Serena stared hopelessly with frustration and loathing at her computer as it continued to run a seemingly endless query through objects master, it had already been twenty minutes and it still wasn't working properly. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that the young police officer was beginning to get bored and restless. 'Welcome to my life' she thought to herself glumly, at least he didn't sit at a desk in an office at the police station day in and day out running queries and trying to track down information to find people, he got to do the fun stuff, catching the bad guys, laying down the law, serving justice and she was just another cog in the machine that didn't get recognition for the work she did.
Okay so it wasn't that bad really but it wasn't her first choice of career, if she'd been able to she would have joined as an officer years ago but she already knew she would fail the physical tests that police officers were subject to on a regular basis. Her clumsiness, or rather klutziness in her youth had worn off but the damage was long done, a torn knee ligament from twisting as she fell, and a broken coccyx from falling on her arse one too many times ruled out any kind of civil servant job, and she had never had the marks or the personality to be a lawyer, she just wasn't ruthless and cut throat enough, not to mention she believed in justice, not just getting people off charges they actually deserved.
"I'm really not sure how long this is going to take" She said turning to the young man perched on the side of her desk.
"Would you mind if I just send a copy of the results down to you when they're done?" she chewed on a finger impatiently the expression on the cops face told her that he was less than amused at her comment but well tough that's just the way it was going to be today.
"Right fine, so long as it'd done today young lady, we don't tolerate ineptitude around here" he gave her a once over, young, maybe 25 blonde hair average height, very attractive, at least she was nice to look at.
Serena could practically hear his thoughts, just because she was attractive didn't mean she was useless or that he could ogle her. Thankfully though the end was in sight if he could just leave her to finish off her work.
"I'm sure that won't a problem Sir" she smiled brightly at him in her sweetest voice, it was much easier to just to conform to what they all think than make their heads explode by showing them she was more than just a piece of ass. 'Ohh I need a drink' the rest of the afternoon seemed to pass without any issue. Leaving work that afternoon was practically a blessing, thank god it was Friday! Without any hesitation she called her friend Molly.
"Hi molls, it's me. I have had what feels like the Friday from hell, I'll meet you at the local?" Serena was actually beginning to feel happier already.
"yes I'll make sure you go home early to Melvin" Melvin was the best thing that had happened to her friend even if he was kind of dull.
She was so busy talking to Molly she didn't notice where she was going. *crash* suddenly she was on her ass looking up the sky and there was a tingling pain in her neck and shoulder. Getting her bearings and looking in front of her she saw a man maybe a few years older than herself similarly sitting on the pavement looking a bit dazed his hand obscured his face but shaggy fashionable black hair fell over it.
"Oh my god, I am so, so sorry, I was on the phone, are you ok? Can I help you get your things together? You aren't bleeding are you?" Serena felt really bad she hadn't been so distracted or clumsy as to walk into someone in years, she quickly started to gather the things that had spilled out of his briefcase and pile them up, ohh and she thought this day wasn't going to get any worse and then he looked at her. He looked mad, not just mad livid, okay so she walked into him but it wasn't that bad right? He was attractive too, dark blue eyes, shaggy hair, he obviously worked out masculine features, oh yeah this guy had the whole package, unfortunately he was looking at her like she was something gross he had just stepped on.
"Look meatball head, watch where you're going! You could do some poor pedestrian some damage barrelling into them like that!" Meatball head? Where did that come from? Darien looked at the young woman who was obviously concerned and she did seem sorry, wow that was some silly looking hair even if it did suit her, maybe a little childish but certainly cute two round buns with hair streaming down her back, she was pretty too, clear skin, big blue eyes platinum blonde hair nicely curving figure. He probably shouldn't have been so rude but he'd had a bad day, fighting with the directors of the board, his stock had fallen five points today, and he thought he had a mole in the company passing out confidential information to competitors.
"Meatball Head!! How dare you call me that, I said I was sorry I didn't see you, what is your problem you, you jerk!" Ohh how dare he call her that, she touched her hair, it was cute, she liked it, and it was one of the only ways she could wear her hair when it was this long. She grabbed her phone and bag and jumped to her feet. So it was her fault but she had apologised she'd even picked up his stuff for him and he called her names, and to think she found him attractive.
"Yeah, meatball head that's what I said, your hair looks like a couple of meatballs and spaghetti, which is probably same as what's between your ears" The sarcasm just dripped from his voice, so the little minx had some fire in her, he was going to say sorry for his behaviour but there was no way that was going to happen now.
"Well I'm sure you'll be okay because you were cushioned by your ego when you fell, that will teach you to look where you're going in future" She knew she was out of line but politeness be damned today, with that she stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry at him and flounced off in the direction of Demisons Crown Plaza where she'd told Molly to meet her.
