SAILOR MOON: 1987

SINCE I'M NOT NAOKO TAKEUCHI, I DIDN'T CREATE SAILOR MOON. THIS IS MY ALTERNATE UNIVERSE VERSION, WHICH I DID AS A TRIBUTE TO HER WORKS. I DID HOWEVER, CREATE WHAT I DID CREATE.

EPISODE 22: THE PRINCESS AND THE CRYSTAL

DOWNTOWN FULLERTON

JANUARY 29, 1987 7:45 PM

"Now comes the hard part," Sailor Moon said. "Figuring how to combine them to form the Legendary Silver Millennium Crystal."

"Maybe Artemis or Lu..." Golden Hawk said, just before a blast of energy from an unknown source killed him.

"Golden Hawk!" Sailor Moon yelled. "What happened?"

"I happened," a man in a military uniform similar to the one worn by Zoicite or Jaedite said, as he began to draw the Rainbow Crystals to himself. He had long dark brown hair, and like the others, wore eye makeup and earrings. "My name is Nephrite, and I'll be taking the Rainbow Crystals. I would have killed you sooner, but since one of the terms Zoicite agreed to was no outside interference, I had to wait until the battle ended to kill you."

"You monster!" Sailor Moon said, as she began to cry. As a tear left her eye and ran down her cheek, it drew all seven Rainbow Crystals to it. The Rainbow Crystals combined with her teardrop to form a large white crystal. As the Rainbow Crystals combined with Sailor Moon's tear, so did Sailor Moon change. Where Sailor Moon once stood was now a princess, wearing a long white strapless gown, and bare feet, a French manicure on her fingers, and semi opaque silver polish on her toenails.

"I don't believe it," Luna said, when she saw what had happened to Usagi Tsukino. "Usagi really was Princess Serenity. And she possesses the Legendary Silver Millennium Crystal."

The Legendary Silver Millennium Crystal then combined with Sailor Moon's Moon Stick, which Princess Serenity picked up, and pointed at Nephrite. "Moon Ultimate Helation!" she said, firing a beam of white energy at Nephrite, destroying him, so that there was only a small pile of dust left, which blew away in the wind. Once she had destroyed Nephrite, she knelt in front of Golden Hawk's corpse, and cradled his head in her arms, still holding on to her Moon Stick.

"Hooray for our side," Sailor Mars said, just before she began crying.

"John would want us to celebrate our victory," Sailor Venus said, putting a comforting arm around her best friend. "Aw, who am I kidding?" she added, as she began crying.

"All the times he put his butt on the line for us," Sailor Jupiter said, as she began to cry.

"He was my mentor and teammate," Sailor Mercury said, as she began to cry, "but most importantly, he was my friend."

"He was a friend to us all," Artemis said, betewen tears, as Sailor Venus picked him up."

"Now I know what losing a kitten feels like," Luna said, climbing into Sailor Mercury's arms, and crying.

"And I speak for everyone here," Jackrabbit Slim said, "When I say Golden Hawk is a friend to all of us."

"But he's gone now," Princess Serenity said, as she cradled his head in her arms. "He never saw the shot that got him. He never had a chance to defend himself."

"We're all here for you," Luna said.

"Thank you," Princess Serenity said, "but right now, I just want to be alone."

"We understand," Sailor Venus said, as she, Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury, and Sailor Jupiter, along with Luna and Artemis, left, and the homeless dispersed.

"But if you ever need us," Sailor Mercury said, "We're just a shout away."

Princess Serenity sat there, cradling Golden Hawk's head in her arms. She began crying, and a tear fell from her cheek and landed on his head. "I love you," Princess Serenity said.

"I know," Golden Hawk said, as he returned to life.

"It's just like you," Princess Serenity said, as she started to laugh. "Whenever I just want to have a good cry, you have to do something to make me laugh."

"That's just me," Golden Hawk said. "I can't stand to see you cry. Not even when I'm dead."

"That's the thing," Princess Serenity said. "You were dead, Nephrite killed you, he attacked you from behind."

"Shooting a man in the back is the most chickenshit thing anyone could have done," Golden Hawk said. "At least Zoicite had the balls to stand in front of me, and take me on face to face, like a real man."

"One thing I don't get is how you killed Zoicite," Princess Serenity said. "You just grabbed a gun and blew his brains out, like some common thug. I thought he was a demon, a son of Satan himself."

"I told you I can change my staff into any weapon I can think of," Golden Hawk said, as he transformed back into John McCoy. "After I lured him in by making a mistake that left me open for the kill, I transformed it into a Colt .45. Normally, a gun would have as much effect against a demon as it would against Superman. However, I had Kryptonite bullets, so to speak. Last summer, Sister Betty blessed my staff and tonfas."

"You used a blessed weapon against a demon from Hell," Princess Serenity said. "Smart."

"And what's with the dress?" John asked.

"After you were killed," Princess Serenity said, "my tear combined with the Rainbow Crystal to form the Legendary Silver Millennium Crystal, and I was transformed into Princess Serenity."

"You look more beautiful than ever," John said. "You look exactly like I imagine you looking on the day I take you as my bride. You're even wearing the same gown I imagine you wearing."

"You imagined our wedding day?" Princess Serenity said, as she transformed back into Usagi Tsukino.

"Since the day we first met," John said. "I always imagined taking you as my bride."

Meanwhile, at Mina Webb's house, she, Rae Hinowski, Ami Andersen, and Mary Ann Kino, along with Luna and Artemis, had arrived, in a somber mood. "John's dead," Mina said, through her tears.

"Oh no," Amanda Webb said, crossing herself.

"What happened?" Nick Webb asked.

"He and Zoicite fought to the death," Rae Hinowski said.

"The guy who murdered Sister Betty?" Nick asked.

"Yes," Rae said. "John won the fight, he killed Zoicite."

"But he was killed after the fight," Ami Andersen said. "Another of the Lords of Hell, Nephrite, got him from behind."

"But Sailor Moon turned into a princess and destroyed Nephrite," Mary Ann Kino said.

"Sounds like this Nephrite character took the coward's way out," Nick said. "he got what he deserved."

"Hi everybody," Usagi said, when she arrived.

"How are you holding up?" Amanda asked. "I understand John McCoy was your best friend."

"It must have been hard watching him get killed like that," Mina said.

"About that," Usagi said.

"I'm back from the dead, baby!" John McCoy exclaimed, as he entered the house.

"Oh my god!" Ami said, practically tackling him like she was a linebacker for the Los Angeles Raiders as she hugged him.

"What happened?" Mina asked, as she, Rae, and Mary Ann ran up to him and hugged him.

"If this is how it's going to be," John said, "I'm going to come back from the dead a little more often. Anyways, I can't really explain what happened. After I killed Zoicite, Nephrite zapped me in the back, like a pussy. Next thing I know, Usagi transformed from Sailor Moon into a princess in a white gown, and she has my head in her arms, and she tells me that she loves me. Best I can tell is her love brought me back to life."

UNTIL NEXT TIME...

OUR NEXT EPISODE: THE FALL OF KUNZITE