Chapter Two

Mercury is Found

"So… you're going to explain this to some extent, right?"

It was fairly late at night. After the battle at the park, Ariana had de-transformed, and taken the unconscious cat home with her. She'd snuck back into her house through her bedroom window, so her parents and The Brat (her name for her little sister) wouldn't ask questions about the cat, but she was ambushed the second she made an appearance downstairs for food. It was a couple hours before she was able to get back up to her room—by then, the cat was awake and, it seemed, mostly recovered. Certainly, she was recovered enough to completely devour the dinner Ari had managed to sneak up to her.

The cat nodded, seeming to clear her throat for a moment. "My name is Luna. I've been looking for you for a long time, Sailor Moon. You and the other Sailor Scouts. There are evil forces awakening on earth, and you will need to fight them, and find the other Sailor Scouts so that they can fight alongside you."

"Wow, Luna, don't you think you explained too much?" Ariana asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Look, here's the deal. I'm going to bed now. This day has just been too weird for words. If you're still here when I wake up, then I might believe this isn't a dream. But as it is, this is too much like some video game."

Luna sighed. "As you wish, Sailor Moon," she said, but Ari had already turned off her lamp and rolled over in her bed. A sudden snore announced that she was, in fact, asleep.

~*~

I knew it… it was a dream. Ariana had woken to find no evidence of Luna the Talking Cat—and she'd had time to look, because she'd woken up early. It was apparently a week for strange occurrences. Ari yawned, stretching… and she caught sight of the locket she'd received in her 'dream', laying on her nightstand. "You have got to be joking!" Ari moaned, falling back on her bed with a defeated sigh.

"I most definitely am not; I thought I made that clear last night," came the expected reply, as Luna jumped onto the young girl's bed. "You have a mission, Sailor Moon. One on which you cannot turn your back."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Ari grumbled. "And don't call me Sailor Moon; my name's Ariana."

"Fair enough," Luna replied. "Ariana?"

"What?"

"You're going to be late."

"WHAT?!"

~*~

"Hey, Ari, have you seen the new girl?" Lisa asked, the instant Ariana sat down at lunch.

"Eh? There's a new girl?" she asked, a quizzical expression on her face. It wasn't ever exactly big news when a new student transferred in to Belmont High School—it was the biggest high school in California, so new students tended to get lost in the crowd. For Lisa to be talking about it like it was a huge deal, there had to be something different about her.

"Oh, yeah! Apparently, she's a super-genius—at least, that's what everyone's saying. Her mother's a big league brain surgeon, and they just moved here to LA. Her name's Kathryn Banks; she went to some major private school before she moved here…"

As Lisa went on, detailing everything she'd heard about Kathryn (which was probably more than the poor girl knew about herself), Ariana zoned out. Sure, someone this smart transferring in was big news, but it didn't really concern her. Predictably, her thoughts strayed to the events of the night before, and that morning, as they'd been doing all day (getting her into trouble for spacing during several important lectures). She'd been hoping that it all would've turned out to be a dream, but alas, no such luck. Now she was stuck with a talking cat she had to hide whenever her mother walked into the room, and a job she definitely didn't want. Not only that, but she was flunking Geometry. She'd probably get grounded for months when her parents found out. And then who'd protect the planet from 'the forces of evil'? she thought sarcastically. Though she didn't think the night had been all bad—there was still that hottie, Tuxedo Mask. Ari sighed wistfully; just thinking about him made her stomach erupt with butterflies.

"Ooh, look, there she is now!" Lisa squealed, punching Ari lightly in the shoulder (inadvertently hitting one of the many bruises she'd acquired in the course of the park battle, causing her to wince and pulling her thoughts back to the present) and pointing to a petite, obviously shy, and very pale brunette, who was walking through the middle of the cafeteria with her eyes on the ground, her hands clasped in front of her, holding a sack lunch. She sat at the only completely empty table in the huge lunch room—a table commonly referred to as the 'New Kid Loner' table; having lived in Westlake all her life, Ari had never had to sit there, but she'd seen it before. Occasionally, new kids had the charisma and stamina to jump right in with some clique or other at Belmont, but the shy, reserved ones were almost always left alone for weeks, sometimes months. As always, Ari wanted to go sit with the new kid, or at least invite her to their table, but the threat of being ostracized by her friends, who were all fairly popular in their own right, kept her seated right where she was, yet again. You just didn't talk to the new kid first, it wasn't the way things were done. The new kid had to make the attempt to fit in herself or himself. The fact that they usually failed never factored into the occasion.

