Mamoru sat on his bed, his hand between his hands. "How. . .how in the world. . .?" he muttered to himself.
"Mamo-chan! How has your day been?"
He folded his hands, rested his chin on them, and stared at the floor. Usako!
"Princess Serenity?"
"I'm sorry; do I know you?"
Usagi had simply disappeared right in front of him. "And there was nothing I could do," he said aloud.
Artemis entered the room. "All of them are gone. Even Sailor Pluto. Luna has taken her place, but with Diana due any day now. . ." He hopped onto the bed next to Mamoru. "I cannot believe they returned. Mamoru-san, as soon as Luna delivers. . ."
"No! I will not let you give in.. . .Besides, Usako would never forgive me if I did." Mamoru laid down on the bed. "I just wish we had some clues as to where they are."
Artemis noticed Mamoru playing with his necklace. "Where did you get that from?"
"Huh? Oh, I got this from my pen pal," answered Mamoru. "It's a friendship necklace. I have one half and she has the other." He sighed and went back to staring at the ceiling.
"Don't worry, Mamoru. We'll get her back. We will get them all back," Artemis reassured him.
"I know we will," Mamoru said with a worried tone. "We have to."

Kin Hana yawned as she walked into class A-4. She noticed that her classmates were in an extremely talkative mood today. "Solana-chan! What is everyone so excited about?"
"You didn't hear?" asked her best friend, Solana. "Geez, the news is all over the country. Remember that high school you tried to get into?"
"Juuban High? What about it?" Hana asked.
"Six girls from that school have suddenly disappeared!" answered Midori, another friend. "Like, poof! Into thin air!"
"Plus, a student and the nurse over at Juuban Jr. disappeared, as well as another student from T and A Girls School," added Solana.
"Wow. I wonder what happened," said Hana.
"Police closed both schools for the rest of the week," Solana continued.
"And it's only the first week!" added Midori.
"Well, I hope they are all okay," said Hana as she started to play with her necklace.
"Hey, where did you get that?" asked Solana.
"This? Oh, I got it from Claire's. It's a friendship necklace. My pen pal has the other half."
"Alright, people! Get to your seats!" The teacher clapped her hands together to get her students' attention. "Yo! Sit! Now! Smith-san! Don't make me give you detention again!"
"Do the police have any leads?" Hana asked as she and Solana took their seats.
Solana shook her head. "Nope. But supposedly, they all know each other. The police don't know if this is a clue or just one big consequence."
"I wonder if they know something they shouldn't, you know? Like a mob who wants them dead," pondered Hana.
"Kin-san?" roll-called the teacher.
"Here!" Hana answered. To Solana, she added, "You just be careful, okay?"
"Only if you are," promised Solana.
Hana nodded. However, she sensed that she would be getting involved somehow, whether she wanted to or not. The vibrations of Earth tell me that my powers will draw me into this. But why? And what is so significant about these girls?

The cell door opened. Usagi's head snapped up to find the woman who had kidnapped her the day before. The woman tossed Minako into the cage and slammed the door shut. "I'll get one of you girls to talk," she stated as the fire flared in her eyes.
"Minako-chan!" Usagi was aghast at her friend's condition. "What have you done to her?" she demanded to know.
The woman simply ignored her. "Luna and Artemis will crack and come for you."
"What do you want with them?" Usagi asked.
The woman smiled evilly. "Revenge."

