Disclaimer: All characters used below (except Stan) belong to Takeuchi Naoko. I have merely forced Morgana to dress up as Diana again. I don't know what her problem is. I gave her a long break! (nurses scratch)
Canon, spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections are appreciated. So is constructive criticism and general comments. Please let me know if you see something that you like or that should be corrected. Thanks! - Raya
The Return of Stan
A/N: I hereby guarantee that this is not as funny as Stan's debut story... Oh the sadness.
Diana chuckled softly to herself as she bounded through the tall grass. Behind her, her teenaged princess called for the young cat to wait up. Diana ignored the exasperated words, however, as the pent up energy finally found an outlet. Even a large palace began to feel stiflingly small after spring rains kept you trapped in it for a week.
The small grey cat came to a halt suddenly as something batted her gently on the nose. She blinked her dark pink eyes in surprise and looked around both curious and unafraid. A movement a short distance to her left caught her gaze, and her face lit up. "A butterfly!" she exclaimed as she turned towards it.
The small insect teased her for a moment with its bright yellow wings, and then danced away on the breeze. Quickly, Diana bounded after it, trying to see its markings so she could identify it.
Moments later, she came to the edge of a large stream. She pouted as the butterfly was blown across and left her behind. A loud noise in the grass behind her, however, quickly distracted her.
"Di-ana-a!" Small Lady called irritably as she suddenly appeared behind her small friend. The cat turned to look up at her expectantly. "Where are you?! We're supposed to stay togeth-aaaa...!" The princess cried out in surprise and waved her arms frantically for balance as she tripped over Diana.
"Small Lady, look out!" Super Sailor Jupiter and Super Sailor Mercury cried as the pink haired girl teetered at the edge of the stream. With a loud, unprincesslike wail, she lost the fight and landed face first in the water with a huge splash.
"Are you all right, Princess?" Super Sailor Venus called as she tried to stifle her laughter. Standing beside her, Super Sailor Mars grinned. Super Sailor Mercury chuckled behind them, while Super Sailor Jupiter stood next to her, shook her head, and laughed outright.
Small Lady sputtered and flailed her way to an upright position, and then glared at her older friends and guardians as they continued to laugh. She pushed her soaked, flat bangs out of her eyes, and then transfered her glare to Diana, who shrank back apologetically. "I'm... sorry?" the young cat offered tentatively.
Small Lady huffed softly in reply, and then tried to climb to her feet. The fast moving water tugged at her long blue skirt, however, and wrapped it around her legs. She tripped and fell several more times, much to her companions' growing amusement.
Super Sailor Venus and Super Sailor Mars finally waded into the knee deep stream to help her. Later, she would swear that she did not trip them deliberately. But, the suddenly impish expression on her face before she fell heavily into Super Sailor Mars ensured that the dark haired senshi never quite believed her.
Super Sailor Venus was less certain of the girl's guilt. After all, it could have just as easily been Super Sailor Mars' foot that kicked the golden senshi's feet out from under her. However, there was no question about who had pressed down on her shoulder and pushed her back under the water just after she had resurfaced. She forgave the young princess, however, since Super Sailor Mercury swore that Super Sailor Mars had accidentally unbalanced the poor teenager once again by surging up out of the water.
It took them several minutes of splashing and falling to stumble their way to shore and their dry companions. As she helped the more nimble Super Sailor Venus to shore, Super Sailor Mercury loudly reminded everyone that she was holding the lunch basket. Her golden haired team leader gave her a pout, but refrained from pulling her in to join the fun.
Small Lady and Super Sailor Mars exchanged a subtle look as they reached simultaneously for Super Sailor Jupiter's hands. Like her smaller, blue haired friend, however, the tall brunette had anticipated them and had planted herself securely on the bank. She hauled them up out of the water easily before they could unbalance her. Small Lady pouted prettily for a second, and then smiled up at her in gratitude.
