EMSiT Productions Presents:
To Stand Alone
by: Una Moonstar and Quicksilver
kick8@hotmail.com and mbsilvana@yahoo.com
standard disclaimers
Notes:  Ok, so this was supposed to be out for MY
birthday (back in September).   We just never got
AROUND to posting it, even though it was done!   The
prologue can be found at the EMS Lair:
http://www.demando.net/emsl
We hope you enjoy!   Feedback is nice, and the next
part is due out by the end of Jan!  ~QS






Chapter One: I am Sailor Moon

	Outside there was darkness, but within the girl a
light was burning brighter then the light of any sun;
fury, anger and the desire that this never happen to
anyone again.

	Usagi fell to her knees beside the gravestone.  
Reaching out, she traced the kanji that formed Naru�s
name, birthday, and date of death.   Tears formed in
the corner of her eyes, tears that she wiped away with
an angry hand.   She had cried so often in past about
petty things that she refused to cheapen her memory of
Naru by weeping now.   Crying was a useless activity
anyway.

	She touched the tombstone one last time in farewell,
then rose to her feet that was out of charecter for
her.   Clenching her tiny fist, she made a mental vow
to her departed friend that no one else would die
because some hideous creature from realms unknown.  
She remembered the rush of power she had felt as she
destroyed the monster.   Surely there must be some way
to access that power again.

	The blonde girl sighed. This anger was so alien to
her. But nothing she did made it go away. For now, all
she could do was hope she could draw on the power and
protect everyone else. With that thought, the rage
that flowed through her veins shifted slightly to a
deep sense of justice. It was a fact that she wouldn't
realize for some time.

	Her sapphire gaze traveled over the other tombstones
in the graveyard, wondering if there were others that
were there because no one had been there to save them
from the same kind of horror that had taken Naru away.
Usagi shook her head violently. She couldn't think
like that. It would just lead her in a downward spiral
and make her useless to someone who could still be
saved. With that thought, she turned sharply and
strode purposely away from the gloomy place. She would
figure out how to access the power again. 

	She had to.

	Her mind was so caught up in thought that she didn't
realize where her small feet were leading her- or who
they were leading her towards.   It may have been fate
or destiny, or just plain bad luck.

	A man turned around a corner, slamming into her.  
The pair went sprawling to the ground.  

	"What do you think you're doing, you idiot!" she
snapped angrily, most uncharacteristically.

	The man adjusted his sunglasses, which had been
knocked askew by his tumble.   "I should be asking you
that!  Don't you know to watch where you're going?"

	"Oh? And I suppose *you* were?" Usagi jumped to her
feet and finally looked at the person she was snapping
at. Her breath caught and the next retort died on her
lips. He was tall, with short ebony black hair. His
lean, muscular build was tense as he fought to control
his irritation at this unexpected confrontation. In
short, he was gorgeous!

	The blonde young lady quickly shook that observation
off. "Don't get all high and mighty on me, buddy! You
got in my way as much as I got in yours!"

	The ebony-haired young man scowled. "It's kind of
hard to see around a corner. Which goes to prove why
you should have been watching where you were going!"

	He let his eyes wander over the form of the petite
girl standing with clenched fists in front of him. He
was surprised that she had continued the fight, after
she had so obviously paused to really look at him. He
had become accustomed to girls seeing him and trying
to flirt with him, gain his approval. He found this
reaction to be a breath of fresh air. But that did
nothing to appease the complete irritation the
audacity of this golden haired . . . beauty . . . with
her sapphire blue eyes . . . he shook his head. This
girl's attitude was inexucable! "Look, Odango Atama,
just watch where you're going from now . . . and your
mouth! It'll get you in trouble one of these days!"

	A week ago, that would have sent Usagi into a fit of
tears or speechless rage.   But it wasn't a week ago. 
 

	Later she would admit that he had been a convient
outlet for her bottled-up helplessness and rage, but
at that moment, all she saw was red.   Red for anger,
red for blood.   Her delicately-boned hand reached out
and decked him across the face, the sharp CRACK!
echoing in an eerie parody of the crack which had
changed Usagi's life.   "You bastard!" she hissed
angrily, her eyes glowing with an unhealthy light. 
"You have no right to say such a thing to me!"

	The young man was rendered speechless by the
unexpected action. He merely stared at her through the
dark lenses as she glared at him for a few moments
more, then stepped around his still form and walked
angrily down the street. He watched her go, his own
anger beginning to boil.

