Chapter One: The Senshi Are Real
Venus Ryann slammed the gavel onto the lectern. "This meeting of the Anime Club will now come to order!" she proudly proclaimed.
The rest of the club grumbled in response. "Geez, Louise, Venus. This is the Anime Club, not National Honors Society," Tammy Piper piped up. "I really don't think the gavel is necessary."
Venus showed Tammy the handle of the gavel. "But I had it engraved with the club name and everything," she explained.
Candace Vallari rose from her seat. "I believe that what Tammy is trying to say is that our meetings aren't formal affairs. We are just here to learn more about our favorite anime and to be introduced to new ones," she explained. "Though I must admit, the engraving is very well done."
"Why, thank you, Candace," said Venus.
A loud, exasperated sigh came from the back of the classroom. "Could we hurry this circus up?" huffed Alvis Aminia in her usual bored manner. "Or do you three clowns have nothing better to do but yak?"
Tammy looked back at Alvis and politely, yet sarcastically, told Alvis, "Jesus loves you, too."
Alvis rolled her eyes in response. She desperately wanted to tell Tammy to "shut your damn mouth" and to "stop preaching your religious shit," but decided against it and bit her tongue instead. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."
Tucking her long strawberry blonde hair behind her ear, Miri Brooks quickly stood up, pen and notebook in hand. In an attempt to break the tension, she jumped right into that day's agenda. "Alright. Today, we will discuss possible ways of bringing Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon to the States. Then Ben will give the second part of his Digimon speech, followed by our planning of this year's Anime Movie Week: When, where, and what?"
"I say we show the Sailor Moon R movie!" suggested Venus.
"Um, you always say that," Candace politely pointed out.
"Yeah, it's time for something different," commented Carmen Smith. "I mean, I love Sailor Moon, too, but there are other anime out there: Ramma ½, Oh my Goddess. . ."
"Or," Alvis interrupted, "we could join the Real World and watch something interesting. Like the news, for example."
Holly Carington, who was sitting in front of Alvis, turned in her seat to face the club's naysayer. "If you don't like anime, Alvis, then why are you even in this club?"
"Because joining a club and staying active for a year is a requirement to graduate and I haven't done that yet," Alvis informed her.
"Yeah, but why this club?" asked Carmen.
"'Cause it's the only one that fits my schedule."
Under her breath, Tammy muttered, "Gee, lucky us."
Nobody heard Tammy's comment. Still, Miri tried to restore order. "Okay, so starting with the PGSM campaign. . ., anybody have any ideas where we should start?"
Prism Academy was founded in 1901 in Crystal Town, Illinois as a way to prepare the young men in town for college and life outside this Midwest town. Due to the shrinking population, grades 6-9 were added in 1920. Ten years later, Grades 4-5 and 13, the college prep level, were added.
During the 1960s, Prism became the only high school within a twenty-mile radius. The citizens were more than a little upset about having to send their daughters to the next town while their sons could just walk next door. Prism caved in and finally allowed females attend.
The 70s saw the sudden growth of Crystal Town, especially amongst newly married couples with growing families and growing wallets. This caused the elementary school to become overwhelmed. Prism moved into its newly constructed building and opened its doors to Pre-K to Grade 3 children.
Being a private school, Prism relies on both tuition fees and donations to keep the school afloat financially. Its biggest contributor is Cindy Brooks, Miri's mother. Because of Cindy's donations, Miri attends for free. Cindy uses that money to pay Venus's way through.
Candace's father is the school's president. The Vallari family has been the Brook's next-door neighbor ever since Candace's grandfather moved the family there in 1959. Candace and Miri became instant friends on the first day of Pre-K and with Venus after her arrival three years ago.
Alvis is Venus's next-door neighbor. Alvis has always been snobbish and things seem to get worse the older she gets. No one is quite sure why; her family is no better off. To her classmates, she just felt the need to make herself appear better than everyone else.
It sure didn't make her popular with her classmates or her fellow Anime Club members. Venus in particular seemed relieved to end that day's meeting; Alvis always made it a point to be the first to leave. "Jesus Christ!" she mumbled to Miri and Candace. "Who the fuck does Alvis think she is?"
"Apparently Jesus Christ," replied Candace.
"No way," quipped Miri. "She doesn't believe in 'that crap'." She made quotation marks with her fingers to emphasize her point.
"Right. I forgot," said Venus.
"Yeah, she's too good for God," added Candace.
"Because that would mean that she would have to get off her throne," chuckled Miri. The other two started laughing with her. "Heaven forbid that she actually do anything at all, much less that!"
