CHAPTER 1

This is a story about a young teenage girl named Serena. She was a good-hearted person but she tended to be lazy and irresponsible. Especially when it came to the matter of her schoolwork. Also it was extremely rare for her to arrive at school on time.

One particular morning the alarm bell rang and Serena woke up with a shriek. "Oh no. I'm going to be late for school again."
She quickly dressed herself and ran down the stairs. Scoffing her breakfast she cried out to her mother. "Why didn't you wake me up in time for the bell?"
Her mother, who was glancing at the newspaper on the table sighed and replied. "I woke you three times Serena and each time you said you'd be getting up in just a minute."
"You should have tried harder." Serena quickly brushed her teeth and almost ran off without her lunch. Her mother only just managed to get her attention holding up the box. Serena grabbed it, shoved it into her school bag, gave a hurried thanks and goodbye and ran off huffing, puffing and griping about the absurd early time school began. "Why can't school begin after lunch? That would give me plenty of time to arrive." But suddenly she noticed some small kids tormenting a poor bluish-grey cat. The poor cat struggled vainly as they held it down firmly. Serena had her faults but she hated cruelty to animals. "Hey you leave that cat alone." They all ran away and as Serena comforted the kitty she noticed a bandage on its forehead that one of the kids had stuck there. She said, "Aw. Let me remove it." The cat meowed in a little pain as the bandage came off revealing an unusual mark. "Huh? That looks just like a crescent moon." Serena stared in amazement at the cat and the cat stared intently back. Suddenly Serena realized that now she really was going to be late and quickly put the cat back down. "Oh no. Sorry kitty. Bye bye." As she ran away the cat continued to watch her.

Later at school Serena had a terrible blow. Not only had she been late again, her teacher Miss Haruna angrily handed her her last test paper. "Look at this Serena. You failed. Only 30%. You need to devote yourself to more studying."
"Wha? I failed?"
"Give this to your mother so she can sign it and return it to me tomorrow."

Serena was in tears during lunch break. Her best friend Molly tried to cheer her up. "Come on Serena. It's only one Maths exam."
"But Molly. When my mother hears about it, she will explode. I'll be grounded and I won't get to read my Sailor V comic books or play Sailor V video games for at least two weeks."
Melvin the school nerd came up. "Hey Serena. I heard about what happened. Would you like me to help tutor you?"
"I'd rather have an earache."
Molly rebuked Melvin. "Serena doesn't need to be reminded about her test result Melvin. She needs real cheering up. Hey! Why don't you come visit my mother's jewellery store on the way home today?"
Serena loved jewellery and this cheered her up a lot. "That's great Molly. I love diamonds, rubies and emeralds."
"She even has some rhinestones in stock now."
"Rhinestones!" Serena was really excited and the two girls ran off together. Melvin sighed. He couldn't understand why Serena loved jewellery so much. He'd much rather pursue his fascination with the study of snails and insects.

Meanwhile off in another dimension a bunch of very creepy looking characters stood around a tall, sinister-looking woman with pointed ears, long claw-like fingernails and pointed fangs seated upon a throne with a skull shaped figure above it. She spoke to them all with regal authority. "The time is ready for our conquest of the universe. Beginning with the planet Earth."
Everybody cheered. "Long live Queen Beryl and the Negaverse."
"Thank you my loyal subjects. But first we need to gather huge amounts of energy from the people of Earth. Jedite present yourself."
A tall man with short blond hair materialized along with a woman with long black hair down her back. They were hand in hand and everybody gasped in awe and surprise.
The woman known as Queen Beryl gave a curt smile and rolled her eyes. "Why Jedite. What's this holding hands with Titus? Have you been keeping secrets from us?"
Jedite turned to look at Titus. "It's only just recently happened Queen Beryl. Titus has actually always loved me for a very long time. When she heard that I was selected to be the Commander of our invasion fleet she couldn't hold it in any longer. She told me of her feelings and I came to realize that I felt the same way. I love her too."
"Yes your majesty. General Jedite and I are lovers." Titus affirmed and many voices cried out congratulations and they applauded and cheered.
"Well well Titus. You have always been one of my most powerful and appreciated soldiers in my army. I never imagined you and my General Jedite would come together like this. What a surprise. In this case I think it would be an excellent idea if you worked in partnership with Jedite gathering energy for our supreme master, the Negaforce."
Cheers rose again and Jedite and Titus bowed down on one knee each before the throne.
"Queen Beryl thank you for this privilege."
"Titus and I will serve you faithfully and we will bring you all the necessary energy."
"Good. So Jedite what progress have you made?"
"Soldier Morga has been stationed at a jewellery store your majesty. She will gather all the energy from the customers there."

