Chapter 1: A New Country
In the storage area of an airplane, en route to America from Japan, four very special cats were sitting, surrounded by other yelping and mewing animals in their carriers and kennels. These were no ordinary cats because they not only could speak like humans, but they also had the ability to awaken magical warriors called the Sailor Senshi. And that is exactly what they were planning to do. But there was an irony to their plan as well, and they sensed it, and were worried by it.
"Mother, Father, are these American Senshi going to like us? I'm worried because of what happened with all the others. There's something very wrong with them. Like they're evil now," Diana worried. She was a gray kitten with a crescent moon bald spot on her forehead. Luna and Artemis, her parents, also had the same crescent moons on their heads as well.
"Now Diana," Luna said, smiling at her daughter, "You know that's not our fault that the Senshi, Usagi and everyone, are missing. They didn't leave because they hated us, they left because someone evil took them. And that's why we need to come to America, to awaken the Gemstone Senshi."
"But why are the Gemstone Senshi in America? Aren't all Sailor Senshi Japanese?" Mikazuki asked, confused. She was a pink cat who was Diana's little sister.
"Not necessarily. At least, I don't think so. For all we know, there could be possible Senshi to awaken all over the world," Artemis shrugged.
"My guess is that the Senshi we know of live in Japan since that's where Usagi is, and, well, at least Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars are all supposed to be her special guardians. Maybe the Gemstone Senshi have a different duty that has nothing to do with Usagi, and so they didn't need to be reincarnated as Japanese girls," added Luna.
"Oh. Good thing we learned English, then, especially since Father taught me from when he went to England with Lady Minako," Diana nodded, blushing slightly. Mikazuki just looked worried, as she didn't know English as well as her sister. The four cats then decided to relax for the moment, since they had a long, hard task ahead of them. While they knew they would find the Gemstone Senshi in St. Louis, Missouri, it was still a big place, especially for four little kitties. They were going to have to use all their powers of perception to sense where the potential Senshi might be.
Unknown to Luna, Artemis, Mikazuki and Diana, there were other people who were planning to go to the same place they were.
"The Gateway to the West. The perfect place to begin our plan, right, my girls?" Princess Twinkle asked, addressing the 9 girls assembled before her with an imperious air. She was a very cute little girl, with long blond hair tied up in a big, fluffy pink bow, but the 9 girls knew better than to take her lightly, for she was more than she seemed.
"But why not take over the capital of the nation, Washington DC? Why start here?" asked Ami Mizuno, one of the 9 girls. Princess Twinkle shook her head.
"Because, my dear, that is where the resistance is, and where it must be crushed," she said with a smirk, "Maybe you should be the one to find out first since you're so skeptical."
Finally, the four cats arrived at their destination, and they snuck off of the plane, being careful to not let any hurrying people accidentally step on them. They made it safely out of the airport, and then they had to decide where to go. Where would the Gemstone Senshi be?
"I can feel something," Luna suddenly blurted out. "Something important. The Gemstone Senshi are related to each other, like some of them are siblings."
"Then that's good to know. Maybe all we need to do is find a few of them and maybe they can take us right to the others," Artemis said, relieved that they wouldn't have to comb the entire city for the 12 special people.
"Is there any way we can tell where they are, though? Even if they all live together, we still have to find that place," Diana worried.
"Talking cats! They look just like the ones the legendary Sailor Senshi have!" exclaimed a new voice. The four cats looked up into the red eyes of a rotund Japanese girl who was staring at them excitedly. At least, they guessed she was Japanese since she was speaking that language to them.
"How do you know who we are? I mean, we shouldn't be talking out here in public," Luna said, embarrassed that they were found out so quickly. However, she wasn't scared, since she could sense that this girl had a soft brown aura around her, the aura of a Sailor Senshi!
"Of course I know who you are! Me and my friends have a little fanclub for the Sailor Senshi, and I bet they'd like to meet you four," the girl gushed.
"That actually would be very useful, since I think you're someone we're looking for too," Artemis said, "But I think we should explain when we get to the fanclub. How many people are in it?"
"Four, including me. My favorite Senshi are Mercury and Neptune, because they're so elegant. And I'm glad to be able to speak in Japanese to you cats because I don't like speaking English. I'm really bad at it and sometimes people make fun of me for it," the girl went on, carrying the cats down the sidewalk. It turned out that the fanclub place wasn't too far from the airport, and so she brought them inside.
"What's your name?" Diana asked.
"Yui Nijino. I have sisters too but they're not that interested in the Sailor Senshi," said Yui. She set the four cats down and opened a door that was marked "Sailor Moon Fans Only." Luna, Artemis, Mikazuki and Diana came inside, and they knew this was a safe place for them. Not only were these obviously people who liked the Sailor Senshi, but they had their own auras too, silvery-white, orange, and red. A girl with brown skin and oddly pale green hair gasped.
"Luna, Artemis and Diana! That's who those cats look like," she exclaimed in recognition. "Yui, did you bring in some cats off the street just because they look like the Sailor Moon cats? And who's the pink one"
"No, we're the real thing," Luna said simply.
"That's amazing," commented another, even darker-skinned girl; this one had short red hair. "I thought the magic cats lived in Japan, not here, though."
"That's what I'd like to know, you traitors," snapped a new voice. Yui spun around and yelped in surprise, because Sailor Mercury was standing right behind her!
"This is so amazing!" she shrieked, still speaking in Japanese, "First I get to meet the cats, and now you!" However, Sailor Mercury did not share her enthusiasm. Instead, she shoved Yui roughly aside and stomped over to the cats, who glared at her.
"You're the traitor, Ami. And these girls can help stop you," Artemis retorted. In unison, the four cats all flipped in the air, and 12 jeweled pendants appeared, three coming from each kitty. Yui picked up one that looked like it had a garnet hanging from it.
"Are these for us? Are we Senshi? Why are we fighting Sailor Mercury?" she asked. The green-haired girl sighed impatiently.
"Yui, you know we can't understand you when you just speak Japanese like that," she grumbled.
"Get your pendants! You need to fight Sailor Mercury; she's evil now!" Luna ordered, tossing topaz, ruby, and opal pendants to the other three girls.
"You don't need to fight me, because I'm not going to attack you this time," Sailor Mercury shrugged. "I just came to see if it was true that the resistance was here." Luna raised an eyebrow.
"Resistance? Who are you resisting?" she asked skeptically.
"It's who is resisting me," Ami responded coolly. "Now I need to go report this." With that, she left the room, shutting the door behind her.
"WAAAH! Why is Sailor Mercury being mean to me?!" sobbed Yui.
"I don't know, but I'm going to guess that everyone else is against us, girls. I think you may have sisters who share your destinies as well, so we should go home with you," Artemis declared.
"Everyone else? Do you mean all the other Sailor Senshi? And how did you know we all had sisters?" asked the redhead curiously.
"Yeah, the Senshi are being bad guys now, and you need to use your own Senshi powers to stop them. At least, I'm pretty sure that's what's going on," Luna said sheepishly. "And we know you have sisters because Yui told us that on the way there. She was a very nice guide."
"But how are we supposed to know if you're not tricking us? Why should we fight the Sailor Senshi?" grumped the girl with purple braids.
"Just trust them, Juliette, Luna's obviously not on the same side as Sailor Mercury anymore. And these pendants should be proof enough," snapped the green-haired girl.