Ep 1: First Contact

"WHAAAAAA!!! IT'S 8:30!!! I'm going to be late AGAIN!!!"

Many mornings in Tokyo have thusly began. Serena, ever the late one, 
nearly panicked when she looked at her alarm clock. She quickly jumped 
out of bed, slipped on her jacket, and put on her shoes, all with Luna 
in a semi-dazed sleepy state on the floor. Luna happened to be in the 
wrong place at the wrong time, as Serena firmly stepped on her back 
while trying to rush out of the room. Amid furious snarls and hisses, 
Serena tiptoed backwards out of the room, mumbling apologies, and 
quickly rushed downstairs.

Serena's mother was quite surprised that her daughter was in such a 
rush. She therefore asked, "Serena, dear, what's the big hurry?" Serena 
exclaimed, "Mom, I'm going to be laaate for schooool!"

To which her mother replied, "But Serena, dear, it's Sunday."

Which caught Serena rather off guard.

"Sunday?..." Serena echoed. Well, THAT was embarassing. Her little 
brother, that worm Sam, wasn't about to let the opportunity slip by, 
either: "Yeah, Serena's late every day of the week, and she gets up 
early on Sunday! Go figure." "HEY!!" Serena replied, "I was up on time 
Wednesday, you know..." Sam chirped back, "Yeah, but that was the day 
Luna was jumping up and down on you in bed! She's a better alarm clock 
than that piece of junk you have!" Serena just growled, "Oooooo...", and 
turned to her mother. "I'm going to go visit Rei at the temple. She's 
always up early." Serena's mother then said, "Alright, but don't be out 
too late tonight." Serena was somewhat surprised. "What? It's half past 
8 in the morning! How can you be thinking of tonight?" Her mother 
answered, "Because you were very late last time, and you have school 
tomorrow." Sam added, "And homework!" (chuckle) Serena groaned and 
stormed out.

Serena's mother remarked, "That Serena. Always full of energy." Sam 
added, "If she wasn't like that, she'd be a blimp by now, the way that 
she eats." His mother replied that was enough and sent him to do 
something constructive. Or something like that.

---

Meanwhile, far away, two sinister voices planned their next move, a move 
that would change Serena's life for the worse.

"How soon will it be ready?"
"Soon."
"I have waited too long."
"The machine is nearly complete. I am merely testing it to ensure that 
it functions perfectly."
"Will it accomplish the mission?"
"Absolutely."

"Excellent."

---

"Hi there, Serena, are you going to the temple, too?"

Mina was in a good mood today, as usual. She met Serena on the way to 
the familiar Cherry Hill Temple, and both were going there to meet Rei, 
to talk about guys, and do other girls things. Serena told Mina that she 
was going to the temple, and they should go there together. Mina asked, 
"Where's Luna?" That stopped Serena for a moment. "Uhh... I guess she 
stayed home. I sort of... stepped on her this morning."

Mina chimed at that, "Oh, that's alright. I step on Artemis all the time 
and he always forgives me." Both girls laughed histerically at that. 
Mina then exclaimed, "Come on, I'll race you!", and began running at 
full speed towards the temple. Serena stood still for a moment, not 
knowing what to do, and then yelled, "WAIT UP!!" and began running, 
thinking, "Running's not really my thing..." (huff huff).

---

Masked by a carefully designed cloaking device, the robot hovered far 
above the walkway which both girls were running on, fully invisible. 
With three clicks of the single digital eye that was located in the 
center of the robot's "head", the robot sent a coded communication back 
to its home base.

"Target aquired."

---

The race was no contest. Mina was a high school volleyball champ. Serena 
was a high school underachiever, and certainly no athlete. Mina had 
barely broken a sweat. Serena was huffing and puffing like she had just 
climbed Mount Fuji, and said that this was just as difficult. Mina 
joked, "Oh, it's not really that hard once you've tried it." Serena just 
groaned.

