Road Trip Chapter 1: Who Am I?, a sailor moon fanfic

ROAD TRIP
Chapter 1: "Who Am I?"
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

As some panicked citizens of Crystal Tokyo ran in fear, and others crowded around at a safe distance to watch, Civilian Defense and Protection observation drones hovered overhead. The machines issued programmed warnings to the citizens as they transmitted video and telemetry to the CDP. It was their job to maintain order, protect the citizens of the city and to inform central headquarters.

In this case, inform them that onis still existed even in the ultra-modern thirtieth century. But there was no need to fear. Sailor Moon and her Senshi were on the scene.

The monster stood twelve feet tall and was a mass of sweaty, hairy muscle and brute force. A tiger skin covered him, as was tradition, and he brandished a massive wooden club. The brute bellowed angrily at the sky and then focused on the Senshi trying to surround him.

"Fauna Combination!" Sailor Vesta called out, as usual not waiting for directions from the others, "Tyrannosaur gorilla!"

Instantly Vesta took on a height that towered over the oni, while her form filled out and morphed into a silverback gorilla. She charged the oni, who tried to swing his club at her to fend her off. Vesta caught the swing with her hand and barreled into the massive mythological creature. At once they began grappling for dominance, strength against strength. The crowd watching began to give them more room.

"Ceres, get your plant men to attack his legs!" Sailor Moon ordered, taking command of the situation. "Between them and Vesta, maybe we can get that thing on his back!"

"Floral Animation!" Ceres cried as she spread a pouch of seeds.

At her command, the seeds began to sprout into vines. The vines began to knit into humanoid forms until there was a squad of twenty plant humanoids. Ceres mentally directed them to attack and they swarmed the legs of the oni. It only seemed to enrage the creature. With a surge of strength, he pushed Vesta the giant gorilla away, then swatted at the plant men with his hand and his club. Vesta sailed over the head of Sailor Pallas and impacted hard with a nearby building. Pallas watched with alarm as Vesta struggled to rise, then turned on the oni with fury.

"Not nice!" she barked. "Fiery Incantation!"

Without warning, the oni's club burst into flame. Startled and fearful of it, the oni tossed it away. It landed near a grassy section of the area and Sailor Juno quickly doused the flame with her water powers.

Using her control over the plant men, Ceres directed them to begin unraveling back into vines. With surprising speed, the vines began snaking up the oni's body, curling around his legs and arms. The monster pulled at the vines, snapping several. But they kept coming, winding and twisting and reinforcing each other until the oni was held rigid.

"I'll get his horns, Sailor Moon!" Sailor Saturn said and sprinted forward.

For a moment, Sailor Moon thought to stop her. Hotaru had only been out of the hospital a few weeks and seemed eager to prove herself again. The smart thing would be for Sailor Moon to pacify the creature if she could, then let Saturn go. But she thought her friend might need this and quashed her rationality - - and her fears.

With nimble grace, Saturn ran up and jumped, using the creature's knees and the vines surrounding them as a jumping point. She reached the apex of her jump, pirouetting as she did so. The glaive in her hand flashed for an instant. She landed with dainty elegance, the two severed horns of the oni bouncing on the pavement on either side of her.

The oni bellowed in pain, howling to the heavens. And then it faded from view, the vines falling limply to the street with nothing left to bind.

"Please go in peace to your rest," Saturn whispered over her shoulder. The watching citizens cheered wildly.

"Well, I guess you're back," Sailor Moon grinned as she approached. Saturn looked down modestly, but couldn't keep the corners of her mouth from turning up. Finally she and Sailor Moon fist-bumped.

"Vesta should let Miss Ami-Ma'am look at her!" they heard Sailor Pallas loudly proclaim and turned to look. Pallas was following Sailor Vesta, who looked a little woozy.

"I'm all right!" barked Vesta. "Stop babying me!"

"Vesta, you look like you can barely stand!" fussed Ceres. "Go get checked out, dummy!"

"I've had worse!" Vesta snapped back.

"Vestaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" whined Pallas.

"Vesta," Sailor Moon said quietly, getting right up next to her fellow Senshi, "maybe you should let Aunt Ami check you. Just to be safe."

Vesta's jaw clenched angrily. Then the anger dissipated. "Yes, Princess."

"Do it just to keep Pallas from worrying," she added, giving Vesta a diplomatic means of saving face.

"I suppose," Vesta nodded, silently grateful for the gesture.

"So what are you going to do when we get back to the palace?" Saturn asked Juno as they headed to their waiting air car.

"Study," chuckled Ceres, overhearing them. "What else does she do?"

Everybody chuckled - - except Juno.

"OK, listen up," Makoto announced, standing at the head of the classroom where she and the other elder Senshi tutored Usa and her Senshi. "Your final grades for this quarter are in and they're being sent to your PDA's. Now if anybody wants to discuss their grade or what they might be able to do to improve it - - and I'm NOT going to mention any names."

"Ves," Cere said, smirking. Hotaru giggled in spite of herself.

"Shut up," Ves scowled.

