GOMEN NASAI, MINNA-SAN!!

For some reason my computer decided that I'd saved this fic in
WordPerfect 5.1, but didn't tell me and still reported it saved with
the .txt extension ... so it didn't get to you when I sent it the first
time.

I have (hopefully, fingers crossed, clutching my rabbits' foot) managed
to resave it in text and now it will come through. I hope. Pray. Beg
the gods.

Please enjoy!

Raye 
===
raye_j@yahoo.com
Member of the Shoujo Anime Proliferation Project Ynstitute
(SAPPY)

I believe in dragons, unicorns, good men
and other mythical creatures.
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Sailor Moon Alternate: A Moon Star Is Born!



Sailor Moon is copyright Naoko Takeuchi and associated companies. This is a
fanwork and not for profit in any way.



It was *not* a good day.
     Firstly, he woke up late. Not that that was unusual, but it wasn't a good start.
     He was made even later when he drove the bullies off the little cat in the
street. They were putting Sailor V bandaids on a strange mark on the cat's face,
which anybody could tell wasn't a good idea. Not only with the way the glue would
pull on the cat's fur, but it was a *waste* of a Sailor V bandaid!
     And then he *failed* the maths test!
     No, Darien Shields was not having a good day.
     :Maybe a video game will help,: he thought, standing in front of the video
arcade. :Get my mind off things.: He pulled out the test, looked at it and sagged.
     "No way I can show this to Mum," he muttered, balling it up into a wad and
tossing it over his shoulder.
     "HEY!!" 
     A girl, wearing his school's uniform, with her unusually long black hair tied in
the oddest style - two high buns, with ponytails falling from them to her knees - was
standing behind him. She was also rubbing her head with one hand, holding his test
with the other, and giving him a dirty look. "Have you never heard of a *trash can*?
Littering's bad for the environment, y'know!"
     Darien glared back. "You shouldn't sneak up on people! Who are you
anyway?"
     The girl, meanwhile, had unfolded his test. "A *thirty*? Wow, even if I weren't
standing in front of you, I could tell you were blond! These're easy!" She looked up
and smiled. "So, you're Darien? I'm Serena."
     Darien snatched the test back. "The pleasure's entirely yours! Hasn't
anybody ever told you not to read private papers?" With that, he exited, dragging
the tattered remnants of his dignity with him into the arcade. 
     Which he promptly forgot when he saw the new video game which Andrea,
the video arcade attendant, was just finishing plugging in.
     "The new Sailor V Super Game! Whoa! Can I play it?"
     Andrea grinned at her best customer. "Sure, I've just fin-"
     WOOOSH!!!
     "-ished plugging it in," she ended the sentence, shaking her head, to the
accompaniment of "BAM!" "POW!" and "KAPOWIE!" from behind her. Honestly, the
boy was nuts for computer games and Sailor V.
     Meanwhile, outside, Serena stared in after Darien. The smile had slipped
from her face, and her eyes suddenly seemed far too old for her thirteen years. "So
you're Darien," she said softly, as she turned to walk away.



The confrontation with his mother didn't go well.
     "A *thirty*? You said you studied!!"
     "Mum, I -"
     "Another lame excuse? You know what you can do, young man?"
     "But, Mum -"
     "You can go to the library and study some more!"
     *SLAM!*
     "*MUM!!!*"




     Mark Baker walked into the Osa*P Jewellery Store with a sigh. Sometimes life
was just not cool.
     Darien had goofed off in class all year and had now gotten a thirty for his
midterm maths exam. Naturally enough, he had turned to Mark, his best friend, for
cheering up. Never mind that Mark himself could have used a bit of cheering up,
what with Molly (the class brain who he always worked to beat) leading the class
and leaving him well in the dust.
     Mark sighed. Life around Darien was fun, and he was really a good friend; it
was just that there were times when it was hard to remember that. Like when both
you and he were bummed and he demanded you cheer him up.
     Lifting his head, he stared at the store. It was packed.
     "Mum?"
     Mark's mother, a pretty auburn-haired woman in her late thirties, lowered the
megaphone and smiled distractedly at him. "Hi honey, welcome home," she said
absently and resumed shouting "SALE! SALE!! *SALE!!!* All items AT LEAST 50%
OFF!!! Diamonds starting from TEN DOLLARS EACH!!!" into the handheld
amplifier.
     Mark shrugged and headed up the stairs to the apartment above the store.
Homework called, and he'd better answer if he wanted to catch Molly on the next
pop quiz.