When Serena and Molly arrived at the jewellery store they were amazed. Molly's mother had declared a massive 95% discount on all merchandise and hundreds of women were crowding the place out trying on necklaces and rings. "My mother's acting very weird Serena. Hey Mum. What's up?"
The woman turned with surprise at the sound of Molly's voice. "Oh hello, Molly dear. Nothing's up. Just having a super sales day. Would your friend care to look at something?"
"Well I did suggest to Serena about our rhinestones."
"Rhinestones? Don't settle for peanuts. Let me show you some gold."
"G-g-gold?" Serena's eyes grew so very large and round as Molly's mother brought out a box with a fully golden ring. "Oh that is beautiful. But how much does it cost? It must be worth a fortune."
"For you only $5."
Molly and Serena cried together. "Five dollars!"

But at that moment all the women went crazy and pushed the two girls out of the way clamouring for the gold ring themselves. As they pulled themselves free from the crowd Serena thanked Molly but there was no point in delaying the inevitable when her mother saw her test anymore. Molly sighed. "I understand Serena. Good luck. I just wish I knew why my mother is behaving so strangely." But little did the two girls know that in the apartment at the back of the store where Molly and her mother lived Titus and Jedite had Molly's real mother tied up and gagged. Their helper Morga had disguised herself as Molly's Mum and the rings, brooches and other items were rigged to drain away all the energy of those women slowly but surely. Jedite could feel the energy building up. "Morga is doing a perfect job Titus Sweetie. Those greedy women have so much energy."
"Yes Jedite. Queen Beryl will be delighted." And the two cuddled and kissed tenderly basking in the success of their operation.

As Serena walked home dejectedly she stopped to admire a poster advertising the newest Sailor V videogame. She didn't notice the cat she'd rescued earlier watching her again and she suddenly looked at her test and began to cry. "When Mum sees this it's goodbye to my Sailor V playstation just when this new game is coming out. What will I do?"
Wailing like an infant as the cat looked on in wonderment, Serena turned and walked straight into a tall man with dark sunglasses. "Oof. Watch where you're going Meatball Head."
As Serena started to apologize the man snatched the test paper and looked at it. "30%? Congratulations. Are you stupid naturally or did it come with practice?"
Annoyed by the sarcasm Serena grabbed her paper back. "Mind your own business creep." As she ran off the man removed his sunglasses and thought to himself. "That girl. There's something about her."

Later back at the jewellery store all the women suddenly began to feel faint. Falling to the floor gasping as all the energy was drained from their bodies they sank into unconsciousness. Molly was frightened. "Mum. What's going on? What's the matter with all your customers?" To her horror Morga began to reveal her true form. The disguise slowly melted away to reveal a hideous corpse-like monstrous appearance. Molly shrieked and covered her mouth.

Back at Serena's house her mother had blown her top and chewed her out over her poor grades. She was forbidden to have anything to do with Sailor V for the next three weeks and she had better get serious about her studies. Poor Serena had gone to her bedroom to lie on her bed and sleep to make herself feel better. Suddenly she sensed a presence in her room. To her surprise it was the cat. To her further surprise it began to talk to her.
"Hello Serena. My name is Luna."
"What? A talking cat? Am I still asleep?"
"No you're awake Serena. I've been searching for you for a very long time. I am positive that you are the Sailor Scout of the Moon."
"I must be cracking up."
"This is the truth Serena. I can prove it to you."
With that Luna jumped up and did a somersault in the air and a locket magically appeared from nowhere. "Take this locket Serena."
Serena's eyes lit up. "It's gorgeous. Thank you. How should I wear it?"
"Serena it's not just for decoration. That's your magic transformation locket. Hold it and say Moon Prism Power."
Serena laughed. "Ah why should I do a silly thing like that?"
"Serena. Please. Just say it once for me."
"Okay. I'll play along. Moon Prism Power."

