A/N: This fic is a gift for Antigone02.

Many thanks to my betas RiverLethe9 and disaster_bi_jupiter for lending their time to this fic. Check her out on tumblr and Ao3 under the same usernames!

/users/RiverLethe9/pseuds/RiverLethe9

/users/disaster_bi_jupiter/pseuds/disaster_bi_jupiter/works

Hope you all had a good Christmas and will have a Happy New Year!

Chilly winds blew through the corridor of the castle, the mounted torches providing little warmth. This, however, did not seem to bother the handsome young man with curly blonde hair. His military uniform remained sharp and pristine as he marched towards a set of twin pillars. Between them was a substance that wasn't quite water but not quite earth either.

"Come forth… O Youma, servant of our Great Ruler."

As he spoke he extended his hand over the strange patch of ground. The patch began to bubble and coalesce into an almost mud-like mound. The mound continued to grow until it eventually sprouted up and adopted a blank, vaguely feminine shape.

"Now go…"

The creature's features became more defined, now resembling a modestly glamorous middle-aged woman with reddish hair.

"… And bring me the Mystical Silver Crystal."

The 'woman' raised a hand to her chest and bowed to her creator before teleporting away.

A smile colder than the surrounding arctic cracked across Jadeite's face.

"Papa!" Called out Shingo. "Have you seen my house key!?"

Kenji walked into the hallway and frowned. His son didn't seem to notice him as he continued to rummage through his pockets and his bag.

"Now Shingo, your mother and I gave you that key because we believed that you were old enough to be responsible."

Shingo snorted. "Yeah, right!" His eyes briefly darted to the ceiling. "You just wanted someone else around who could let that stupid Bunny inside whenever she locked herself out."

"Shingo, that isn't a very respectful way to talk about your big sister," reprimanded Kenji.

"It's true though, isn't it? If she was even mildly competent, you'd have given her a key, too."

"That's not-"

"Ah, cool, I found it!"

Before Kenji could finish, Shingo had pocketed the key and headed out the door.

Motoki carefully hung the poster in the game centre's window and stepped back to check his work.

pnp presents: the new and powerful

SAILOR V

the champion of justice

The

Ultimate

Action

Game

Motoki took a quick scan of the arcade. Satisfied the place was deserted, he shrugged and sat down at the game cabinet he had installed earlier that day. The next twenty minutes were spent totally engrossed in the game, his concentration only breaking when something soft brushed against his leg.

He looked down and smiled. "Oh, hello. I didn't expect to see you here again."

The black cat at his feet fixed him with a calm stare.

Motoki's brow furrowed. There was something almost… intelligent… about the way the cat was staring at him. He chuckled at the idea before getting up to resume his morning chores.

Mamoru frowned.

All his effort, and he'd still come up short. The recently stolen jewels had been the latest in a series of dead ends and false leads.

He considered giving up completely. Then he caught sight of his 'work clothes'. The tuxedo was draped over the chair but the white mask had fallen to the floor.

Mamoru retrieved the mask, holding it in both hands. As he stared into the eye holes, the mask seemed to stare back, and the woman from his dreams reappeared in his mind for the umpteenth time, her plea resounding in his head once more.

"Please… The Mystical Silver Crystal…"

His determination rekindled, he returned to his desk and took out the list of Tokyo jewellery stores he'd compiled. He checked off the store he just 'visited' and scanned the remaining names and addresses.

One store in particular caught his eye as it wasn't too far from where he lived. He could easily scout it out tomorrow afternoon. He'd wear his thick sunglasses of course, just in case he bumped into anyone he'd rather avoid.

He double-checked the name, muttering it out loud to commit it to memory.

"Osa-P…"

Mrs. Osaka let out an exasperated sigh as she finished preparing her stock for the day ahead. Business had been down again yesterday and she didn't have much faith that today would be any better.

As she eyed up the sparkling jewels, she suddenly felt a pang of resentment towards them.

Perhaps she could try a temporary discount on some of her lesser items to bring in new customers. It was something to consider since money was starting to get tight.

Her gaze turned towards the door her daughter had departed from mere minutes ago. She hoped Naru was still in the dark about their financial predicament. She didn't need anything distracting her from school, not when she had the intelligence to go far in life.

Shame ached through her body, followed by a newfound determination. She had to drum up some more business and soon. It was the least Naru deser-

Thump.

Mrs. Osaka froze.

Whatever that noise had been, it had come from the basement.

But that didn't make sense. She'd only just unlocked the back door to let Naru out, and the shutters were still closed at the store front. But… hadn't the news mentioned a new jewel thief around the area?

Mrs. Osaka grabbed the phone, dialling all but the last digit for the police, then slowly inched towards the basement door.

"Hello?" She called out, her voice echoing back from the pitch-black darkness. "Is somebody there?"

Silence.

Carefully, cautiously, she reached for the light switch, trying to not make any sudden movements. The now illuminated basement was completely empty. Mrs. Osaka breathed out a sigh of relief and began descending into the basement itself. The door closed quietly behind her.

She casually took in the dingy surroundings, scanning the floor in particular. Something had probably just fallen ov-

A hand clamped over her mouth, its firm grip sure to muffle any attempts to scream.

But Mrs. Osaka didn't even try to scream.

She was too shocked to scream.

Too shocked by her own face cruelly grinning back at her…

Naru absentmindedly tapped her pencil in time to the music.

Today had been pretty bad. Ms. Haruna's deceptively hard test. Umino being as annoying as ever. And Usagi… well… Usagi had been Usagi.

