SAILOR MOON:AMERICAN SENSHI-REBOOTED
By Eugol Dlareg
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon, or any character names or concepts from the original manga or anime. Sailor Moon was originally created by Naoko Takeuchi, and all characters and concepts from the any previously produced versions are owned by someone in Japan, most likely either Ms. Takeuchi or Toei, except for Americanized names, which are owned by either DiC or Cloverway. This story is a reboot of an alternate universe version of Sailor Moon I wrote between 2001 and 2005, and includes characters and concepts created by myself. In a nutshell: if it originated in the original manga and/or anime, it's owned by either Naoko Takeuchi and/or Toei(to the best of my knowledge). If it originated in the English dub, it's owned by either DiC and/or Cloverway. Yoo-Hoo and Dr Pepper are registered trademarks of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Pepsi is a registered trademark of PepsiCo. Ruffles and Fritos are registered trademarks of Frito-Lay. Yoda is property of Lucasfilm. Everything created for this story, it was created by Eugol Dlareg.
CHAPTER 2:
FIRE AND ICE
Friday, 21 March, 1986-Jake Slater's house 7:30 P.M.
Jake came home from work, and was handed a piece of paper by his stepmother. "What's this?" he asked, looking at the paper.
"It's an application," Corinne, Jake's stepmother, said. "For a box boy position at Food Castle."
"I appreciate it," Jake said, "but I think my job at Cavern Records is going to work out. Thanks anyways."
"So I guess you won't be going with us tomorrow to my cousin's," Corinne said.
"No," Jake said. "I'm going to have to work tomorrow. Besides, I don't mind staying with my aunt Wendy."
"I realize she's your mom's sister," Corinne said, "but I don't think you should be imposing on her like this."
"I'm not imposing," Jake said. "She invited me to spend the weekend with her while you guys are gone."
TWENTY MINUTES LATER, NEXT DOOR
Jake parked his 1962 Lambretta TV175 scooter in the driveway. He walked to the front door, rang the bell, and let himself in. "Anybody home?" he announced.
"I'll be down in a second," a female voice said from upstairs. "My mom'll be home later tonight, and she left some Yoo-Hoo in the fridge for you."
"Thanks Amy," Jake said, setting his duffel bag down, and going to the refrigerator, where he got out a bottle of Yoo-Hoo. He picked up his duffel bag, and went upstairs, drinking his beverage. He tossed his bag into the spare bedroom that had been set up for him, and sat down on the bed. As he finished off the last swig of Yoo-Hoo, a girl, a few months younger(and about 6 inches shorter) than Jake, with black hair cut just above shoulder length, and wearing a blue sweater, Capri length jeans, ballet flats, and silver wire framed glasses, entered the room and gave Jake a hug. "Hey Amy," he said.
"Hi cousin," Amy Anderson said. "My mom left some money, and I'm going to order some pizzas. What do you like on yours?"
"Pepperoni and sausage," Jake said.
Another girl, this one a couple inches taller than Amy, with straight jet black hair worn waist length, wearing a red tube top, blue denim miniskirt, and flat heeled strappy sandals which showed off toenails painted the same color as her top, entered the room, and gave Jake a hug. "Hi Jake," she said.
"Hi Rae," Jake said. "Haven't seen you in a while."
"When we go back to school after Spring Break," Rae Hinckley said, "you're gonna be seeing a lot more of me."
"What do you mean?" Jake asked.
"You haven't heard?" Amy asked. "Rae's gonna be going to Ride when we go back from Spring Break."
"Why are you going to public school?" Jake asked, as Amy left the room.
"I got kicked out of St. Ignatius," Rae said.
"What happened?" Jake asked. "What did you do?"
"I'll show you," Rae said with a sly grin on her face, as she went to close and lock the bedroom door.
10 A.M. THE NEXT MORNING, CAVERN RECORDS
"You got laid last night," Dianne Bryce said, as Jake entered and clocked in.
"How do you know?" Jake asked.
