--Alan -- The alternaverse fanfic of doom draws close to the halfway mark... ####################################################################### "Transformation Sequence" An Alternative Universe Fanfic of the "Sailor Moon" First Season, North American Dub Chapter 6: Axe to the Poison Tree ####################################################################### "Hello everybody!" Serena shouted as she came bounding down the staircase of her family's house. Already dressed in her black slacks and a navy blue blouse, she walked towards the Tsukino breakfast table. She glanced at her younger brother Sam, who was leaning against a brown counter, and said to him, "Well, you seem a bit glum today. Is something wrong, Sammy?" The boy looked up to her face. On his own was a pale, weary expression. In a whisper, he replied, "Yeah. Mom got a call last night - Dad will be coming by soon." He slammed his right foot against the floor. Letting his words run wild through her ears, Serena closed her eyes for a second. In the unsettling silence, she thought, Lifting up her head, she whispered to her brother, "Let's worry more about that later. Right now, I'm still busy with rebuilding my broken-down life." She let her jaw come unclenched, so that she might smile. Closing his eyes, Sam nodded. "Indeed," he said just as quietly, bending his knees, "It will definitely be a few days until he returns. Until then, I definitely have other things to busy my mind with." Nonchalantly, he took his seat at the table. "Mother?" Serena called to the adjacent room, bending her head to the left to see into the kitchen. Knowing her mother's fragile mental health, she tried not to speak too loudly. "We'll be waiting here until you're ready," she said, all the while calmly pulling up a chair, and sitting down. Only a few meters away, Mrs. Tsukino stood over her finished creation, but her face was in her hands. Her body slowly shaking, the woman thought, *** Beryl's eyes were not watching the Negaforce crystal. The monarch, stooped over, arose from her throne, and walked down the steps of the pedestal, trembling with every step. In a harsh, drained voice, she called out, "General Nephlite... appear before me." Her eyes were still fixated on the featureless gray ground. A moment later, Nephlite arrived through teleportation. Though he saw the queen in her state, the general still dropped to his knees. he reminded himself, Biting his lip, he whispered, "My queen," in a serious tone. "Nephlite," Beryl said, her voice gaining a little more strength, "It is time we realize the awful truth - we are losing. Jadeite is gone, never to return, and one piece of the Crystal has slipped past us. I hate to do this, but I believe it may be necessary... General Zoisite will be your tactical advisor for this mission. Though I know full well of her reputation, there are no more feasible options." Seeing Nephlite's stunned, fearful expression, she added, "You wouldn't prefer to work with Malachite, would you?" For half a second, she smiled. The general saluted. He told her, "I will locate a shard-bearer, trap the person, and rob them of their treasure." Nephlite looked up at Queen Beryl, expecting an answer. Still as a statue, the queen said, "Tell it to Zoisite. Regardless of her questionable alliances, she knows quite a bit about our enemy. I trust that the two of you can pull this off." She watched as the man teleported into the oblivion of the perpendicular universe. Closing her eyes, Beryl slouched back to her throne. This, the chair from where she made her decisions, and judged the fate of many, would be the same place from where she would someday rule the world of her heart. *** "We are live on national television with Peter Fischer, celebrity of Crossroads Junior High," the young woman said, holding her microphone towards the student, "Young man, how does it feel to be an acclaimed photographer - and at your age?" Peter frowned for a moment, then put his right hand to his forehead. Slowly, he said, "I guess a good word would be 'difficult.' While I definitely enjoy my photography, getting recognition from all these people... it's... it's like getting paid for a job I didn't finish. Yeah, it's awkward to admit this, but there's no way around it. Fame really kinda sucks." The young man shrugged and smiled, aware of the glare of the television cameras. The reporter glanced back for a moment, then continued, "But about your work, let us talk. Why landscapes? And will you ever turn your focus to other subjects?" She tooled with the volume switch on the microphone. "Well," Peter said, half looking to the video cameras, "I'm not the sort of person who is drawn towards controversy. You see, I'd be the last one to take photos for their social importance or significance. It's partially because I don't think anyone else would get what I was trying to say. For that matter, I never want to take photos that exploit others, because then controversy wouild come for me. Getting back to the point," he said, laughing, but also while twitching his thumbs, "landscapes interest me because I can impute personality into places. It sounds odd, but that's really what I