Author Notes: My first crossover attempt in a long time. I have part of Chapter 2 written, but I'm having trouble with how to have "Serena" regain her powers. It should get better, though. This is just the beginning! (well duh, it's Chapter 1.)
Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers or Sailor Moon. Disney and Naoko Takeuchi do.
In the Garden of Angels
Prologue: Moonfall
In the chill of the night at the North Pole, the former Princess of the Moon stood alone against the great evil that threatened to consume the world. Together with her fellow Sailor Soldiers, she had defended the people of Tokyo in a never-ending series of battles that led up to this final confrontation.
She'd lost almost everything. The four girls she'd grown closest to, the ones she shared everything with, were dead. Brave, strong, compassionate Makoto had thrown herself into an unwinnable fight to keep Usagi alive to the end. Gentle, patient, intelligent Ami had died similarly, her body lying broken on an icicle. Beautiful, exuberant, lovely Minako was dead too, her once vibrant golden hair spilling limply over the vines that trapped her corpse. Even fiery, boisterous, confident Rei was now gone, her last regret being that she hadn't kissed her love goodbye.
Losing them had hurt terribly, but the death of her Mamo-chan had hit her like a sword through the heart. She'd hovered over him with tears in her eyes, not believing what she was seeing. The arrogant, cocky, but somehow lovable and caring Mamoru who had been her knight in the black tuxedo had died in this ugly war as well. The five people she'd trusted her life with no longer existed. Serenity wielded her power for their sake, pouring all her remaining passion into the Silver Crystal. The Crystal shined at the end of the wand, pushing the dark waves of Metallia away from her, her only remaining protection against the darkness that had consumed so much.
But what was this? Serenity almost dropped her concentration in surprise when four transparent gloved hands reached out, gripping the wand and anchoring her there. The ghostly presences wrapped around her like diamond armor, shielding her from the darkness that otherwise might have consumed her mind. Her friends...they couldn't be there with her, could they?
"Mercury Power!" A blue glow entered the tiny crystal shining through the night, bringing with it the gentle patience that was uniquely Mercury.
"Mars Power!" A red glow joined it, giving the crystal the warmth and passion of Sailor Mars.
"Jupiter Power!" A green glow followed, bringing forth the courage and strength that characterized Jupiter.
"Venus Power!" A golden glow encased the crystal, representing the love and light of the soldier of Venus.
"Moon Prism Power!" Drawing strength from all her friends, Princess Serenity sent her light into the galaxy, piercing the darkness that Queen Metallia had brought upon the earth. They had done it. Serenity's loyal friends and guardians had given their lives to end this dark war once and for all and to put the past behind them.
As Sailor Moon, the last of the Sailor Soldiers, plummeted into oblivion, she wished with all her heart that she could somehow be free again. She couldn't have known it, but that was also the wish of a certain occupant of a certain dumpster on the Moon. Rita Repulsa and Usagi Tsukino would both find a new beginning in Angel Grove, California, though each was on a mission to destroy the other. Though a new life and a new place were in store for "Serena Tuckerson", she couldn't escape her duity no matter how far she ran.
The first indicator of Serena Tuckerson's changing future in Angel Grove came at 8 in the morning on her fourth day of classes. As it happened, she was supposed to rise and get ready for school two hours previously. All wise family members in the immediate vicinity promptly plugged their ears, fending off the oncoming assault of Serena's famous wail---
"Eek, I'm late again! Ms. Applebee'll have me in detention for life!"
Ah, there it was. The Tuckerson family wisely steered clear of their adopted daughter as she raced through the house, hair ties and papers flying everywhere. With a frantic wave, she bolted out the door and down the street, hoping to make it to Angel Grove High before the 8:14 bell.
Unknown to Serena, a black cat with a bandaged forehead watched the girl race into the distance from Serena's bedroom window, shaking her head and smiling sadly. Oddly enough, the cat opened its mouth and spoke, voice full of longing for the happiness that was lost. "Oh, Usagi. Some things never change, do they?"
