Ari SAILOR MOON 2050 Disclaimers: You know who Sailor Moon belongs too. Author's note: By the way, since I don't know the Starlights' American names, I am naming them as follows: Yaten = Duncan Seiya = Steve Taiki = Trey Thank you for your patronage. =====PROLOGUE===== THE YEAR 2000 6:00 P.M. ON JUNE 6 Dead. All dead. That was the scene at the base of Tokyo Tower. The area was littered with the bloody, bruised, and broken bodies of the Sailor Scouts, as well as those of interdimensional beings. In one particular part, the smoldering bodies of Pharaoh 90 and Rubeus lay near Sailor Mars, her hands still in the same position she had them in for her most powerful fire attack. In another area, Sailor Chibi-Moon lay dead by a group of youma, while StarFighter, StarHealer, and StarMaker - what was left of them - lay near a pile of Iron Mouse. See, the battle was go- ing fine when it was contained within the Negaverse. However, when a blast sent everyone into the real world, well, that's when things went south. One by one, Sailor Scout and Negaverse servant alike dropped like flies. Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask and Queen Beryl were the last three to survive the battle. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, battered ba- dly and seriously injured, focused all their remaining energy into an attack just powerful enough to vaporize the Queen...and Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask collapsed to the ground, dead. Just like the rest. After the last fighters died, people gathered all around to survey the wreckage. Including relatives of Serena, Amy, and Raye. It didn't take long for their real identities to be revealed. Upon disco- vering Sailor Moon and Serena were one in the same, her mother cried uncontrollably, while her father just stared at her dead body in shock. Sammy couldn't even bear to look at her. When Chad discovered Sailor Mars' - rather, Raye's - body, he stared into her closed eyes. After he gently traced a finger over her cheek, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his switchblade...which was promptly kicked out of his hand by Raye's grandfather. While Dr. Andeson sobbed and mumbled incoherently, Molly took Serena's death surprisingly well. Of course she was heartbroken, but their seemingly drifting friendship and the similarities between the two personalities. Knowing that she should've been used to risking her life on what could've been a daily basis, she could only ask God to take care of her and her friends in the next life. If anyone took their deaths hard, it was Luna and Artemis. The sight of the Sailor Scouts, those that they had watched over since the first time they transformed, was far too much for them to bear. When there wasn't anyone that would notice them, Luna let the tears flow like a river. "I can't believe it," Luna got out between sobs. "She was so young." "I feel for you, Luna," Artemis said, fighting back some of his own tears. "The only thing I can see that's somewhat good news, is that the Negaverse will never attack Earth again." He and Luna could only exchange saddened glances. "I know what you are getting at," she said, "but it's just...it is a shame that the great Sailor Scouts will never be seen again. Luna only became saddened deeper as she looked at Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, laying dead on the ground, hand in hand. ?????????? White. This is all the eye could behold at this point. Everything was white. As their vision cleared, they soon gained their bearings. They looked and saw they were wearing all white; Darien, Duncan, Steve, and Trey were dressed in white suits, while the girls were dressed in bil- lowy white gowns. They saw that beyond a set of gates made of solid gold, stood an enormous temple. They discovered where they were. They were a breath away from entering heaven. Duncan was the first to speak. "Where are we?" Raye turned and looked at the gates. "What is this, the gates to Graceland?" "In a way, it is." Everyone turned in shock at where the voice was coming from. There was another gentleman standing at the gates, also wearing a white suit. They all reacted at once. "Nephlite?" "That's me," he said. He then waved his hand, and the gates swung open slowly. "Welcome to heaven. Make yourselves at home." Two hours had passed and the group had seen only the first sec- tion of heaven, if you will. They had assembled in the main room of the temple standing just beyond the gates. Nephlite, as they learned, made it to the Holy Land when he had learned to love Molly more than five years ago. He was made the gatekeeper, and was given the task of watching over the Sailor Scouts. "Here's something interesting you may want to know," Nephlite explained. "Whenever someone that influences the Earth so much, and dies before their time comes - such as yourselves - history must be al- tered accordingly. And I get all the details." He paced around in a circle as he finished. "I have seen the future." "What is it like?" Darien asked. "When you died fighting the Negaverse for the last time, the Negaverse was silenced...just like Sailor Moon. But don't think that that would be the last of them. Fifty years from now, they will re- group and attack. But this time, it will be totally different. It'll happen not in Japan, but in the United States." "I see," Serena said. "But there are some similarities. We have estimated that they will attack in a region known to the Americans as the Delaware Valley; that is, the state of Delaware, southern New Jersey, and eastern Penn- sylvania. It is also going to have some connection with the city of Philadelphia." "Then what?" Amy asked. "When the time comes, you will each choose one person to re- cieve the powers that you once held. They will be the next generation of Sailor Scouts. Of course, four of the chosen