think about." The youth sighed. Several meters away, Serena, Melvin, and Amy stood, calmly watching the setup. Looking at the ones he called friends, Melvin whispered, "They say he's brilliant, but I doubt it. Most of what he does to improve his photos is actually worsening them. You see, I heard he uses the wrong apertures on purpose." Turning away from the interview entourage, Melvin quietly laughed and continued, "But believe me, I'm not jealous. I don't know all that much about photography, and I couldn't take even a half-decent one if I tried. Anyway, what do you think?" Amy, with her hands anchored to her hips, told the others, "I think we would be wise to get back to class! While this certainly stands as a fascinating exhibition, does it have any bearing on our lives?" She paused, and glanced at the others. Both Melvin and Serena's hands were trembling by their sides. "That is true," Serena said, scowling at Amy, and lifting up her left fist at the genius, "But remember, Amy, we are on to you. One suspicious move, and we will destroy you." Shuddering, she quickly walked away, Melvin by her side. Cautiously, Amy snuck one more glance back at the interviewer and interviewee. she thought, *** The graphite-black walls of Zoisite's room of operations were covered by dozens of mirrors. As Nephlite walked in, he was reminded of the place's odd appearance, for he saw his own image scattered all about. In one corner, his reflection was stretched wide, and on the far wall, it was squashed. "General Zoisite," he called out, glaring at her, even as she sat on a white bed, "Our assignment is to locate and seize a piece of the Imperium Silver Crystal. I trust you know that you must also play a part in this, General." Stoically, he stood, avoiding the glare of the glass panels. "Indeed... I know of Beryl's aims," she lazily said, gazing towards the black, uncarpeted floor. Zoisite was dressed in her gray uniform, but she wore a red ribbon in her hair. "But I believe we would be wise to convince our target of the wisdom of following us. Think about it, Nephlite," she said, staggering to her feet, "once we have the human on our side, we could use them to gather energy. Then, once they have reached their maximum potential, we would be safe in disposing of them. I think that is what Beryl would do." Nephlite paused. Coughing, he replied, "You may be right. Now let me be for a while. I must locate the shard-bearer, and then I shall return. Do not try to work behind my back, General, for I have ways of learning about others' schemes." Moving stiffly but swiftly, he walked out of her room. Slowly, Zoisite sat back down on the bed. she thought, placing her hands on the mattress, *** As the day drew to a close, Peter Fischer stood alone, fifty meters above the pounding ocean waves. With his camera in his right hand, the young man gazed into the red river of the setting sun. "This is the moment," he whispered, and brough the apparatus close to his face. The rocky, coastal environment around him seeming still as a stone, Peter adjusted the settings on the camera. Sure that he had his ideal picture, he pointed and clicked. At that moment, the rock ledge beneath his feet gave way. Still holding tight to the camera, Peter could do nothing but scream as he plummeted down. Just as quickly as the last event, two hands reached down toward Peter, and caught the youth by his left arm. From beside the road above him, a man was stooping over the guardrail, straining to keep the young man in his grasp. "I'll pull you up," Nephlite emphatically said, grimacing from the strain, "Don't let go." With his feet anchored to the ground, the general pulled hard, forcing Peter upward. A minute later, Peter was back on the solid ground, kneeling and gulping in the air around him. The camera still in his grasp, he slowly looked upward, only to behold his evil savior. "...Thank you," he said, speaking each word with herculean effort, "What... if anything... can I do to repay you?" Nephlite, now standing tall, looked down at the young man. Coldly and without changing his expression, he said, "I wouldn't worry about such things at the moment. However, I'm a fan of yours, and I suggest you try photographs of new things. Add more energy in persuing the right subjects, and seek new horizons." He looked at Peter's camera with brooding curiosity, as one contemplating a knife. "May I examine that for a moment?" he asked. "Certainly," Peter said plainly, and handed the object over to the general. Holding the device, Nephlite drew some corrupting energy from the Negaforce, and transferred it into the camera. he thought. Looking back up at Peter, he said, "Not bad. I trust you will take care of your camera. Well, in any event, I must be going." Placing it in Peter's hands, he walked along the roadside, toward the north. the young man thought. *** The sun, burning away in the sky, shone directly above the Crown Arcade. Paying no attention to the star, Serena Tsukino entered the building. Her eyes were set straight forward, for she had one thing to accomplish in this place. "Hello, Andrew," the young woman called out. Letting the door slam shut behind her, she