"I can see it in your face," Dianne said. "I can still remember when my younger brother lost his virginity. He was the same age as you are now. At the time, I was a student at Sunny Hills State, and it was around finals, so I was pulling an all-niter studying. He tried sneaking in at 1 in the morning, but I caught him. When you walked in here today, you had the exact same shit-eating grin on your face that he had that night. So, spill. What happened."
"You know my mom's twin sister lives next door," Jake said. "And my family's spending the weekend at Corrine's cousin's house in Bakersfield, and since taking time off the day after you start a new job isn't really all that hot of an idea, I accepted my aunt's invitation to spend the weekend with her."
"I don't blame you," Dianne said.
"But anywho," Jake said, "back to my story. I was at my aunt's house, waiting for her to get home from the hospital, and my cousin's friend was spending the weekend there, and that she had been expelled from St. Ignatius earlier that day. I asked her why she got kicked out, and she said she'd show me. Turns out she got expelled for making out with some dude in the 2nd floor boy's bathroom. Factor in that unlike the toilet stalls, the bedroom I use at my aunt's house not only has a door, but one with a lock, and the fact that there was no adult supervision at the time, seeing as my aunt didn't even get home until almost 2 in the morning, we pretty much let our hormones get the better of us. Only thing that would have made it any better would have been if I had some Barry White."
THE HOME OF DR. WENDY HARRISON AND HER DAUGHTER AMY ANDERSON
"So spill," Amy said.
"Spill what?" Rae asked.
"You know what I mean," Amy said. "Last night. You and Jake."
"What about me and Jake?" Rae asked.
"Did the two of you, you know," Amy said, making a circle with the thumb and forefinger of her left hand, and inserting the forefinger of her right hand into the circle.
"Wouldn't you like to know," Rae said, giving Amy a sly grin.
"You did, didn't you?" Amy asked. "What was it like?"
"It was the best 45 seconds of my life," Rae said.
"That's all it takes?" Amy asked, a little disappointed.
"You watch too many movies," Rae said. "I mean, someone who's as smart as you should know that movies always make sex out to be this earth shattering marathon. Remember the scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, where Damone and Stacy do it in the pool house?"
"I remember that scene," Amy said. "That's like one of my favorite movies. What about it?"
"It was just like that scene," Rae said. "Except for the fact that Jake had the courtesy to last long enough for me to realize he had put it in."
"Like you're an expert on sex," Amy said. "Remember, my mom's a doctor."
"I'm not saying I'm suddenly an expert on sex," Rae said. "The only thing I know more than you is I have experience."
"I'm so jealous of you right now," Amy said.
"I should be jealous of you," Rae said.
"Jealous of me?" Amy asked.
"Yeah," Rae said. "You live with your mom, mine died giving birth to me. And I know you don't see your dad all that much since the divorce, but at least he cares about you. When I was 5, my dad dumped me off with my grandpa, and since then, the only contact I have with him is a 5 minute phone call on my birthday, if it lasts that long. And my grandpa, I love him, and I know he loves me, but he's not exactly getting any younger."
"I wouldn't put it past your grandfather to outlive us all," Amy said. "You know as well as I do that he is, as Jake so affectionately put it, "too damn ornery to die". Believe me, the man is a whole lot tougher than he looks."
"You got that right," Rae said. "If he only had a dollar for every time he's cheated death. I mean, he may be a wrinkled up midget, but his mind is still sharper than a tack, and I wouldn't want to run into him in a dark alley."
"Another thing Jake says about him," Amy said. "He says if he only had green skin and pointed ears, he'd be Yoda."
"But Yoda died in the last movie," Rae said. "That's what I mean. As much as I love my grandpa, I know he won't be around forever. And besides him, you and your mom are pretty much the closest thing I have to a family."
CAVERN RECORDS, 1:00 P.M.
"Hungry?" Dianne asked Jake, as he was restocking cassettes.
"Maybe a little," Jake said.
"Good," Dianne said. "You can finish the cassettes when we get back."
"Where are we going?" Jake asked.
"Build Your Own Hot Dog," Dianne said. "It's usually slow as anything this time on Saturday, so I close up for about an hour and walk over there. Don't worry, it's only a couple doors down, and today's a nice day."
