Stardust
a Sailor Moon fanfic
For creation of this work, blame Meagen AKA SailorM
prologue
begun Tuesday, June 13, 2000
finished Friday, August 18, 2000
*********************************************************************
Author's Notes: Well, here it is. My story on who are the Sailor
Senshi, how and why. It's set somewhere about 2050 and no cataclysm,
aliens or meteor or computers have happened to the world yet. Except
the Sailor Moon series is about 40 years late. For some, that might
be a cataclysm in itself.
Also, while little of the show was changed, its causes, creation
and inspirations have been changed. Basically, this fic is not set
in the Sailor Moon universe, it's set around it. Second reality up,
and a bit to the darker side. But only slightly. I'm too much of an
optimist to get dark for too long.
You don't have to know/like Sailor Moon to read this. In fact,
if Sailor Moon annoyed you because of the improbable fights or the
cardboard characters or high sugar content, this might be a fanfic
for you.
At least I try.
\\\o/// v==i==m==e==s==p==r==o==d==s==b==u==t==t==o==c==k \\\o///
The curtains streamed in the open window. There was a pan down to
an object sitting on the windowsill. The music steadily went into
a crescendo and then died down as the image of the Pegasus Globe
faded to black.
The girl, curled up on a couch in front of the TV, sighed dreamily
as the song "Watashi-tachi ni Namidakude" began playing.
She looked no more that ten, maybe twelve years old. Her skin was
quite pale and her dark blue eyes shone with the very childlike
anticipation of someone who hasn't seen a lot of the world yet and
therefore only expects good things from it. People who had those
kinds of eyes would say, "Everything will turn out all right", and
actually mean it.
The girl's blond hair was done up in two crescent moons on top of
her head, with a short tail hanging from each bun. She was a moonie,
a fan of the show Sailor Moon. In fact, she was THE Moonie - at least
she referred to herself under that title and was quite irritated if
anyone called her by her given name of Catherine.
So it was a shout of "Hey, Moonie!" that tore her away from her VCR
and into something which can only be referred to as an "adventure"
simply because no other word can adequately describe such a series of
unexpected and sometimes very violent events as the one that
followed.
The person who had called was Moonie's cousin, Laura. In Moonie's
rather simple way of dividing the world, Laura fell into the
category of people not interested in talking about Sailor Moon. But
this major fault aside, she was a generally nice person. She reminded
Moonie of Minako. But then again, most women under 30 and with long
blond hair reminded Moonie of Minako. Besides, Laura had deep-purple
eyes, which rather crossed her out as the next reincarnation of
Minako. That and the fact she didn't like talking about Sailor Moon.
"Yes? What is it?" Moonie asked. Laura had been lucky enough to
catch the short moment between two episodes in which Moonie's
connection to reality became slightly more stable.
"Pack up your things. We're going on a little trip."
Moonie's eyes lit up. Trips meant seeing new places and possibly
discovering new things related to Sailor Moon. She didn't even bother
to question the fact that she was to take her toothbrush, three sets
of pajamas and several changes of clothes. It did, however, annoy her
severely when Laura refused to let her take her full set of Sailor
Moon tapes.
"Look, we can send for them later", she said, sighing heavily.
"They're too much bother, and you won't be needing them very soon,
anyway."
The concept of not needing a 2-hour full of Sailor Moon episodes was
totally alien to Moonie. "But I wanna have them with me!"
Laura rolled her eyes. She put a hand to her head, and then smiled
again. "Look, we'll be driving over some rough roads. Do you want them
to crash around and get broken?"
The vision of any damage to the tapes frightened Moonie so much that
ten minutes later, Laura settled for taking one, which was carefully
wrapped in Moonie's thickest sweater and squeezed gently into the
pack. Then with a bright smile, Moonie announced, "I'm ready!"
\\\o/// ================================================== \\\o///
The road really was rough. It got them out of town and into the
country. Fields rushed by and disappeared out of sight behind Laura's
car. Soon they were driving through a thick wood.
Suddenly, Moonie spotted a huge building ahead. It was quite big
and a bit factory-like with its huge metal and concrete surfaces. It
was isolated and mysterious in a way which brought to mind black
business suits, black sunglasses and for some reason, running around
on walls.
