The Legend of Zerena - Chapter 1 by Ari --------------------------------------------------------------------- THE LEGEND OF ZERENA Disclaimers: All mandatory disclaimers apply to Naoko Taeuchi for Sai- lor Moon and Nintendo of America's Shigeru Miyamoto for The Legend of Zelda. For those of you familiar with the Zelda series, then the general sto- ryline will be similar to that of the game "A Link to the Past," set in Japan 1998-1999. This is a standalone; Owen (from Dark on the Outside) isn't in this series. But Reenie, Alex/Hakura, and Michelle/Michiru are. Enjoy, people! =====CHAPTER 1: THE LEGEND===== No one could believe it. One moment, she was with them, but it was the last time they'd see her. Who could've seen it coming? Everyone felt like some part of them was stolen. A piece of all their souls. Everyone else was assembled in the Darien's apart- ment: Serena, Darien, Raye, Mina, Lita, Amy, Reenie, and Alex. Only, where was Michelle? That was the $64,000 question. Everyone was tak- ing her disappearance very hard. Especially Alex. Her only love had been kidnapped and her kidnapper had disappeared out of site. All of his pent up frustration would unload on him like a broken dam if he found the guy who did this to her. "What happened to her?!" Alex half-asked-half-screamed. "Alex you're gonna have to calm down," Raye said. "We can't make any moves now. We don't have any leads or clues!" "Maybe we do, Raye," Darien said as he folded up and put away the newspaper. "Remember when that old man moved in across the street from here?" "You mean, that guy that dresses in those funny robes and is all gothic and crap, Aggy...or whatever his name is?" Serena asked. "Agahnim," he corrected. "Ever since he moved in, some strange stuff has been going on. The cops have been acting strange, there's been more disasters - fires, murders, accidents - and Michelle's recent disappearance, it could all point right to him." "Whoever did this," Alex started "should beg God to take his soul...because his ass belongs to me." "Well," Luna started. "I'm stumped. I don't know what could be the cause of her disappearance." "You know," Alex said. "This reminds me of a legend I've heard of, the more I think of it." "What legend?" Lita asked. "A legend about a golden power! The Triforce!" "The what?" Darien asked. "I'll tell you." A long time ago, in another world, there was an omnipotent and all-knowing power known as the Golden Power. That's its proper name. The Triforce was made of three gold triangles, each embodying a differ- ent quality: power, wisdom, and courage. The world it was found in was named the Golden Land by those who sought it out. In the kingdom of Hyrule, Gannodorf Dragmire, leader of a visc- ious band of thieves, took his men to the Golden Land to seek the po- wer. But when they entered, they noticed something...unusual. The Golden Land turned outsiders that intruded into beings that reflected their hearts. Gannodorf was hence changed into a hideous half human- half black boar. His men were changed in similar fashions. When even- tually they found the Triforce, he hastily extinguished his followers for control of it. Whoever controls the Triforce would be granted one wish. And since the former owner had perished a long time ago, it waited patient- ly for a new owner. You see, the Triforce was only as good or evil as the owner. It granted the one wish that was in the heart and mind of the finder. And since Ganon was so evil.... The very moment Ganon touched the Triforce, the Golden land be- came a decrepid, disgusting, horrid shadow of its former self. Evil reigned supreme. Thus, the Golden Land would be known as the Dark World. During a time period called the Imprisoning War, and when the King learned of this, he ordered the gate to the Golden Land closed. He ordered seven wise men to seal it. Forever. But there was a little snag in the plan. See, since Ganon's wish was to rule the entire uni- verse - thus spawning the Dark World - he launched his army of evil through the gate and into the Light World - as the land outside the Golden Land was called. The Knights of Hyrule fought the evil beings powered by the Triforce right at the palace gate. The Master Sword, the one weapon that could destroy the evil one, was forged at this time, but no one was skilled enough to wield it. As the day drew to a close, the seven wise men finally sealed the Golden Land off. With their power lost, the evil ones deserted. With the kingdom saved, these events faded from people's memories over time. Ganon and the Triforce, however, were locked away in the Dark World. And Ganon was totally pissed. The only thing he was concerned about was finding a way to get revenge on those who defeated him and claim total power. Century after century passed and Ganon and the Triforce had not been seen since. But then, plague, droughts, quakes, and fire haunted the land. The king was desperate for help and a wizard named Agahnim volunteered his services. In time, he became a rather big wheel, but kept his true intentions to himself. A short-lived golden age soon followed. But of course, absolute power corrupts absolutely. By the time Agahnim appeared, the seven wise men's bloodline had thinned down to just seven maidens; the only descendents. He intended to break the seal to the