Ari sighed, picking listlessly at her sandwich as the usual 'want-to-help-the-new-kid-but-can't' depression set in. Just once I'd like to defy the status quo. But… I can't, she thought, hanging her head and half-heartedly listening to Lisa prattle on about Kathryn's favorite food.

~*~

"Ariana Fletcher!" a voice shouted, just as the young girl stepped into her house. She knew that tone all too well—and her mother almost never called her by her full name, except when she was in trouble. Shit… Ari thought, setting her backpack down with her shoes by the door. The sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach came from being pretty sure she knew why she was in trouble. "Yeah, mom?" she asked, in as polite a tone as she could muster, when she walked into the living room. Her mother was standing away from her, facing the bay windows, her arms crossed and her body held in a rigid pose that only affirmed what Ari suspected the cause of trouble to be.

Mrs. Fletcher gave a resigned sigh as she turned to face her daughter. "I had an interesting conversation with your Geometry teacher earlier, Ariana. What's this about you failing?" she asked, her voice rising dangerously. I knew it, Ari thought. I'm sunk.

"Geometry just… isn't my strong point…"Ariana muttered, her gaze fixed on her feet and the carpet beneath. She couldn't meet her mother's eyes, not because she was afraid of her anger, but she was scared of the disappointment she knew she'd see there.

As she expected, her mother gave a heavy sigh. "I know, Ariana. Which is why, when I heard that Melissa Banks had moved to the area and her daughter is going to your school, I arranged for tutoring."

There was a brief silence. "Uh… tutoring?" Ari asked at length, as though unsure if she'd heard her mother correctly.

"Yes, tutoring. Don't pull that 'Why Me' face either, Ariana. I understand that math isn't your strong point, and it never has been. What I can't understand is why you didn't complete a project that was worth nearly half of your grade."

Suddenly it hit her, like a lightning strike—she'd been feeling like there had been something she'd been forgetting ever since last night, especially given the disappointed look her math teacher had sent her way, but she hadn't been able to figure it out. Then she remembered that she was supposed to have finished the huge 'Dream House' project last night, because she'd already asked for an extra day on it, (it had been that break's homework, a rare occurrence but one this particular math teacher was known for), but what with talking cats, transforming into Sailor Meatballs, and that super hot Tuxedo Mask, she'd forgotten all about it. The groan she gave just then would have been audible halfway down the street.

"I knew it." Her mother straightened, drawing herself up to her full height. "Tutoring it is—Mrs. Banks has already agreed on a very reasonable fee for her daughter to tutor you. You are going to turn around, grab your things, and go to the library right now to meet her. Mrs. Banks said her daughter will be there about now."

Ariana groaned again and turned around, trudging towards the door. "And Ariana." She stopped for a moment. "If you don't pass this semester, I think we'll have to move. Maybe this school is just too big."

It was several seconds before Ariana was able to un-freeze herself and move again towards the door. She knew better than to argue—that would only set her mother's decision in stone even further. Now her only hope was this tutoring. I have to pass math, she thought desperately. I can't change schools. I just can't!

~*~

The public library was only about five minutes of brisk walking away, so Ari didn't bother with her bike. Instead, she slung her backpack over her shoulder, fixed her eyes on the ground, and marched down the hill like a woman on a mission. Ironically enough, despite watching the ground intently, Ariana managed to trip over a small rock, embedded in a crack in the sidewalk. Thankfully, something was there to break her fall, though when she ran into it (something tall, and squishy), she fell backwards, landing on her butt instead.

"Ow…" she muttered, rubbing her head and staring up, shading her eyes against the glare of the setting sun, to see what she'd run into. Or who, as it turned out. There was a tall man standing there, partially blocking the sun, which made it look like he was surrounded by a red-gold glow. From what she could see, he was a major hottie, whoever he was. Classically masculine features, a straight nose, a full mouth curved into a smirk, and very dark hair (Ari couldn't see his eyes, since he was wearing sunglasses) meant Ariana was close to drooling. Until, that is, he spoke.

"Uh… are you blind?" he asked, in a mocking tone of voice. How rude! Ariana thought, struggling to stand by herself. She felt a hand on her arm, and suddenly she was yanked upwards, until she was standing quite uncomfortably close to the very hot, very rude man before her—uncomfortable because a sense of familiarity struck her, and she couldn't help but wonder how it would feel to have his arms around her. He was quite tall, too—she had to look up to see his face, and she was no shrimp for a girl, at five feet nine inches. He must have been over six feet tall—probably closer to six foot four. "Why are you staring at me?" he asked suddenly, his voice carrying a hint of amusement now.