waved to him, for he was stuck in a cluster of customers. Serena moved forward, threading her way through the buzzing room. As she got close enough to politely talk to Andrew, she noticed a young man standing next to him. Taking in his tall, lean frame with her eyes, she thought for a moment, then asked the manager, "Do you know this person?" To this, Andrew smiled weakly. "Oh, and welcome to the Crown Arcade, the largest mess in the city," he said, smirking at her, "I'm pleased to say that I know this man. This is Darien Shields, Serena. Unless he's deceived me, I believe he already knows you. Well, there's duties I have yet to do, but I hope that you can get along well," he said. Quietly and in a discreet manner, Andrew vanished into the crowd. Once again, Serena sized up Darien. Noticing his familiar black hair and green shirt, she thought, Shyly walking two steps closer to him, the young Tsukino said, "Hello... my name is, if you hadn't already guessed, Serena Tsukino. We have already met... several weeks ago, I think... and I completely blew you off. I'd just like to say, here and now, that I'm very sorry for my foolish action. Please - if you are willing - forgive me, Mr. Shields." Looking down towards her eyes, Darien said, "Of course I do! You may not know much about me, but I assure you this, Miss Tsukino: whatever you may have been through, I have been through worse." He let his arms hang limp, and raising his voice a notch, Darien continued, "But that's probably not why you came here, right? If you have other business to do, go to it, and I'll understand." Calmly, without regard, he sighed. "Oh," Serena said, and beginning to laugh, she replied, "Actually... I wanted to ask Andrew for some advice. You see, I got this letter in the mail advertising a photo shoot, and it made me curious, because it's being done by someone at my school that I know, and..." she stopped herself momentarily, then continued, "I'm babbling already. But in any event, I'm basically getting the chance to be a model for a day. I couldn't pass up something like that." Shrugging, she smiled nervously. Darien, for a moment, managed a smile of his own. Though his voice was still dry and gravelly, his eyes began to shimmer. "Not many people get an opportunity like that," he said, "But I warn you this: modeling isn't easy. For some time, I was a professional model, and it... it was difficult. That's now what has made me such a wreck, but the thing is that a model isn't free to do whatever they want. You think you can handle that?" he asked Serena, as his gaze remained on her face. "I think I can," she replied hastily, in a loud voice, "You see, it's been just over two weeks since I decided to change the way my life was. Since then, I've been consistently trying to become a whole new person. That, I guess, includes taking on new things. Maybe this one, I told myself, will work out. By the way," she said anxiously, reaching into her right pocket, "I think it would be pretty cool if you could call me afterward, or if I could call you, or something like that. I've got an address card I made for myself. Would you be willing to do a goofy thing such as that?" she meekly asked. Despite the many young people milling about in the arcade, Darien looked right at Serena, and winked. He told her, "I *think* I'd be willing. Just wait a moment here, and I'll give you my card. Thanks for asking." Quickly, he dug into his left pocket, and pulled out a short stack of plastic cards. He began to shuffle through the various IDs for an address card that he could afford to give her. "How about this one?" he asked, showing her a plain white card, with only his name, phone number, and address on it. "I'll take it," Serena replied, "Oh, what do you think of mine?" She placed a card in his hands. Darien looked the paper card over. Besides her information, it included a hand-drawn picture of her - in a cut-off T-shirt and shorts. "You drew this yourself?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. She eagerly nodded in agreement. *** Raye, Luna, and Serena sat in the changing room, gazing into the ceiling-high, electric-light-lined mirror. The two girls, though both were busy struggling to get their hair in order, slowly turned their faces toward each other. When the two, a minute later, saw Luna's image and their faces superimposed in the mirror, they jumped back. "Sheesh, Serena!" Raye exclaimed, springing to her feet, "You didn't plan that, did you? Please tell me you didn't." Sighing, the would-be priestess checked to see if her hairdo was in place. She was relieved to see that it was intact. Serena's careful arrangement, however, had already fallen apart from just moving backward. She grumbled for a moment, then looked at Raye and plainly said, "No, I didn't mean to scare you. It was a coincidence. Besides, if I wanted to use Luna to annoy you, I could probably find many more devious ways to do it." After rapidly shaking her head sideways to clear the clouds out of her mind, she walked back to her seat. Luna was resting right on the counter, her head facing the mirror, her tail next to Serena's makeup case. "Oh, Luna," the young woman