She came to a stop beside her cat, fanned out her ballet length, navy blue skirt, and shook it vigorously. Diana exclaimed wordlessly in protest as she raised a front paw and turned her face away. "Serves you right for tripping me," Small Lady replied, still sounding mildly affronted. She dropped the skirt, however, and reached down to wipe the water off of her friend's back.
"I said I was sorry," Diana grumbled in reply as she used the paw to wipe the water drops off of her head.
When Small Lady's face darkened and she reached for her limp skirts again, Super Sailor Mercury quickly intervened. "Why don't we go find a sunny spot to sit in so you can dry off?" she asked diplomatically as she shifted the picnic basket around to hold with both hands in front of her. Small Lady and Diana exchanged a dark pink look, and then reluctantly agreed to a truce with a nod.
"I know just the spot!" Super Sailor Venus declared as she scooped Diana up into her arms and lifted a finger into the air. "Follow me!" Moving quickly before the teenagers could find another way to irritate each other, she led the way upstream. "Now where is it..." she mumbled as she walked. "It has to be around here somewhere..."
"What does, Venus?" Small Lady asked curiously. She tried to hold her skirt out and away from her legs as she walked, but she grimaced as the cold, sodden material still managed to cling to her wet skin.
"The tree," the golden haired senshi replied absently as she looked around. "Our favorite picnic tree."
"You mean that tree?" Diana asked helpfully as she shifted in the senshi's arms and pointed with a paw to a huge tree off to their right.
"Yes! That's it," Super Sailor Venus exclaimed. "Good eyes, Diana!" The grey cat beamed a little at the praise as Small Lady gave her a disgruntled look.
"Really," Super Sailor Jupiter mumbled to Super Sailor Mars very softly as they followed the others towards the tree. "You would think they were sisters instead of friends with the way they've been squabbling lately." The black haired senshi nodded silently, just as uncertain about the change as her friend.
It took them several minutes of walking to reach the tree that Diana had pointed out. The four senshi breathed a secret sigh of relief when they reached their destination without another argument or snippy exchange between the two youngest members of their party. When they entered the clearing near the ancient sakura tree, however, they looked around uncertainly.
"This isn't the right tree," Super Sailor Mars said, her voice faintly amused.
"Yes it is," Super Sailor Venus called back as she lowered Diana to the ground. She gave her dark haired friend a stern look over her shoulder. "I would know it anywhere. You just forgot."
Super Sailor Mars lifted one dark eyebrow, but before she could reply Super Sailor Jupiter pointed across the clearing. "What's that?" Everyone turned to look in the direction she indicated, the senshi instinctively stepping closer to their princess as they did so. In the tree line on the other side of the clearing, a large shape flickered and moved randomly.
"I don't know," Super Sailor Mercury replied as she called up her visor, "but we'd better check it out."
"Right," her friends replied. Before they could move, however, the shape suddenly stumbled into the clearing and blinked its large, multifaceted eyes. He peered around for a moment, twitching his head one way and then another, and then pounced on a sakura petal that was fluttering through the warm spring air.
As he spat out the flower, Super Sailor Mercury's visor beeped. Her navy blue eyes widened in surprise as she read the heads up display. "It's..."
"A youma!" Diana and Small Lady interrupted her. "Small Lady, transform!" the grey cat cried urgently.
"I am, I am," the princess grumbled as she threw her right hand into the air. "Moon Prism Power... Make UP!" With a flash of light, the pink haired girl twirled through her power up and transformed into super heroine mode.
"Um..." Super Sailor Mercury drawled as her eyes flickered back and forth between the young senshi and the creature in front of them. He continued to ignore them, choosing instead to pounce on another flower petal fluttering in front of him.
"What is it, Mercury?" Super Sailor Mars asked as she watched her friend's strange behavior with one eye and the youma's strange behavior with the other. Beside her, Sailor Moon finished transforming and assumed her final pose.