"Uh… I… I'm not!" Ari replied indignantly. "You're the one who ran into me, but you haven't apologized yet! Besides, it's not like I can go anywhere with you holding me like that," she added dryly, indicating his hand, which was still around her arm. Not that she was complaining—too much—mentally, for the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she knew this man from somewhere had been increasing by the second, even though she knew she'd never seen him before. And he was very good looking.

At her words, though, he released her rather abruptly. "Sorry kid," he said, smirking again and inevitably infuriating Ariana.

"I'm not a kid!" she shouted at his retreating back—he'd walked around her to continue down the street.

"How old are you, then?" he asked, stopping for a moment and glancing back at her.

"Seventeen!"

"Exactly. See you around, kid. Nice pig tails, by the way."

"I am not a kid!" Ari shouted again, but he'd moved on, and obviously wasn't listening. She put a hand to her pig tails, wondering just what he'd meant by that last comment, before continuing on grumbling to herself all the way to the library about the nerve of some people, and why did the worst jerks always have to be so good looking?

~*~

It wasn't hard to find Kathryn when she got to the library; she was sitting alone at a table poring over several books at once, it seemed. She had glasses on, but when Ari got close enough to actually study the girl, she was surprised by how pretty she was. Her hair was nearly waist length, and a rich, oak brown color, which contrasted surprisingly well with her extremely pale, completely unblemished skin, almost like alabaster. Her eyes were rather large for her small, ovular face, and looked to be the color of sea water—a deep, aquamarine. While Ari couldn't see how tall the girl was from here, she looked like she couldn't be much more than several inches shorter than herself, with such petite features.

Then Kathryn looked up, catching Ariana's eyes, and the latter smiled slightly, moving over towards her table. "Hi, I'm Ariana Fletcher," she said, on reaching the girl, holding out her hand for the other to shake.

She quickly stood up to do so. "I'm Kathryn. Kathryn Banks," she said, and Ari noted that she couldn't have been much over 5'5". "Nice to meet you," Ari replied, taking a seat beside her and warily eyeing the several thick books scattered over the table.

Kathryn saw the look in her eyes and smiled, again surprising Ari—without the serious, studious look on her face, she almost glowed. For the second time that day, the young girl was struck with the sudden, intense feeling that she'd known someone long ago, when she'd never actually met the person. Ariana mentally shook herself and turned to listen to Kathryn. "Oh, don't worry Miss Fletcher, those are for me. This one's for the tutoring." With that she pulled out a slightly smaller, yet still daunting, volume which read 'A Course in Geometry, Beginning to Advanced' along the spine.

Miss Fletcher? Ari thought, a highly bemused expression crossing her face. "Please, just call me Ari. All my friends do," she said firmly—being called 'Miss Fletcher' made her feel extremely old for some reason. Kathryn flushed slightly, redness creeping up her cheeks, and nodded.

"Right, sorry… Ari." She seemed to hesitate, and Ariana offered her an encouraging smile, which she returned with relief. "Anyway, what exactly are you having trouble with in Geometry? Cause it'd save us a lot of time if I knew exactly where to start to help you."

Makes sense, Ari thought, nodding, before reflecting back on this year's worth of Geometry classes and mentally shuddering. "Well… all of it, really. I mean, some of the really basic stuff I get, but I just… like, I'll understand something when the teacher is talking about it in class, but then when I get home to do the homework, it all just flies out the window, y'know? And at that rate, I never remember anything long enough to take the test well…"

"Hmm… It seems to me, that your problem isn't math itself, but how your teacher is teaching it. Not everyone can learn the same way, and you need to find a new way that allows the information to stick into your brain… Tell me, do you understand the quadratic formula?"

"Er… not… really… at all, no," Ari replied, flushing with embarrassment.

"Well, that's as good a place to start as any." And with that, Kathryn opened the book, and began talking. For some reason, just listening to her and watching the equations she wrote on the paper she'd brought evoked a depth of understanding in her that Ariana had never felt before. For the first time, she actually understood the concepts behind the mathematics, and it felt surprisingly good when she managed to do her first equation by herself, and actually understand why she got the right answer, and why that answer was the right one. "Wow…" she said, wondering at Kathryn's ability to figure out exactly how Ari needed to be taught off the bat like that. She'd had the sinking feeling, on the way to the library, that Kathryn would talk in a ton of big words that she'd need a PHD to understand… but it was really far simpler than that. Kathryn smiled genuinely again, and Ari beamed right back. She was actually starting to get it!

