Transformation Sequence: Chapter 3 A "Sailor Moon" Fanfic Series Chapter 3: The Genius She sat at her desk, head arched over her reading material, eyes rapidly scrolling up and down, right and left. Serena propped her right elbow up on the desk, and placed her fingers on her chin. She slowly nodded, fixing her eyes on the crudely penciled, hastily inked lines. Laughing quietly, she turned the manga to the next page, and just missed hearing the door to her bedroom creak open. "Oh, Serena," said the soft, calm voice of the elder Tsukino, "I wish you'd get back to your studies. Maybe that way, you will have a chance at a better future." Serena's mother, seeing that her daughter was not moving, closed the door, and walked back downstairs to her kitchen. Serena asked herself, closing the thick book, Pushing her chair away from the desk, Serena stood up, and looked towards the open window. It had grown dark over the last few hours, and yet there was no sign of Luna. she thought, gritting her teeth and kicking the chair back into its original position, *** Luna stood in the Crown Arcade, alone among the machines. She mumbled, "At least that Andrew person was kind enough to let me into this place as it was closing. Without the 'Sailor V' game, I wouldn't able to get a hold of Artemis." Walking silently up to the "Sailor V" video game cabinet, she leaped up to the controls, tapped the screen, and quietly said, "This is user Luna. Activate the Central Command system - I wish to speak to my counterpart, Artemis. The password is as follows: only the cats know of the interchangable souls." Staring at the now-lit screen, she hoped that the machine would still work according to Sailor V's design. Luna watched as the yellow "Sailor V" logo slowly scrolled to the left, and off the screen. After a moment passed, a mechanical voice came through the speakers and said, "The Central Command interface has been activated successfully. Here is the most recent transmission from Artemis..." There was another pause, and as Luna waited, holding her breath back, Artemis' voice replaced that of the machine. Her fellow cat's face appeared, and he was smiling - nothing had gone wrong. He said, "Everything is well on my end. V has faded from the spotlight a bit, but she promised me - while in her Sailor form - that she will return to publicly face the Negaverse when she can unite with Sailor Moon. Speaking of which... congratulations on finding her! I know you're disappointed with her attitude while she's not governed by her Sailor soul, but I feel the same about V. But remember... it's all for the best when, finally, they return to be the same people we knew in the Silver Milennium. "One key development I've noticed lately - there's just begun to be a large concentration of Negaverse-type signals near a cram school in your district of Tokyo. Keep an eye on that, Luna. Until next time, this is Artemis." With a slight crack from the speakers, Artemis' voice faded out. Blinking twice, Luna felt a tear come to her eye as the face of Artemis faded from the screen. Three seconds later, the mechanical voice sounded again: "Do you wish to use the Central Command operating system for any other tasks?" It had been programmed to be efficient, polite, and impersonal - which it was - but now Luna wished that the system would have a little more of a heart. Sighing, Luna told Central Command, "No. User Luna signs off." Holding back her tears, the cat jumped from the machine to the floor, then bolted for the door of the arcade. Silently, she faded into the Tokyo night. *** The students gathered that afternoon in the halls outside their classrooms. Serena, standing near the back of the cluster of children that was her class, waited for her turn to see the scores. Luna was in her arms, sleeping. She knew that the cat had come through a long and difficult night... and the fact that the animal was asleep was the only thing that had convinced Miss Haruna to allow her in. "Hey, Serena," Melvin said, walking up to her from the front of the crowd, "It's a good thing that test wasn't the actual high school entrance test... because I did much worse than I thought." Frowning, he continued, "I don't know your identification number, so I wouldn't know your score. Sorry." Hanging his head low, the young man's head was so bent over that the light was no longer reflecting off his glasses. Laughing quietly, Serena told her fellow student, "I wouldn't worry about that. You've got most of the class still below you. Even if someone actually beat you, Melvin, they probably won't