time, he fully returned her selfless love. But it was a love he would not get to enjoy for long as he sacrificed his life to save Molly from the treacherous Zoicite, his fellow general who gleefully betrayed him to gain Beryl's favor.
Serena remembered Molly's haunted, wailing scream of agony that ripped the night apart as Nephlyte, the man she loved with a passion far older than her then tender years died in her arms and vanished while Moon and the other Scouts could only stand nearby and weep, their hearts shattered as they shared Molly's crushing grief. For months afterwards, Molly was inconsolable as it took a very long time for her to get over Nephlyte's death. There were times when Serena thought Molly would never recover, eventually, she did, but she was never again the same.
She didn't even begin dating again until just last year when she met Roy, the exchange student from the States. At first, Serena didn't like him, mostly out of jealousy because Molly was spending more time with Roy than with her. Selfish? Definitely, but only human. And Serena, despite her otherworldly powers and heritage always fought to remain just that, human. Grudgingly, Serena came to realize just how happy Roy made Molly and, in turn, she was extremely happy for her friend. But now, it's happened again. Molly's life had been wrecked.
By the time Serena arrived at the nurse's office and rushed in, she was in tears as she found Molly lying on a couch in a stupor while the nurse and Miss Haruna hovered over her. Haruna spun around at the sound of Serena's footsteps and glared at her.
"And what are you doing here, Serena?" she demanded.
"I just found out Molly had been hurt, Miss Haruna," Serena replied nervously. "Is she alright?"
"Molly just fainted after an unexpected....fit. Nothing for you to be worried about," Haruna said in a cold tone.
Serena's sorrow and her concern for Molly's well being was suddenly replaced by white hot anger. For several years, Haruna's overbearing personality used to scare Serena silly, in her more paranoid moments, she used to think the woman purposely singled her out for almost daily abuse, most of it was probably deserved, due mainly to her constant tardiness and poor grades in her studies. But now, with Molly in a crisis over the untimely death of her boyfriend, Haruna's attitude infuriated Serena and she exploded.
"Like hell it's not, you fucking bitch!" Serena roared. "Molly's my best friend! I grew up with her! She's like a sister to me! It's my right to be worried about her, whether you like it or not!"
Haruna, wide eyed and slack jawed was physically stunned from the raw, blistering venom in Serena's words, but the shock quickly gave way to outrage at being cursed by a student. Before she could fire back at Serena, Molly opened her eyes and looked at her.
"Serena?" she said in a weak voice.
Serena pushed past Haruna and the nurse to Molly's side. Falling to her knees, Serena took Molly's hand in hers and squeezed it tight. "I'm here, Moll. I'm here. How are you feeling?"
"Terrible. I wanna go home."
"You got it. I'll take you."
The nurse shook her head. "Out of the question. Her mother should come and get her."
"She can't. Mrs. Baker is out of town and won't be back until late this afternoon," Serena explained. "And there's no one else at home. I'll stay with Molly until her mom gets back."
Haruna, still enraged, glared at Serena, her jaw set.
"Please, Miss Haruna, please! Molly needs me."
"Oh, all right! I'll excuse you, but just this once!" Haruna growled. "However, don't think I won't forget your transgression!"
Serena didn't give a damn about her so-called transgression against Haruna, but she didn't push her luck by saying that aloud. She'd worry about the fallout from her tirade later. The only thought on her mind right now was taking care of Molly. "Thank you."
After fetching the spare helmet she kept in her locker and telling Amy where she was going, followed by a brief chat with Lita, Serena took Molly home on her scooter. Along the way, Serena could feel Molly shudder as she clutched her tight, and Serena knew her friend was crying. Serena fought to keep herself together while she drove. But it wasn't easy. The pain in her heart was almost as deep as Molly's.
Upon arriving at the Baker residence, above the jewelry store Mrs. Baker owned and operated, Serena unlocked the front door, brought Molly inside and took her straight up to her bedroom. Serena sat next to Molly on the bed and held her hand.
"Moll, I know about Roy," she said softly. "Melvin told me and Amy what happened. I'm so sorry."
Molly chuckled, but there was no humor in her laughter. "Good old Melvin. I can always depend on him to spill the beans."
"Don't worry about him. I left word with Lita to make sure Melvin doesn't blab about Roy to anyone else. You know how....persausive she can be."
"Yeah. Persuasive like a pit bull. And just about as subtle. Thanks."
"You're welcome. Why didn't you stay home? The news must've destroyed you."
Molly nodded slowly, her eyes bright with tears. "It did. But I didn't want to be alone. I was afraid to be alone. I called you at home but you had already left. So, I decided to go to school. I thought I could handle it if I lost myself in classwork. I was wrong. Oh, God! It's Nephlyte all over again! I've lost another love! Why me, Serena? Why me?"
Molly buried her face in Serena's chest and sobbed uncontrollably. Serena hugged Molly tight and cried right along with her. Right now, Serena didn't think she could hurt this much if it were her beloved Darien who had died.
"I don't know, Moll. I really don't know. I only wish there was something, anything I can do for you. But the main thing is that I'm here. I'll always be here for you. Now and forever. I promise you that."
Molly's weeping slowly stopped and she looked up at Serena with bloodshot eyes. "I know, Serena. And I love you for that. But, I need to ask you something. Something very important."
"Anything. What is it?"
"You've been my best friend ever since we were kids. In all the years I've known you, I've never kept any secrets from you. Yet, you've hidden a secret from me. A huge one. It's taken Roy's death, and my memories of Nephlyte to remind me of that secret you've been keeping."
"Secret? I don't understand. What do you mean?"
The look in Molly's eyes was both questioning, and filled with hurt. "Why is it you never told me that you're Sailor Moon?"
Next: Terror Stalks The Night