Suddenly, Ari felt a sharp pain in her leg. "OW!" she shouted, causing Kathryn to look at her with a concerned expression. The girl looked down, and saw Luna sitting there, looking extremely agitated. "Oh, it's just my cat… Luna, how did you get in here?" she muttered, trying to keep her voice low. Luna jumped up to Ari's shoulder and whispered in her ear, low enough so that no one else would be able to hear. "Oh, she likes to nibble on my ear and pretend she can talk," Ari told Kathryn, giving a fake laugh.

"Ariana, I felt strong negative vibrations coming from this place… I think Sailor Moon may be needed!" Luna didn't have a chance to explain any more, because suddenly, a scream split the air. Ari stood and whipped around so fast that Luna had to dig her claws in to her shoulder to maintain purchase. The librarian, who had looked completely normal when Ari had first walked in half an hour ago, had a warped, twisted look on her face, and she had one of the library patrons held up high by the throat with one hand, sucking away his energy with the other. Then, the evil librarian threw the man away, into one of the book shelf stacks, which toppled with the force and caused the other stacks in its way to fall over, until the last one hit the wall.

"Give me your energy, pathetic humans!" Now, the librarian had dropped all human-like visage, becoming a monster even uglier than the Mummy-esque thing she'd destroyed last night.

"Oh crap…" Ariana muttered; Luna leapt from her shoulders, knowing she'd do what was needed. "Kathryn, whatever you do, don't let that purple stuff touch you, got it?" she said.

"What? Ari—" but the girl had already run to the back of the library, hidden by the un-toppled stacks. "Moon Prism Power!" Ari shouted, throwing her hand into the air. When the light cleared, she was once again Sailor Moon. "Hey, evil creep, why don't you just stop right there!" Sailor Moon shouted, stepping out from behind the stacks and avoiding Kathryn's eyes, as the girl seemed to be computing in her head just where Moon had suddenly come from.

"And just who are you to tell me to quit?" The monster asked, shooting a beam of energy at her. Sailor Moon jumped and did a summersault through the air, landing in front of the monster.

"I am Sailor Moon, champion of love and justice! In the name of the moon, you're gonna get dusted, creepozoid!"

"Is that so?" the monster asked, laughing. Suddenly, Sailor Moon had more than the monster to contend with—the rest of the library goers had been drained of energy, save her and Kathryn, and they all rose with zombie-like moans, heading straight for Ari under the monster's orders. "Oh… Hell…"

"Give me your energy!" the librarian-turned-monster shouted again, lunging for Kathryn. The girl screamed and tried to run back, but she was trapped in a corner. As the monster's cruelly-clawed hands reached for her, Luna saw a mark start glowing on her forehead.

"Mercury," she whispered in awe. "Sailor Moon, it's Sailor Mercury!"

"That's nice Luna, but I'm a bit busy at the moment!" Sailor Moon shouted back from the corner in which the energy-drained, mind controlled library mob had her trapped as well. Luna nodded and lashed her tail in the air; there was a flash of blue light, and a blue, decorated pen appeared, bearing Mercury's symbol. The black cat kicked it towards Kathryn.

"Kathryn!" she shouted, getting the girl's attention. "Grab that and say 'Mercury Power'!"

The girl's eyes widened, wondering just how the cat could talk, but she nodded, ducking under the monster's arms and grabbing the pen. Standing again, she raised the pen, and shouted, "Mercury Power!" When the resulting flash of blue light cleared, she was transformed similar to Sailor Moon, but in an aquamarine-light blue motif, with short, aqua-colored hair. "Wow," she murmured, looking herself over.

Then Luna shouted, getting her attention. "Sailor Mercury! Use your Mercury Bubbles!"

Mercury nodded. "Right! Mercury Bubbles… Blast!" Suddenly, the library was filled with a freezing cold fog. All the people crowding around Sailor Moon dropped to the floor as the monster's hold on them broke. "So… cold…" the monster hissed, shivering and losing sight of its quary. "Sailor Moon, now's your chance!" Mercury shouted.

Nodding, Sailor Moon put a hand to her tiara. "Moon Tiara Magic!" The tiara's aim was dead on, and the evil being was dust seconds later.

From outside the building, Tuxedo Mask watched as Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury checked to make sure the bystanders were ok as they got their energy back. "She pulled it off this time," he murmured to himself, tucking a rose back within his tux, before disappearing down the street.