"If ANYBODY wants to discuss this, I'm free," Makoto continued. "Just make an appointment. Same with Rei or Minako." She grinned. "Just don't try to schedule before twelve in Minako's case." That got a laugh from everyone in the class except Palla-Palla, who didn't understand. "OK, you're free for two weeks. Try not to forget everything you learned."

As the girls moved down the hall, curiosity naturally got the better of them.

"How'd you do, Usa?" Hotaru ventured.

"Probably scored a hundred," Ves muttered. "She's the closest thing this place has to Mizuno-Sensei. Hell, the only one of us who can get close to her is Jun. And that's only because Jun spends twenty-six hours a day studying."

"When she's not on vid-conference with Colombia," Cere snickered.

"What did you get, Princess?" Palla-Palla asked innocently. "Palla-Palla got a smiley face!"

"Why don't you just read her mind?" Cere huffed.

"Sensei said not to do that because it's rude," the girl responded innocently.

"I got a hundred," Usa replied. She seemed slightly embarrassed.

"Jun-Jun only got a ninety-three," Palla-Palla replied. Instantly Jun colored.

"I thought Sensei said that was rude," Cere said pointedly.

"Does family count too?" Palla-Palla asked. Cere glared at her and nodded. "Oopsie."

"Better than I did," sighed Hotaru. "I got a ninety."

"That's pretty good, considering you're not originally from this century," Jun offered.

"Well, ninety-three is very good, too," Hotaru returned the compliment.

"Considering how hard she works at being Miss Goody-Goody," Ves grumbled "she better get a ninety-three."

Palla-Palla's eyes suddenly shifted to Jun. She stared for a moment, then turned to Ves with just a little surprise.

"Well, maybe Ves-Ves wouldn't get a seventy-five if she spent a little more time studying like Jun-Jun does," Palla-Palla suggested.

"I'm as smart as I need to be," grunted Ves.

After separating, three of the four Amazons headed for their quarters. Jun headed for the garage to work on her hover bike. Inside the quarters, Palla-Palla sat in her corner and absently played with her dolls. Ves and Cere were busy in their rooms, changing. By coincidence, they emerged at the same time.

"Let me guess," sneered Ves. "You're going to be with that skinny artist?"

"Let me guess," Cere volleyed back. "You're going to a night club, get drunk, get into at least one fight, get arrested and bring shame onto the palace and the family?"

"Well, you got the first two right," Ves replied loftily. "I might get lucky and find some guy I want to," and she stopped and looked over at Palla-Palla. Palla-Palla was staring at her intently. "Ah, you know."

"How do you stand having such lofty goals in life?" Cere shot back acidly.

"Got your communicator?" Ves asked, ignoring the jab. Cere presented it with a silent challenge on her face. "Good. Don't get too far from the palace." She headed for the door. "Don't wait up, Palla-Palla. If I'm lucky, this'll be an all nighter."

"You're sure you're going to be all right by yourself?" Cere asked, crouching by where Palla-Palla sat.

The girl nodded. "If Palla-Palla gets lonely, she can visit Jun-Jun in the garage, or the Queen in her office, or the Princess unless she's with Prince Horsie-Man, or . . ."

"OK," Cere cut her off. "I'll probably be late getting back, too, so don't get worried. I'll be in good hands."

Palla-Palla leered at her suddenly.

"Stop that," Cere fussed and headed for the door.

But once she was certain she was alone, Palla-Palla got up and went to the door. She walked along the corridors of the palace tentatively, since her destination wasn't one of her usual ones and the girl feared getting lost. Though she was seventeen outside and a maturing woman physically, her mind would be forever five and directions weren't her strong suit. Finally she began to recognize familiar territory. She walked up to a door and stood, waiting for the environmental control computer to acknowledge her. Moments later, the door slid open and Makoto Kino peered out.

"Palla-Palla? What did you want, Hon'?" Makoto asked.

"Can Palla-Palla talk to you, Miss Makoto-Ma'am?"

"Is it important?" Makoto queried. Palla-Palla nodded her head. "Well, OK. Come on in. I was making dinner. You want some?"

"Yes, please," nodded Palla-Palla. "Miss Makoto-Ma'am is a very good cook."

"Oh!" Ami gasped in mild surprise as she entered the room. "I wasn't aware we had company."

"Is it going to bother you if Ami sits in on this?" Makoto asked.

Palla-Palla thought it over. Eventually she shook her head, but both women could see the girl was burdened with something.

"How about we talk after we eat?" Makoto suggested.

Long after the staff in the maintenance area of the Palace Vehicle Storage Facility had left for the evening, Jun sat on a crate and tinkered with her hover bike. Recently the girl had been seen more and more in the facility, diligently maintaining her vehicle: servicing the induction coils, cleaning the superconductor generators, and trouble-shooting any problem she might have recently noticed on one of her rides. Jun had come to be known and trusted by the staff, not just because she was one of the Princess's Senshi, but because the staff could sense the pride and affection she had for the bike.