whispered, "you didn't have to come here. You didn't need to witness this mess." Grinning smugly, she rubbed the cat. The expression on Luna's face was dour. she wondered, looking to the ceiling, Raye rose from her chair. "Let's not dawdle long," she told Serena, clicking her tongue, "Mr. Fischer can't wait for us forever." She glanced towards the other side of the room, and saw a woman standing in a corner, slowly pacing back and forth. "Excuse me," Raye said, walking toward her, "Are you here for the amateur model too? May we help you?" The blond-haired woman stopped pacing. She gazed towards Raye and replied, "Yes, that's why I'm here. But I will be well." Instantly, she looked down again, and checked the fit of her long, billowy dress. Serena and Raye then left, with Luna right behind them. Once they were out of the room, the woman approached the large mirror. Zoisite scowled at it, reached back with her right arm, and shattered the mirror with a forceful punch. "Nephlite... do not delay," she said, in a voice one octave lower than a moment before. *** "Now we're going to do one more set of poses," Peter said to a quintet of young women, all clad in large, colorful dresses, "For this one, I ask that you remove your outfits." Standing tall, looking grim and stoic, he looked neutrally at the group. Peter held the same camera in his hand that he had used over the past few days. The women, on the other hand, glanced at each others' faces. Without a word, they turned away from each other and began to undress. Serena, standing in the frame of the door of that room, gasped. She whispered, "Damn. It's a good thing we got here with time yet to spare. Raye, I don't mean to be presumptive, but I'm - how shall I put this - not terribly familiar with the word 'exploitation.' This is beginning to remind me of a television program... one which involved girls in wedding dresses not much sillier than these outfits..." Quietly, Raye laughed. "You mena 'Wedding Peach,' no?" she said, "I've never seen it, but I've definitely heard the rumors... In any event, it seems Peter's not his usual self. Let's interrogate him when it's our turn to go." Absently, she watched as Peter aimed his camera. As the flash went off, the young women suddenly cried out - and vanished a moment later. Serena's jaw dropped. Raye, though, simply muttered, "Then again, maybe not." "The photo session is starting," said Zoisite, tapping Serena and Raye on their shoulders, "I think we had best go in." With a sour, still expression on her face, the general stared at Serena. Feeling her stomach sink, Serena turned her gaze toward Raye. Quickly leaning towards the would-be priestess, she whispered to her, "You'd better stay back here. If you know self-defense like you say, get ready..." Turning again, she sneered at Zoisite. Thrusting her fists in her enemy's direction, Serena said, "I wouldn't be pushy if I were you. Besides, we need five girls. Who else is gonna go?" From behind Zoisite, Amy Anderson walked into the crowded hallway. "I have such good timing," she said haughtily. Glaring at Serena, she continued, "You thought you could destroy me. But now I have you in my trap. This is where it will end, Tsukino." With that, the genius threw off her blue overcoat. She was now wearing a dress twice as elaborate than the others'. Serena thought, curling up her fists, With all the others looking at her, she told herself, With a plan forming in her head, she walked into the photo room, and bowed before Peter. The other four women looked at each other. Zoisite was the first to blink. Growling softly, the general walked out of the hallway, and took her place beside Serena. Now, only Amy, Raye, and the trembling young woman were left in the hall. It was the Christian who decided to make the next move. She thought, Walking towards the quiet red-haired girl, Raye whispered to her, "I hate to say this, but this photo session is a trap. My friend and I watched the last series of pictures, and the photographer did something to cause five other models to vanish. When he tells you to remove your clothes, get ready to run." After a moment's pause, Raye strode out towards the open room, and the young woman followed after her. "Now it begins," Amy said. She took her place in the group, but her hands were trembling. *** Peter Fischer, amateur photographer, told the five, "This'll be the last set. Please undress." His expression was cool, calm, listless. Serena, however, felt beads of sweat form on her forehead. She nudged her way close to Raye, and told her, "This is it. I know you might want to protect me, but I will do fine by myself. The only thing I ask of you, Raye, is to get out of danger. I don't want anyone to get hurt here - not even Amy." Shaking badly, she stepped towards Amy, who was still standing proudly in her sequined, shiny outfit. "If you have any sense, Miss Anderson," she said, "Get out of here. Raye and I know this will be dangerous - Peter's camera has something attached to it." To that, Amy did not reply. She simply tugged at the tight collar of her dress, in an effort to loosen it. The true evil one, Zoisite, was also standing stiffly. "Nephlite..." she