Venus started pushing chairs under desks. "I sometimes sense that she and I could be really good friends. And then I sense that I like to be treated with respect, so that just goes flying out the window."
After they cleaned the classroom, the girls threw on their regulation pink and blue trimmed backpacks and headed home. "How did you do on your math test, Candace?" asked Miri.
"Eighty-one. You?"
"Ninty-five."
Candace rolled her eyes. "Of course."
"How about you, Venus?" asked Miri.
"Seventy-three," Venus sighed.
"I can't believe this is Prism's way of getting us excited about math." Candace rolled her eyes again. "Every two weeks, girls. I know I shiver in anticipation."
"Hey, your dad voted for it," said Venus.
"Doesn't mean I agree," Candace pointed out.
"I like math and all, but I just find MTD just ridiculous," Miri told them. "Math is fun, students. To prove it, let's take a test!"
They passed Luke Skyparker's TV Store. In the window, passer-bys are able to watch the news on last week's top three selling models. Normally, the girls just walked by without a second thought. Today, though, Miri glanced over and saw the face of a brown-haired, blue-eyed, young woman. "Wow. She's pretty."
Venus and Candace peered over Miri's shoulders to see who she was talking about. "Yeah," Venus agreed. "Who is she?"
"Tain-ee? Tan-y?" Candace read from the crawler. "However you pronounce her name, it looks like her dad's running for president."
Gradually, the screams grew louder. The girls slowly looked over their shoulders and found a mob of people being chased through the autumn snow by a purple monster. Blue smoke was rising out of the people and being absorbed by the monster. One-by-one, they passed out.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Miri cried out.
"I have no idea," answered Candace.
"Well, I don't wanna find out!" Venus grabbed Candace's hand and pulled her inside the building. "Come on!"
They quickly ducked behind the counter. "So, what do we do now?" asked Candace as she sat next to Venus. "I mean, do we just sit here and wait for that thing to get us?"
"I think waitin's the best thing we can do right now," answered Venus. "If it didn't see us come in, we should be okay."
"And if it did?" asked Miri.
"Then take off your pack, 'cause we are running for our lives," Venus answered.
It was about this time they realized that the screaming had stopped. Agonizing minutes ticked by as they wondered if it was okay to step outside. Venus' mind desperately tried to think of a way that they could defend themselves should the need arise. "Man, it's too bad we aren't the Sailor Senshi or something," she whispered. "Then we could kick that thing's ass."
Miri quickly covered Venus' mouth and gestured for Venus to be quiet. The monster slowly moved passed by the store, searching for more victims. "I sense more human energy," they heard it taunt. "I WILL find you."
Sign language is one of the requirements for Prism students, and every student takes lessons on Wednesday in place of their Japanese, Spanish, German, or (for the international students) English classes. Miri quickly signed, "Do you think it is gone?"
Venus shook her head. "No. We stay here."
"Any ideas?" asked Candace.
"If one or all of us can throw the cash register," Venus signed back, "then yes."
Candace raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah. Right."
Suddenly, the monster passed through the floor in front of them. "I knew this was a bad idea!" screamed Candace.
"Like, how was I suppose to know that it could pass through floors?" Venus screamed back.
"Energy. . ." The monster reached for the girls.
Venus threw her backpack at it; the pack passed right through. "Crap! I think we're toast!" she squealed as she, Miri, and Candace huddled together. Then, Venus thought of something. "Wait a minute!" She started to stand. Miri and Candace pulled her back down. "Are you nuts?" they asked together.
"Trust me on this!" Venus stood again and quickly ran through the monster. Candace tried to follow, but the monster wised up, solidifed, and grabbed her. Venus grabbed a small TV and threw it at the monster; it was hit and dropped Candace. Miri helped her friend out of harm's way and they joined Venus near the entrance.
Miri pointed towards the doorway. "Venus? Isn't that one of your Sailor Moon characters?" she asked, her voice shaking. Venus snapped her head around, hoping to find Sailor Moon herself. Instead, "Kunzite! Oh, Kami-sama!" she breathed.
"Good Guy?" asked Candace hopefully.
"Bad Guy," Venus told them.
They looked back at the monster, then at Kunzite. Kunzite, in turn, prepared to tell the monster to attack, but stopped as he gazed into Venus's eyes. Those eyes. . .I have gazed into them before. . .but where?
Venus, too, wondered about his eyes. It's like I've seen those eyes before. . . Suddenly, the picture of a beautiful, bright palace flashed in her mind. What the. . .?
"Venus. . ." Miri wined.