show up in our class." Serena shrugged her shoulders and looked back at the line. It was half of what it had been only a minute ago - things were going her way. Right then, Molly walked to the back of the line. "Sorry that I'm late," she said in a whisper, "I've had to do a lot of catch-up work." With her arms hanging down listlessly, she glanced at Melvin, and then Serena. With the opportunity now available, Serena took one step forward. "I suppose that makes sense," she said hastily, "Still... Melvin, did anyone actually do better than you?" Putting his right arm around Molly's shoulders, Melvin plainly said, "Yes. Don't know who, though..." Without another word, he and Molly looked nervously at Serena, who had just reached the grade posting sheet. The young man had a feeling that his fellow student would have another of her explosive reactions. For a quiet, fleeting moment, the young Tsukino looked at the piece of paper. Then she turned around, muttered, "Oh, screw it all," and told Melvin and Molly, "Let's get the hell out of here. I have better things to do." Trying to avoid their stares, she walked briskly down the hall. Halfway towards the door stood a young woman with blue hair. She also took a glance at the odd trio, and the cat. "How fascinating," Amy Anderson told herself, "how very fascinating." Without a minute's pause, Amy clutched her bookbags close and ran out of the building. *** Jadeite fell to his knees as Queen Beryl cleared her throat. His eyes were closed, and his shoulders were hunched over. All he could do was wait for her to issue her proclamation. Though a general, and higher than the monsters, he had no right to speak unless told to. The Queen of the Negaverse slowly rose from her throne, all the while resting her right hand on the armrest of her chair. "General Jadeite," she said, falteringly and huskily, "You have not yet succeeded in beating Sailor Moon, or her counterpart Tuxedo Mask. Now that it is clear that both of them are against us, do you know what that means?" She paused for a second, then continued, "We now have three living enemies. The only thing to be thankful for is that Sailor V has not actively fought the Negaverse in several weeks. I realize, General, that you have acquired a piece of the Imperium Silver Crystal without sacrificing any of our monsters. That is not good enough. You *will* go back to your active duty, and find a way to eliminate our two active foes. See to it that you do not fail me, Jadeite." Letting the last few words hiss from her mouth, Beryl sat back down on her throne. Without a hint of emotion on his face, Jadeite stood up, saluted, and teleported to Earth. *** "Serena," Melvin said to his friend as they approached the glass doors of the Crown Arcade, "I believe someone's following us." Trying to look casual, he turned his head to see who was behind them. Not terribly interested in paying attention to the strange girl, Serena checked down at Luna, who was starting to stretch out and blink her eyes. she thought, then looked at the approaching person. To her, this intruder looked ordinary, even though she had a lumpy bag hanging from her right arm. "Well, good afternoon," she said to the young woman, "Do you want something of us?" Walking up towards Serena, Amy said softly, "Oh, I don't think there's any need for you to be suspicious. I just wanted to see what you people are like. Call me Amy... Amy Anderson. I'm trying to get my mind off the mock test right about now. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to know something about you." "Well, certainly," Molly said, forcing her way into the conversation, "I'm Molly Osaka. My score on the mock test was decent... but do you know just who had the perfect score?" She scratched her hair and tapped her left foot against the pavement. Not even bothering to look at Molly, Amy gruffly said, "I did. That's why I don't want to bother thinking about it right now. I've got better things to do." Just as she was about to walk by Serena, Luna jumped from the Tsukino girl's arms towards Amy. Though shocked by this sudden maneuver, Amy caught the cat in mid-air. "Dear, dear," she said softly, "I believe we need to learn the principle of safety: never put yourself in danger foolishly." She then began walking towards the doors of the arcade. Walking swiftly to catch up with Amy, Serena stated loudly, "Call me Serena Tsukino. Back there is Melvin Gurio. We're going into the arcade, too... and I hope you don't mind that we do." Opening the door, she walked in first, then gestured to the other three