But the few people walking around didn't seem to fit that picture.
They looked... colorful. If this was a factory, they didn't seem to
be that keen on uniforms. Each of the silhouettes almost radiated
with its own color, green there, a pale pink here, a deep shimmering
blue with white highlights up there. None of the people were close
enough for Moonie to see what they were actually wearing, though.
The car drove up to the gate, which was barred by a turnpike.
Laura slowed down, but only slightly. The guardian didn't even leave
the booth and lifted the blue-and-white arm when the car was still
some distance from it. When they passed the post, Laura waved
slightly. The guard responded with a salute.
After the car was parked among many others, Moonie followed Laura
through an entrance and into an office. It looked perfectly normal,
with people typing away on computers, doing paperwork and talking
into phones.
Laura led the way to one of the desks. The girl there (Moonie
noticed the staff seemed to be all or mostly female) looked like she
was wrestling with a major problem. Her brow furrowed with
concentration and her finger tapped on her chin. Occasionally, she
would type a few keystrokes on the computer in front of her, and
then stare thoughtfully at the results.
Just as Laura came up to her, the final keystroke produced a result.
The girl's face fell and she punched her desk with frustration.
"Damn those nymphs and that wand of death!" She shouted. "I knew
I should've got myself reflection!"
That was when she noticed Laura. She nearly jumped out of her seat
and stood to attention. Laura grinned slightly. She walked up to
the terminal and quickly pressed a few keys.
"You were doing quite well, it seems." She said, casually. "Still
working on the ranger, hm?"
"Yes, 'mam." The girl gulped.
"Oh, and you left a bones file, too." Laura turned to the girl.
"Send it to my drive, won't you?"
"Yes, 'mam."
"Good. Now, please contact agent 655A. Tell her to report to my
office ASAP. Oh, and don't play on your work hours... too much. All
right?"
"Yes, 'mam."
Laura turned away. After a second's hesitation, the girl added:
"'Mam? Watch out for the nymph. She's got a wand of death."
"Thank you." Laura's grin faded as she led Moonie to an office.
\\\o/// ================================================== \\\o///
Finally, Moonie became too curious. "Listen, Laura, what are we
doing here? Who's that agent 5A something? Is this some kind of
secret government thingie? You're the boss here, right?"
Laura smiled at her. "One question at a time, please. Yes, I am
the... boss of this agency, but we're not exactly related to any
government. Let me show you something."
She stepped into the middle of the small office, raised a golden
object in her hand and called out in a clear voice: "Holy
illumination, transform!"
Suddenly, the whole room was bathed in an intense golden light.
When Moonie could see again, someone else was standing in front of
her.
She blinked and realized it was still Laura. Only she was wearing
a yellow and purple sailor uniform with a short skirt.
Of course, Moonie had countless times seen people in Sailor Suits,
and even several actual Senshi. Only every time, a closer examination
revealed either a perfectly innocent and definitely un-sailorlike
set of clothes, or a person who had less to do with Sailor Moon
characters than a fish with a fax machine. [1]
This sudden revelation was a shock to her. It was like having
believed all your life that the stars were nested on the womb of the
Mother Of Heaven, and then waking up one night and seeing her staring
down at you.
These thoughts raced through Moonie's mind as she watched Laura
with amazement. Laura smiled again - one of her nice, kind smiles.
Moonie suddenly noticed how much she looked like Queen or Princess
Serenity when she did that. Laura definitely had the kind of charisma
typical of the royal Moon family.
Only the outfit was wrong.
"So... you're the Sailor of what planet?" Moonie asked cautiously.
Laura laughed in amusement. "None. I'm Sailor Golden Beam. Not all
Senshi are named after planets."
Moonie considered this. "Yes, well there are the Starlights, and
there's the Animamates..."
Laura laughed again. "No, no, dear, you're getting it all wrong.
It's not all like in the series, you know. The real life Sailor
Senshi are rather different."
Moonie looked alarmed. "What do you mean?"
"Well, for one thing, there's more of them."
"Um... How many more?"