ones will be males, however don't be surprised that, oh, a female bears the powers of Star- Healer, for example, *or* one of the other Scouts to be a young man." At this, Nephlite walked away. "What about Luna and Artemis?" Mina asked. Their guardian cats were the only ones of the group that hadn't died with the rest of them. "They will eventually find their way to America. And will serve the new Sailor Scouts as they did you." "But how will we know who to choose?" Lita asked. Nephlite slowly faded away. "You'll know, friends. You'll know." He faded completely away. At that, there was nothing for them to do, except wait. Wait for 50 years. THE YEAR 2050 "If you want, I can explain it to you again, Serena - er, Saint Serena," Nephlite said. In the fifty years they had spent searching for the appropriate humans to be the new Sailor Scouts, they had been granted sainthood. "Yes please," Saint Serena said. "I'm sorry, but I just want to get it right; I don't wanna screw anything up." "Relax, Serena," Saint Darien said, putting a hand on a shoul- der. "Nephlie wouldn't let you screw anything up." "Right," Nephlite said with a smile and a laugh. "So now that you have learned who will be the new Scouts, they must first come up here to recieve their powers." "Is that where these letters come in?" Saint Lita asked. "Precisely. I have everything set up so that when they get to the appointed location, they will come up here. You will be their in- dividual guardian; their mentor." "What about the cats?" Saint Mina asked. "Well, the day after you died, their souls were sealed away and were transported to New Jersey. Just as they have watched over and ad- vised you in your lives, so too will they look after them." He led the group to a parting in the clouds. "And now, all we have to do is wait." EUROPA HIGH SCHOOL, BELMAWR, NEW JERSEY 1:45 P.M. EASTERN TIME The modified bell echoed through the halls of Europa High School, as another day came to a close. But it wasn't over. Not for Robert Berger, though. It was mid-January, and that meant another grueling two hours of wrestling practice. It was worth it, though. As Varsity heavyweight, and co-captain of the Europa Mustangs wrestling team, he lead the team to a 10-4 record; the best the school has had since 2020. Thirty years. That was quite an accomplishment. As he went to open his locker, he was surprised by his best friend, Tom Zylan, slapping him on the back. "Hey, Rob!" Tom said. "How's it going?" No matter what hap- pened, Tom was always so jubilant. He was the voice of the Mustangs, the anouncer at all the home football, wrestling, and basketball games. He and Robert had been friends since anyone in Belmawr could remember, and they were nearly inseparable. "Eh, same old same old," Robert started. "Wake up, survive a- nother day through this school, go now to wrestling practice, get what I'm saying?" "Sure do. Shouldn't you get to practice, by the way?" "Guess I should. And shouldn't you get to the trainer's office soon? Flynn will get mad again." "Alright." Tom walked off. "Break a leg, man!" "Hey, back off!" By the time he looked for a responce from his joke, he had disappeared into the overcrowded hallway. Oh well. He opened up his locker and found a strange note float down to his feet as the door swung open. He looked at the note: it was taped up, with a gold crescent moon on it. Robert reluctantly opened it, and it read as follows: URGENT! Meet me at the 50-yard line tonight at 9:00. Come alone and don't tell ANYONE! Look for two cats. I swear it will be worth your while. Deciding to humor whatever fool wrote this note, he said to himself okay, I'll go, folded the note up and headed to practice. On another end of the building, another one would recieve the same note. This time, Vicki Packer, a basketball statkeeper, would be reading the same note, except hers had a symbol of the planet Mars - which she recognized from a book of myths - holding it shut. If she didn't hurry, she'd be late for tonight's game. ROGERS MEMORIAL STADIUM 9:00 P.M. The lights were out in the stadium dedicated to a former ath- letic director. Robert made his way through the gate, and walked out to the 50-yard line. There was still enough light, though, from sur- rounding buildings, and noticed four other figures there. "Tom?!" "Robert?!" Tom was in shock as much as Robert as they met face to face on the field. As if that wasn't enough, Vicki Parker, Nina Lopez, and Jessica Michael were also there. "What're you people doing here?!" "We had all got these strange notes," Nina explained, pulling out a strange note, the symbol of the planet Jupiter torn in half where it was opened. "You got one of those too?" Jessica said, holding a similar note, bearing a symbol of Mercury ripped in half. "Me too!" Robert, and later Tom, showed their notes; Rob's bore a crescent moon, Tom's had the symbol of Venus. "Alright," Tom started. "Who sent these letters? Was it you Vicki?" "Wasn't me!" she retorted. "Me either," said Jessica. Soon, accusastions were flying all over. Then, Robert stopped the argument. "Okay, if none of us sent the notes, then...who did?" Everyone stopped and fell silent. But then, the loud of the lights be- ing turned on turned everyone's attention to the stands. And two small cats - one black, one white, with a strange mark on their foreheads. "I...guess those are the two cats we were supposed to look for?" Tom asked. Apparently, knowing what they were saying, the cats nodded in agreement. "D-did they just nod?" Robert asked. After he said that, the marks on their heads started to glow. Then, they glowed brighter and fired off into the night sky, to everyone's shock. After the beams re- ceded, a giant column of light engulfed Robert, and he disappeared. Soon after, the others suffered the same fate, at the exact same time. HEAVEN, A MOMENT LATER