Now at the steps of the temple, the two were approached by the temple's 
coolest (and only young) guy, Chad, easily identifiable by the ordinary 
monk's robes combined with hair that reached below his eyebrows. One 
wondered how he could see with that hair in his face all the time, but 
he managed. It was what was between the ears that was somewhat lacking. 
Chad asked the two, "Hi, you looking for Rei? She's inside doing a fire 
reading." Serena, between puffs, thanked Chad and said, "Okay (huff) 
we'll go inside and talk to (puff) her (puff). Whoa! That was (huff) a 
long run!" (Thinking: I _hate_ running!)

So the two girls let themselves into the temple, heading towards Rei's 
room. Rei was sitting down, in the middle of her fire reading, 
concentrating heavily on the task at hand. Neither Serena or Mina dared 
to break her concentration, so they slipped into the room very quietly. 
Somehow, Serena had caught her breath by now, so she wasn't wheezing the 
whole way.

Rei was concentrating very hard on her fire reading, unusually so. She 
did enter a strange sort of trancelike state when she bonded with the 
fire, but Serena could tell that something was wrong. Her back was 
arched, her shoulders unusually tense. She was speaking in hushed tones, 
too soft for Serena to understand. Then the fire suddenly leaped, and 
Serena gasped. Rei was somewhat startled, then gathered her composure, 
got up, and turned around. Serena was expecting Rei to be quite angry, 
but she was not, and that in itself was quite odd. Rei's face was a face 
of surprise, not of raised anger.

Rei casually said, "I didn't know you were here. I was concentrating on 
my fire reading so hard that I didn't hear you come in." Serena then 
replied, "Um, we were trying to be quiet. Rei, is something wrong?" Rei 
seemed surprised at the question at first, then her eyes rolled 
downward. Then she began to explain.

"I've been having these strange premonitions lately. Just the last few 
days, to be exact. I don't know what's wrong, but I can feel some kind 
of evil presence drawing nearer. I turned to the fire to try to 
determine what it is, but I can't get a reading no matter how hard I 
try. It's really frustrating..."

Serena was being understanding. "Rei, maybe you shouldn't try so hard. 
Maybe it's not your fault at all." Mina had different ideas. "Rei, what 
do you think it could be? Is this Sailor Senshi business?" To that Rei 
replied, "Yes, I suppose so. We should get everyone together." Mina 
said, "I'll go pick up Artemis." Serena asked, "Could you pick up Luna, 
too?" Mina told her, "Amy's closer. She'll get Luna. We'll meet you back 
here. Oh, I'll call Lita, too. Leave it to me!" Then Mina ran off.

Serena was getting thorougly depressed at being alone with Rei, with 
nothing to do. "Rei," she said, "I'm going to go for a walk outside. Do 
you mind?" Rei quickly said that she didn't. As Serena was leaving, Rei 
said to her, gently, "I'm really glad you came." Serena turned her head, 
her hair flopping around her, and asked, "Why, Rei?" Rei then siad, 
"It's good to know that I can share my feelings about this. It's... a 
frightening thing, sometimes, being able to feel bad things coming, and 
not being able to do anything about it." Serena said, "Don't say things 
like that! If anything bad's coming, Sailor Moon will protect you!" 
Serena got into her Sailor Moon pose, with her hand movements. Rei just 
laughed out loud. Serena wasn't sure what that meant, but she laughed, 
too.

So Serena went out for her walk, saying hello to Chad and Rei's 
grandfather as she went into the beautiful woods, humming a pretty tune 
(guess which one!) as she went.

---

[Target Confirmed]
[Approaching Target]

---

For some reason, Serena felt odd. She felt a slight change in the 
surroundings, something out of the ordinary. Maybe it was just the 
wind...

Serena felt a sudden, sharp, acute pain on her back, something which 
took her completely by surprise. She cried in pain and rising panic as 
she fell to her knees, grasping for her wound. She then turned onto her 
side and looked up, only to see a large, flying robot of shining metal, 
with thin, but long, limbs and a flat head with a single, camera-like 
red eye. The thing's hands had three fingers and a thumb each.