A couple minutes later, Jake and Dianne were at Build Your Own Hot Dog. "Two jumbos," Dianne said to the guy behind the counter. "And what do you want to drink?" she asked Jake.
"Anything but Pepsi," Jake said, noticing the Pepsi logo on the menu board.
"You don't like Pepsi," Dianne asked.
"Not really," Jake said. "Pardon my French, but if I had my choice between piss and Pepsi, I'd choose piss."
"Dr Pepper okay?" Dianne asked.
"Perfect," Jake said, as he got his hot dog and made his way down the line. He slathered on some yellow mustard, and topped it with a generous ladling of spicy chili con carne(no beans), shredded cheddar jack cheese, and onions. He then scooped some potato salad into the lid of the carton his hot dog came in, and grabbed a bag of bbq Ruffles potato chips. Dianne topped her hot dog with spicy brown mustard, relish, tomato wedges, sauerkraut, and jalapeno slices. She got a scoop of coleslaw, and a bag of Fritos corn chips. Dianne paid, they got their sodas, and sat at a table in the back.
"So how you like working here so far?" Dianne asked.
"It's cool," Jake said. "But it didn't really go over too well at home."
"I'm guessing your family isn't too thrilled with you working for me," Dianne said.
"Mostly Corrine," Jake said, "when I got home from work yesterday, the first thing she does is hand me an application for a box boy job down at Food Castle."
"You aren't going to fill it out?" Dianne asked.
"Can you honestly see me working there?" Jake asked. "I'd fit in over there like an Eskimo would fit in at a nudist colony."
"You would stand out there," Dianne said. "And not necessarily in a good way."
"My dad and Corrine are friends with the manager," Jake said. "They said they would talk to her for me if I applied."
"Any other reason you don't want to work there?" Dianne asked.
"They tell me I would have a future there," Jake said, "with plenty of opportunities for advancement, and I could probably make a career there. The thing is, I don't plan on going to college anywhere close enough where I can live at home. I truly intend to go away to college. Besides, I have a sinking suspicion they would frown on some of my extracurricular activities, if you know what I mean."
"Speaking of which," Dianne said, "You have taken this a lot better than Artemis and I expected you to."
"You turned me into a super powered ninja," Jake said. "Granted, the fact that Artemis is a talking cat was a bit startling at first, but hey."
"A bit startling?" Dianne asked. "The first time he spoke to you, if the ceiling of the store wasn't in the way, you would have become the first person to fly to the reach outer space under his own power."
"It's just that I'm not used to talking cats," Jake said. "Besides, once I got over the original shock, I found being Gilded Rose isn't such a bad gig. And have you actually seen Sailor Moon? All I have to say is hubba-hubba. Now if being Gilded Rose made me able to pick up an electric guitar and play some wicked cool licks that have the power to make Eddie Van Halen green with envy, the package would be complete. Speaking of Sailor Moon, when can I reveal my identity to her? And learn hers, while I'm at it. If we're going to be allies, I think we should be able to trust each other with our secret identities."
"It might not be a good idea to reveal your identity just yet," Dianne said.
NOAH'S ARCADE, 3:30 P.M.
Luna entered, and made her way to an unused Sailor V machine in a back room. She climbed onto the machine, and touched the screen with her paw. "Voice identification, please," the machine said, in a mechanical, yet human male, voice.
"I love tuna fish and field mouse pudding," Luna said.
"Identity confirmed," the machine said. "Give us your report, Luna."
"I have made contact with the one chosen to take the mantle of Sailor Moon," Luna said. "She came through her first battle with flying colors, but I do suspect a problem."
"And what is that?" the machine asked.
"She doesn't seem to be taking her duties very seriously," Luna said. "She seems to think both myself and her role as Sailor Moon are either figments of her imagination and/or drug induced hallucinations."
"That is expected," the machine said. "You need to remember, this is not the Moon Kingdom, or your home planet of Mau. This is Earth, in the latter part of the 20th century. Like most humans, the mere fact of a cat capable of human speech is quite disconcerting, let alone her powers or the villains she will be facing. You've basically thrust her into a world that violates what she perceives as the laws of reality."