Things were getting wierder by the minute for Robert, Vicki, Jessica, Tom, and Nina. First, they were in the middle of the football field, then they were drowned in a bright light, now this? "Alright," Tom started. "Where are we? I...feel like I've li- terally died and gone to heaven!" "Gone to heaven, yes. Died, no." Everyone turned around to where the voice was coming from. But they turned and saw the inner wall of a temple, light pouring in from the stained-glass windwos. "Over here." This time when they turned a- round, the scene was the same, but five women wearing flowing white gowns and different hair styles stood before them. "Welcome, chosen ones," the first, hair done up in two balls with long tails flowing from them, said. "Who are you?" Robert asked. "I am Saint Serena. We are the Sailor Scouts, at least...we were," she said. "What do you mean 'were'?" Nina asked. "Allow us to explain," the one with the long, black hair said. "It was the year 2000. The Chinese government collapsed, and a new de- mocracy emerged from the ashes. Puerto Rico was finally admitted as the 51st state of the United States. A supposed super computer virus, commonly known as the Y2K bug, was no more than a mere joke played by Bill Gates. And the Sailor Scouts waged their final battle against the Negaverse." "The Negavese?" Vicki asked. "By the way, I am Saint Raye. Sit down, friends. This will take a while." After a time, the five had learned a lot about the past with regards to the Sailor Scouts, their battles with the Negaverse, and the names of the other ladies: the one with the blue hair was Saint Amy; the brown-ponytailed one was Saint Lita; and Saint Mina had long blond hair with a red bow in it. "So, if there are about a dozen Scouts in existance," Jessica asked, "why have only we 5 been summoned?" "When the time comes," Saint Serena said, "the others will be called to assist you. We have confidence that you can handle the prob- lems that that the Negaverse will throw at you." She stepped forward. "And now, the time has come for you to recieve your powers." Lita was the first to speak. "Nina," the saint started. "You have such self-confidence and determination that I have not seen since I wore this uniform. You are hereby given the powers of Sailor Jupi- ter. Recieve them now!" Saint Lita stretched her hands out to her, generating a glowing green lightling bolt. The next thing she knew, Nina was wearing the uniform of Sailor Jupiter. Next, there was Saint Amy. "Jessica, every great team needs a brilliant mind such as yours. Your intelligence will be a great asset to the Sailor Scouts. Here now, are the powers of Sailor Mercury. Please take them." A giant bubble formed around her, and when it popped, Jessica was wearing the blue and light blue uniform of Sailor Mercury. "Vicki," Saint Raye started. "I can tell by your strong inde- pendent nature and individuality that you will bear the powers of Sai- lor Mars proudly. Make me proud Vicki!" Vicki became engulfed in a bright wall of fire, and then found herself wearing the Sailor Mars uniform. It never looked better. When Saint Mina started to talk, she met some protest from Tom. "Before you start, may I say something?" he asked, obviously troubled. "I know what I'm getting in to, and I don't know about Robert, but a mini-skirt is not going to look too good on me. Get my point?" "I figured you would be troubled by this," Saint Lita said. "So you will still be Sailor Venus, with a uniform that's more...your size." Tom was engulfed in a bright orange light, and found himself wearing a different set of clothes. The outfit had the similar design, only it consisted of a sleeveless white shirt, with two Denver Broncos logos crossed in an "X" fashion on the chest. He was wearing blue pants, and orange and white basketball shoes. Also, in place of a sai- lor's scarf, he was wearing gold shoulderpads. His gloves covered only his hands and were missing the fingers. The tiara was replaced with a gold headband. "And then there is you, Robert," Saint Serena started. "The o- thers have chose the new scouts - and knight, Tom - within the past six months. You, on the other hand, I have watched since your birth. I've seen what you have had to suffer in your life: the abuse, the stress, all of your hardships...anyone else would've committed suicide or been reduced to drugs by this age but YOU, you are something special. There is no one else I would have representing the moon then you. I am proud to name you the sailor knight Sailor Moon, the leader of the Sailors." The transformation began. Robert was swamped in light, and when it receded, he was wearing something totally different. He had the sleeveless white shirt, but two red lightning bolts were crossed in an "X" style, like Tom's. His pants were a deeper shade of blue, and he was wearing blood red cowboy boots, complete with gold spurs. His gloves were white and padded, sans fingers as well. In place of a tia- ra, he had a gold bandanna tied in a knot, the ends of it hanging on his armor, a deep shade of metallic blue. "There's one more thing to take care of," she said, causing four gold sticks, each with a star on top and had they symbol relating to each planet. "These are your transformation sticks. When your are needed, hold it up and call out your planet name, followed by 'Star Power'. "But where's mine?" Robert asked. As he said that, a gold watch appeared and hovered in front of him. "Contrary to the broach I used to wear, you, Robert, will call your powers via this watch. To use it, call out 'Moon Crystal Power.'" Robert picked up the watch, and slid it onto his left wrist. A perfect fit. "I am deeply impressed, I might say," Nephlite said, as he en- tered on the other side of the chamber. Sure, two were male, but the face could not be denied. Sailor Moon is back. =====TO BE CONTINUED=====