"Hi Andrew, slow night?" Serena collapsed on a bar stool, Demisons, or rather the Crown as the regulars referred to it as was a coffee house come bar and internet cafe, roomy booths, couches, a bar area and a secluded corner offering gaming facilities, thankfully due to the atmosphere the crown didn't attract your average gamers it was seriously the coolest place to hang out that Serena knew, and it didn't hurt that Andrew was the bar manager and owner, cute boy next door good looks and a sweet personality he was a definite attraction.
"Its early yet Serena, are you meeting molly here" Andrew looked at the blonde, she looked a little dishevelled and less happy than usual, must have been a tough day, Andrew was well aware that people didn't see past the outer Serena, bubbly confident, sweet, slightly ditzy and scatterbrained. She wasn't really like that of course it just seemed that way.
"Sure am Andrew, Its been a long day, could you make me the usual with extra chocolate?" Serena smiled brightly at him he was such a nice guy you couldn't help but have a bit of a crush on him.
"Hi Serena! You won't believe what happened at work today!" Molly ran up to her friend, it had been crazy at the TV station, she was of course just the weather girl but even the weather girl hears about news this big, it was just gossip really at this time, there wasn't much more than a few odd reports nothing confirmed at this stage as most of the people affected were either in shock or in hospital, they were going ahead with the story on the late news.
"At lunch time today in the park a whole group of people were found completely drained of energy unconscious, about a hundred of them, they're going with it as the lead story tonight at work, theres even reports that there was some kind of monster or alien there." Serena looked at Molly, Aliens? She had to be kidding, there must be a plausible explanation. She took a long swallow of her drink, mm chocolaty goodness, it wasn't alcoholic but it made her feel so much better.
"Moll, aliens are you sure you got that right? Seems a little farfetched to me. Hey I saw your mom is advertising some huge sale, do you know anything about that, I've been dying to get some new earrings." Molly's mom owned the sweetest little shop and had done since they were in middle school together, they always had funky different stuff for sale.
"Yeah I'm not sure whats going on with mom, I rang the store earlier and one of her part time assistants answered and said she was too busy to talk right now but they were going to be open late tonight til at least 10" Molly was a little concerned about her mother she'd been acting a little weird for a couple of days now.
" Well lets go along and see, I'm sure she's just a little stressed about work and such a huge sale, Its only five thirty now, I tell you what I'll go home and get changed and grab some dinner and I'll meet you at OSAPI at nine." Chugging back the rest of her drink she waved to Andrew who was down the other end of the bar serving some guy with dark hair in an ugly green jacket and dashed out the door.
Running back to her apartment she couldn't help but overhear a group of young men shouting, "poke it!", "stupid cat", 'Cat?? they were picking on a little cat, how disgusting, if they would stoop to something that low they must be little punks!' Jumping a wall with more swiftness than she thought she had she found four young teens pestering a small clearly frightened black cat. "Clear off you little creeps, how dare you hurt a poor defenceless animal, quick before I get half the police station down here to sort you out!" She flashed her police ID in vain hoping it would be enough to deter the little jerks. She bent down and scooped up the poor cat, it had a bandage on its head and it was wet and a bit dirty. "Its alright kitty, I won't hurt you, have you got a collar or something you should be at home with your family". Serena watched the boys running off down the alley, wow she didn't realise she could be so assertive. Serena looked carefully at the cat, it had kind of weird coloured eyes and was practically skin and bones, maybe she should take the poor thing home, the plaster on her head didn't look right either, carefully she pulled it off to reveal an odd crescent shaped marking, it was almost golden looking. The cat cowered in her arms. "Come on kitty I'll take you home and at least clean you up and feed you something nice". Sneaking a little cat in her apartment shouldn't be too hard, even if she wasn't supposed to have pets but she knew that other people in the building did.
Luna looked at the girl, finally she felt more like herself, having that dratted plaster covering her marking had been messing with her senses but she could tell that the negaverse had already started to attack and penetrate this world. The girl was different from the other humans she had encountered since her awakening, there was an aura about her that seemed familiar, perhaps she was one of the scouts she was looking for, if not well she could do with a decent rest and some food so she could regroup and resume her search.
Serena dropped her keys on the counter in the kitchen and put the cat down to explore its surroundings. "I'm sure I have some tuna in a can somewhere" she mused aloud looking at the cat who seemed to be exploring the one bedroom apartment she called home. Serena wasn't much for furnishings there was a couch and some bean bags and the odd painting, well that's if you ignored the mess, she wasn't much for washing and she could never seem to remember where she put anything. Tipping a can of tuna she found in the back of the pantry into a bowl she looked around for the cat who seemed to be looking at her collection of books about the moon and the solar system, Serena had always been a bit dorky about the universe it was just so big she couldn't quite believe that humans today are there only beings in existence that had ever been, that and space was beautiful. "Here kitty, come eat something before you fade away" Serena glanced at the clock it was still early enough to eat and have a quick shower before she went to meet molly.