Still, at least it looked like business was picking up. She hadn't expected her mother to hold a sale on their stock. Then again, Naru had to admit she probably wasn't the most business-minded person around.

What was strange though was that Naru hadn't thought her mother was either…

Umino was doing what most fourteen-year-old boys did alone in the evening. Watching the news whilst studying of course!

It was another piece about that beautiful and mysterious Sailor V, and the strange happenings that'd been occurring around Jûban lately.

There'd been a time when he had been more hardcore about his studies, but recently he'd tried to relax more, and so had begun working in front of the TV. It didn't matter if he underperformed in a few tests here and there. His education was but a game, and he knew he could always pick up more 'points' down the line.

He laughed at how cavalier he'd become now that he was older and more mature. There was no doubt about it, he was well on his way to becoming Jûban's local cool guy and bad boy. He knew his test score tomorrow wasn't going to be so great, but he didn't care too much. Maybe he'd even show off his nonchalance a bit tomorrow to Mrs. Tsukino. She always made him feel like a total dork whenever she complimented him on being a good little student.

Well, tomorrow she'd be shocked to see just how laid back he'd become!

Ms. Haruna sipped her second cup of coffee that evening. She knew it was a bad idea and it would put her in a rotten mood tomorrow, but she had no choice. Today's tests weren't going to grade themselves after all. Thankfully, most of the students had done pretty well.

Mr. Gurio scored a 95, which was below average for the swirly-eyed boy but nothing to worry about.

Ms. Osaka had upped her game to an 85, and Haruna felt mildly proud of the girl and her own skills as a teacher.

She froze at the name on the next paper.

Tsukino.

She let out a deep groan from the very bottom of her soul and put on a fresh pot of coffee.

Luna was as silent as the shadows she was blending into.

Jûban was a big area to traverse. At least it was to a cat, even one as 'unusual' as herself. Consequently she was pretty tired, but her determination pushed her forwards nevertheless. The crescent moon crest on her forehead had guided her through the area and finally led her to this specific neighborhood.

She trotted nonchalantly past a group of young boys, who quietened down a little as she neared them.

"Hey look!" one of them laughed. "That cat's got some kinda tattoo on its head!"

Luna ignored the insult. She had more important things to do, after all.

Somewhere around here was the one she was looking for. And once she found her, the true mission could begin in earnest. The thought made her feel a wave of relief.

The sooner they could get started the better, as time was not on their side. The Dark Kingdom had been ramping up their activities recently and were already operating in multiple countries. Unless something was done, and soon, it wouldn't be long before they'd locate the Mystical Silver Crystal, and maybe even the Princess too.

Meanwhile, Luna had already wasted time tracking down just one Sailor Senshi and setting up a base of operations at the local arcade. That meant she'd have to hit the ground running. As soon as she found that Senshi tonight she'd begin instructing her immediately.

She just prayed whoever this warrior was, she'd be sharp-witted and a fast learner. There just wasn't time for any dela-

Luna screeched as something suddenly grabbed her.

"Got 'er!"

"Get the band-aid!"

'STOP!' Luna yelled. Or almost did anyway.

It took all her resolve, but she managed to stop herself from telling the children to unhand her. A mere moment later though, she wasn't able to tell anyone anything at all…

Usagi traipsed upstairs to her room. A niggling voice at the back of her head suggested maybe studying a little before going to bed. But another, far louder, voice protested that she was just too exhausted! She had already endured Ms. Haruna's test today and felt totally humiliated by it. And tomorrow she'd inevitably find out she got a bad grade on it, probably like a 55 or something.

Besides, the sight of her school bag and books made her feel physically ill. And sleepy. And hungry… but she doubted her mother would indulge her having a fourth helping of dinner, so she settled for sleep.

With dread she imagined what awaited her the next day. Umino boasting about his good grades. Naru inevitably doing better than her. Shingo hurling insults her way. And Mama and Papa getting annoyed that she barely scored more than half marks.

She sniffled, repressing the urge to wail about how unfair life was. No way was she studying tonight! She had just too much to bear on her young shoulders! If she studied on top of that she might just die!

So she went to bed instead, and within less than a minute, drifted off to sleep…

She was descending from the sky, clad in a beautiful white dress woven with gold, carried by the moonlight itself, towards the castle grounds.

He stood waiting amidst the pillars, clad in regal attire of midnight blue and silver. Flashes of soft silvery light drew him into the open courtyard.

Crossing the castle grounds he reached out to her. Gently, she floated into his arms.

Their lips moved closer…

For the third time in the last hour, Ikuko called up to Usagi. Unsurprisingly, there was no response. She shook her head in exasperation and headed back into the kitchen where her husband and son had sat just twenty minutes ago.

She picked up Kenji's discarded paper and glanced at the already open sports pages. There she was greeted by a photo of a very different young blonde girl.

"Well, well! Sailor V-chan has done it again! " She exclaimed. "And then there's my daughter…" she muttered.

For a moment, before Ikuko called up again, she wondered if that girl was ever going to amount to anything…

A/N: Sailor Moon chapter 1 was released on 28th December 1991, hence I am releasing this fic today. However, the chapter was first published in February 1992. I do have plans to release a fic in February, but I didn't want the December date to go unmarked, hence you are getting this fic.

As a bonus, doing a prequel to chapter 1 (chapter 0 I guess), allowed me to tip the hat towards the manga versions of all the characters in chapter 1, meaning I wouldn't have to write individual stories for them. Sorry if that sounds kind of lazy, but I am just one person running this anthology project after all.