"That youma looks familiar..." Super Sailor Jupiter muttered with an uncertain look on her face. Diana blinked up at her curiously, and then turned to look at the strange youma. He was a tall creature with huge, brightly colored butterfly wings and a body shaped like a young man had been blended with a green insect. Intrigued by his wings, she decided to sneak closer to get a better look at their markings.
"What?" Super Sailor Venus looked over her shoulder at her taller friend, and then paled. "Oh no," she said as she spun back around and stared at the creature. "It isn't..."
"It's..." Once again, Super Sailor Mercury was cut off, this time by her team leader.
"It's that tree," Super Sailor Venus wailed. "Oh no..."
"What? Why are you worried about a tree?" Super Sailor Mars grumbled, relaxing a little as she studied her friends' faces and body posture. Those subtle hints told her that this youma, whatever it was, was not a very big threat.
"Because it's..." This time, it was Super Sailor Venus' turn to be cut off.
"Diana, watch out!" Sailor Moon cried as she dashed towards the creature. "Hey, you. Back off!" The other senshi turned and looked in surprise as the pink haired senshi dove and snatched her small grey friend out from under the creature's oddly shaped feet. "What did you think you were doing?" she berated the cat as she rolled back up to her feet. "It almost squashed you like a bug!"
"I'm sorry," Diana said contritely in a shaking voice. "I just wanted to see if I could identify its pretty markings."
"You and your butterflies," Sailor Moon huffed as she gently hugged her friend and backed away from the youma.
"Butterflies?" the creature said suddenly, his head turning to face the young senshi. "I want butterflies. Give me butterflies!" Sailor Moon paled, and then slowly backed away. The youma began to walk towards her. "Butterflies!"
"Butterflies?" Super Sailor Mars asked, her face creasing suddenly. "That sounds familiar... No... It can't be..."
"It's that butterfly creature," Super Sailor Jupiter said as her face suddenly lightened with recognition. It clouded over again just as quickly. "But I thought Super Sailor Moon cleansed him..."
"Is it the same one?" Super Sailor Mars asked as she studied it with narrowed eyes. It had been so long ago that she wasn't entirely sure, but she knew Super Sailor Mercury could answer the question easily enough.
"Hungry! Give me butterflies!" the creature said insistently as he continued to walk towards Sailor Moon. The pink haired senshi squeaked in surprise and glanced around frantically for a way to escape.
"Yes, that's Stan the Cannibalistic Butterfly," Super Sailor Mercury confirmed.
"Cannibalistic?!" Sailor Moon and Diana squealed in unison. "Help!" the pink haired senshi cried as she made a dash for her older friends. "It's going to eat me!"
A broad grin crossed Super Sailor Mars' face, and an evil glint entered her violet eyes. "Nah, you don't have butterfly wings when you transform yet. You need to power up some more."
"Wha...?" Sailor Moon stumbled to a halt in front of the red skirted senshi and looked at her blankly.
"She said to power up," Super Sailor Venus intervened. "We need Super Sailor Moon to take care of this creature."
"Oh. Ummm..."
"Hungry! Butter..." Stan's voice cut off abruptly as he spotted something fluttering in front of him. "Butterfly..." he crooned as he snapped his front claws forward. He caught the little yellow butterfly between his front claws and began to draw it towards his mouth.
"Hey, stop that," Sailor Moon protested. "You're not supposed to eat butterflies. They're too pretty!" The other senshi looked at her in disbelief, but Diana nodded sharply in agreement.
Quickly, the pink haired warrior of justice dropped the cat to the ground. "I said, let it go," she called sharply as she watched Stan open his mouth. "They're for looking at, not eating!" She frowned, and quickly drew off her tiara. "Hey! I'm talking to you! Moon Tiara Boomerang!" she cried as she spun around and threw it at him. It hit his claws just as he was popping the butterfly into his mouth, and made him open them too soon. The butterfly escaped just as his mouth closed.
