ACT ZERO THREE | For Love and Justice! Pretty Sailor Suited Soldier, Sailor Moon Arrives!

Notes/Warnings: Alternate Universe

It was warm.

Instinctively, I snuggled closer to the heat source. It felt nice. The previous day must have been a crazy dream. I was safe in bed with Mama and Papa. Sometimes, whenever I'm upset or scared of something I crawl into bed with them.

I was starting to doze off again when a loud crash jolted me up causing me to bump my head against someone's chin.

"Oww!" Kid complained.

It hadn't been a dream after all...

I groaned and rubbed my head. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay? What in the world was that noise?"

I didn't get the chance to hear Kid's reply as the source of the disturbance came streaking past us. Diana was being chased by Finch. A frazzled Navi was pursuing the pair in an attempt to stop them. Diana's fur was on end and she was growling. There was murder in Finch's eyes as he continued to give chase.

I blinked, stunned at the strange scene unfolding before me.

"Hey!" I shouted, charging after them. "Stop chasing my cat!"

Hearing my voice, Diana came full circle and headed straight for me. I skidded to a halt with barely enough time to catch her as she leapt into my arms. Finch managed to stop himself from crashing into us, but that didn't stop Navi from colliding with him. They went sprawling, landing in a heap on the cold concrete.

"Finch! Ya big dummy!" I heard Navi shout as she tried to untangle herself from the boy. The minute she could, she smacked him across the back of the head.

Diana was still busy hissing and baring her teeth while I glared at the boy. She was beginning to sound almost feral, but who could blame her after being chased all over the place. I ran my hand through Diana's fur in an attempt to calm my cat.

"What is the matter with you?" I demanded to know, "Why were you chasing my cat?"

"She bit me!" Finch exclaimed throwing his arms in the air in defeat.

I raised an eyebrow and stared at him.

"Okay, okay, I was trying to take her to the marketplace to see if I could sell her off and then she bit me," he confessed.

"I told him to leave it alone," Navi interjected, leveling a glare of her own at Finch.

"You tried to sell my cat?!" I shrieked, narrowing my eyes, and setting Diana down. I moved a few steps closer getting into his personal space.

Finch shrugged, looking sheepish but not sorry.

"I should throttle you!"

"Hey, pets are rare! Someone mighta paid a lot of credits for that thing."

"Thing!?"

That had done it.

"My cat is not a thing!" I yelled.

I lunged at him, or I tried to anyway. Someone caught me around the waist and lifted me clear off the concrete. Whoever it was, held me aloft so that I couldn't regain my footing.

"Hey! Let go of me!" I protested, struggling to break free from the strong grip. Unfortunately, it was no use. The hold around my waist was solid.

"Cool it, Rabbit." Solo asserted. I looked up in surprise to find that he was the one holding me back.

He turned toward Finch, eyes narrowed, "Get lost, Finch. I don't want to see yer face around till later tonight."

"Damn it, Solo! Really?!" Finch complained.

"Now, Finch! You know how things are in this gang. If you can't follow the rules, then scram." Solo said.

Solo did not release me until Finch cleared out of the warehouse. I crossed my arms and glared at him, angry that he had stopped me from teaching Finch a lesson.

A good slap might have been satisfying.

Still frowning, I stooped down to pick Diana up and absently carded my fingers through her fur. The motions were as soothing to me as they were for her.

The next words out of Solo's mouth surprised me.

"Does she have a name? Is she okay?" he asked.

I blinked at him, completely at a loss for words.

He rolled his eyes and motioned toward Diana, "the cat."

"Her name is Diana. He startled her, that's all. She will be fine."

Solo nodded and turned to the rest of the children who had observed the scene with some interest.

"The rest of you listen up!" He said loudly, getting everyone's attention, "Rabbit's cat is off limits. Diana is part of this gang now. So nobody get cute. We're family and we don't sell out our own. Got it?"

There was a mumbled chorus of assent and with that Solo seemed satisfied. My jaw dropped and I stood there staring. I hadn't expected Solo to say something like that. He hardly knew me, yet, he was including me and Diana in his family. Heat flooded my cheeks and I found myself looking away.