"Which is why I finally had to hypnotize her," Luna said. "Make her believe that I have always had the ability to speak, and that I had been training her as Sailor Moon for some time."
"You realize we frown on messing with the minds of humans," the machine said.
"Unfortunately," Luna said, "we don't have the luxury of waiting for her to become used to what has happened to her in the last 24 hours. Also, since I will be living with her, I hypnotized her family to believe they adopted me. I hated to do it, but sometimes we have to do what we have to do."
"I guess you're right," the machine said.
"There was one other thing I need to mention," Luna said. "During her first battle, Sailor Moon was aided by one who called himself Gilded Rose. He was dressed like what they call on this planet a ninja, except where a ninja would wear all black, his costume was trimmed in gold. The thing that struck me as most odd about him was the fact that his fighting style was similar to that of the Order."
"This Gilded Rose does seem to be a valuable ally," the machine said. "Once we find the other Guardian Princesses, he may be the one thing we need to tip the scales in our favor. Do you have anything else to report at this time?"
"No I do not," Luna said. "Do you have any other information for me at this time?"
"We have new intelligence," the machine said, as a picture of Amy Anderson and Rae Hinckley appeared on the screen. "The girl with short hair's name is Amy Anderson. She is a schoolmate of Serena's. We aren't sure if Amy and Serena are acquainted personally, but we do know that Serena is casually acquainted with Amy's cousin, a boy named Jake Slater. The other girl, the taller one with long hair, her name is Rae Hinckley. Although she, until yesterday, attended a different school, she and Amy have been best friends since childhood."
"You believe these girls will play a role in our battle?" Luna asked.
"Yes," the machine said. "It's your duty to find out exactly what their duty is."
"Understood," Luna said. "Luna out."
DOWNTOWN SUNNY HILLS
Amy Anderson was walking her bike across the street from the Bijou Theater, when Luna pounced on her head from a nearby fence. "You startled me, kitty," Amy said, as she grabbed Luna.
"Oh I'm so sorry about that," Serena said, running towards Amy. "My cat sometimes acts like some lioness, stalking her prey on the Serengeti Plain, or something. You know how cats are."
"Not really", Amy said. "I always wanted a cat, but I was never allowed to have one, seeing that my dad was allergic. What's your cat's name, by the way?"
"Her name's Luna," Serena said. "And I'm Serena Campbell."
"My name's Amy Anderson," Amy said. "You go to Sally Ride, don't you?"
"That explains why you look so familiar," Serena said. "So what brings you to this part of town?"
"I was on my way to the Lind Gallery," Amy said. "They had an exhibit on contemporary art I wanted to check out, but, unfortunately, they were closed today. So, I figured I would maybe catch a movie at the Bijou."
"I would have never guessed you were an artist," Serena said. "I would have pegged you as the studious bookworm type."
"Sometimes my mom wishes I were a little more interested in academics than art," Amy said, "seeing she is a doctor, and kind of wished I would follow in her footsteps. However, my dad was an artist, and I kind of took after him."
"Serena, I think Amy has something to do with our mission," Luna said in Serena's ear.
"Don't be silly," Serena said.
"What's so silly about being an artist?" Amy asked.
"Sorry," Serena said. "I was talking to Luna. She does the silliest thing, she pretends she can speak by nibbling on my ear. Whenever she does it, I like to play along with her."
Amy and Serena arrived at the Bijou, and the poster out front was a black and white photo of a young teenage boy in a dark jacket over a light colored shirt, standing at the seashore, with Les Quatre Cent Coups in a handwriting-like font across the bottom. "I need to make a phone call real quick," Amy said, going to the pay phone. "Jake loves this movie, I want to let him know it's showing."
"I've never heard of it," Serena said.
"It's an old French film," Amy said. "The title translates into The 400 Blows. Jake said this was one of the films that made him want to be a filmmaker. This, and The Red Balloon."
"Is that the one where that little boy finds a red balloon, and it follows him all over the town?" Serena asked. "I remember the watching it in class every year back in grade school."
"Everybody's seen it in class back in grade school," Amy said.