Stan stood and chewed for a moment, his blissful expression becoming more and more puzzled. Finally, he opened his mouth and stuck out his long tongue to look at it. A giant sweat drop formed on the back of Sailor Moon's head as she slowly returned her tiara to its proper place. "Um... It escaped...," she said uncertainly.
Stan retracted his tongue and then turned to look at her once more. "Hungry," he whined as he began to flutter his wings.
"Watch out!" Super Sailor Mercury called sharply. "He's going to use his..."
"Pollen Attack!" Stan cried. "Give me butterflies!"
The four older senshi reacted instantly. They were already moving by the time Super Sailor Mercury had begun her second sentence. Sailor Moon and Diana, however, were not so experienced.
"A-choo!" the youngest senshi sneezed violently as the golden dust hit her square in the face. "A...A...A...Choo! Achoo! Achoo! A-choooo!"
"Sailor Moon!" the other senshi cried worriedly.
"Why you... Venus Love Me Chain!" the golden haired senshi cried. She frowned as Stan deftly avoided the chain of heart-shaped links.
"Nectar Beam!" he cried as he opened his mouth impossibly wide.
"Oh no you don't!" Super Sailor Venus said sharply as she jumped away from the tree. "Not this time, bud." She dodged and cartwheeled around the old sakura until she zigged to avoid Super Sailor Mercury when she should have zagged. "Noooo!" she wailed as he finally managed to pin her against the tree.
"Venus!" Sailor Moon cried, her dark pink eyes still streaming from the pollen.
"Not again," the leader of the senshi whimpered as she tried to free herself.
"Venus-san!" Diana cried as she sped over to see what she could do to help.
"Watch out, Diana," Super Sailor Jupiter called. The small grey cat jumped to avoid a Nectar Beam attack, but was not quite fast enough. Moments later, she was dangling from her tail which was pinned to the tree bark.
"Diana!" Sailor Moon cried. "Stop it!" She pulled herself upright, and turned to face the butterfly creature. "I stand for Love and I stand for Justice! I am Sailor Moon! If you don't let my friends go and leave the helpless little butterflies alone, in the name of the Moon, I will punish you!" She posed dramatically, and then a giant sweat drop formed on the side of her head as the creature ignored her to fight with the other senshi. "Hey!" She stamped her foot. "I'm talking to you. I hate it when you ignore me! This is important! Hey you!"
"Just forget that for a moment and power up?" Super Sailor Jupiter called as she narrowly avoided a Morning Dew attack. Super Sailor Mercury cried out as she went down, foot pinned to the ground.
"I... But I..." Sailor Moon stuttered.
"Come on, Sailor Moon!" Super Sailor Mars cried out as she ducked under a cloud of golden pollen dust. "We need you! Mars Flame Sniper!" Stan screamed as her arrow punctured one of his wings.
"That hurt!! Drenching Dew!" he yelled. Super Sailor Mars paused and stared wide eyed at the large ball of water that was flying towards her. She didn't remember this attack!
"Eeewww..." she groaned as it caught her square in the chest, knocked her over, and pinned her to the ground. "I'm soaked again! And this time, it's sticky..."
"Can you burn it off?" Super Sailor Mercury called urgently as she looked uneasily at Sailor Moon.
"I wouldn't do that..." Stan sing-songed as he danced around a lightening bolt.
The senshi of fire ignored him and glared at the glop holding her to the ground. "Fire... Soul!" she ground out, clenching her fists to control the elemental power. Instantly, the dew evaporated. She smirked, and then moved to stand back up. As soon as she shifted, however, a large cloud of pollen engulfed her. She began to sneeze uncontrollably.
"I told you so..." Stan sing-songed again as he turned to track Super Sailor Jupiter's movements.
"Double Ice Bubbles Blast!" Super Sailor Mercury called out, throwing her hands in front of her. A river of ice spread from her feet to Stan's, and then quickly climbed up his legs and engulfed him. Super Sailor Jupiter, Super Sailor Venus, Diana, and Sailor Moon stared at the captured enemy for a long moment, and then turned to look at the pinned senshi. "Um...," she said as she shifted a little uneasily and blushed. "It... It won't hold him for long?"