Diana meowed and settled down in my arms.

I only looked up as Navi's arm settled around my shoulders.

She grinned at me, "Welcome to the family, Rabbit, and you too, kitty cat."

After the chaotic morning, our happy little family dispersed. They all went off to fulfill their duties for the day. Everyone had to bring something useful to contribute before nightfall. Whether it was food, credits, or basic necessities everything would be shared.

I didn't know much of anything about my new home. I had yet to figure out what exactly a credit was, but Finch made it sound like some form of currency. That was my best guess.

What I did know, is that Kid took his 'responsibilities' to the gang very seriously. For now, his responsibilities included me. I tagged along with him for the day and it gave me the opportunity to ask questions.

Admittedly, I wasn't in the best of moods. I couldn't decide if I was still angry, excited, or downright depressed. The day had started off badly. It didn't help matters that I was following Kid around in rumpled, slept-in clothes. I felt gross and wished for nothing more than a shower and clean clothes. My stomach would no doubt protest that what I actually needed was a good meal first.

Kid seemed to be in agreement because he wasted no time in getting back to the market from yesterday. When we got there, I followed him up a fire escape onto the roof of a three-story building nearby. There was a good view of the hub of activity below from here. Kid appeared to be watching the crowd, waiting for someone or something in particular. I didn't have a clue what to look for, so I sat back and waited to take my cues from him. I don't even know how long we stayed observing things, but Kid finally saw what he wanted. He grinned and stood from his crouch on the ledge, ready to leave.

"Stay here. I'm going to score us some breakfast." He declared.

Before I could even reply, Kid was gone. He hurried down the fire escape and disappeared into the sea of people.

"Finally!" Diana said, "I thought I'd never have a moment to speak to you!"

She hopped off my head and sat in front of me. The look in her eyes was the same that Luna got right before going off on a rant or a lecture.

I sighed. "I'm sorry about this morning."

Her tail flicked in agitation. "That wasn't your fault. I'm quite capable of handling that hooligan myself. It's not him I'm worried about. I'm concerned about us getting home, Usa."

"How do you propose we do that?" I asked rolling my eyes at her in frustration.

"Your key." She stated matter-of-factly.

I reached for the key that hung around my neck on its thin, gold chain and frowned. The key felt strangely disconnected. I couldn't feel the familiar pull or warmth that it normally possessed, but I didn't know how to explain that to Diana.

"I don't think that will work, Diana"

"You won't know until you try. We have to try soon. Everyone at home must be so worried about us."

I nodded and looked away. "We have to find a place where no one will see us."

"We can sneak out tonight after the others go to sleep." She suggested.

"Diana..."

"Hmm?"

"What if it doesn't work?"

I didn't get to hear a response. Kid rejoined us at that moment looking pleased with himself. My mood had soured further, but I managed a tentative smile. I didn't want to be petty and dampen his mood too. Diana gave my hand a reassuring nudge and then curled up on my lap.

"I scored some bread from the baker." He announced, "It's day old, but should still be good."

Kid had three loaves of bread in his bag, and he split one of them between the three of us. We had our breakfast there on the roof and I let Kid chatter to me some more about L2. The conversation distracted me from my pessimistic thoughts of never going home. There was so much to learn about this strange place.

"I'm going to have to teach you how to pickpocket." He stated at one point between bites of food.

I paused from feeding Diana and stared at him aghast.

"W- what?"

"Pickpocketing." Kid repeated, "We need credits to buy any decent food."

So credits were currency.

He confirmed my suspicions, but regardless, I wasn't about to resort to stealing. Diana made her thoughts on the matter known as well. She bit down on my finger while making a show of sniffing the food in my hand. I yelped and glared at her, but she merely licked her paw, feigning innocence.

Shaking my head, I turned to Kid, "I won't steal from people. That's wrong."

"Ya won't be thinking about that for very long. It's wrong for kids to starve too, but no one cares about that enough to do somethin'. If ya starve, so will she, and it ain't gonna matter to no one." He said, pointing at Diana. "I don't know about where ya come from, but that is just how it is here."