CAVERN RECORDS
Business was slow, so Dianne had Jake clock out, just as the phone rang. "Cavern Records," Dianne said, answering it. After a pause, she handed the phone to Jake. "It's for you," she said.
"Thanks," Jake said, taking the receiver. "Hello," he said.
"Jake," Amy said, "I'm over at the Bijou, and they're showing The 400 Blows today. I know both you and I like that movie, so I thought when you got off work, maybe you and I could go see it."
"I just got off work," Jake said. "When's the next showing?"
"Half an hour from now," Amy said.
"I'll be there in 10 minutes," Jake said. "If you can pick up the tickets, I'll pay you back when I get there."
BIJOU THEATER, 10 MINUTES LATER
"Want to stick around and watch the movie?" Amy asked, as Jake arrived. You're more than welcome to.
"No thanks," Serena said. "First off, I'm not really a fan of foreign films, especially when they have subtitles. Second of all," she said, motioning to Luna in her arms, "I really don't think she'd be welcome in there."
"The theater management does frown on feline patrons," Jake said.
"Hi Jake," Serena said.
"Hi Serena," Jake said. "What's new, pussycat?" he said to Luna.
"I got the tickets," Amy said.
"You know Jake?" Serena asked Amy.
"He's my cousin," Amy said. "How do you know him?"
"We have a couple classes together," Serena said, as she was leaving. "If I don't see you two around, I'll see you when school starts up again."
As Serena left, Jake and Amy were about to enter the theater, as Rae Hinckley rode by on her bicycle. "What're you two up to?" she asked, as she parked her bike next to Amy's at the bike rack and locked it.
"Jake and I were about to go catch a movie," Amy said.
"You're welcome to join us," Jake said.
"What are you seeing?" Rae asked.
"The 400 Blows," Amy said.
"It's one of my favorite movies," Jake said.
"What the heck," Rae said. "Anything's better than dealing with my aunt Myrtle."
HALF AN HOUR LATER, SERENA'S BEDROOM
"I can't put my finger on it," Luna said, "but there's something about your friend Jake."
"You don't think he's one of our enemies?" Serena asked.
"No," Luna said. "He's definitely not the enemy. But he is connected to your mission somehow. I just wish I knew how."
90 MINUTES LATER, BIJOU THEATER
"You know," Rae said, "I've never sat through a foreign film before. Especially not one with subtitles."
"This is the movie that made me want to be a filmmaker," Jake said.
"You're not grounded or anything, are you?" Amy asked. "I mean, after what happened with you getting expelled from of St. Ignatius and all, I would have thought your grandpa would have grounded you until you had grandkids of your own."
"No," Rae said. "Actually, my grandpa was kind of relieved when I got expelled, although I know my dad's going to have an aneurysm when he finds out."
"Why was your grandpa relieved?" Jake asked.
"It saved him the trouble of pulling me out of there himself next month when I turn 16," Rae said. "My dad insists that I be raised Catholic, but my grandpa thinks that's one area where I should have a say in the matter. Other than the 5 minute call I get on my birthday, the only thing my dad ever did for me was to cut them a check every year for my tuition, books, and uniforms. You know, I could imagine what my grandpa's going to say. "You should have thought of that before you just dumped her on me." I don't care, though. I'll be glad to not have to wear a uniform to school."
"I don't blame you," Amy said. "I couldn't wear the same thing every day."
"And I can't see myself looking like everyone else," Jake said. "I don't know why, but I have this need to stand out in a crowd sometimes, even something as small as drinking root beer when everyone else is drinking Pepsi."
90 MINUTES LATER, ROY'S PIZZA
After the movie, Jake, Amy, and Rae decided to go out and grab some pizza. They went to Roy's, a New York style pizzeria near the Bijou, and got a 21 inch pie with double pepperoni, and a pitcher of Dr Pepper.
After they finished the pizza and soda, they were about to leave, but Jake had one thing he had to take care of before they did. "I'll be back in a few," Jake said. "I have some personal business to take care of."
As Jake was coming out of the restroom, he thought he heard a scream coming from outside.
SERENA CAMPBELL'S HOUSE
"Get a move on," Luna said. "There's trouble downtown, near Roy's Pizza."