whispered hoarsely, "When the flash goes off, you will be here to help me. You promised me that." Feeling ready to vomit, Serena looked at her clean yellow dress. she thought. Hastily unbuttoning it, she let it fall to the floor before she could think. Just as quickly, she removed her undergarments. A minute later, all five had taken off their clothes. Peter, with his face set in stone, aimed the camera, and fired. At once, the group split in three. Serena dived to the floor, and took Amy down, screaming, with her. Raye fled to the door, the nervous young woman trailing just behind her. Zoisite, however, remained standing. When the burst of corrupted energy hit her, she did not vanish, but instead, she absorbed the blast. "Thank you," the general whispered. Holding one finger up, she instantly changed back to her Negaverse uniform. "And I see that you've finally arrived, Nephlite," she said, glancing around Peter. The other general stood in the back of the room, several meters behind Peter, also fully dressed. "Finish the operation, Zoisite," he said, smugly smiling. "Gladly!" Zoisite replied. Laughing loudly, she thrust out her arms, and formed a sharp, thin cone of ki with her hands. The general fired it at Peter. Startled, the photographer dropped his camera, and hit the floor. The energy blast rushed over his head, and right towards Nephlite. His eyes bursting open, Beryl's general of choice could only let out a sharp, shrill scream as the destructive energy hit him in the chest. In an instant, Nephlite's body turned to a small heap of dust. Amy, meanwhile, lay face-down on the floor. She felt Serena's heavy body get off hers. "You sick freak, Serena," she began to say, but when she looked up, she saw the young woman now dressed, in unfamiliar clothes. Her enemy was now wearing a sailor suit. "No... I don't believe it!" Amy cried. Sailor Moon glared at Zoisite. Her headpiece already in her hands, she said, "Thank you for demonstrating that evil destroys itself. It is not your time to die, Zoisite. But if you stay even one instant longer, you will find yourself in extreme pain." To her relief, the general teleported out of the room. She then rushed towards Peter, and took his now-broken camera in her hands. Luna thought, finding herself frozen in place, she asked herself. The cat started to cry. Similarly, Raye watched her friend's actions, and found she had a look of terror on her face. "I would never have thought..." she told herself, in a voice much louder than she wanted. "Young woman," she told the still-trembling girl, "Wait here a moment. I'll pick up our dresses and stuff. Just give me a little time." Hanging her head low, Raye walked back into the room. Kneeling before Peter, Sailor Moon told the young man, "Your camera was filled with evil energy. I don't think you know it, but it has caused you to do some malicious things. But don't worry about it. I will put all of it right in time." Placing it back in his hands, she then walked back toward Amy. Calmly, she sat down before the young woman, who was still lying down. "Good day," she said cheerily, "Here's your dress and garments." "This isn't like you. All you wanted was revenge," Amy said, the words spilling forth like tears, "Do you still want to 'destroy' me? Or is there some other retribution you have in mind?" She pressed her head against the floor. Her eyes wide open, Sailor Moon replied, "No. The thing is, Amy, you know nothing of love. You say I want to destroy you. But what I really wanted was to take the evil out of you, and replace it with purity. And I know you still have this in you." Somberly, Amy stood up, and dressed herself. A minute later, she quickly seated herself again. "Thank you, Sailor Moon," she said, rubbing her eyes, "You have destroyed my defenses." Suddenly, she hung her head low. Sailor Moon put her arms around Amy. There they stayed for several minutes. -- END NOTES: I wasted a lot of time on this chapter, and it's still pretty shoddy. Sorry. I'll try to be more efficient from now on. But speaking of delays... I want to wait some time before moving on to chapter 7. Now that 6 out of 12 planned "Transformation Sequence" chapters have been completed, I'm certain that this fanfic series *will* be finished. In the next few weeks, I'll be working on some other projects. These include... 1) A quasi-continuation fic. I want to pick up after dub episode 81 (the battle with Wiseman), and rewrite the R movie. Yeah, it requires some alteration of the official SM timeline, but I just might be able to pull it off. 2) A "Tenchi Muyo" fic. My ambition is to create a convincing alternate universe of the first OAV season. To do that, I will use some *slightly* bent characterization and new names. I'm going to presume that everyone will hate it. My goal, however, is to view the series from new angles. If it is controversial, so be it. 3) More of the "Sailormoon" Pie spamfic series. Expect episodes with titles like "S-Pies," "Pies-R-Us," and "Pie R Squared." Extreme inanity! I'll be waiting for feedback! -Alan The standard disclaimers apply. This writing was completed, by Alan (John Alan Riggs), on February 20, 1999.