I grimaced, watching as Diana half-heartedly nibbled at her piece of bread. Cats don't eat things like bread. As much as I hated to admit it, Kid was right. If I didn't figure something out soon, we would starve. Not knowing where our next meal would come from made the thought of not being able to get home a lot scarier. This wasn't anything like the first time I traveled in time. In the twentieth century I had been scared too, but at least I'd had Puu to guide me. I always knew that there was a way to get back home because she was watching over me. I had people that I could turn to, food, clothes, and a safe home thanks to the much younger versions of my parents.

Here on L2, I didn't have anyone at all.

I wasn't going to give up yet. I wouldn't compromise my morals without even trying to figure out another way.

"I'll figure something out," I said stubbornly, popping the last bite of day-old bread in my mouth.

Kid swallowed his own food and shrugged, "Suit yerself."

He didn't bring up the subject again, in fact, he led the conversation in an entirely different direction. Kid was beginning to pick up on what were touchy subjects for me and he steered clear of them.

"So, what do ya want to do today?" he asked, innocently dropping the ball on me.

"I was hoping you would tell me. I'm still pretty much a newbie." I replied.

"There isn't much to do." Kid confessed, "but I could show ya around. You'll need to learn how to get back to the warehouse on yer own in case we ever have to split up. I'm gonna have to leave ya later if I'm gonna get enough credits to buy rations from the military base before dark. They sell some of their supplies dirt cheap if they're tryin' to get rid of it."

"Okay," I agreed and tried not to think of how Kid was going to get that money. He stood, shouldering his bag and I followed suit. I set Diana on her usual spot between my "rabbit ear" pigtails and shouldered my backpack

Kid gave me a look and shook his head. "Yer going to want to keep her in the bag. There are worse people than Finch around here. He wasn't wrong about her being worth some credits."

"Oh, right," I replied, surprised by his candor.

I let Diana slip back into my backpack before following Kid down the fire escape.

We walked for hours. Kid showed me at least three different routes that led back to the warehouse. He also pointed out places that I should stay away from. It was well into the afternoon when Kid left me to my own devices. He needed to get money and at this point, I would only hinder him. I didn't harbor any desire to get involved anyway.

I had nothing left to do but wander around until it was time to meet up with Kid. Being on my own though, made me nervous even with Diana to keep me company. Contemplating the idea of finding a place to wait out the rest of the day, I got caught up in my own thoughts. I was not watching where I was going.

Diana's warning meow came a few seconds too late as I crashed into someone and fell back on my butt. Several bags of miscellaneous items fell around us on the street. To add insult to injury, an errant apple hit my head. My eyes watered and I blinked, trying to bring things back into focus again.

"I'm so sorry!" said a voice, and a woman came into view, peering down at me with concern. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so..." I replied, rubbing my throbbing head. I was starting to feel a headache coming on.

"Let me help you," she said, offering her hand to help me stand.

Once on my feet, I noticed her groceries scattered across the sidewalk. I glanced up at the tall woman apologetically, "I'm sorry about this mess ma'am. I should have been paying more attention. Let me help pick it up."

She nodded, "thank you, but it was my fault too. I couldn't see very well around these packages."

The brunette smiled kindly at me and it made my heart ache. Her smile reminded me of mama Ikuko. I missed her, but I mulishly pushed those thoughts away and bent to the task of helping the lady.

The woman introduced herself as Claire. As it turned out, she lived a stone throw away from where we collided on the street. I helped her carry some of the packages back to her apartment.

"Thanks again, Rabbit," Claire said as we stopped at her door, "would you like to come in for lunch? I feel awful about what happened out there. I would like to make it up to you."

I wanted to decline politely, but my stomach chose that moment to rebel again. Claire grinned delightedly and I hung my head in embarrassment.

"Well, if it isn't too much trouble..." I trailed off lamely, still feeling conflicted.

There was some sort of cardinal rule about kids not talking to strangers. My current situation was making it harder and harder to follow any kind of morals.

"Nonsense! It's no trouble at all. I'd love the company and I owe you my thanks." Claire insisted.