Venus' instincts took over. "Girls! Follow me!" she ordered with surprising command. She led the girls through the back room. "Minna! Henshion yo!" she told them.
"Uh, Venus? Are you alright?" Candace reached over to feel Venus' forehead.
"Venus! This isn't the time!" Miri hissed.
"I said 'Henshion yo!'"
"With what?" asked Miri.
Venus got a confused look on her face. "I don't know. I don't know why I just said that."
"They're coming!" Candace alerted them. They quickly slipped behind some shelves and watched as Kunzite and the monster entered the room.
"We have to do something!" Venus signed. "We can't just stand here! We have to defend this planet from those things!"
"But how?" signed Miri. Her answer was the glowing blue band that appeared around her right wrist. Venus had an orange one around hers; Candace, a red one. "Look! These bracelets are like the ones from PGSM!" Venus squealed.
"There they are!" growled the monster.
"Thanks a lot!" Miri signed back.
The monster tossed the shelves aside. Venus gasped while Candace screamed. . .
Alvis peered around the corner and saw that the monster was gone. She breathed a sigh of relief. The monster had popped up in front of her on her way home. If it hadn't been distracted with all of the other people in the area, the monster probably would have drained her energy as well. She, too, had ducked into a building and the mob had led the monster away.
Alvis was ready to head back home when she looked down the hill and saw a man standing in front of the TV store. Where did he come from? Alvis thought to herself. Then, she heard screaming from the store and noticed people running to the back. Something told her to check it out.
She followed the man (Kunzite) inside. As she kept her distance, she couldn't help but notice that his uniform looked familiar. Still, she kept on until he had led her to the back room. She watched as he and the monster from earlier searched for someone. Then, three ardent lights (red, orange, and blue) came from the corner. Alvis could see the lights clear as day, yet neither the monster nor the man noticed. Her own wrist started to feel warm, and she saw a green light on her wrist, which turned into a bracelet.
"Look! These bracelets are like the ones from PGSM!" Alvis heard someone squeal. Was that Venus? What an idiot. Alvis shook her head in disappointment.
"There they are!" growled the monster.
Alvis grabbed the closest thing to her; a 14" TV, and heaved it at Kunzite. As he fell to the ground, Alvis leapt over Kunzite and kicked the monster out of the way.
"Alvis?" Venus, Miri, and Candace asked in surprise.
"Come on!" Alvis yelled. "Or do you want to be killed?"
"Not particularly," answered Miri.
The four fled out the back door. "What should we do?" asked Candace.
"Well, running comes to mind!" Alvis told her.
"But we got PGSM bracelets!" protested Venus. "We can fight those guys!"
Alvis showed Venus her own bracelet. "These things are apparently what got us into this mess in the first place."
"Wow! You got one, too?" asked Venus.
"Never mind! This way!" Alvis led them into another building. "This place has been abandoned forever. We should be safe here."
Venus grabbed Alvis' wrist. "Don't you see? We're the Sailor Senshi!"
"Venus, please," groaned Alvis.
"Just drop it already," added Miri.
"Just how do you explain these things? We didn't put them on," said Venus.
"Maybe those things did," Candace suggested.
"But they didn't even know Alvis was here until she threw the TV!" Venus pointed out. "Explain that! And the fact that they look similar to the ones on PGSM!"
"They might be tracking devices for all we know!" Miri cried out in desperation.
"They are poorly constructed then," Candace commented. Alvis, Venus, and Miri looked over as Candace held her now unclasped bracelet by her left thumb and forefinger.
Miri scoffed. "Good riddance, then." She undid the clasp of her own bracelet. "If you are so eager to be Sailor Venus, then you can be Sailor Miri, too." Miri placed her bracelet in Venus' hand, sighed, and took a few steps to the left.
For some reason, Venus wanted to point out that there was no Sailor Miri even though she knew that Miri was telling her "no." Still, she felt the urge to say something. So she turned to Alvis. "Alvis? What about you?"
"Girl, you can have mine, too!" Alvis literally threw the bracelet at Venus' chest and walked off.
Venus picked Alvis' bracelet off the ground since she hadn't caught it. In a way, she was disappointed; here they had a way to save the world, maybe even change it, yet the other three girls were unwilling to even entertain the idea. Yet, as she straightened up, she realized that she had no proof that she was even right. Maybe I'm just letting my imagination get the best of me. She looked over at Candace. "What about you?"
Candace could see the hurt in Venus' face. She smiled as she made on attempt to cheer Venus up. "Actually, I think it's pretty. I'll keep it." She put the bracelet back on to prove her point.