"Hana-kun, you are late."
"Gomen ne, Gin-sama." Hana bowed to her boss. "I stayed after school to help a classmate with her studies."
Gin-sama stroked his beard. "Okay. But call next time."
Hana bowed again. "Yes, sir."
"Good. Now. . ." Gin-sama dropped his pants. ". . .what do think about this?"
Hana quickly covered her face. "Gin-sama, what are you doing?!"
"I'm showing you my newest creation: diamond incrusted boxers," he said proudly.
"Wouldn't that be painful to sit in?" Hana asked, her eyes still covered.
"That's why there are no diamonds in the caboose area."
A male employee tapped Gin-sama on the shoulder. "Excuse me, sir, but you're, uh, mooning the customers."
The urge to crawl into a hole and die grew inside Hana as she looked around and saw a store of red-faced customers. Her boss, however, seemed completely unfazed. "Well, it's not like I have something they haven't seen before," he replied.
"Kami-sama!" Hana quickly retreated to the backroom. "Well, there's one in every life story," she tried to reassure herself.
"Hang on!" Another employee, known to his co-workers as "Dude" felt Hana's forehead. "Okay. You're good."
"What?" asked Hana. "Do I look sick?"
"There has been this strange virus going around," Dude explained. "It's been kept hush-hush, but it only affects jewelry store employees. They all get sick at the same time, then the store gets robbed." He held the door for her. "So far, it has affected twenty stores and about eighty people."
"Wow." Hana slipped into the changing room. "Do the police have any idea what's going on? Do they know what causes it?"
"No, but they think it might be terrorists."
Hana closed her eyes. Earth is telling me a different story. . .Those girls. They have something to do with it.
"What do you think, Kin-san?" asked Dude.
Hana began to redo her hairdo: her shoulder length, blonde hair in a low ponytail. "It's either that or some very lucky robbers."
"Dude!" Gin-sama yelled from the front of the store. "You're on my clock!"
Dude rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but who does payroll at the end of the day?" he mumbled under his breath.
Hana laughed. "Gin-sama. What a goof."
"See ya in a few minutes, Kin-san."
"See ya, Dude," she replied in English. Hana quickly checked herself in the body-length mirror. Satisfied with her look, she stepped out of the changing room. As she did, a feeling of dread hit her. "Whoever they are, this store will be their next target."

Mamoru wiped new-born Diana with a dark maroon towel. "Congratulations, you two."
"Thank you. It's too bad Usagi-chan didn't get to see this," said Luna.
Artemis nodded. "Or Minako-chan."
"Or the rest of them." Mamoru placed Diana on the floor next to Luna. Luna began to clean her child as Artemis looked on. "Mamoru-san, Luna and I are still willing to go. . ."
"And I am still unwilling to let you," Mamoru finished. "You three are welcome to stay here as long as you like, but I will not allow you to go."
Artemis took a deep breath. "Alright. Then we need to get to work."

Hana gasped and took a step back. "Who are you?"
Four men kneeled before her. "We are the Guardians of Prince Endymion," Kunzite responded.
"Prince Endymion?" asked Hana.
"Princess, you must awaken. Your brother needs you," Kunzite pleaded.
"Which one?" Hana asked.
"Your brother from your past life, Endymion," answered Kunzite.
"Please, Princess," pleaded Zoisite. "Awaken soon. Your fellow Senshi need you."
"Senshi? You mean the Sailor Senshi?" asked Hana. She gasped as they faded away. "Wait!"
Hana sat straight up in bed. That dream again. She placed her hand on the floor. There is a man in Tokyo who will need my help. But there are things I must take care of here first. She raised her hand and looked at it. "Will it be my awakening?"

The woman with the fiery red eyes stared at a projection of Diamond in the Rough, the jewelry store where Hana worked. "This will be our next target."
A man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties walked into the room. "Ra, my sister, please forgive my lateness."
Ra turned to look at her brother. "Since you have been successful as of late, Shanu, I shall forgive your tartness." She pointed to the projection. "This store here is your next target. You know the drill."
"Yes, Dear Sister. Drain the energy, then search for the Golden Crystal." He bowed. "I take my leave."
"Get me something nice while you are at it," added Ra. She turned her attention back to the projection. "Even if those two don't turn themselves in, we shall at least have the Silver and Golden Crystals as parting gifts."