Today was not Serena's day at all. Ms. Applebee had assigned Usagi to yet another day of detention, much to the amusement of her two 'detention buddies', Farkus Bulkmeyer and Eugene Skullovitch. Upon the announcement that Serena would be joining them yet again that afternoon, the two bullies of Angel Grove slid their desks uncomfortably close to hers.
"It's a date, princess." Skull declared, clicking his tongue in what he must have thought was a seductive gesture. Serena only snorted and rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, hope you like sharing with the Bulkmeister, sweetheart." This may not have sounded threatening to an outsider, but Serena knew well what he meant. Bulk would be relieving her of her treasured afternoon snacks once again. And a not-sugared-up Serena was a very unhappy Serena.
Five sympathetic glances passed over the blonde newcomer from across the room. After years of evading the duo's schemes, they would never wish an afternoon with Bulk and Skull on anyone. Well…okay, maybe Zack would pay to watch Bulk and Skull with Rita. Even the evil sorceress they were fighting would probably be driven to the end of her rope by those two.
"Poor Serena." The dark-haired girl in a yellow blouse looked upon Serena sympathetically, voicing all the Ranger's thoughts.
"Yeah---quality time with Bulk and Skull? Harsh." Her best friend in pink chimed in, shaking her head.
"The punishment far exceeds the crime." The boy in blue overalls and glasses sitting with them nodded, feeling a twinge of pity for the newest addition to the class. She seemed like such a nice girl too.
"Think we should do something?" The dark-skinned boy in a striped polo fiddled with his pen, looking over at the girl. She looked so resigned to life in detention---and that just wasn't right.
"If she swings by the Youth Center, we'll talk to her." The apparent leader of the group, a dark haired boy in red, seemed to close the conversation as they all returned to their worksheets.
Detention with Bulk and Skull that afternoon had been pretty much the same as the past three days for Serena. Skull would occasionally tug on one of her pigtails, Bulk would shovel down all the food in the proximity of the classroom, and Usagi would stare out a window, bored out of her mind. There was one notable event today, though: she could've sworn she saw a cat that looked exactly like her Luna staring back at her from a nearby tree branch. The cat leapt off the branch with the usual feline grace and sped off---was it Serena, or was this cat up to something?
At that moment, a half-chewed pen happened to collide with the side of her head. "Hey, spaghettihead, you comin'?"
Skull was standing in the doorway, giving her an odd look. Her eyes flicked above his head to the time---wow, was it 3:30 already? She gathered her books and pushed past him out the door, ready to head home and fill her grumbling stomach. There was that science test to study for too, she supposed, but right now her priorities were to eat and sleep.
"So you headin' to the Youth Center?" Great. Bulk had fallen into step beside her, as if their detention adventures had earned him Best Buddy status in her book. She wasn't that lonely and desperate, was she?
She stopped to consider, though. She'd heard the Youth Center mentioned a lot in homeroom---apparently her classmates often went there to get a snack, work out, or hang out after school. Maybe she could give the place a try---getting a snack before she headed home couldn't hurt.
"Sure, lead the way." Serena cringed just a little. She really didn't want to hang with Bulk and Skull any longer than necessary, but they were her only guides to this mysterious Youth Center place. They chattered and kicked garbage along the street the whole way, leaving Serena to awkwardly trail behind them while pretending she wasn't.
Bulk, ever the gentleman when he wanted something, opened the door for Serena and slipped inside behind her. Skull maneuvered in front of her, sweeping an arm at their surroundings.
"The Angel Grove Youth Center, second home of our fine city's fun-loving teenagers. Ah, memories---we've made so many new friends here over the years, haven't we Bulk?"
Bulk threw an arm around his partner in crime, lost in many memories of troublemaking. "Ah, I remember them well. Little Jimmy, giver of our smoothies on a hot summer day. Amber, the girl who shined our shoelaces. And there's Chris, who purchased our entire collection of motivational tapes."