Miri rolled her eyes. "You don't actually believe her, do you?"
"Well, I'm open to all suggestions," answered Candace.
Alvis sighed and shook her head. "It has always amazed me: You three claim to be the best of friends. Yet, you fight at the drop of a hat. It's pathetic, really."
"Just shut up, Alvis," Miri muttered.
"Yeah, get off your high horse," added Venus.
"Are you two talking to me?" Alvis snapped.
"Girls!" Candace urgently hissed. "They are coming!"
"I told you they where tracking us!" Miri told Venus.
Venus placed her finger on her lips to shush Miri. "Don't make it worse," she angrily signed.
As they waited for Kunzite and his monster pass by, Venus started hearing voices. . .
"The Earthlings are coming back!"
"We must get the Royal Family to safety."
"Princess! Where are you?"
"Sailor Planet Attack!"
Kunzite burst though the door. "I have you now!"
Without saying a word, Venus lifted her arm and flattened her palm so that it faced Kunzite. A blast of faintly orange-colored energy flew from her palm and knocked him out the door. Slowly, she opened her eyes, now two glowing orange lights.
The others gapped at the scene from their hiding places. "Venus?" breathed Miri. "Are you okay?"
Venus simply tossed Miri and Alvis their bracelets. "Minna!" she repeated. "Henshion yo!" She crossed her hands in front of her face. "Venus Prism Power!" She rotated her hands around her wrists so that they changed places and the bracelet was in front. "Make Up!" Her bracelet became a band of orange light that scanned her body, leaving behind her Sailor Fuku.
No one spoke for a few seconds. Then Alvis blurted out, "Quick! Which one's the green one?"
"I think its Jupiter," answered Miri from her spot on the floor. "But where did 'Prism' come from?"
"Yeah. I thought that only Sailor Moon said that," Candace added.
"Who cares? It worked, didn't it?" Alvis, suddenly very into the idea of being a Sailor Senshi, didn't wait for a response before she made the same hand motions Venus had. "Jupiter Prism Power! Make Up!"
Miri groaned and quickly put her bracelet on. "I really don't want to do this."
The monster started to make its way towards Miri. "Ack! Mercury Prism Power! Make Up!. . .Snow Flurry!" she screamed and covered her head in fear of what the monster might do to her.
"Miri! You're okay!" yelled Sailor Jupiter.
Sailor Mercury slowly looked up and saw a frozen monster staring back at her. Still freaked out, she screamed again.
Candace saw the ice crack. "Miri!" She ran over and pulled Mercury out of the way. A second later, the ice broke, and the monster smashed into the pillar Mercury had been leaning against.
"Uh oh," warned Jupiter. "I think that was the main support."
Slowly, but surely, the building started to crumble around them. Mercury noticed a chunk of roof about to land on her and Candace. She instinctively formed a dagger in each hand and threw them at the chunk to break it. "We'd better get out of here!" she yelled.
Kunzite stared in shock as the Senshi escaped from the building unharmed while his monster was killed. "Damn you, Sailor Senshi!" he yelled with anger and disgust. He blasted the girls as payback.
Mercury struggled to get up. "Candace, you might want to transform, too."
Candace nodded in agreement. "But which one is red?"
"I'm not sure," answered Mercury. "But I know there's no Sailor Earth."
"I guess that leaves Mars, then." Candace stood up, took a deep breath, and did the same hand motions that the other three had. "Mars Prism Power! Make Up!"
"Nice," Sailor Venus commented Sailor Mars on her fuku. "I like it."
"Well, I don't!" yelled Kunzite. "Take this!"
The girls dodged the attack. Venus raised both arms in the air and formed a gun with her fingers. "Love Gun!" She lowered her arms to aim and fire an orange heart at Kunzite. He ducked and turned to retaliate when he and Venus locked eyes. Both of them softened for a bit, suddenly unwilling to fight one another.
Mars looked at Mercury. "Uh, what's going on?"
"I don't know," Jupiter answered for Mercury, "but this is one golden opportunity." She unclasped the chain around her waist. "Jupiter Lighting!"
Out of the corner of his eye, Kunzite saw the chain. He covered himself with his cape and disappeared.
The Senshi regrouped. "Okay, what was that all about?" Mars asked Venus.
Venus just shook her head. "I really don't know. I . . .I just. . ." She let her voice fade away.
"So, we really are the Sailor Senshi," Mercury commented.
"It would appear so," said Jupiter.
The wind picked up as Venus looked over her right shoulder back at the town. "Well, if we are the Sailor Senshi, then who is Sailor Moon?"