Despite my hesitation, Claire's persistence won. Nothing particularly screamed danger about this woman. Claire did seem pretty nice, so maybe just once it would be okay to accept a stranger's kindness. The bread I had shared with Kid in the morning seemed like ages ago, and though appreciated, it had not been much of a meal. I was starving and the thought of food only made my stomach growl again, loudly.

Kid must be hungry too, I thought, and that made me feel guilty. I would have to save some of my lunch and share some of it with Diana too. Claire ushered me into the apartment and past the living space to get to her kitchen.

I sat at the small kitchen table while she unloaded and stowed away her groceries. When she was done, Claire made up some sandwiches and brought them over to the table.

"Thank you." I said again, "this really wasn't necessary."

"It's alright. I wanted to thank you for helping me. Now go on and enjoy." She replied earnestly.

I took a few bites and savored the simple fare of turkey, swiss and fresh bread. I was so hungry I could have finished the entire sandwich and probably another. It took some willpower to stop eating and tear off a piece of the deli meat for Diana.

"Oh! You've got a kitten!" Claire exclaimed when she noticed Diana poking her head out of my bag to eat the turkey.

I tensed immediately, worried about what kind of reaction Claire would have to my cat. Kid had warned me before about letting too many people take notice of Diana.

Claire jumped up excitedly and walked over to her cabinets in search of something. "I know I have a few cans of tuna hidden away up here somewhere."

I didn't relax until Claire returned to the table with four cans of tuna. She opened one of the cans and set it down for Diana who eagerly jumped down to eat. The older woman giggled delightedly as she watched my cat tuck into the canned fish.

"Looks like she was hungry," Claire observed.

"Uh… we didn't have much for breakfast."

Or dinner last night for that matter…

Claire slid the other three cans of tuna toward me, "you should take the rest of these then."

"Oh no. I couldn't possibly…"

"I insist." She smiled. "She needs these more than I do. I get by."

"I...thank you. That is very kind."

"Don't mention it. Now, how about some lemonade to wash down that sandwich?"

Claire took a bit longer this time in preparing the drinks. I watched as she packed a few food items into a bag before returning to the table with our lemonades. I wondered but didn't ask, letting her lead the conversation instead. The less I told anyone about myself the better. We talked until the light coming through the windows began to dim. It was getting late.

I stood and started to excuse myself before it could get any later. Trying to make my way back to the hideout in the dark would not be safe. Solo and Kid would not be happy about it.

"Well, it is getting late." Claire agreed. "Wait here for a second."

I nodded and scooped Diana back up to put her in my bag.

In the meantime, Claire came back with the bag of food I had seen her pack before. She pushed the package into my arms.

"Claire...I can't take all this."

"None of that nonsense now. Go on and get home. Be safe."

At a loss for words, I nodded and let her usher me outside.

"I'll be here if you ever need anything." She added as we said our goodbyes at the door. "Only if you let me work for it. I can help you out around the house or help with errands, maybe?" I offered.

"You drive a hard bargain, little rabbit. Take care of yourself and that cute kitten. I'll be seeing ya." She grinned.

I returned the smile and waved before starting off in the direction Kid had taught me earlier in the day. It was already getting much later than I anticipated. Unconsciously, I picked up the pace even before I heard the scream.

I stopped dead in my tracks and listened only long enough to hear it again. I ran towards the noise even though my every instinct was telling me to go in the opposite direction. The screams began to grow clearer and louder which meant I was on the right track. Peering around the corner of the alley, I finally spotted them.

It was a small figure, a child like me, and an extremely large man looming over her. She was on the ground attempting to crawl away from the man amid tears and screams.

"No one is going to hear you out here, Lovey. Be good and it won't hurt as bad."

I bit my bottom lip in an effort not to make any noise. I could not let that creep hurt this girl. I looked around hoping for something to spark an idea. I needed to help her.

If I could just get on the rooftop…

Spotting a fire escape ladder, I didn't waste any time. I set my bags down, hidden from view and grabbed onto the bottom rung of the ladder. I scurried up to the top climbing as fast as I could go. I had a perfect view of them from the top of the building. I recognized the girl then, blonde pigtails and red top. It was Sunny. If I didn't act fast something terrible was going to happen to her. Clutching my locket, I made a silent prayer hoping that I could still transform.