to follow, leading them like a batallion of troops. She waited for each of them to enter, then shut the door behind Melvin, who had been the last to enter. They were now inside and together... and now she would show the little genius just who was the better of the two. "Well, friends," Amy said softly and harshly, surveying the group of three, "I don't know why you're here, but I've come to meet an acquantance of mine. His name is Greg, and I'd appreciate your patience as I wait for him." She tapped her right foot on the floor, and looked straight at Serena, awaiting a challenge from her. Squeezing her shoulders close to her body, Serena said, "Oh, you'll have my damn patience soon enough. I challenge you, Miss Anderson, to a game of 'Sailor V.' This is the one place where I can - and will - kick your sorry ass." Amy looked at Serena's face nonchalantly, and shrugged. "I think we'll see about that," she said calmly, and then pointed towards the game console. "Please, Serena," she told her new rival, "Sit down and begin your game." She cautiously walked several steps away from the arcade machine. As Molly and Melvin watched, Serena strode up to the "Sailor V" game, put in several small coins, and began her turn. The area around them grew quiet as the young Tsukino pounded the controls in frustration. Six minutes later, her turn ended in the the middle of the game's third difficulty level. Without a word, Serena then stood up, glared at Amy, and pointed at the chair. "Right... let me try," Amy said quietly. She sat down in the chair, and inserted three coins into the machine. Letting her shoulders hang loosely, she put both of her hands on the controls and began her turn. Though her finger movements started out slow, she built up speed quickly as the game became more difficult. Amy's knuckles were relaxed, and her elbows dangled in mid-air. She knew that Serena had exerted too much effort in trying to score well at the game. No, the route for her revenge would be a slow one, without any of the frenzy and furor Serena had shown during her turn. As she completed the fourth level, she laughed quietly. Fifteen minutes later, Amy removed her hands from the arcade console. She had completed the entire "Sailor V" game... and in record time. As she turned around and rose from her chair, she saw her three "friends" among a large crowd of young people. Knowing that this was not the time for her to boast, Amy nodded her head ever-so-slightly, and calmly walked back to where Serena, Molly, and Melvin were standing. "So..." Molly asked, raising her voice above the shouts of the crowd, "Where's this Greg person?" Amy looked at her wristwatch, and then hit the device with her left fist. she thought. As she returned her left hand to her side, she said, "I don't know--he's probably busy or something. Look... I've got to attend computer class at my cram school in half an hour. Would you mind if I left... right about now?" Nodding her head calmly, Molly said, "Not at all." She glanced at Serena, but her friend's head was still hung low. she thought, pressing her left hand to her forehead, "Excuse me," Melvin said, cautiously walking up towards Amy, "Would you mind if I came along? I've always wanted to attend one, you see, but I never could. So... may I follow you?" He looked all around Amy, but not into her eyes. Pursing her lips, Amy turned her glance to Melvin. "I suppose," she flatly said, and turning away from the young man, she announced, "Well, I'm off. See you later, Serena." His face still set in stone, Melvin looked at Molly. "Excuse me," he said plainly, "Would you care to come?" All the while, Serena was standing in Molly's shadow, kicking the imaginary dust at her feet. Snapping out of her reverie, Molly raised her head and turned towards Melvin. Letting her left hand drop to her side, she replied, "Yes. Thank you, Melvin... that's a very good idea." Squaring her shoulders, the young woman placed Melvin's right hand in her left, and lead him outside the arcade. *** Darien blinked twice as he rose from his cot. The light of the sun was coming through his window, and he was not yet fully awake. "What has been happening to me?" he quietly asked himself, as his eyes scanned the few wood furnishings that were in his apartment. Setting his bare feet on the floor, he whispered, "I'd better be going... there's a world waiting out there." Closing his eyes again, he walked towards the lavatory. *** Melvin, Molly, and Amy stood on the sidewalk, staring up at the concrete-framed building. The edifice stood three stories tall - short in this neighborhood of high-rises. Even so, they waited for about a minute there, taking in how the setting sun bounced off the windows that ran up and down the building. "Not bad," Melvin said quietly, "I really did consider attending a cram school, but I've been too worried that it would cut into my free time. I think Molly did, too... So, does Greg go here?" He looked at Amy, whose face was calm and contemplative, and whose arms were swinging slowly from back to front. Amy nodded politely. "Yes, he does," she said, "I'm not too surprised that he didn't come to the arcade, because he's probably a better student than I'll ever be." She glanced down at her feet, but her white sneakers were still the same as ever. "Well... my class is going to start soon. If you've got time, you can come along. Otherwise, you're not missing much." *** Serena was sitting on a park bench that afternoon, with Luna by her side. The young woman's hair was hanging over the back of the bench, and her legs were propped up on the wood. "Luna..." she said gruffly, pausing for several breaths, "Sometimes, I just don't want to keep on living. I couldn't beat Amy today, and now... now I feel like a bag of shit." Lifting her head slightly, she stared into the horizon, where the sun was burning with an orange glow. The cat looked up at Serena's face, which was pale and unmoving. "You know, Serena," Luna began, speaking through her teeth, "There is something you can do. One thing I ask of you - close your eyes and drift off. From there, I'll take care of everything." Casting a brief glance at the green bench, she thought, "Right, right," Serena said with a groan. Thrusting her legs out towards the ground, she closed her eyes and waited-- Sailor Moon sprang up to her feet. "Luna," she enthusiastically asked, "What's the trouble?" From the bench where she stood, Luna said, "There's trouble at a cram school in the area. Some... important people are headed there. Make sure they stay safe." Letting her head hang loosely, she leapt from the bench to the concrete half a meter below her. Smiling and saluting the cat, Sailor Moon replied, "Certainly. I believe I can find the way there. Follow me, Luna!" From a standing position, she took off running towards the north. A moment later, the cat followed her. *** "Good afternoon, class... and visitors," the juku teacher said, stepping out from behind her podium, "Today I've got some new program disks for you. I'd like you to try them out on your classwork. According to the manufacturer, the programs written on these disks will do calculations faster than the program on your hard drives." Smiling through its mask, the monster placed six of the disks in the hand of the student at the end of the first row. Trying her best to whisper, Molly asked, "Sorry to have to ask... but is this something new, Amy?" She had taken the seat at the genius' right, while Melvin was at her left. Taking the a disk from the pile that Melvin gave her, Amy said, "Yes. In fact, I've never seen anything like this before... this program disk doesn't look like it was made of plastic." Frowning, she passed the next disk to Molly. "Well, class," the teacher said loudly, "Once you receive your disk, please begin your work - quietly." Just then, the door to the classroom slammed open. "No!" Sailor Moon screamed as she rushed inside, "This is a trap - don't use the disks." She ran to the front of the class, followed by Luna. The teacher, still wearing a human mask, coughed sharply. "There will be no interruptions in cram school," it said, "Computers, activate!" Just as the monster spoke these words, the computer monitors began to glow with a bright blue light, and the students' heads were drawn close to the screens. Scowling, Sailor Moon shouted, "You wicked monster!" Seeing the students' eyes close, she continued, "Servant of the Negaverse... I know who sent you, and what your purpose is. Give it up, monster! Your place is not among the humans. If you want a fight, I will give you one. But you shall not triumph, for my strength has its roots in my mother's love." Laughing rapidly, the monster shed its human mask - and a green- skinned, pus-faced humanoid was revealed in its place. "I believe *she* is the one you want to protect," said the monster, as it lifted Amy's unconscious body from her chair, and threw her towards the front of the room. "I see we have a little mess here," said General Jadeite. The appointed one of the Negaverse materialized one meter behind Sailor Moon, and quickly saluted the monster. Trying to react, Queen