	 'How dare she?' he thought fiercely. 'How dare she
overreact to some verbal sparring like that?! I mean,
she hit me!' His hand unconsciously went to his
reddened cheek, even as a part of him admitted to
probably deserving the blow. It's not like he couldn't
have let the matter go. But something about her called
out to him, demanded a response. And respond he did.
He shook his head at the strange encounter and
continued along his interrupted journey toward his
destination.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

	Usagi looked at the flowers that sat on the desk
where Naru had sat.   The lilies were slightly wilted,
and she made a mental note to get some roses or
something to replace them.   Naru had always liked
roses.

	Around her, her classmates drew slightly away, as
though she was contagious.   She hadn't had anything
to do with Naru's death, the police had decided, but
it would take more then that to convince other people
that she wasn't a jinx.   After all, how had she
survived someone who could break someone's neck like a
twig?

	Usagi glanced around the room and took in the
prevailing attitude from her classmates. She sighed
and almost immediately lost herself in her inner
world. Roses. Naru liked roses. She would get her
friend roses, and nothing but, every time she visited
her resting place.

	For some reason, the thought of roses made her think
of the ebony-haired young man she had run into the
other day. Had he smelled like roses? She couldn't
remember. But somehow the thought of roses and that
guy fit like two pieces of a puzzle. She quickly
dismissed those thoughts. The bastard was not going to
take up any more of her thoughts and time.

	"Tsukino-san!"

	She blinked, suddenly aware that the sensei had been
trying to attract her attention.   "Hai?" she said,
startled.

	Rokutanda-sensei hid a sigh.   Tsukino Usagi had
never been among the best of his students, but since
her friend had died, her grades had plummeted to the
basement.   He was starting to wonder if there was any
hope of her salvaging the school year.  It was try
that the Osaka girl's death was tragic, and that
Tsukino was probably tramatized, but the girl was
making no effort to get beyond it.

	"You haven't been paying attention at all, have you
Tsukino-san?" the frustrated teacher said
exasperatedly.

	"Gomen," Usagi said contritely, dropping her gaze to
her desk. "I..."

	"I know the loss of your friend has been hard on you,
but do you really think she would have wanted you to
shut yourself off like this?" the tall brunette man
said sympathetically. "Everyone knows you're in danger
of failing completely this year, and I don't think
Osaka-san would have wanted that. For her, try to keep
going, keep trying. You have a lot of potential, and
it shouldn't go to waste."

	He blinked once, wondering exactly when the sky had
fallen.   He hadn't really expected her to listen to
him, but from the bright gleam in her eyes, he
wouldn't be surprised if she pulled out an A on the
next exam. 

	Rokutanda wondered exactly why he felt sad seeing
Tsukino Usagi turn her complete attention to him.    

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

	"I'm going out for a walk, mother!"  Usagi called
over her shoulder as she stepped out into the
twilight.

	"Are you sure you should, dear?" Ikoku asked, feeling
concerned.   She hated letting Usagi wandered off
during the evening by herself, especially since Naru
had... died.   The girl, though, refused to stay
inside, insisting that as long as she kept her 10
o'clock curfew, there really was no problem.  

	"I'll be fine!" Usagi assured her, then disappeared
into the shadows.   Ikoku shuddered as she watched her
eldest child go.   There was something almost macabre
about the way the darkness embraced the girl.

	Usagi made her way in a roundabout fashion to the
downtown shopping district. She was surprised to see
the place still filled with people, until she
remembered the amount of dance clubs and late night
restaurants that were in the area. She didn't know
what had drawn her here; normally she would have opted
for a quiet stroll in the park, but something inside
her told her this would be a better place to be.

	The petite blonde had just passed by the long strip
mall she and Naru had usually gone for one of their
shopping marathons, when screams from behind her made
her stop dead in her tracks. She whirled around
quickly and gasped at the sight before her. A large,
green creature, similar to the demon that had killed
Naru still too recently in the past to think about,
was randomly grabbing the late night party-goers,
doing something to them that caused them to be
outlined in a bright white glow for a brief moment,
and tossing them aside like limp rag dolls when it was
through.

	"No," Usagi whispered, the horrifying memories of
Naru's last night replaying before her mind's eye.
"No, not again. Never again. Never again!"