Within seconds, Sailor Mini Moon stood in my place. Taking a breath, I refocused on the scene below and removed my tiara. I took aim and let the tiara go knowing it would be true to its mark.

The man screamed in pain as it sliced the right side of his face.

I stayed at the edge of the rooftop casting a shadow upon both him and Sunny. The tiara returned in a brilliant flash of gold.

"It would be wise for you to leave, you pervert, or I will punish you again. That was only a warning." I called down to him, masking my voice as best I could.

I let him see the glint of the tiara again enough to make him pause which gave Sunny time to run away. She did not waste the opportunity.

"Who are you?!" The man shouted back at me, loud and angry. He held the lacerated side of his face as it began to bleed.

"I stand for is all you need to know."

"Justice?" He scoffed, "why would a grown man like me, be scared of a little girl? I'm going to make you pay for scaring off tonight's entertainment."

He made a move toward the ladder and I threw the tiara again this time slicing his hand.

"You are going to pay for that you little bitch!" he yelled.

"I wouldn't do that. I can go all night and I never miss. You might make it up here, but I can guarantee you'll be missing a few limbs. Leave. If I ever find you harassing children again, you'll meet a fate much worse than a nicked cheek."

Come on, take the bluff. Take. the. bluff.

I had to bluff. If he managed to get onto the ladder it would be a lot more difficult for me to hit him. A physical confrontation would leave me at a severe disadvantage. The man outweighed me at least three or four times over. I would have to make a run for it.

The tiara flashed again making him hesitate once more. Not knowing what kind of weapon I was wielding was making him cautious. As I'd hoped, he decided that I wasn't worth the trouble. I watched the big oaf leave the alley, kicking a trash bin along the way. I had to make sure he didn't follow Sunny before risking the climb back down the ladder.

Diana was immediately demanding answers the moment I got back to my bag.

"What on Earth did you think you were doing?"

Still high on adrenaline, I was feeling rather impish with my reply, "In case you hadn't noticed, we are not on Earth."

"Oh don't you smart mouth me! What if that man came after you? He was not a demon!"

"Of course, because a human man is so much more dangerous than a demon," I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes at the cat.

"Just what did you intend to do if the tiara did not work and he came after you? You are not equipped for that kind of situation."

I frowned and proceeded to collect my things, "I could not stand there and do nothing."

Diana sighed and took on a different tact. "Your transformation was different. You have a mask now."

Her statement threw me. I hadn't even noticed the mask on my face until she mentioned it. I touched it tentatively. It was a small, white domino mask like my father's. I was going to remove it, but Diana stopped me.

"No, don't take it off here. Go to the side of the building, out of view and detransform. We should hurry and get back to the other kids."

I nodded and complied. Picking up my belongings and continuing the trek back to the warehouse. It was dark now. Kid and the others probably wondered if I skipped out on them. I quickened my pace hoping to get to shelter. I was starting to feel cold without the warm energy of my transformation.

Finally, the warehouse was in sight. I climbed in through the same window Solo had used the night before making my way to the large central bay. It was getting noisier as I got closer.

When the other kids came into view, Sunshine was there in tears, surrounded by the rest of the kids. My sudden appearance drew everyone's attention to me... Kid waved me over and the group made room for me in their circle.

"Sunny just got attacked," Solo announced. I noticed that he was watching me intently as he spoke, "have any of you noticed a creepy guy hanging around our turf? You might have seen him on your way here, Rabbit. This just happened."

"No...I actually got a little lost on my way back." I lied, making a decent attempt at looking chagrined.

Solo sent me a skeptical look but made no further comment about me.

"Well," he continued. "Apparently our little Sunshine here has some sort of guardian angel. Someone was looking out for her tonight. She was lucky but we're going to have to start going out in pairs for safety."

There was a murmur of dissent which Solo immediately put a stop to. "It's not up for debate. This is what we're doin' and that's it. Now Sunny who saved you from that pervert?"

Sunny blinked and looked straight at me. She was trying to remember something but was uncertain.

"It looked like...well it kinda looked like Rabbit!" She admitted much to everyone's surprise.