There were times when Darien truly felt that the worst thing in the universe was not
chores, nor school, nor even homework, but younger sisters. Especially bratty
younger sisters named Samantha.
     "I know who's in truh-ble," she singsonged as she came down the garden
path to the door and spotted her brother sitting on the front step. She had just come
home from detention herself, but Darien disregarded that; she would. Ten-year-olds
faced with older siblings in trouble often do.
     "Shut up and help me get let back in."
     "Why?"
     "'Cause it's freezing!... And I'll buy you an ice-cream."
     Sammie seemed to consider that, opening the door...then slammed it shut on
her brother's nose. 
     "Too cheap," floated through the closed door.
     Darien set up a hue and cry, banging on the door and yelling. Wailing himself
hoarse, he fell though the door as his mother opened it suddenly.
     "Well, get in before you shriek yourself into laryngitis, Darien," Mrs Shields
snapped irritably. 
     He didn't need to be told twice. Scrambling up, he shot up the stairs to his
room. :Maybe if I take a nap, things'll look better when I wake up ...:
     The small black cat Darien had rescued that morning, the crescent moon
marking on his forehead now unobscured by Sailor V bandaids or anything else,
looked up at Darien's window from the street.
     :I can't believe this. I've been searching so long ... and *this* is the One?
Either I've gone mad, or Bastet's got an awful sense of humour.:



     It was now past five, and Mark decided to take a break from homework and
grab a snack. Mrs Baker wasn't up from the store yet though, so Mark headed
downstairs to see what was keeping her.
     "Mum? Hey, Mum? You down here? Mum?"
     Mrs Baker appeared to be inspecting the jewellery cases when Mark peered
around the door.
     "Mum! What are you doing?"
     The figure did not move. Its head swivelled 180 degrees to look at Mark.
     "Mum?"
     The figure smiled. It was not a nice smile. "I am not your mother, Mark dear,"
it purred.
     Mark screamed as it closed in, turned to run, but it was too late...



Darien rolled over. What a dream...
     ~He was walking along the street, when suddenly he realized, he was
wearing Sailor V's suit - no, where Sailor V's long white tunic was edged with gold,
his was edged with pink and blue and silver, and a long cape swirled behind him.
Ahead, enemies hid in the mist and he knew he would defeat them, to rescue...to
rescue...
     He strode on. If he couldn't remember her now, he'd remember later. He
wasn't alone...there were others... 
     Fighting...nothing stood against him. He slew and defeated all that tried to
fight him, but he did not pursue those who did not attack.
     Ahead, he saw her...Andrea from the arcade...no, it was that Serena girl he'd
accidentally beaned with his test...no, it was Andrea, hanging on the wall in chains.
The monsters were thicker, but he defeated them all easily, and then he was freeing
Andrea from the chains...but it was Serena in his arms, who held tight to him in relief
and gratitude, Serena who smiled up at him... 
     He reached down to gather her close, and suddenly he was hugging the cat
from that morning, who opened his mouth and said... ~
     "Do. You. MIND???"   
     "WAAAAAAGH!"
     Darien flung himself off his bed and stared at the cat sitting on his bed. "Wha-
oh. It's just you, kitty. How'd you get in?"
     "Oh, by the window, Darien," the cat replied.
     Darien stared, and then suddenly relaxed. "Oh, this is all a dream! Cats can't
talk. Goodnight, kitty..."
     The cat leapt up onto his lap. "Oh no you don't go to sleep! You're very much
awake! I'm Artemis and I've been searching for you for a long, long time, Sailor
Moon!"
     "Just a dream...Just a dream...YAAARG! You didn't have to *bite* me!"
     "Didn't I?" Artemis shuffled his shoulders in a cat-shrug. "Are you awake
now?"
     "I'm awake, I'm awake," muttered Darien, rubbing his sore calf. "This can't be
happening... a talking cat who bites me...sheesh..."
     "It *is* happening, Sailor Moon."
     "What's this 'Sailor Moon' thing and why do you call me that?"
     "Because that's who you are. You are Sailor Moon, the Champion of Justice,
Righter of Wrongs, sworn to defend the Prince of the Moon!"
     Darien stared at Artemis. Then he burst out laughing.
     After his laughter wound down, Artemis said, "So, you don't believe it? Here,
take this-" and he did a backflip. As he did, strange colours swirled in the air behind
him and as he landed the colours hung in the air, a circle of iridescent energy that
contracted down into a small jewelled medallion.
     "Hold this in one hand and say 'Moon Prism Power'."
     Darien shrugged. This was all so surreal - what would it hurt? He snapped off
a salute to Artemis. "Okay!"
     Picking up the little jewel - it'd make a really cool key chain - he said
cheerfully, "Moon - Prism - Power!"
     The colours that had swirled in to form the medallion swirled out from it again
to surround him, stripping away his school uniform and replacing it with - something
else. Breeches rather than the loose baggy pants. Boots, not loafers. His hands
were suddenly covered with skintight gloves. His jacket and shirt gave way to white-
and-gold enamelled breastplate and long tunic beneath. Behind him, he felt a weight
form and fall. 
     The final portion of the light swirled down around him and settled gently on
his nose. Darien looked in the mirror and gasped.
     If he took off the breastplate, the mask and held a cane rather than a sword,
he'd look *exactly* as he had in his dream!
     As if in response to his thoughts, the breastplate swirled away and the sword
slimmed and lengthened into a cane. The mask, however, remained unchanged.
     "WHOA!" was Darien's response. "This is cool!" 
     Artemis shook his head. :All the people in all the world, and the Fates pick
this one. Bastet's laughing her furry little head off, I *know* it.:
     "Artemis!" Darien's voice suddenly cut into his reverie. "Artemis - I can see
something in my mask!"
     "What? What?"
     "It's Mark's mum's jewellery store! Something's happening, Artemis! We've
got to go!"