Instead of answering directly, Laura led Moonie to the window of her
office. With a large gesture, she indicated the whole room outside.
It was filled with numerous small cubicles in which people were doing
office work. "I think that between those people, you could find two,
maybe three who are not Senshi. And that's just a very small fraction
of the entire organization.
"There are Senshi in every country, practically in every town. Our
organization, the Sailor Senshi United, is here to seek out girls
with Senshi powers, give them proper training and organize them into
a force which can heal the world."
Moonie was shocked. Even moreso when Sailor Golden Beam knelt down
to look her straight in the eye, put her hands on the little girl's
shoulders and said, "And here is our newest recruit."
\\\o/// ================================================== \\\o///
[1] One person whom Moonie positively identified as Ami was found,
after a few conspiratory remarks from Moonie, to be a man. Not in the
least thrown off, Moonie declared that in that case, he had to be
Ami's brother.
\\\o/// ================================================== \\\o///
Finally, she managed to gulp and say in a shaken voice, "Me? You
mean you want me to be..."
"A Sailor Senshi." Laura nodded gravely.
Moonie smiled faintly. "Wow, I've always wanted that. But now I...
I just don't know what to think."
"You're just a bit shocked. Don't worry, you'll fit right in."
At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Golden Beam stood up
and called out "Come in!".
A woman of about thirty, with rather long brown hair, walked in. She
was wearing a purple Sailor Suit with pink bows.
"You wanted to see me?" She asked. Her voice was shrewd and serious.
It didn't sound friendly to Moonie.
"Ah, yes." Laura said. "Moonie, this is Sailor Andromeda. Andromeda,
here's your new partner."
Sailor Andromeda raised an eyebrow. "What? You're giving me
a trainee?"
"Not a trainee", Golden Beam corrected. "I'm giving Moonie senshi
status outright."
"Wha'd you mean, outright? When has she been drafted?"
"Oh, I just brought her here."
Andromeda narrowed her eyes. "Why are you doing this?"
"Dear, you haven't has a partner for two years now." Sailor
Andromeda cringed slightly upon hearing this. Laura continued:
"Don't worry, she'll do well. After all, she is my cousin."
"Oh, yeah. Well that explains it all." Andromeda said, with sarcasm.
"I'm sure you'll tell her everything she has to know." Golden Beam
smiled. "Your record is quite good, isn't it?"
"Look, I put it in my files in hi-fi black and white; I-don't-want-
-a-trainee-period."
"Which is exactly why I'm giving Moonie senshi status." Golden
Beam smiled yet again.
Andromeda threw her hands up. "Well, how about giving her the
Robinson-Dubois test instead? I mean, it's only a standard exam
procedure that everyone needs to pass before they can even start
thinking up a suit style..."
"No need to be so sarcastic. We were getting to that right now."
Golden Beam beckoned Moonie to follow and walked out.
On the way, Moonie, still rather shy of the brown-haired senshi,
tugged Golden Beam's skirt and asked: "So, um, Laura, does Sailor
Moon exist?"
"Well... Yes and no. Our Queen Serenity really has been awakened,
but she's still in hiding until the time is right. She's never been
a soldier, though."
"And the Ginzishou?"
"The... oh, right. Silver Crystal. We'll get to that in a moment."
In the hallways, they passed several people, some of which were also
Senshi. One had wavy dark brown hair and a blue costume. She greeted
Laura politely and threw an uncertain look in Andromeda's direction.
One, dressed in dark green which looked quite nice next to her brown
skin and raven hair, acknowledged them with a nod.
Another one, a blonde with silvery streaks in her hair and wearing
a metallic-looking suit, waved cheerfully and smiled at Moonie. It
was a smile almost as nice as Laura's. Then she hurried off
somewhere.
Finally they came to another door. Laura knocked and a voice from
within told them to enter.
This office was much smaller. There were only a few desks, of which
three were occupied. From the one in the middle, a senshi rose to
greet them.
Her hair was black, but somehow had a bluish tint to it. It reminded
Moonie of some of the pictures of Ami, but it was a lot more wavy and
much longer. Her suit was dark pink. The bow in the back was large,
its tails almost reaching the floor, and seemed semi-transparent.