	Her last words came out in a hoarse shout, and she
moved forward slightly to where a beam of moonlight
had managed to make its way down from the heavens. The
girl's fists clenched as she wished with all her might
that she could find that mysterious power that had
come to her the night at the OSA*P, this time before
anyone died.

	: Suddenly a glitter at the point of the V-neck
collar of her thin sweater caught her attention. She
watched in wonder as the moonlight struck the white
brooch with a golden crescent moon and four different
colored gems evenly spaced on the edge she had
received the night Naru had died. And she knew what to
do. "Moon Prism Power, Make Up!"

	It was different this time, but that was to be
expected.   This time she was prepared for the
otherwordliness that assaulted her senses, prepared
for the boost in energy.   She felt immortal; she
became a Goddess and a soldier, all combined in a
beautiful, yet deadly package.   The improbable Sailor
Suit traced the curves of her body, which became
slightly more pronounced.  Tossing her head back, she
grinned as she focused on the monster.

	At the moment, its hand (which only had four fingers
instead of the standard five) was wrapped around the
throat of a girl who was wearing heavy cosmetics.  The
people who were sober enough to run were doing so, but
no one was helping the girl.   That was about to
change.   With the girl as a shield, Usagi couldn't
get a clear shot, so it was time to improvise.

	She went to the nearest car and yanked off its front
fender with hardly any effort.   Normally such wantom
destruction with have bothered her, but she figured
the owner would understand, if anyone ever bothered to
explain to him.   

	She heard a man start yelling in surprise behind her,
"How the hell did a little thing like you do that?" he
demanded.

	"Adrenaline," she said sarcastically.  "Now get the
hell out of here, you imbecile.   That creature isn't
serving cake and cookies to the elderly."

	The man gawked at her as she raced towards the
monster.   "BATTER UP!" she yelled, then swung with
her magically enhanced speed and strength.   Her aim
was true and she hit the monster over the head, dazing
it just enough so that it let go of the girl whom it
had been attacking.

	As the monster reeled and tried to regain its
composure, the girl lay at its feet sobbing, one hand
to her throat. "You should get out of here now," Usagi
whispered urgently. "This thing's not going to be out
of commission long."

	The girl merely kept crying.

	"Look, I did not just tear up a car and start going
one on one with a deadly green youma because I was
bored! Move it! Or do you really want to die?"

	The girl with the pancake make-up looked at her
startled at the harsh tone. "I don't want to die," she
whispered in a scratchy alto.

	"Then run, you moron!" She swung the fender almost
absently, knocking the monster upside the head once
again just as it was about to claw at her.

	The girl just nodded and scrambled away. Usagi
released a frustrated breath of relief and turned to
face the monster. "All right, dirt bag. It's now time
to learn lesson number one: I don't like you." She hit
the thing again with the large piece of metal. "Lesson
two: I don't like the way you were hurting people."
Clang! "Lesson three: I'm not going to just sit back
and let it happen." Crunch! "Lesson four: And there's
nothing you can do to stop me!" Slam!

	As the fender connected for the last time, Usagi
realized what she need to do to eliminate this threat
once and for all. She tossed the twisted piece of
automobile aside and stepped back. Her right hand rose
and she gripped her tiara between her forefinger and
thumb. The piece of jewelry turned into a glowing
discus as the blonde pulled it from her forehead, and
she brought it back in preparation to throw. "Moon
Tiara Action!" she cried as she released it like a
frisbee.

	The monster had watched woozily as this unexpected
attacker had backed away. Now it could only watch
wide-eyed and entranced as the glowing discus flew
toward it and impacted. The next moment there was only
a pile of dust where the green thing had stood. Usagi
watched as the pile dissapated in a non-existant
breeze with grim satisfaction. "For Naru," she
whispered. "Never again." And she turned and ran off.

	From out of the shadows, a man stepped, his eyes
tracking where the girl had stood. A puzzled frown was
on the man's face. "That's her?" he whispered,
chutching his jacket around himself to ward off the
cold teeth of the wind. "That's my rival?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

	The next day at school, Usagi was almost immediately
besieged by Umino Gurio, the class gossip. He had been
a friend of hers ever since she was younger, but they
had grown apart when Umino fell in love with her.
"Usagi-chan, did you see last night's newspaper?" He
waved the afore mentioned document in her face.

	"No, Umino. You know I'm not interested in the news,"
she said, stifling a yawn beneath her hand. She hadn't
gotten enough sleep the night before, and was tempted
to go to the nurse's office to get an extra hour or
two of much-needed rest.