"Another one of Metallia's goons, I'll bet," Serena said, touching the gem on her pendant. "Moon Cosmic Power, Make-Up!" she said, and was transformed into Sailor Moon.
DOWNTOWN
Sailor Moon arrived, and encountered a reptilian looking female. "Another one of Metallia's minions, I take it," Sailor Moon said.
"You think you can stop me?" the demon asked. "You can try, but it will be your funeral."
"I think not," Sailor Moon said, assuming what she adopted as her "battle pose". "For I fight for truth, justice, the American Way, and all else that is good. I am Sailor Moon, and you are going down."
"Now I know what name to carve on your tombstone," the creature said, throwing a weapon resembling a biohazard symbol at Sailor Moon.
Sailor Moon leapt out of the way of the weapon, which changed direction to follow her, until the weapon was knocked out of midair by a gold coated rose. "I'm afraid this one won't be as easy to defeat as the one we fought last night," Gilded Rose said to Sailor Moon.
"You call the battle we had last night easy?" Sailor Moon asked. "If it wasn't for you, I would probably be dead by now. Believe me, taking on an enemy that can split into 3 beings is pretty difficult when it's your first crack out of the box."
"But that will be a cakewalk compared to what you're in for," Gilded Rose said. "But you will not be alone."
"What do you mean by that?" Sailor Moon asked, as a crowd, including Rae Hinckley, came out to watch the battle.
The creature somehow sensed something about Rae, and fired an energy dart at her. Gilded Rose saw what happened, and knocked her out of the way of the dart, batting it away with his staff.
As Gilded Rose went back to the battle, Luna arrived, and saw a male symbol, which was also the symbol for Mars, flash on Rae's forehead for a brief instant. "She's Sailor Mars," Luna said to herself. Leaping in the air, she did a back flip, and a blue pen topped with a coin with the symbol for Mars on it appeared, and fell to the ground at Rae's feet.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" Rae asked, picking up the pen.
"Hold me up," the pen said, "And say "Mars Power, Make-Up!"."
"Why do I need to do that?" Rae asked.
"It is the only way to unlock the powers hidden inside you," the pen said.
"What powers?" Rae asked.
"Just do what I told you!" the pen barked the order at Rae. "You need to become Sailor Mars now!"
"If you're gonna be that way about it," Rae said, holding the transformation pen up. "Mars Power, Make-Up!" Next thing Rae knew, the grey 1 shouldered sweatshirt, black jeans, and pink hi-top sneakers she was wearing transformed into a deep red leotard with cutouts on the sides and purple flared sleeves that resembled futuristic shoulder pads, a white miniskirt with purple waistband and deep red hem, deep red elbow length fingerless gloves with a single purple band on the cuff, white sailor collar with a single deep red stripe around, knee high deep red boots topped with an inverted purple "V", purple bow at the base of her collar with a deep red gem in the center, purple back bow, deep red choker, and gold tiara with deep red gem on the forehead. "Whoa," Rae said, seeing how she was now dressed. "This day went from zero to completely batshit crazy in 3.5 seconds. Now what do I do?"
"It'll come to you," Luna said, observing Rae's transformation. "Just look within yourself. When the time comes, you'll know what to do."
Meanwhile, Amy came out to see what all the commotion was about. She saw the creature, and people scrambling, and she saw Luna walking by, and recognized her. "This is no place for a cat," she said, picking up Luna.
As Amy picked up Luna, Luna noticed, for a brief moment, what appeared to be a symbol for female, but with horns on top of its head, the symbol for the planet Mercury, on Amy's forehead. "She's one of us," Luna said.
"Did you say something?" Amy asked. "Of course you didn't. Cats don't talk."
"You're going to find," Luna said, jumping out of Amy's arms, "that I am no ordinary cat." She jumped up and did a back flip in midair, which materialized a pen similar to the one given to Rae, but blue instead of red, and the coin on top had the symbol for the planet Mercury.
Amy instinctively picked up the pen. "What am I supposed to do with this?" she asked.
"Hold it up," Luna said. "And say "Mercury Power, Make-Up!". That will unlock your hidden powers and allow you to become Sailor Mercury."