Dressed finally in jeans and a pink halter top she looked at the cat who seemed to have curled up in one of the bean bags and decided that it should be okay until she got back, at least the floors were wood if there were any accidents. "I'm just going out for a little bit and I'll be back soon, don't get up to too much trouble" Serena almost giggled, as if a cat could tell what she was saying anyways how silly was she.
Luna watched the girl go, there was definitely something about her and it was time to investigate the apartment some more, it was messy but not overly so, and it was clear she was interested in the solar system, pictures and books showed the planets Luna remembered from so long ago, barren and lifeless, if only she could remember what had happened and who she was looking for, but she was confident that this girl was sailor moon, perhaps a little older than she had expected but perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing with age comes experience and wisdom although she kind of doubted the girl had much of either glancing at the stuffed rabbits in the bedroom and remembering the girlish hair style and teenage dress sense, perhaps she just didn't realise her destiny. Right now though Luna thought she could do with a sleep, not much she could do until Serena came back even if she could sense dark forces at work not far from here.
Serena and Molly practically had to force their way into OSAPI jewellery it was jam packed with women who seemed to be intent on cashing in on the slashed prices. Most stuff was at least half price but someone of it was as much as 80% off, 'that can't be right' thought Serena as she glanced at a huge diamond ring marked down 80%. "Moll, this can't be right, your mom will be losing money if she's selling stuff this cheap" Molly looked a little spaced out at the idea. "you must be wrong Serena, this is my mothers life's work she wouldn't let that go up in smoke" Molly was worried but she didn't really know what to do, her mom was acting weird, uh oh she was coming over.
"Molly, Serena darling you must come try on some jewellery, for you girls I'm sure I can do a very special price on anything that catches your eye" The youma smiled on the inside, the girls in front of her radiated energy her master Jadeite would be well pleased, the jewels and necklaces she had affected would start draining their victims tonight robbing them of energy for the Queen Beryl.
Looking at the cases of jewellery a pair of crescent moon and star earrings with tiny diamonds stood out for Serena straight away. "Ohh molly those earrings are darling, I wonder how much they are, they look expensive". The youma smiled for real this time, no woman can resist a sale. "For you Serena since you're such a good friend of molly's I could sell them to you for $100"
"Wow $100, that would be great, uhh could I think about it for a little bit?" Serena was worried now, she saw the price tag and the diamonds in those earrings they were beautiful and the original price was much closer to $1000 she decided it was definitely time to talk to molly and get out of here. "Molly, I think you need to stay with your mom tonight and make sure she's okay, those earrings she showed me they were way under priced and I'm worried".
"I'm worried too Serena, I'll call you tomorrow okay, stay safe on the way home" Molly was worried alright the earrings her mom offered to Serena cost more than $100 for the store to buy, they would suit her friend though, perhaps she should get them for Serena for her birthday that was coming up.
Serena couldn't help but wonder at the weird day, her computer not working properly, running into that guy, molly telling her about weird things happening in the park, finding that poor cat and molly's mom acting really strange and it was only 10pm. Riding the elevator she wondered what she was going to do about the cat, she knew she wasn't supposed to have a pet but honestly it was just one cat, how much trouble could it be?
Grabbing a juice from the fridge she listened to her phone messages. "Hi sere, we're going out clubbing tonight, we scored tickets to a sweet gig that new girl Minako is playing you should totally come, we'll come by pick you up about midnight, make sure you wear something fabulous" Serena sighed, she thought Minako was great, two hours would be plenty of time to have a nap and get ready, she went to her wardrobe noticing the cat asleep on her bed and decided that all she needed was to swap her jeans for a black skirt and some heels, oh yes a sleep would be really good about now. Serena laid down on the bed and it closed her eyes, just a short nap. Luna woke about the same time as Serena fell asleep, the darkness was getting stronger, there was something very strong, she couldn't wait any longer and she was certain that Serena was sailor moon.
"Wake up Serena, this is hardly the time for a nap!" 'lazy child' Luna thought as she prodded the sleeping form of Serena. A drowsy Serena awoke from her slumber to find the cat standing on her chest meowing or something, except it sounded like words. "wake up girl people need you". Oh it's a dream she thought, cats don't talk, maybe she should humour it and talk back. "Don't be silly, cats can't talk, what on earth would people need me for?"
"You are not asleep girl, and I am not a cat, not really at any rate now get up. Its time for you to fulfil your destiny" Luna was getting cranky now, honestly who had never seen a talking cat before. "Oh my god, you talk, I'm not asleep, this day just keeps getting more and more bizarre. What do you mean destiny?" Serena sat bolt upright on the bed and the cat was beside her, there must be some reasonable explanation for this.