	"Well, there's this new superhero! No one knows
anything about her, except that she used magic to kill
a monster that was draining people!"

	"You believe in magic?" Usagi said, trying for a
disinterested tone. "Some fairytale."

	"No, see, here's a picture and everything! The police
are asking the girl to come forward so she can be
thanked!"

	Usagi tooked the newspaper away from him. There, on
the front page, was a grainy picture of her assaulting
the monster with her tiara. Across the top the
headline blazed, "Superheroine Saves Day!"

	She sniffed derisively. "Some superhero. Where was
she when Naru needed help?"

	"Aw, come on, Usagi," Umino said, giving the blonde
an odd look after hearing the bitter tone out of the
normally cheerful girl. "If she could have been there
and done something, she would have. I mean, it's
obvious she's not going to take any crap from anyone!
I heard a rumor that she beat the monster up with a
car fender before finishing it off with her magic."
The young man had leaned in conspiratorily close as he
finished his tale.

	Usagi pushed him away. "That's nice. That doesn't
change the fact that this 'superhero' wasn't where she
needed to be in time to save Naru." Even as she said
it, a small part in the back of her mind accepted his
words as truth, contrary to the guilt and
self-loathing the rest of her brain was plaguing her
with. "And don't stand so close," she added absently.

	"Right." Umino stepped back to his normal distance.
"But I still think it would be really neat to see her
in action, or even meet her in person! I mean, a real
superhero!"

	"You twit!" Usagi cried, smacking him upside the
head. "Don't you get it? To see her up close and
personal in action, you'd have to be in mortal danger.
Do you really want to die - or at the very least get
hurt - that badly?"

	"Well, no, but she'd be there to save me, like
superheroes do."

	"Tell that to Naru." With that the petite blonde
turned sharply on her heels and walked away.

	 Unimo watched her leave, wishing he'd never brought
the subject up. Usagi had always been imterested in
stuff like superheroes and magic, before. He had
thought that getting her interested in the latest
would help jerk her out of her bitterness, but if
anything, he seemed to have made matters worse. Naru
had been his friend as well, and he missed her, but it
was time for Usagi to learn that life went on.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

	She stood in a tree, watching as the monster came
towards her. It was late afternoon, and there were
children in the park; obviously the monster was
targeting them. She tugged on her short skirt, wishing
the magical outfit didn't look so ridiculous. It was
hard to inspire fear when you half-afraid the enemy
would yell "panty shot!" at you.

	She jumped, landing on her feet slightly awkwardly.
She had always been a bit of a klutz, but there was no
way she was going to let that get in her way. Usagi's
eyes narrowed. Right now she had a clear shot. Should
she take it?  Or should she blow of some steam by
beating the monster into a pulp first?

	It was the little girl that cinched it. There,
directly in the path of the ugly beast, was a small
child, her light brown ponytails fluttering in the
wind, her huge dark blue eyes filled with tears. The
monster seemed to notice her the same time Usagi did,
and started to move in that direction at a frightening
speed.

	"Moon Tiara Action!" she cried desperately, tossing
the glowing disc with all her might. She watched as it
curved toward its target, a smile beginning to form on
her features as she waited for the same result her
last toss had produced.

	Thus it was that her jaw dropped completely when with
one quick burst of speed and a dodge of its head, the
youma managed to get out of the deadly disc's path and
closer to the child. With a burst of anger, she found
she had more control over her weapon than she
originally thought and began to direct it back toward
the monster's far side. But she quickly realized that
it wasn't going to make it in time.

	Just as her heart despaired at having to watch
someone else fall to these otherworldly creatures, a
flash of red streaked through the air, culminating in
the form of a red rose imbedded in the earth at the
monster's feet. "How dare you threaten the life of an
innocent child?" an angry male voice called from above
the combatants. "Only the basest of creatures would
stoop so low. I, Tuxedo Kamen, will not forgive you!"

	Usagi looked up to the tree branch the voice had come
from. Standing there in a dramatic pose was a tall
man, sharply dressed in a perfectly talored tuxedo and
top hat, a black cape with a deep red lining
fluttering in the breeze and a white domino mask
hiding his eyes, and thus his true identity. His head
cocked briefly in her direction before he dove down
and scooped up the girl just before the youma
recovered from the shock. The blonde hero blinked.
"What's with the fancy speeches and the posing,
Tux-boy?" she called out as she began to pull back her
tiara once again.