 Naturally, Serena was scared out of her mind.

"HHEEELLLPPP!!!

The robot then descended, ready to land right beside Serena. Serena 
quickly crawled away in terror. She turned back to see the robot 
grasping a small, long object, maybe a knife, which must have scratched 
her back. She didn't think it was serious, somewhere in the back of her 
mind, but, boy, did it HURT. Slowly whimpering, she backed up against a 
nearby tree, and suddenly had nowhere to go.

The robot picked up the small object, then put it down. The robot then 
stood upright, and ominously turned towards Serena. The robot then began 
making slow steps toward the frightened girl, who had no idea what to 
expect next. The robot made some peculiar sounds, and then spoke two 
threatening words: "TARGET: TERMINATE"

Suddenly, a small object struck the ground, out of nowhere, right before 
the robot!

A rose!

The robot's mechanical head pivoted to observe the new threat. Tuxedo 
Mask had arrived! Serena was filled with new hope that her dream hunk 
would save her from this evil bucket of bolts. Tuxedo Mask, standing on 
a large branch of a tall tree, his cape flowing in the warm breeze, 
spoke loudly and boldly: "You stand back where you are, Metalhead! 
You're not getting any closer to that girl!"

The robot did not share the same conclusion.

The robot's hands then retracted within the metallic forearms of its 
frame, immediately followed by the introduction of two large, conical 
drills, each beginning to spin ferociously with an uncanny ressemblance 
to the sound of a dentist's drill. Serena did not like the comparison.

The robot then used its flight abilities and leaped up to Tuxedo Mask's 
position. Tuxedo Mask leaped even higher, above the robot, sumersaulted 
in mid-air, and dropped to his knees on the ground, behind the robot. He 
then turned and launched a rose at the robot. But this time, the robot 
was faster, using a small laser in its forearm to incinerate the rose in 
flight. The robot's arms, still armed with the drill, extended 
themselves at an incredible speed, straight at Tuxedo Mask. But the 
latter was the quicker, rolling to the side. "Sailor Moon! Transform!"

"Moon Crystal POWER!!!"

Serena quickly transformed into Sailor Moon. Wounded, but no longer 
afraid, and eager to help her beloved Tuxedo Mask in battle, Sailor Moon 
was ready for action.

Sensing the new threat, the robot retracted its arms, and dove, feet 
first, towards Sailor Moon. She dodged out of the way, only to stumble 
on a root, her back exposed to the threat above. Tuxedo Mask threw 
another rose, but the robot dodged it. Sensing easy prey, the robot 
began to extend its arms, and drill straight into Sailor Moon's back. 
Sailor Moon began to scream...

"Fire.... SOUL!!!" A sudden burst of flame blasted the robot from the 
side. Dazed, but by no means out, the robot's limbs were too exposed, 
and were knocked out of position by the heat of the flames. The robot 
lost its balance and took a moment to stabilize, a moment too long.

A rose firmly embedded itself into the robot's left shoulder, piercing 
the joint and slowing the robot down. The robot then went into a 
defensive posture, and flew higher. The robot then turned to face its 
new adversary.

Sailor Mars was eager for battle, proclaiming, "I am Sailor Mars! In the 
name of Mars, I will conquer you!" Mars was in her usual pose, pointing 
an accusing finger at the inattentive and unfeeling machine. The robot's 
left drill retracted, and a blasting cannon emerged, something that 
neither Sailor Mars nor Tuxedo Mask took for granted. The robot's arm 
cannon charged up, then launched an attack on Mars, forcing her to dodge 
out of the way or get incinerated by the power of the blast. But today, 
she was not alone.

"Shining Aqua ILLUSION!!!" Sailor Mercury used her power to create a 
massive cloud of cold fog and confusing light patterns. Suddenly, the 
robot was no longer recieving sensory input.

