Title: The Thirteenth Year
Summary: When All-American girl Serena Warren turns thirteen, weird things start happening. Every night she dreams of the life of a Moon Princess and as time progresses, her dreams become more and more real, so that finally, she cannot distinguish between the life she leads in her dreams and the one she is trying to live during the day.
Author: Silver Sparklze
Reason for Writing: A challenge, issued by Sage: The Dark Dryad
Author's Note: Ok, replies to my reviewers. I've been very slack about replying to my reviewers, but since I have only three, why not?
Shimmering Angel: Nope, no one knows about the world on the moon…although I'm thinking of making it a myth that Serena Warren finds. Whatcha think?
Silver Moonlight-81: Thanks; it's nice to know that you liked it. No, Serena Warren and Serena Tsukino aren't the same girl…I suppose you could say that they share a soul. As you'll notice by and by, Serena Warren chose friends quite similar to the Sailor Scouts, because she was drawn to them.
Sage: The Dark Dryad: As usual, thank you so much for giving me support in this, Sage. You've been a great help, and thank you so much for giving me the idea. Here's more.
"I heard that you were kicked out of class today, 'Rena," Matty commented casually, as she and Serena drank their cappuccinos. Serena took a bit out of her chocolate muffin affecting carelessness as well.
"I was sleeping, and Mr. Wilson obviously took offence to the fact that I don't love the sound of his voice as much as he does." Matty giggled, there was no love lost between her and Mr. Wilson either, even though Drama, Chemistry and English were her best subjects.
"Good on you. Stupid prick. Always looking down on me because I'm blonde." She screwed up her face and mimicked his voice perfectly, "I hope we're not going to fast for you, Matilda. Tsk, tsk, beauty isn't everything. Please Matilda, don't open your mouth unless you can improve the conversation, or at least make an adequate contribution." Serena nodded sympathetically, and checked the clock on the wall of the café.
"Fizzle!" She cried, "I'm late for karate again!"
"Oh, Serena," Matty sighed, as Serena scarfed down the last of her cake and began hurrying out of the café.
"Bye!" She called as she ran.
~Dream Sequence, Tokyo~
Serena stomped down the street, almost in tears.
"30%! I can't believe it!" She crumpled the math test into a ball, and threw it away behind her.
"Ow!" The voice made her turn around, and Serena shook her head, seeing the man kissing a girl with silver odangos. She blinked, and was back in the present. The man uncrumpled the test, and read the score. "30%? Pathetic."
"Shut up! I did my best!"
"Sure you did, Meatball Head." Serena recognized the man now. It was Darien Chiba.
"Shut it, Darien!" ears flowed down her cheeks, "I have a bit of trouble in math, ok? And my name's Serena!"
"Whatever, Meatball Head. Might I suggest a tutor? That's way more than just a bit of trouble." Darien tossed the paper at her, and, instinctively, she caught it. "Nice catch." He walked off.
Serena stomped home, still rubbing away the tears. She was so engrossed in her own misery that she didn't see the little boys who were tormenting the cat until she was right in front of them. She felt a hot flood of anger rush through her. Nothing angered her more, (except maybe Darien,) than people who tormented animals.
"Hey!" She yelled, "Leave that cat alone!" The boys, terrified, ran off, and Serena picked up the cat, stroking it gently. "It's ok, kitty," She soothed, "I won't let them hurt you again." She saw that the cat had a band-aid on its forehead. "Oh!" She was strangely angered by this, "Who could have done such a thing?" She took the band-aid off, ignoring the cat's yowl. The cat jumped out of her arms, and stared at her, before running off. Sighing, Serena continued on her way.
"Is that you, Serena?" Mom called as Serena walked through the door.
"Yes," Serena replied.
"What did you get on your math test?" Serena winced, the time had come.
"I got…I got…I got 30%." She said.
"What?! Serena Tsukino! Out! Get out!" Serena bolted, not wanting to face her mother's wrath at this particular time. Sammy, Serena's little brother walked out of the house. He glared at Serena.
"I want a sister smarter than me, not stupider!" He yelled, before running off to play with his friends.
Serena crept upstairs into her bedroom later, and tried to find the energy to do her homework. She couldn't find it, so she went to sleep instead. When she woke up, the cat she'd rescued earlier was standing in front of her, and the moon was shining in the window. Serena noticed the crescent shape on the cat's head.
"How odd," She said, "A bald spot in the shape of a moon.