To Serena's amazement she found herself wearing a strange Sailor uniform and a tiara on her head. She began to freak out. "Now I know I'm cracking up! I'm having a crazy dream!"
Suddenly she could hear somebody calling for help. "Hey. That sounded like Molly's voice."
"Yes. Molly is in big trouble and you must save her."
"But I'm just a kid. What can I do?"
"You are Sailor Moon sworn to fight against evil. Look inside your heart and you will know what to do."
Serena looked at Luna and said, "Um. All right."

Serena and Luna sneaked out of her bedroom window and ran as fast as they could. When they arrived at the store poor Molly was in the process of
being half-strangled by Morga who told her to give up and surrender her own energy to the Negaforce. Sailor Moon cried out "Release her!"
"Huh?" Morga turned around in surprise. "Who're you?"
Serena or rather Sailor Moon nervously hesitated for a split second. Then she declared, "I'm Sailor Moon. Enemy of evil. I swear in the Name of the Moon I will punish you for your wickedness."
Morga set Molly down and said "Sailor Moon? I don't know where you came from but you're going to disappear for good. Arise all you people and attack her."
To Sailor Moon's horror all the women suddenly rose and headed towards her, arms outstretched like an army of zombies. She screamed and backed away into a corner. Luna the Cat was very upset and told her to stand up and fight. But Sailor Moon was once again weak, cowardly Serena under her uniform and sobbed as all the women approached slowly step by step to tear her to pieces under Morga's direction.

Suddenly a red rose flew through the air and stuck in the ground in front of Serena. This distracted Morga and all the women froze as she turned to see where the rose had come from. A tall man dressed in a black tuxedo cape and top hat with a mask over his eyes announced.
"I am Tuxedo Mask. Sailor Moon you must open your eyes and your heart and discover the warrior inside you. Else evil will prevail."
Luna took this moment to whisper to the trembling girl. "Sailor Moon. Trust me once more. Throw your tiara at the monster and say Moon Tiara Magic."
Serena stammered "O-okay L-luna. Moon Tiara Magic."
The tiara went flying just as Morga turned scoffingly away from the mysterious intruder to resume directing the possessed mob. Her mouth hung open and her eyes bulged as the tiara turned into a spinning disc. It crashed into her as she screamed in pain.
With a shout of "I shall return," she dissolved into a pile of dust at Sailor Moon's feet. Then the dust itself vanished. All the women started to slowly recover as Tuxedo Mask congratulated Sailor Moon and left, promising that he would continue to help her fight her further opponents. Sailor Moon stared after him with a ga ga look of adoration on her face.

In the room where they were hiding Jedite and Titus realized that something was wrong. "Jedite. The energy is going back."
"I don't understand it. Something must have happened to Morga. Let's get out of here for now Titus." Joining hands the pair transported back to the Negaverse. When they arrived they were informed by Queen Beryl that Morga was also back and had been sent to the hospital ward in the Negaverse. They were horrified when Queen Beryl took them to see her. She was barely alive.
"Morga. How did you get this way?" Jedite's face was white as he asked this question and Titus covered her hand with her mouth to stifle her sobs.
"It was a strange girl calling herself Sailor Moon." Morga gasped and spoke very slowly to steady her voice. "She threw something at me that vaporized my body. I was very nearly killed but I just had enough strength to transport back to the Negaverse and re-form myself."
"That's enough Morga," said Queen Beryl. "Get some rest now."
"Yes your majesty."
When they left Morga Queen Beryl spoke to Jedite and Titus. "Listen. Morga is expected to make a full recovery. It will just take some time. I want you both to proceed with extreme caution on your next mission. I don't want you losing any of our soldiers to this Sailor Moon girl. Understand?"
The two of them nodded. "Yes Queen Beryl."

Meanwhile on Earth the mysterious Sailor Moon was the talk of the town. Molly, her mother and all the women spoke about how they were rescued by this super-heroine though not many people believed them. As for Serena she told her parents and little brother Sammy that she'd found Luna and begged them to adopt her. They did saying she was a lovely cat and so Luna was able to stay close to Serena and mentor her to continue to fight the Negaverse.