"Might as well," Amy said. "Seems like doing what the nice kitty cat says is the only way this will make sense. Mercury Power, Make-Up!" She found herself in a costume similar to that of Sailor Mars, but where Sailor Mars' costume was deep red, Sailor Mercury's was royal blue, and where Sailor Mars' was purple, Sailor Mercury's was a lighter shade of blue. "Great," Amy said. "Now what do I do?"
"Sailor Moon needs your help," Luna said. "Look inside yourself, and you'll know what to do."
Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars went to where Sailor Moon was fighting the creature. "Mars flame ignite!" she said, throwing a haymaker with her right hand, which caused her to throw a fireball at the creature, staggering it slightly.
"That's it," Gilded Rose said. "You might not have hurt her much, but you did hurt her. "Now let's see what you bring to the table," he said to Sailor Mercury.
"Mercury fog surround!" Sailor Mercury said, moving her right hand in a slashing motion down and across her body, surrounding the demon in a fog which both impaired her vision and disoriented her, but was invisible to Sailor Mercury or the other Sailor Soldiers.
"Mercury! Mars!" Gilded Rose shouted. "I'm gonna need a little boost here!" Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury knelt about 40 meters in front of Gilded Rose, and laced their fingers together about a foot off the ground. Gilded Rose got a running start, and as he stepped into the waiting hands of Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury, they lifted him up, launching him towards the creature. Gilded Rose twisted his body in midair, so he delivered a kick to the creature's face, knocking it off its feet. "Sailor Moon!" he said. "Quickly, before the creature gets to its feet!"
"Moon Tiara, Magic!" Sailor Moon said, throwing her tiara at the creature, destroying it. "Good job, girls," he said, just before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"You know," Sailor Moon said, as Luna, Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury gathered around her, "This is a lot easier when you're not fighting alone."
"Good job Sailor Mercury," Luna said. "And also to you, Sailor Mars. By the way, Sailor Mars, where did you come from?"
"I was given these powers by a talking pen," Rae said.
"So tell me Serena," Sailor Mercury said. "How long have you been Sailor Moon anyways?"
"Actually, only since yesterday," Sailor Moon said. "And how did you know I was Serena Campbell, anyways?"
"Your cat Luna was the one who gave me my powers," Sailor Mercury said.
"How did you know Luna was my cat?" Sailor Moon asked.
"We met this afternoon," Sailor Mercury said, transforming back into Amy Anderson.
"Amy?" Sailor Moon said, transforming back into Serena Campbell. "Is that you?"
"Wanna know what I think?" Sailor Mars asked, as she transformed back into Rae Hinckley. "If we're gonna be a team, we should all know each other's secret identities. Now I already know Amy, she and I have been friends for years. I'm Rae Hinckley."
"Serena Campbell," Serena said. "I guess that makes it official. We're a team now."
"What about that guy who helped us?" Amy asked.
"He calls himself Gilded Rose," Luna said. "That, and the fact that he obviously seems to be on our side is pretty much all we know about him."
"Well, I know one thing about him," Rae said. "There's something about him that makes me want to jump his bones."
"Wait a second," Amy said. "You just heard a cat speak, and all you can say is that you want to have sex with some guy?"
"I shot a fireball at something that would blend in with the crowd at that bar in Star Wars," Rae said. "A fireball, I might add, I created out of thin air with my superpowers, that, I might add, were given to me by a talking pen. After personally experiencing something that ordinarily never happens outside of a comic book, talking cats are pretty low on the weirdness scale."
"Hey girls," Jake said.
"Hi Jake," Serena said.
"Where've you been?" Amy asked.
"You missed all the excitement," Rae said.
"The chili dog I had for lunch teamed up with the half of a pizza I just ate to come back to haunt me," Jake said.
"Rae and I will see you back at my house," Amy said, as she and Rae rode off.
"You need a ride home?" Jake asked Serena.
"You sure my cat will be okay on your scooter?" Serena asked.
"Just set her on the floorboard between my feet," Jake said. "Your cat should be fine there. I've ridden with my cat like that a couple times."