"It's not a bald spot," The cat said sharply, "How rude!" Serena blinked, then realized she must still be dreaming. She lay back down on her bed.
"You're not dreaming," The cat said. "My name is Luna. I've been looking everywhere for you, Serena." Under her breath, so low that Serena couldn't be sure she'd heard her, Luna said, "I didn't expect to find a silly blonde crybaby was Sailor Moon."
Because Serena wasn't sure she'd said it, she ignored the comment. "Oh, honestly," Luna snapped, "Here," She handed Serena a brooch. Serena grinned, and looked at it, admiring the pretty moon on the piece of jewelry. "There are a lot of strange incidents going on all over Tokyo. The enemy has appeared! Serena, you have to beat this enemy. You were chosen to be a fighter. The other mission is to find the princess with our friends." Luna said. Serena ignored her, and kept playing with the brooch. Luna must have interpreted from her silence that Serena didn't believe her, and acted accordingly. "Say Moon Prism Power," She instructed.
Serena did as she was told, and felt herself transform into Sailor Moon. She walked over to the mirror, and admired the outfit.
"Wow," She said, "I look pretty good. I wonder if I could wear this to school instead of my school uniform."
"I doubt it," Luna said dryly. Suddenly, Sailor Moon heard the voice of her friend Molly.
'Help, my mother…" Molly's voice trailed off.
"Molly!" Sailor Moon cried, "My friend's in trouble!"
"Well, come along, then, we must save her!" Luna said. Sailor Moon and Luna jumped out of the bedroom window, and ran off into the night…
~Galaxy Dorm, New York City~
Serena sat bolt upright in bed, and rubbed her head gently. She could hear the music on her stereo, and she pinched her arm to check that she was awake. The dreams were so vivid…and she couldn't help but feel like she really was Sailor Moon.
She pondered over the similar looks in Sailor Moon and Princess Serenity. Apart from the hair, then were almost identical. But Princess Serenity was much more regal, and intelligent. As far as Serena was concerned, Dream Serena was a blonde bimbo. Just the kind of person that made people like Matty and Serena look bad. She wondered what Sailor Moon would act like.
She sighed, only one way to find out. Slowly, yet steadily, Serena drifted back to sleep.
~Dream Sequence, Tokyo, Molly's Mother's Jewelry Shop~
Sailor Moon and Luna burst into the shop, and were horrified, (ok, Sailor Moon was horrified) by what they saw. Molly's mom was choking her!
"Stop! Leave Molly alone!" Sailor Moon yelled.
"Why should I? Who are you?" The woman who looked like Molly's mother but wasn't sneered.
"I am Sailor Moon, champion of love and justice. In the name of the moon, I will punish you!" Sailor Moon yelled, twisting the words of one of her favourite comic book heroes, Sailor V.
"Attack!" Yelled the woman/monster thing, and all of the lady/monsters who had been passed out on the floor suddenly got up, and began to attack Sailor Moon. Startled, Sailor Moon began to cry.
"Sailor Moon! Stop this! Nothing will be resolved if you stand there and cry! You have to fight!" Luna yelled. Serena ignored her, and only began to wail louder.
Suddenly, a red rose landed in front of Sailor Moon, and stopped the lady/monsters from hurting Sailor Moon.
"Who are you?!" The woman/monster asked.
"I am Tuxedo Mask! You will not hurt Sailor Moon!" The man cried. "Sailor Moon, you must fight to save your friend Molly." Sailor Moon stopped crying, and couldn't help but smile Tuxedo Mask. Hey, he'd saved her life after all. She nodded.
"Ok!" She said. Then her smile dropped, "How?"
"Use your tiara and shout Moon Tiara Magic." Luna instructed. Instinctively, Sailor Moon did as she was told.
"Moon Tiara MAGIC!" She yelled, flicking her wrist and throwing her tiara like a discus. Immediately, all the lady/monsters changed back into women, who all looked very confused as to why they were there. Sailor Moon couldn't have cared less. She turned around to thank Tuxedo Mask, but he'd already disappeared. Shrugging, she went home; convinced she'd see him again…
~Galaxy Dorm, New York~
Serena sat up, gasping for breath. She pressed a hand to her forehead. It was so weird how real the dreams were. She could feel a crying headache already. She frowned, wondering about Tuxedo Mask. He reminded her of someone…someone that she'd met long ago…but couldn't quite remember…