Serenity's daughter pivoted a full one hundred and eighty degrees on the heels of her feet, and pointed her right hand at Jadeite's grinning face. The general stared back at her without blinking, absently snapped his left thumb and index finger, and walked right over Sailor Moon as she collapsed to the floor. Luna thought, running towards Amy, She dashed towards the genius' prone body and whispered into her left ear, "Amy... Amy Anderson, wake up!" Just as Amy's eyes budged open, the monster giggled. It turned towards Molly, who was still unconscious behind her computer screen. As Jadeite slowly, silently nodded in approval, the monster threw a razor-sharp sheet of steel at Molly's slumped-over neck. The creature's shot hit, and the young woman died on impact. Her blood fell upon the keyboard, and all over her lap. Focusing her eyes on Amy alone, Luna gruffly said, "Amy, close your eyes and try not to think. Things will be better soon." The cat closed her eyes as a few tears fell to the cold, uncarpeted floor. Too confused and aching to question the unfamiliar voice, Amy closed her eyes for the second time that day. She let her thoughts dissipate until all was clear-- Jadeite held a crystal fragment - Molly's fragment - tightly in his two hands. "We should have begun searching for the Imperium Silver Crystal earlier. Ah, but the loss of one monster is equal to two fragments in my hands. Thank you, monster. Now let us ensure that Sailor Moon does not get up again. Come, monster, and take-" The general stopped giving his order when he heard a loud, wordless yell. "Is there something wrong here?" he asked to anyone who would hear, as he walked in a half- circle to face the source of the noise. "I am Sailor Mercury," said the blue-haired warrior, who bore the same bruises she had received as Amy. Leaping in front of Sailor Moon, and setting her face in a grimace, Sailor Mercury hissed, "Die." Without pausing, she screamed again, and threw a barrage of bubbles at the two villains. As the monster was quickly sealed within the blast of bubbles, Jadeite turned his sweat-coated face away. he said to himself as his arms shook, Not bothering to look at Sailor Mercury, he teleported himself back to the Negaverse. By the time the bubbles reached Jadeite, his body had faded away to the perpendicular plane. Meanwhile, Luna was kneeling beside Sailor Moon, her front right paw pressed against the young woman's neck. Luna figured. Hesitatingly, she said to her first chosen one, "Sailor Moon... are you there? Wake up." With the monster stuck in its tracks, Melvin still unconscious, Sailor Mercury fixated on the temporarily imprisoned foe, and Luna waiting for Sailor Moon to return to consciousness, there was a moment of silence. Then Sailor Moon shifted her head a centimeter to the right. "Luna?" she whispered. "Welcome back, Sailor Moon," Luna said softly, "We need you to finish off a monster. Your friend Sailor Mercury has other business to attend to. So, if you can still get up..." A calm smile creased the cat's face. Breathing hard, the heir to Queen Serenity's kingdom stood up. "Mercury," she said deliberately, pointing to Melvin, "help that young man. Thank you very much." Letting her shoulders relax, she removed her headpiece, and fired it at the monster. The creature did not fall when it was struck, but instead burst into a column of blue fire. Sailor Mercury, on the other hand, checked Melvin's pulse on his neck. "There's not much I can do," she said, bowing her head slowly, "He may go into shock soon. We need to find someone else who can help him." Luna nodded in agreement. "Exactly, Sailor Mercury. Now, if you will, close your eyes and try not to think..." -- Brief Notes: I'd like to thank every one of my readers for waiting. This one wasn't easy to write - it took several last-minute plot twists to get it off the ground. Even a thunderstorm and Notepad crashing couldn't keep me from finishing this. Yes, I'm definitely continuing on towards Chapter 4. Since I've got two other ongoing projects, though, it'll be a couple of weeks at the least. Disclaimers: "Sailor Moon," its characters, and all indicia thereof are copyrights of DiC Communications and various others. "Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon," its characters, and all indicia thereof are copyrights of Takeuchi Naoko, Kodansha Comics Ltd., and various others. This fanfic was finished on November 10, 1998 by John Alan Riggs, commonly known as Alan or I.N.T.O. -Alan / I.N.T.O. (I'm Not The Otaking) www.geocities.com/athens/parthenon/7331/>