"Couldn't have been me." I said, shutting down the idea before it caught on, "I never saw you or this creep everyone is talking about."

"But...the shadow...it looked just like you. She was so cool!"

I shook my head. "It wasn't me, but I think I know who it might be."

"Really?" Sunny asked looking hopeful.

I felt someone tugging at my shirt and looked to find that Red had squeezed in beside me.

"You has a story?" Red asked, sending a buzz of excitement around the room.

"Yeah," I said warming up to the idea. "I'll tell you the story of why I probably look like Sunny's hero."

Everyone's attention was on me once again and they began to settle down on the floor in the same circle. Red promptly sat on my lap and the kids all waited expectantly for me to start the tale.

"A long time ago… there was a girl who lived a very normal life. Her name was Usagi. She had a family that loved her, went to school on most days and had many friends. This girl was very pretty too, but sort of clumsy. She has long blond hair just like you Sunny and she wears it up in pigtails like mine...

Well, one day on her way to school, the clumsy girl stumbled upon some mean boys that were hurting a little cat. She scared the boys away and saved the kitty but she was late to school so she hurried off.

Later that night, the cat came to her window at home. This cat was special because it could talk."

As I began to tell the story, the kids started splitting up whatever goods they'd managed to score for the day. I took a moment to hand over the package that Claire had made up for me as a contribution. Diana left her spot on top of my backpack to crawl onto Red's lap who was still sitting on mine. She giggled in delight and started to pet Diana who purred contentedly.

"Is your kitty like the one in the story? Can she talk too?" Red asked, suddenly curious.

"Um..no. I'm afraid not." I replied. I hoped the expression on my face that her question elicited went unnoticed.

"Aww, but she's so pretty! Diana is special too." Red said.

"I agree." I smiled.

"More story now?" she asked once everyone was settled with their food.

I noticed everyone watching me expectantly and it seemed like I had no choice. Everyone wanted to hear the rest of the story.

"So, the talking cat told Usagi that she was special too. She could transform into a Sailor Guardian and protect people.

At first, Usagi didn't believe. She thought it was a dream. Cats do not talk.

So the cat explained to Usagi that her name was Luna and that she would prove that the Sailor Guardians were real. Luna then gave Usagi a locket and told her to say :

Moon Prism Power…

As soon as Usagi said the words the locket lit up the whole room like magic! She became Sailor Moon. Luna told her about the Negaverse and the monsters that humans weren't aware of. They were dark creatures that Sailor Moon needed to protect everyone from.

Usagi was scared but together they went out to fight the monsters. The first monster they fought was going to hurt Sailor Moon's good friend but she was so scared that she needed help. A man wearing a tuxedo and a white mask came to their rescue just in time. He told Sailor Moon to be brave and fight.

So she used her magic tiara like a disk and she threw it at the monster with the words Moon Tiara Boomerang. The magic turned the demon to stone and it crumbled into dust. Sailor Moon was able to save her friend Naru.

When it was over, the man in the Tuxedo introduced himself as Tuxedo Mask. He promised that he would remember her name.

Usagi had to keep Sailor Moon a secret from others so she went home before Naru could see her. It was her very first adventure and she knew she would have to fight the demons again. Like Tuxedo Mask said, Sailor Moon would have to be brave."

Sunny gasped at the end of my story, "that's the thing! The girl in the shadows used this bright gold disk thing just like Sailor Moon!"

I shrugged. "You see, I told you it can't be me. I don't have anything like that."

"She has to be real! Maybe this moon lady is watchin' over us right now." Sunny said excitedly.

Some of the other girls began sharing in the enthusiasm and wanting to meet their new heroine. I was starting to wonder if telling them the story had been a good idea. It would be hard to get everyone to settle down after getting riled up with the story.

"Alright, you lot it's time ta sleep.." Navi intervened. Her voice was firm like a mother even though she was much too young to be one. "Go on. Get your blankets and settle down."

Groaning in unison, the kids protested Navi's orders. They wanted another story but a word from Solo shut the noise down quickly.

The more I learned about L2, the more disheartened I felt. It made me realize how sheltered I had been until meeting these kids. Jun was right when she said to 'be careful what you wish for'.

À suivre...