Dark World, and the seven maidens were the key. Among the descendents was the Princess Zelda. One by one, the other six ladies were sealed in giant crystals and sent off to the Dark World. With each disappearing maiden, the seal cracked slightly. On the eve of Zelda's similar fate, she sent out a telepathic message to everyone in the land. She knew the true hero would recieve the message and foil the wizard's plan. One young man answered the call. His name was Link. Using an emergency exit from outside the castle, Link eventual- ly made his way into the castle, into the dungeon, and rescued Zelda. They made their way out a secret pathway into a sanctuary just north of the castle. From there, guided by another descended of the wise men, he claimed the Pendants of Courage - from the palace in the East - the Pendant of Power - from the Desert Palace - and the Pendant of Wisdom - from a tower high on Death Mountain. With the three pendants, he then claimed the Master Sword from the depths of the Lost Woods. Battling his way up the Hyrule Castle tower, he met the dark wizard Agahnim, and defeated him with his own magic. But the last laugh would be on Link, for he was cast into the Dark World with Agah- nihm's last breath. But he ventured all over the land - a mirrored, yet dark version of his home land - to save the missing girls and Zel- da herself. The girls, sealed in their crystal prisons, were hidden in elaborate dungeons guarded by hideous monsters. But Link eventually rescued all seven of them, and met first Agahnim *again* in Ganon's to- wer atop Death Mountain, and from there, Ganon himself deep inside the pyramid. "Not his trident, not flaming bats, not even hiding in darkness could protect Ganon from Link's secret weapon: enchanted silver arrows which - after a cut from the Master Sword - vaporized his light blue, paralyzed form in an instant. From there, Link claimed the Triforce for himself, wishing for everything to return to what it was before Ga- non tried to rule the entire universe." As Alex finished telling the legend, she noticed everyone else was hanging on her every word. "A rather tall tale," Artemis started, "but it's the closest thing to a lead we have." "But what if this thing is for real?" Raye started. "I mean, sure the Negaverse is gone, hell there was nothing left of them, but it wouldn't be the end. There would come others." "Raye's right," Luna said. "Something else can and will try to destroy us again. Any suggestions?" "I guess the only thing we CAN do is just watch each other's backs," Serena said. "We shouldn't worry too much until, say, another one of us disappears. Until then, we should wait another day to talk about this." Everyone agreed on this, and left Darien's appartment and went their separate ways. ALEX'S HOUSE As Alex pulled into her driveway and stepped out of her car, she was approached by a homeless man. He was dirty, his clothes were stained and stunk out loud, and his hair was hanging in his face and ripe with mange. She just looked at him with a confused look on her face and managed to get out "Can I help you?" "Can you spare some change please?" the bum asked. "Oh, sorry, I'm all out," Alex responded and walked away. But she only took a few steps before he stopped her again. "Wait!" he said as he faced the tall woman. "At least, let me help you!" "How can YOU help ME?" "You're obviously heartbroken, aren't you?" "Well, yeah," she said, "my...friend was kidnapped yesterday and she hasn't been seen since." "Oh, don't worry, Sailor Uranus. You two will be together a- gain soon." "What did you call me?!" she asked. Before she knew it, the bum had transformed into a giant demon with a very long tail, wearing a huge, blue, iron mask. Acting on instinct, Alex quickly transformed into Sailor Uranus. "WHERE IS MICHELLE?!?" she shouted. "YOU *DARE* RAISE YOUR VOICE TO THE MIGHTY HELMASAUR KING?!?" the monster shouted. His tail then whipped around his body and knocked her transformation pen - which she had still been holding - out of her hand. Then, the Helmasaur King whipped his tail around again, only it wrapped itself several times around her, and the two then disappeared. When Sailor Uranus awoke some time later, she found herself in a very bad situation. She was in a cold, dark dungeon, with very lit- tle light shining in from a crack in a wall. When she tried to move her arms, she saw energy bands binding her arms. She looked around her cell for any signs of life. She saw that she wasn't alone in there. She found out what happened to Sailor Neptune. "Michelle!" she shouted. "Alex!" Michelle sobbed. "Oh, am I so glad to see you!" She tried to hug her, but her hands were bonded in similar fashion. "We have to find a way out of here. The others are in trouble!" "Why?" "Some guy named Agahnim plans to use the Scouts to open the way to some...golden land. Once that happens, the entire universe is doomed! At least that's what Kholdstare told me." "Who?" "He was the one who captured me. I lost my transformation pen too." "And some one-man freak show name the Helma...something King caught me." Both girls were deeply worried. What happens if they can't rescue us?" "Let's just pray they can." At that, a very depressing thought crossed Alex's mind. So the legend is coming true. =====TO BE CONTINUED=====