"Hey, Dude. Could you find me some more glass cleaner?" Hana asked.
"No problem, Kin-san."
Gin-sama inspected the glass cases Hana had already cleaned. "Nice job, Hana-kun."
Hana slowly stopped wiping the glass as she stared at Gin-sama in disbelief. "Uh, you do realize that you are wearing the earrings that are supposed to go here, right?" Hana pointed to a spot in the case she was currently cleaning.
"Well, I'll be!" Gin-sama took them off and put them back in the case.
"I didn't know you had your ears pierced," Hana told him.
"I don't." Gin-sama patted Hana on the head, then walked to the back of the store. Hana put her hand on her face. "Kami-sama."
"Here you go, Kin-san." Dude handed her more glass cleaner. "I didn't know Gin-sama had his ears pierced."
Hana went back to her cleaning. "Neither did he."
Dude's eyes grew, then he chuckled. "Kami-sama." He went back to his mopping. "Come on, minna-san! Let's hurry up and get this place clean so we can go home."
Hana's cleaning slowed a bit. That's odd. They didn't come. Maybe Earth did that just to keep me alert.
The lights suddenly shut off. "What happened?" someone asked.
In the glass, Hana saw something forming behind her. She looked over her left shoulder to find a man with white hair and cold, blue glowing eyes. "It looks like you missed a spot!" Blue mist shot out from his body and attacked the people.
As the mist came towards her, Hana screamed and covered her face as the right side of her body leaned against the case. Then. . .nothing. Hana looked up in time to see Gin-sama collapse. Behind her, another female employee fell as well. Hana, however, was fine. A golden light was surrounding her, acting like a shell that protected her from the mist. "What in the. . .?"
Shanu was surprised as well. "What the. . .?" He growled. "Come here you!"
Hana jumped out of the way and ducked behind a solid case. Shanu's fist smashed into her freshly cleaned case. Jewelry scattered along the floor. "Where are you?" he yelled.
Hana grabbed a nearby ruby. She took a deep breath and tossed it to the side. Shanu attacked the noise and Hana took off like a shot towards the door.
"Oh, no you don't!" He turned around and used his cat tail to grab her and pulled her back towards him. He let her go and her momentum caused her to bounce twice on the ground. She looked over her shoulder and saw Shanu inch closer to her. She screamed and covered her head.
"Earth Leaf Cyclone!" Shanu was knocked into another glass case. Hana uncovered her head and looked up to see who her savior was. A Sailor Senshi stood over her. The Senshi looked down at Hana as her tiara gem started to glow.

Hana found herself and the Senshi surrounded by a pure white light. "Where are we?" Hana asked, a little frightened. "What happened to the store?"
"I am Sailor Earth," the Senshi said, ignoring Hana's questions. "I am your awakening."
"But if you are me, then how are you standing in front of me?" asked Hana.
"I am not the physical you," Sailor Earth explained. "The other Senshi have been awakened, but since you have not received your powers, I have been forced to remain as this spirit before you. I had hoped you would eventually meet the other Senshi so that my coming would not be so sudden. Now, however, I have no choice. You must accept me or this planet is doomed."
"Well, since you put it that way. . .Alright. I accept you."
Sailor Earth nodded. "Thank you." She walked forward and was a spirit returning to the body. A blast of wind shot up Hana's body. She stuck her hand in the air. "Earth Planet Power! Make Up!"
A henshion stick appeared in her hand. Shifting it right, she formed a circle, then a plus sign, forming the symbol of Earth. This symbol then engulfed her body. Her arms and legs flung it off, exposing her fuku. The fore and middle fingers on both hands came together. She crossed them across her face, then flung them to her sides.

Shanu shook his head as he regained his bearings. He saw Hana, now Sailor Earth, standing in front of him. "Sailor. . .Sailor Earth. But it is said that you could not be awakened."
"Apparently someone's wrong." She swung her right hand above her head, a trail of leaves following it's path. She stopped her hand over her head, then dropped it in front of her face. She pushed the group of leaves towards Shanu. "Earth Leaf Cyclone!"
Shanu was blinded, but barely harmed. Still, he told her, "I shall return."
After Shanu disappeared, Sailor Earth looked over her Sailor Fuku in awe. "Wow. So this is my awakening. A Sailor Senshi. Who would have thought?"

Chapter 2