Super Sailor Jupiter shook her head, but turned to face her princess. "Long enough, I hope. Sailor Moon, we need Super Sailor Moon!"
Sailor Moon blushed and looked away, twirling one of her long, pink pony tails nervously. "Well... Um... You see..."
"Why won't you power up?" Super Sailor Venus asked suspiciously.
"I can't!" the young senshi replied, speaking hurriedly as she released her hair. "I can't transform, okay? I don't have the Holy Grail any more. It disappeared, remember?"
"But... you had a Super form before..." Super Sailor Jupiter said weakly.
"I remember a Super Sailor ChibiMoon..." Super Sailor Mercury said in confusion.
"Yeah... But that was when I was ChibiMoon. Apparently, when I grew into my full senshi powers, I lost that power up. I need to find the Holy Grail before I can be Super Sailor Moon."
The older senshi looked at her dumbfounded, even Super Sailor Mars who was still sneezing uncontrollably. "You've tried?" Super Sailor Venus asked weakly from her spot on the tree.
Sailor Moon nodded. "I've tried," she sighed. "I wanted to... Well, never mind what I wanted to do, I tried and it didn't work. So, we have to come up with some other way to heal him."
All eyes swiveled to Super Sailor Mercury. "Um... Well, maybe the Moon Princess Halation will work on him...," she said doubtfully.
"I can use the Moon Spiral Heart Attack," Sailor Moon said hopefully. Her expression fell when the blue haired senshi did not seem suitably relieved.
"We could always send Diana to ask Neo-Queen Serenity for help while we guard the prisoner," Super Sailor Venus said thoughtfully. "After someone gets me down from here that is. I prefer to play, not cheer from the sidelines." Quickly, Super Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Moon released their friends from their imprisonment.
"You'd better hurry," Super Sailor Mercury told Diana as she eyed the quickly melting block of ice. "He'll be free soon."
"Um, I have an idea," Diana said tentatively. She looked up at the senshi shyly as they turned their attention to her. "Why do we need Neo-Queen Serenity-sama? Why can't Small Lady use her Pink Moon Crystal instead?"
The senshi blinked, and then turned to the pink haired teenager. She blinked back at them, and then frowned. "But I'm not strong enough," she protested as she shifted her weight from foot to foot.
"Yes you are," Diana bit back as she laid her ears back and swished her tail jerkily behind her. "You just have to believe in yourself."
"But I can't become Super Sailor Moon," the pink haired girl replied tightly. Her dark pink eyes fixed on her small advisor, and she seemed to forget the other senshi standing around them. "I've tried."
"I know that," Diana growled back impatiently, also seeming to forget that they had an audience.
"If I can't become Super Sailor Moon, I'm not powerful enough to heal anything with the Pink Moon Crystal."
Diana shook her head. "Yes you are! You don't need the Holy Grail to tap into that power. It's right there waiting for you!"
"I can't!"
"Can!"
"Can't!"
"Can!"
"Can't, can't, can't!"
"Can, can, ca... Oh, whatever. You're just too scared to try it."
"I am not!"
"Oh?" Diana sat down, picked up a front paw and focused all her attention on licking it. "I guess that settles it then."
"Of course! Um, settles what?" Sailor Moon looked at the young cat uncertainly as the older senshi around them smiled in amusement.
"That you'll try it, of course. Since you're not scared," Diana replied absently as she spread her toes to get between them.
"I..." Sailor Moon stared at her advisor, and then jumped when Super Sailor Venus laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"It doesn't hurt to try," the golden haired senshi said gently.
"Yeah, we'll never tell if it doesn't work," Super Sailor Jupiter added with an encouraging smile.
"And it's better to know now rather than later when we really need it," Super Sailor Mercury pointed out in a reasonable voice.