	"It's more than you were doing... um, I don't believe
I've caught your name quite yet."

	Usagi bristled at the sarcasm in the man's tone. Then
she realized she hadn't thought of a name for herself
yet. She glanced quickly down at her outfit and brooch
and it came to her. "I am Sailor Moon, fighter for
justice - not that I feel the need to tell everyone in
some cheesy, long-winded speech. You should remember
that." With one last flick of her wrist, the glowing
tiara rushed back, slicing the monster across the left
shoulder.

	This time it was Tuxedo Kamen's turn to bristle.
"Yeah, well, let's just remember who saved the girl
here, shall we?" he said as he continued to jump and
flip out of the way of the bursts of dark energy
coming from the demon.

	"She's not saved yet!"

	"Well, then, by all means, feel free to fix that,
Sailor Moon!"

	"Fine! I will!" She once again charged up her weapon.
"Moon Tiara Action!"

	This time her aim was true, and another demon
disintegrated into a pile of dust. Usagi walked
triumphantly over to where the thing had stood and
crossed her arms over her chest. "You were saying?"

	Tuxedo Kamen walked out slowly after putting the
little girl down and watching her run into her
mother's waiting arms, wistfulness briefly flashing
over his features. Usagi pretended not to notice.
"Look, Sailor Moon, if you're going to fight these
things, do it. Just don't get in my way."

	"You don't get in mine," the blonde hero retorted.
"That way we'll both be happier." They both nodded,
but not before they both realized deep inside just how
much of a lie that last statement was.

	Neither of them noticed the photographer hiding in
the bushes, who had overheard the entire conversation.
The sound of the shutter snapping rapidly was
overwhelmed by the noise from the crowd that was
gathering. The superheroes leapt away, moving at
supernatural speeds.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

	The next day, the school was buzzing. "He's SOOOO
handsome!" a girl said as Usagi was passing by. Her
curiousity ignited, she turned around to listen to
what they were saying.

	A girl was standing in the middle of a crowd, waving
dramatically as she spoke. "I was at the park with my
little sister, at the right place at the right time!
Well, a monster was coming at Makoto -that's my
sister's best friend- when that superhero from the day
before showed up. She threw some magic, but it ducked,
and then HE showed up!"

	The crowd squealed. "TELL!" a girl with green hair
demanded, pulling on the talebearer's sleeve.

	"Well, he said something to distract the monster, and
then he saved the little girl! It was so heroic!"

	Usagi snorted. Pity they didn't mention HER part in
it. She was just about to head onto class when the
girl continued, "And then the girl finished the
monster off! WHAM! Bunch of dust. 

	"They started to talk, and she said her name was
Sailor Moon. I think it's kinda stupid for a
superhero- I mean, don't they usually end in "girl" or
"woman"? Tuxedo Kamen isn't much better, but at least
he has STYLE. He threw a rose and made the most
wonderful speech- Sailor Moon just attacked. Then
afterwards, she started to argue with him!"

	"They ARGUED?" a boy exclaimed.

	"Aren't superheroes usually friends?" another girl
chimed in, nibbling thoughtfully on her lips.

	"Nope, they were arguing. Telling the other to stay
out of their way."

	"That's not the way it works," the boy complained.
"Sailor Moon should be Tuxedo Kamen's sidekick!"

	Usagi stalked off at that to keep from attacking the
boy. What did HE know, anyway?

	Once she was alone however, some the othe things that
were said echoed in her mind. First off, she needed
some class. She sighed. Okay, she thought, cheesy
speeches it is. But I reserve the right to just tell
the monsters off if that seems like the better option.

	Now that that was settled, another point stuck in her
jaw. The arguments. If this guy was actually going to
be showing up in the middle of her fights on a regular
basis, she was going to have to deal with it. So, as
much as he had annoyed her, she would do her best to
be civil. He *was* trying to help people and fight
against the monsters.

	Once she came to these conclusions she smiled
proudly. 'That should get me some decent respect
around here,' she thought smugly. "And then maybe I
won't have to hear any more about being his
*sidekick*.' 

	She shuddered and entered her homeroom.

END CHAPTER ONE

=====
"No matter what the bible says, the battle always goes to
the strong. And I am strong. I don't need to prove that to
anyone anymore."
-Excerpt from Sainan no Kekka- Act Seven, Scene VII

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Quicksilver/
http://www.midnightrevolution.org/gundam

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