The Moon, the Baby, and Bottles
by
White Lego Ninja
Disclaimer, I only own the plot of this story. Sailor Moon and all characters, places etc, belong to Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, and DIC Media. Captain Planet and the Planeteers, and all characters, places, etc belong to DIC Media. Centurions and all places, characters, etc, belong to Joe Ruby, Ken Spears, and Hanna-Barbara.
Author's Notes: I usually don't do stuff like this, especially since Sailor Moon will be dead in this. However:
Since creating my WattPad account, thanks to Alexandria Silvertongue, I found a couple of stories there that happen to be Ghost Stories. And then, this author there, back_from_dead, and I got to chatting about the story: Milk Bottles.
So, even though Halloween is still 9 months away, here I am; writing a random story just to get something off my chest.
However, to make things fun I'm proposing a challenge: Whoever reads this, please review with your feelings, and an idea for your own 3-way Crossover version of the story. I might have to click the "Follow Author" button on your Profile, but I hope to catch it early so I can read it about as soon as you post it up.
*Cracks Knuckles*
She was just another poor, bedraggled soul, struggling to make ends meet. He saw them all the time, their faces careworn, and blank.
The Nuclear Winter incident brought on by Doc Terror had created so many of them. He and his two best friends were just three of the lucky ones who still had their jobs, their money the jobs earned them, and of course their health.
She came into the store one day, carrying two empty bottles that had once been filled with milk. She silently placed them upon the counter in front of him. He took the empties and replaced them with bottles of fresh milk, saying: "Thirty cents, please."
She did not reply, nor did she pay. She just took the bottles and left the shop. He debated within himself to go after her and demand his money, or call the Police, but he did neither. Her need was in her face, and he always felt guilty at being one of the lucky ones with a job and money.
'She's probably a migrant worker,' Ace McCloud decided.
The next morning, she had returned with two empty milk bottles. He replaced them with bottles full of fresh milk, and watched her go silently out the door again. She seemed so worried, which caused him to wonder if she had a home at all, let alone a job. So he decided to try and offer her a position, if only a part-time one, helping out around the store.
After he'd closed up shop that day, Ace met up with his two best friends, Jake Rockwell and Max Ray. He told them what had been happening the past two days.
"She seems like she's in danger," Max said, worry all over his features.
"What say we help you keep watch for her again tomorrow?" Jake asked. "Then, after she leaves, we follow her and see where she goes."
And so the trio waited together, playing Go Fish, as it neared closing time in the convenience store.
She was back again, with two empty milk bottles, as seemed her usual routine. Again, Ace replaced the empties with two full bottles, and she took them without saying a word. The three tried talking to her; to ask if she needed a job, to find out exactly what was wrong. This time, though, she gestured for them to follow, and practically raced out with the milk bottles.
Her urgency worried the three, so they locked the store up and followed after her.
To their surprise, she headed away from the migraant camp on the outskirts of town. She went instead to the old graveyard down by the river; the one the children said in hushed, scared whispers, was haunted by the ghosts of fishermen, divers, and some even spoke of pirates seeking ancient golden and bejewled treasures.
As they watched, she hurried up to a stone marker, and then... disappeared into the ground?
The three rubbed their eyes, and scratched their heads, in disbelief. Then they heard a muffled sound nearby. It took them a short while before they distinguished it as the cry of a baby. The sound was coming from beneath the ground near the stone marker where the young woman had vanished!
Max obeyed as Ace ordered him to get back to the store and call the Police, Fire Department, and Medics. While Max was doing that,, Ace and Jake had grabbed shovels and begun digging up the grave. The area was swarming with concerned people within only a few minutes!
When the three opened the casket, they saw the young teen mother who had visited Ace's store, lying dead within it. In her arms she held a small baby, and two now empty milk bottles. The crying baby was still alive.
"Is this what she was trying to tell you?" Jake asked, referring to the first two times she had visited the store.
Ace flashed a thumbs-up, indicating he heard Jake's question, and that must have been what she'd tried to indicate.
Two of the people, both females; A Russian blonde named Linka, and an Asian girl named Gi, chose to take her to the Hospital. After the baby had been nursed back to health, they had decided to adopt her as their niece.
"We will be known as 'Auntie Gi', and 'Anutie Linka'," said Linka, smiling proudly.
For the next few weeks, Ace had expected to see the young mother, Serena Tsukino, appear in his store again. But she never did return. Knowing her baby was in safe hands, and would be cared for and loved, she could move onto the Afterlife in peace.
End Notes: Short, Sweet, and Sad.
Usually I don't do stuff like that to anyone like Serena/Sailor Moon. Hey! I had to use someone to get the story somewhere, didn't I?!
Read, Review with your own version of the story, and please suggest ideas for my incomplete stories.
Cheers!
White Lego Ninja