The Dark Lady's eyes drooped softly as she stood outside the jewellery store.
     Sailor Moon had finally begun to awaken, barely in time. Less than an hour
old, and he would have to fight - and defeat - his first daemon.
     And she could not stop it. 
     More truthfully, she would not stop it. 
     If Light was to win the battle that was to come, Sailor Moon would have to
fight. Have to be practised. Have to win.
     She looked down and knew grief for the innocent Darien Shields.
     For today, no matter what happened, whether Sailor Moon survived or not,
Darien Shields would die.

     

The daemon was going through the trays of unset jewels when the door was
slammed open.
     "Who are you?" demanded the monster.
     "I am Sailor Moon! The- uh-" Sailor Moon glanced down at the little black cat
standing at the door, "Artemis! Line!"
     Artemis rolled his eyes. "The Champion of Justice, the Enemy of All Evil," he
intoned.
     "The Champion of Justice! I am sworn to destroy all evil! And that means
you!"
     Artemis sighed. Not only was he babysitting the genki nightmare-of-all-
mentors-made-flesh, the kid was an ad-libber too.
     :If Luna had this much trouble with Venus, I'll give up catmint...:
     "Sailor Moon?" the monster said. "I've never heard of a Sailor Moon! I don't
know what you think you're doing, kid-" it swelled up menacingly, beginning to glow -
"but you won't live to regret interfering with me!"
     The glow separated into several small balls, each flying to and touching one
of the slumped forms around the room. The lumps stirred and rose; resolving into
people. With horror, Sailor Moon recognised girls from his class at school among
them, and his best friend Mark, whose mother owned the store.  
     "Mark! Mark, snap out of it!" he pleaded. "Libby! Emma! Wake up, guys,
please!" 
     It had no effect. The possessed teenagers continued their advance towards
him. Behind them, the daemon laughed, nails scraping over concrete.
     "You can't fight innocent people! Especially not your friends! Bwahahahaha!"
     Sailor Moon was backed into a corner by the possessed customers. "Stop it!
Stop it! OWWWW! That *hurt!* ARRRTEMMIIIIISSSSS!!!"
     Artemis shook his head. :Why me? Why always me? 'I'll take the decoy,' she
said. 'You handle the leader,' she said. Why do I always end up with the hardest
jobs? Each and every time! It's not fair!:



:Well. Time for my big entrance.:
     The Dark Lady unfolded herself from the shadows and slipped through the
darkness into the store. She brushed her gaze over the daemon -
     -:back exposed, a single strike, it's mine. But this is Sailor Moon's fight.: 
     - over the little black cat shaking his head in the doorway - 
     - :Artemis, you have never had any faith in him, have you?:
     - to the boy trying to fend off the victims of the daemon in the corner.
     :Still trying not to hurt the innocent, I see. Admirable. Not very bright
strategically, though. Now, a single shot just there and ...:
     "AAARRHH!!" Sailor Moon's mask vibrated in time to his cry of pain and
began to shimmer. Suddenly, his cries began to increase in volume and frequency,
piercing the ears unbearably, flattening all the daemon's possessed servants.
     :Ohhh-kay,: thought the Dark Lady, from the balled crouch she'd fallen into in
an effort to block her ears with her hands, elbows and knees, :that'll work, too ...: 