"Don't forget Kimberly, the friend who rescues nice new transfer students from slimeballs such as yourselves." A hand landed on Serena's arm as the new voice spoke, and Serena caught a glimpse of the pink-clad girl from homeroom out of the corner of her eye. "Come on, Serena, you don't want to hang around these guys. I think they're contagious."
A chorus of chuckles followed the statement. Serena turned to find the source of the laughter, and noticed the girl's---Kimberly's---group of friends. One by one, they added their contributions to the mockery of Bulk and Skull.
"Or Trini, the one who's always there to dodge your advances." The dark-haired girl in yellow spoke up next, folding her arms and raising her eyebrows.
"Or Jason, the one who could take you both in a fight with my hands behind my back." Jason was the dark-haired boy in red, apparently, who had big muscles and an even bigger smile, Serena noted.
"Or Billy, who currently estimates that your chances of successfully keeping Serena on your side are rapidly approaching zero." That was the boy in blue, with the sandy hair and round glasses.
"Or Zack, the one who's always there to throw off your groove." The dark-skinned boy added, spinning on his heel and making a silly pose.
"So stay away from her, creeps!" Kim finished, sliding her grip to Serena's wrist and guiding the girl to the table the five friends sat at every day. "Sorry you had to put up with them, Serena. Those guys just love to make things harder for the rest of us."
Serena shook her head, still feeling somewhat dazed. "It wasn't that bad---why'd you do that, anyway"
"They've had it coming for a long time." Zack let out a small chuckle. "Those guys just don't know when to quit."
"It would be preferable if they ceased all attempts at gaining favorability with women." Billy added smartly, though Serena's eyes had glazed over by about the fourth word.
"Huh?" Serena thought she'd said it, but three other voices had spoken in unison with hers. As she looked up, Jason, Zack, and Kim had all turned to Trini expectantly.
"He said they should stop hitting on girls." Trini translated dutifully. "And he's right. Did they try anything on you, Serena?"
"Nothing too gross. Skull seemed to like my hair though." Serena shuddered, trying desperately to rid her hair of Skull-germs by combing frantically through the ends of her pigtails. Trini and Kim shot her sympathetic looks. If he touched either girl's hair, Skull would soon find himself eating dirt.
"Anyway, you're better off here with us. I'm Jason, and this is---"
"Trini, Billy, Kimberly, and Zack." Serena finished, pointing to each as she said their names. "I caught your names while you were telling off Bulk and Skull." She nodded, pleased with herself for having memorized something successfully that day. Unfortunately for her grades, she tended to hit a limit of one important memorization a day. And it was not the Periodic Table of the Elements' day.
Jason nodded. "You can hang here with us if you want. Ernie makes some good snacks if you're hungry, and we usually train on the mats over there." He needn't have spoken, though, for Serena's eyes had already locked on her entertainment of choice: the currently unoccupied video game console sitting across the way.
"I'll be right back!" Serena smiled, leaping up from the table and shuffling the quarters in her pockets. Kim was disappointed at watching her leave so soon, but as it turned out, it had been for the best. Their communicators beeped a familiar jingle in unison, the call of Zordon interrupting their fun day at the center. They left their things behind, slipping into the back room of the center for privacy.
Jason picked up his communicator first. "We read you, Zordon."
"RANGERS, REPORT TO THE COMMAND CENTER AT ONCE. WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY SITUATION."
The Rangers pressed the buttons on their communicators as one, vanishing in a flash of color.
Meanwhile, Serena pumped her fist in the air in glee. "I beat the high score! I blew right past the tanks, flipped over the towers and---guys? Hey, where'd they go?"
Serena approached the abandoned table, frowning at the scattered books and papers surrounding it. "They couldn't even tell me they were leaving? Some friends."
She slumped over the table with a sigh, ignoring the quiet laughter coming from the direction of Bulk and Skull.