"Besides, we can still send Diana for the Queen if it doesn't work," Super Sailor Mars added. "Or if it works too well," she muttered as she remembered the price her former princess once paid for using the beautiful stone which was now sheltered in a closely guarded display case.
"I..." The sound of cracking ice cut across Sailor Moon's lack of a reply.
"You can do it, Small Lady," Diana said confidently as she lowered her paw to the ground. She smiled up at her friend. "Besides... he should be pretty dormant right now. If you hurry, you can do it before he wakes up from hibernation."
Sailor Moon looked at all of her friends uncertainly, then took a deep breath and turned to face the trapped youma. She took a step forward, and then froze as the block of ice suddenly shattered. Ice crystals flew around the meadow, melting quickly to drops of water in the warm spring sunshine, and Stan spread his wings wide with a roar.
"Oops... Guess he wasn't hibernating," Diana muttered sheepishly as she cringed away from the enraged youma. When Sailor Moon took a step backwards, she frowned. "Come on, Sailor Moon! You can do it!" she called trying to sound as encouraging as she could.
The pink haired warrior stopped her retreat, and then squared her shoulders and stepped forward once more. Slowly, she lifted her hands to the compact on her chest and closed her eyes to summon the power of her Crystal. Diana held her breath and prayed.
The other senshi fanned out to surround their youngest member whose uniform was beginning to dissolve into a bunch of bright pink ribbons. "Hey, crankpot, over here," Super Sailor Jupiter taunted.
"Nectar Beam," the disoriented creature shouted as he flapped his wings. He paused, and then stretched them wide. "Mmmm... The sun feels so good. So cold..." The senshi blinked in surprise as he stopped moving, tattered wings spread to their full span in the afternoon sun.
"Um... Stan? We're over here..." Super Sailor Venus called. "Yoo-hoo... Sta-annn..."
Diana ignored the older senshi, and focused on her princess. The ribbons swirled about the teenager for a moment, lifting and playing with her long pink hair, and then settled around her once more before fading into the long white gown that was the symbol of her rank and power.
"Pink Moon... Healing... Power..." Princess Small Lady Serenity breathed as she carefully extended her hands in front of her. Her dark pink eyes opened slowly as a golden crescent moon began to shine brightly on her forehead. The senshi squinted against the brightness of the light and stared in awe as a wave of sparkling pink power flowed out of the princess' Crystal and engulfed the basking butterfly creature.
"Ooo... Warm..." Stan sighed happily. He stretched in all directions as the power rolled across him and healed the holes the senshi had left in his brightly colored wings. "Butterflies!" he cried as he faded out of sight.
Sighing, Princess Small Lady Serenity let her arms fall to her sides. Her transformations vanished as she collapsed to the ground.
"Small Lady!" her friends cried anxiously as they raced towards her.
"Princess, speak to me!" Super Sailor Mars demanded as she lifted the pale girl into her lap. "Princess!"
"Small Lady, wake up!" Diana demanded, her voice worried, as she licked the girl's face. "You wake up right now!"
Small Lady scrunched her nose and tried to turn her face away. "Tickles," she muttered with a faint, tired smile. "Stop 't." The senshi sighed with relief as her eyes fluttered open.
"Okay," Diana replied as she sat down beside the girl's arm. "Just as long as you don't go back to sleep." She smiled at her friend's faintly irritated expression. "You did it," she said gently. "You healed him."
"Mmm..." Small Lady replied with a small nod of her head. "I sent him to Elysian. He'll be happier there, right?"
The senshi blinked in surprise. "You... did what?" Super Sailor Venus asked faintly.
"Yes," Diana replied, her voice drowning out the senshi's. "He'll be happier there. Let's get you back to the palace for a nice long nap."
"Nn-nn," Small Lady replied shaking her head. "The sun feels good. Let's sleep here instead."
"Sure," Super Sailor Mars said gently as she adjusted herself to a more comfortable position. "Go right ahead."
FIN (for now...)