     Sailor Moon looked up and saw all the people had fallen down, unconscious.
     "*I* did that?" he whispered. "Whoa."
     Behind its fallen servants, the weakened daemon tried to rise. "I - I will
destroy you, Sailor Moon," it hissed.
     "Yes, destroy him," hissed a female voice behind it. "Destroy Sailor Moon
NOW!"
     From the shadows, the Dark Lady jerked. She swung to stare where the voice
had originated from.
     "Not today, thank you!" Sailor Moon said smartly. Then hissed out of the
corner of his mouth, "Psst! Artemis! What do I do *now*?"
     "Take your mask off and throw it, saying 'Moon Mask Magic'!" Artemis hissed
back.
     "'Moon Mask Magic'? That's even sillier than 'Moon Prism Pow'-"
     "Just *do* it, okay!"
     "Okay, okay!" Sailor Moon lifted his mask from his face. It glowed and then
shimmered. The edges blurred and then suddenly it flared into a silver discus. With
a sudden grin, Sailor Moon aimed. 
     "MOON MASK-"
     He flung the discus straight towards the daemon.
     "-MAAAAGIC!!"
     The discus sliced through the daemon and then returned to Sailor Moon's
hand, making a perfect three-point-turn to do so. Sailor Moon didn't notice.
     He walked over to the pile of dust where the daemon had dissolved into sand.
     "No way."
     "I refuse to say 'Yes way' in this situation."
     Sailor Moon stiffened at the unexpected new voice and turned around.
Seated on one of the glassed-in display cases, a young girl watched him. She was
dressed in a white leotard with a short black skirt. The shoulders of the leotard were
covered with a black sailor collar that connected to a black bow on the chest
adorned in the centre with a ruby button. Her knee-high black boots kicked gently at
the air, while her white-gloved hands braced her on either side. Clear blue eyes
smiled at him from beneath a golden tiara set with a ruby, while her long black hair
was tied in a vaguely familiar hairstyle - two buns with long ponytails.
     "But I *will* say," she continued, "that you fought very well, Sailor Moon." She
jumped down, and then leapt up to the top-level display window. "I am the Dark
Lady, and I look forward to seeing you again." The curtain fluttered from the open
window. When it had settled, she was gone.
     Sailor Moon stared up where the girl had vanished. "Cool," he said dreamily.
     Artemis came up behind him. "Come on, Sailor Moon, time to go." The boy
continued to gaze up at the window. "Darien, come on! Darien!"
     "I'm coming, I'm coming," Darien replied absently, scooping up Artemis on the
way.



     In a different, darker realm, a watcher cursed as she watched the daemon
fall.
     "Lord Beryllium is *not* going to like this setback," she muttered. 
     "A problem, Garnet?" a voice enquired, deceptively concerned. The girl
stiffened.
     "Nothing you need be concerned with, Agate," Garnet replied, stepping into
the light. A beautiful young woman, her long dark blonde hair fell past the hem of
her short red skirt to her knees, drawing the eye down to her red high-heeled
pumps. Her black leotard matched the gloves she wore and her red skirt was
matched by her sailor collar tying at the neck into a purple-red bow linked with a
ruby button, matching the ruby in the golden tiara she wore.
     Agate grinned nastily. Her wavy auburn hair, tied into a high ponytail with a
cord strung with  two green agates, touched the green sailor collar that was tied
over the shoulders of her black leotard. Her eyes, as green and hard as her
namestone, matched the short skirt and halfboots she wore.   
     "If you say so, Garnet," she replied silkily. 



     Darien sat in his seat, waiting for class to start.
     "I swear! Sailor V has a partner!" Mark said excitedly. "I saw him! He's called
Sailor Moon and -"
     "You're dreaming, Mark," Libby said. "There are no such things as demons!"
     Darien sighed. 
     "What's wrong, Darien?" Artemis whispered from where he was hiding in
Darien's bookbag.
     Darien sighed again, fingering his keychain. "This isn't a dream," he replied
sadly.
     Artemis shook his head as he resettled down. :You'll learn.:



Author's Notes:

1: This fic is a synthesis of the manga, the Mixx version, the anime and the DiC dub,
spun on its ear. So the Tuxedo Mask figure is aware of her "secret identity",
because TM knew in the manga, and of the past, because TM knew in the anime,
and also because the plotline I created (yes it *is* different to the official timeline)
really only works if Serena/Dark Lady pulls a Sailor Pluto and follows her own plan
around the Senshi. 
2: A note on Sailor Moon's costume: Sailor Moon wears basically Malachite's outfit
from the anime, except that it's white, trimmed with pink and the belt, boots and
cloak clasps are all dark blue. The cloak is dark blue lined with white. Sailor V/Sailor
Venus' costume is the same, but gold where Sailor Moon's is pink and blue.