[Danger: Optic Sensor Malfunction]

She wasn't alone, either. Sailor Jupiter was along for the ride! She 
powered up her attack, and then released it, yelling, "SPARKLING WIDE 
PRESSURE!!!"

The central eye of the robot had somewhat recovered from the aqua 
illusion. The eye opened wide, and then wider still, at the approach of 
a concentrated disc of massive electrical energy. The robot had a single 
reaction: "Danger: Terminal Result Imminent"

You could put it that way.

The energy slammed the machine in its diametrical center. The focused 
electrical energy spread through the robot, shorting out all circuits 
within nanoseconds. The kinetic energy contained by the attack simply 
blew the robot apart into little pieces of advanced circuitry. It simply 
exploded.

Sailor Moon was, to say the least, very happy. "Sailor Mercury! Sailor 
Jupiter! I'm glad you showed up when you did!" As an afterthought, "Oh 
yeah, you too, Mars." Rei just folded her arms and twisted her nose in 
disgust with an audible "Hmph." Sailor Moon walked over to Tuxedo Mask 
to thank him. Tuxedo Mask hugged Sailor Moon, to comfort her, only to 
hear her groan in acute pain. Darien released his grip, and saw that his 
right glove had some blood on it. Tuxedo Mask turned Sailor Moon around 
to observe the wound. Though Sailor Moon's costume had no tear in it, 
meaning the wound was inflicted before she transformed, the blood had 
soaked through the back of her costume.

Tuxedo Mask said to her and to everyone, "It's only a flesh wound by the 
looks of it. Nothing serious."

Sailor Venus quickly came onto the scene, with Luna and Artemis close 
behind. She simply said, "Oh, I guess you took care of, well, whatever 
that was."

Amy said, "It was some kind of robot, highly advanced."

Rei said to Serena, "We'd better get you back to the Temple so I can 
clean that wound and put some bandages on it right away." Serena, 
exhausted by the fight and the action, simply nodded in agreement.

---

"Your robot failed."
"Ahh, but it didn't, Master. I have the sample of Sailor Moon's blood 
that I sought so dearly."
"How soon?"
"The project can be completed in 48 hours. The prototype may have some 
flaws resulting from such a rapid growth."
"That does not matter. The prototype shall be ready."
"Yes, Master."
"Excellent."

---

The Sailor Senshi were having a meeting. Serena's wound was fully 
bandaged by Rei, who did a surprisngly fine job. Mina was absent, having 
gone to convince Serena's parents that even though she had been hurt, it 
was only a flesh wound and everything was okay. Even likable Mina would 
have a hard time selling that to Serena's rather protective parents. 
Hopefully, they wouldn't panic, and Serena was going to call soon 
anyway. There were important matters to discuss, however.

Luna: "But where did it come from? And why did it attack you, Serena?"
Serena: "I don't know..."
Luna: "But shouldn't the monster"
Amy: "Robot."
Luna: "- Robot - have tried to drain energy, or something like that? Why 
would it attack you to draw a little blood?"
Serena: "I don't know. It didn't pick up that long knifey thing - say, 
did anyone see it?"
Lita: "I checked the whole area after the battle. I found a blood stain, 
but nothing of that kind. I would have seen it."
Serena: "But... we were the only people there. How..."
Rei: "What makes you so sure of that?"
Ami: "Someone may have used the distraction to pick up this object, with 
your blood, Serena."
Artemis: "But why would someone want Serena's blood? Was this just a 
random attack, or is someone behind it? And why Serena?"
Rei: "Serena's the last choice for a blood donor. Her genes are probably 
going to give Chibi-Usa all her clumsiness AND her laziness, all in 
one!"
Serena: "HEY!"
Ami: "I can only think of someone wanting the blood for DNA testing. For 
what purpose, I don't know. That's the only logical conclusion. But why 
Serena? What would make her special to a robot?"
Lita: "You'd almost think someone knew that Serena was Sailor Moon."

"But that's impossible."