The senshi brought her hand to her mouth and quickly tossed
something into the nearest bin. Then she smiled at them.
"Hi, Goldy", she said. "Calm day today. Oh, Andromeda. Nice to see
you."
"Still on the gum, aren't you?" Laura joked. "Honestly, you look
like a cow in the field, doing that."
"Who's to know?" she winked. "All we ever do is sit around and do
the thinking for the other guys. Saving you presence, hun." She told
Andromeda, who made a very fake smile. "And who's this?" The senshi
asked, giving Moonie a friendly look.
"Newest recruit", Laura answered. "My little cousin Catherine."
"Very nice to meet you. I'm Sailor Scarlet Fury."
"Give her the R-D test, won't you?"
"Sure thing. Right this way, please." Fury took Moonie's hand and
brought her to the next room.
The walls there were painted a silvery color. It was almost empty,
except for one low table and a desk with a computer on it. There were
some wires placed seemingly at random along the walls. A short
silvery wand lay on the table. It had no markings or ornaments save
for a white crystal on the top.
"The point of this test is to check how much power you are able
to use", Scarlet Fury explained. "What you do is make the crystal
light up." She sat at the computer and typed quickly.
"Andromeda, show us, please", Laura added.
Sailor Andromeda took the wand in her hand and stared at it. Her
brow furrowed with concentration. Slowly, the crystal started
glowing with a pinkish red light. Then, a little swirling point of
the same color appeared inside it. It lasted a few seconds until
Andromeda broke out of her state with a loud gasp. She gave the wand
to Golden Beam and leaned against the wall, panting for breath.
Scarlet Fury glanced at the screen and raised a thumb. "Hey, you've
improved."
"Okay, now you try it." Laura smiled at Moonie, handing her the
wand.
"Um... I don't know how..." Moonie said weakly, but Fury called:
"Just do what it absolutely doesn't want you to do."
Moonie took a deep breath, closed her eyes and tried to think about
the wand. Immediately she felt like she had hit a wall; There was
something she couldn't do. She tried pushing that wall. It resisted.
She pushed as hard as she could.
The crystal seemed a little bit brighter around the edges.
It was very hard. Moonie pushed all she could, she wanted so badly
to make it, but it was no use and she was feeling so tired and...
...there was a presence with her. Not so much like someone looking
at her brain, rather like a new thought suddenly appearing out of the
blue...
It offered help, and she took it in her hands and pushed with new
strength...
For a second the wand seemed unchanged, and then, suddenly, intense
white light burst from the crystal. It was so bright it almost
blinded the three senshi. After several seconds, it vanished, leaving
Moonie with the wand in hand, staring at it blankly.
Fury curled her lips as if to whistle, but only got out a slight
'fff'. Then she looked at her screen.
"Thank goodness for screening", she managed to say. "We've been
damn lucky."
"What was THAT?" Andromeda asked, weakly. "Is she tapping the
Crystal or something?"
"Very possible." Golden Beam was gently shaking Moonie by her
shoulders. "Wake up honey, please."
Moonie slowly snapped out of her trance. "Did I do good?", she
asked. Laura could only laugh as she hugged the little girl.
"She's my cousin", she added in Andromeda's direction, "which makes
her..."
"... yet another relative of Her Highness", Andromeda finished with
only slight sarcasm. "And also my new partner."
\\\o/// ================================================== \\\o///
"You mean that Queen Serenity is in our family?" Moonie asked,
amazed.
"It's not that special, really. A lot of Senshi are her more or less
distant relatives. They share common traits; they're sensitive, they
make friends easily, they get picked as team leaders, and very often
have blond hair. Of course, these traits vary individually, but
that seems to be the common motif. And of course, all relatives of
the Queen can use the Silver Crystal."
"The Silver Crystal." Moonie repeated. "Hey, you said you'd show me
where it is!"
"So I did." Laura laughed. "Just follow me."
They went out. Sailor Scarlet Fury looked thoughtful as she popped
something in her mouth. She chewed for a while, and then blew out a
huge, pink bubble.