"My name is Luna and I have been searching for you for a long time. You are to be sailor moon the champion of justice, right now the negaverse a terrible evil force is beginning to attack the city and you need to stop it" Luna hoped that explaining this wouldn't take too long, reaching into her subspace pocket she summoned a circle brooch with a star pattern in the middle and dropped it in front of the girl who looked at her gobsmacked.
"Wow Luna that's really beautiful, is that for me to wear?" Serena looked at the cat in awe, this was beyond weird.
"I need you to hold the brooch and repeat after me. 'Moon Prism Power' and do it quickly you're needed somewhere" Luna was getting antsy, something was happening nearby she could feel it in her bones.
Serena stood in the middle of her room and held up her hand and shouted the incantation, which was followed by light and flashes of ribbons it was all over in a matter of seconds but she felt more powerful and energised it was amazing, and then she saw her reflection in the mirror and the blood drained from her face, her clothes had changed into something practically indecent "What am I wearing, I look like some geek's fantasy come to life". The little blue skirt barely covered her ass and the rest of it looked a bit like a sailor suit, no wonder Luna had said sailor moon, the boots hugged her calves like a second skin and a tiara spanned her forehead with matching jewelled barrettes adorned her ears, all of a sudden she began to head something, it sounded like sobbing, and a familiar voice "Molly? Luna I can hear molly, she's supposed to be with her mom at the jewellery store tonight, whats going on?" Oh god she left molly by herself while her mom was being all weird, what if those negaverse creeps were after her or something. This sounded so weird but part of it seemed totally right too.
"Hurry Serena we need to go, no don't worry about the doors, being a scout gives you extra powers and abilities just use the rooftops and the balconies, quickly now" Luna huffed, really this girl should realise this, the scouts should be able to realise the extent of their abilities as soon as they transformed the first time.
Serena, with Luna in tow took herself as quickly as she could to the store, she was absolutely sure that's where the trouble was. When she arrived the lights were off but she could see the outlines of people inside, that's weird, the store should have been shut, pushing the door she found it was open. "Molly? Are you here?" Serena called out, was it just her or did her voice sound a little different. "Don't give away your identity your glamour protects you only as long as you don't say your name" Luna whispered in her ear. A noise behind one of the counters had her whip round, the dark always freaked her out and she was sure she could see bodies on the floor, oh god she hoped they weren't dead.
"I'm not molly dear" The youma smirked stepping into the shaft of moonlight filtering through a window she began to reveal her true form as grotesque as it was making the girl cower in her hideous glory.
Serena stood still in horror as molly's mother walked into the beam of light in front of her and began to morph into a hideous monster, oh my god and I'm supposed to fight this? What the hell was I thinking? "where's molly and her mom? You better not have hurt them or I'll, I'll…." oh god what was she going to do she didn't know how to fight.
"You'll do what dear? Scream?" The youma cackled, who had sent this weakling to destroy her. "awake my puppets and take care of this little pest." The bodies all around seemed to come to life like zombies and started to advance on Serena.
"Sailor moon what are you doing? Get up and fight you silly girl" Luna didn't understand why wasn't she doing anything, she wasn't wrong this girl was sailor moon no doubt about it but why wasn't she fighting back?
Serena stared at the little black cat, what was she supposed to do, oh god she was going to die, so she did the only think she could think of, she screamed. When she opened her eyes the people or zombies or whatever were holding their ears in pain, wow she thought I didn't realise I could scream that loud. All of a sudden the recovered and the horde lurched forward again. A whooshing noise and a blur moved past her from behind her person revealing a rose, now embedded in the floor at the feet of the lead zombie their attention diverted to the man standing on the window ledge. Dressed in a tux and a masquerade mask he cut quite a striking figure, tall and mysterious was definitely something she could fall for.
"You can do it sailor moon, believe in yourself" His voice was deep and comforting, he was right he could do this, she must have some kind of powers or something.. right?
"Use your tiara and throw it like a Frisbee, use the words moon tiara action to activate it as a weapon" Luna instructed jumping to her side, obviously the girl knew nothing but she might pick it up yet.
Pulling off her tiara quickly Serena called "Moon tiara action" and watched the tiara turn into a shining power disc. "take this negacreep!" she threw it with all her might and hit the creature in the chest and watched it turn to dust.
"whew, what a relief, you know Luna you could have told me sooner that I had a weapon. Hey where did that guy go?" Serena walked forward and picked up the thorn less blood red rose, 'thank you, whoever you are' she thought silently to herself. Summoning what was left of her strength she fled quietly, she didn't really want to be seen in this get up by all the strangers now unconscious on the floor in front of her.
In a dark room in another dimension a good looking blonde man with flashing green eyes curled his fist in anger, the youma had failed him and now the precious energy was gone, wasted, his Queen would not be pleased, the sailor moon girl would pay. Jadeite slammed his fist down on the table, oh yes. She would pay.