At first the staff had been wary of her; not only for her history as a reformed villainess, but as someone who seemed to go out of her way to be feminine and intellectual. When she'd first purchased the bike and stored it in the facility, more than one wondered if it was some whim to "seem cool" or "to meet a boy". Time had proven their concerns unfounded and now she was accepted by everyone.

And that made the storage facility a haven.

"Hey, Jun," a voice called out suddenly. Jun looked up, surprised that she hadn't noticed Makoto Kino approach and curious why the woman was here in the first place. "How's it going?"

"Oh, just putting a new containment shield on the superconductor generator," Jun replied. "It should make the generator even more efficient and give me even more speed."

"You don't go fast enough as it is?" Makoto grinned.

"Um," Jun tensed. "That's not a problem, is it?"

"Not if you can handle it," Makoto replied. "But you young folk don't always think that far ahead. And I wouldn't want you to get hurt going faster than you safely can - - or hurt somebody else."

"Yeah," Jun said softly.

"But I trust your judgment," Makoto added. "If you think you can handle it, you probably can. And if you can't, you'll know to back off in time."

"Thanks," Jun sighed with relief.

"So where are you in such a hurry to get to?"

Jun looked up at her. To make her feel more at ease, Makoto pulled up another crate and sat down next to her.

"I don't know," the teen sighed, looking down.

"Something bothering you?" Makoto ventured cautiously. "I'm not trying to be nosy. And I can be very discreet. But I've got to admit that you've got some folks worried."

"Who?"

"Palla-Palla," Makoto confessed. "She sensed you weren't too happy when the others made those remarks about your study habits."

"They didn't mean anything by it," Jun said. "Maybe they're right. About all I do is study or talk to Chief Minister Gomez or work on my bike." She looked down. "I guess I am kind of dull."

"Does that bother you?" Makoto asked. "Being dull?"

"Well," Jun began thoughtfully, "it doesn't exactly help in the dating department. I haven't had a date since Quad died. And everybody thinks of me as 'the good sister' - - the one everybody else turns to when they have a problem. And that's OK - - I guess." She shifted uncomfortably. "It's just . . ."

"Is there something you want to do besides study and support everyone else?" Makoto probed.

"Does it matter?" Jun asked. "I've got responsibilities."

"Of course it matters," her Sensei told her. "You can't be always on duty. Even Senshi need a little time to themselves. We all get a break now and then, just to keep from flipping out."

"But we're Senshi."

"Jun, we all take breaks. When I was your age, we weren't joined to Serenity at the hip. Ami studied in England for six years. Rei took time off for college, too, and other family concerns. Minako had a film and a singing career to manage, too. Plus she ran off and got married - - THREE TIMES!"

"What about you?"

"I took time off, too," Makoto replied. "I had two children to raise. And there was this one time that I took two weeks to go to a monastery in the country." She darkened. "That didn't exactly go as planned." Brightening, she turned back to Jun. "But we could go because the others were willing to cover for us. That's how close we were and are. And if there's something you want to do, go do it. I'm sure Usa and the Asteroids will cover for you."

"I don't know," moaned Jun. "Maybe they will, but should I?"

"What are you afraid of? You'll fail? So you fail; at least you tried. That you'll let someone down? I guarantee Usa and the Asteroids will understand. So will Serenity and Endymion." She focused on Jun. "Or are you afraid you'll actually enjoy it?"

"That's stupid," Jun frowned, her eyes seeking the floor again.

"Well, unless what you're planning is illegal or dangerous, everyone will understand and I say go for it," Makoto advised her. "After all, you're only young once. Believe me. You might as well enjoy some of your youth while you have it."

Jun considered the advice.

"So if I'm not being too nosy," Makoto gently probed, "just what is it you wanted to do?"

Jun sighed. "I want to take my bike out and just tour Japan," she said. "See every corner of it. All I know is Crystal Tokyo. I want to just fend for myself, live off the land, meet new people - - maybe fall in love." She colored. "Sounds pretty butch, doesn't it?"

"You're asking the wrong person that question," chuckled Makoto. "When I was a kid, I thought playing soccer was too butch. I was a pretty messed up kid." Her hand patted Jun on the knee. "But it doesn't sound like that bad of a wish. It sounds like it could be fun. And you may even learn something." She gave Jun a warm Makoto smile. "Even if it's just a little bit more about yourself."

"Yeah?"

"Take my advice for what it's worth, because I don't claim to know everything," Makoto continued. "As long as you play it smart, like keeping your PDA and your Senshi Communicator with you to contact someone if you run into trouble, I think you should go for it. In fact, if you want to clear it with Usa, I'll clear it with the King and Queen."

"You will?"

"Endymion's reasonable," Makoto nodded. "And heck, Serenity's a pushover. I bake her some cinnamon rolls, she'll agree to just about anything." Jun giggled. "Just let me know what you decide to do."

"I will," Jun nodded. She got up from the crate. "Thank you, Kino-Sensei."

"Glad to do it, Hon'," Makoto grinned, towering over the girl as she rose to her full height. "Stream me some pictures from Kobe."

Continued in Chapter 2