Andromeda was looking at the little girl pensively as they walked.
She saw the blond hair, and the big, bright eyes, and the smile
directed to the world in general...
...and then she saw another girl.
Long ago.
Same smile. Same bright eyes. Same innocent expression.
But short, brown hair.
Then she saw a house somewhere, and the fence separating it from the
next house.
There had been a board which could be swung aside. It was the
seventh from the left on this side, but the eleventh from the left
on the other, which always seemed quite beyond the grasp of logic.
And in the house next door, the other girl.
Andromeda could see fragments of it. Running, sneaking, playing
silly little games, laughing and talking. She could hear a voice say
"We're best friends, right? Best friends forever!"
Then she heard another voice, which seemed strangely alien, even
though (or maybe because...) it was her own.
"Forever", it said. "To the end of time."
Two hands shook. One was white, while the other was brown, almost
the color of chocolate.
But somehow it didn't seem to matter.
\\\o/// ================================================== \\\o///
There were more corridors (Moonie was starting to get tired),
then a lift which went down for quite a long time. Then there was
another office and more senshi at work.
Moonie looked around, then pulled Laura's arm. "Hey, where's the
Silver Crystal?"
"Right there." Laura pointed to a monitor.
It seemed to show a blank, white screen. But when Moonie looked
closely, she noticed a darker streak going from the bottom towards
the center. And in the center was a brighter patch that, if she
squinted for a while, looked just like a crystal.
"Wow", Moonie said. "It's bright."
"Actually, that image is darkened several hundred times", Laura
explained. "The real thing would burn your eyes clean out if you
looked at it."
"Where is it?"
"About a mile below us, in a special vault padded with magic
shielding and conductors that absorb the energy it's producing and
re-direct it. We use it mainly in our communication systems and
to teleport. Some senshi, mostly royal relatives, can also request
a special energy boost to be sent directly to them. It can be very
dangerous, though."
Her cousin wasn't listening. She was staring at the image, squinting
a little bit.
\\\o/// ================================================== \\\o///
Moonie learned a lot of things. She learned that Laura is the
Council President, which is the highest position in the SSU. She
learned that there are four ranks, Trainee Senshi, Senshi (this was
her), Leader Senshi (Commonly called Long Tails, since longer tails
on the back bow were the sign. Andromeda had this rank) and Council
Member (Scarlet Fury was one of them.)
Then she could say what she wanted her costume to look like. She
decided on one practically identical to the Sailor Moon costume she'd
made herself for Halloween. It was a Classic Sailor Moon suit with
minor modifications.
She chose the codename "Sailor Moonie", and told Laura to call her
Cathy from now on.
Then she had a basic overview of the training program which she
would have to go through. It consisted of exercises like for sport,
practicing the use of magic, learning some technical knowledge, and
even specially-designed video games.
Finally, it was decided that she would live with Sailor Andromeda,
and Cathy learned her real name: Meagen.
A new life had begun. A life full of danger, possibly a very short
one, but definitely not a boring one. Cathy would soon find out what
it really meant to be a Sailor Soldier.
\\\o/// ================================================== \\\o///
Heavy footsteps.
"You."
Footsteps stop.
"You have no business here. But you keep asking questions, and I see
what you're up to with that girl. I want to know what you want."
"The same thing as you, apparently."
"W-what are you talking about?"
"You're snooping around here, too." A pause. "I think we'd make a
great team. Don't you?"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes! I finally finished this!!! I know it's rather long, and the
plot doesn't start until next chapter, but since this is a universe
very different from the original series, I feel an introduction is
necessary. Later on, get ready for aliens, conspiracy, and the
whole truth about crop circles! (Please remember that we're talking
about a universe which has real life Sailor Senshi in it. Thank you.)
I don't know if I've done enough C&C on the FFML to get any. But
I'll do my best and read and comment as much as I can. Bear with
me, please.
Meagen
Meagen is SailorM of
o__o *
/(oo)\ |
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^^ ^
Sailor Mooo-n productions
visit my homepage at
http://members.fortunecity.com/meagen/
-------------------------
Some people prefer aliens to common sense.
Then again, common sense is alien to a lot of people.
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