As you all know, Sailor Moon and related characters don't belong to me. I'm just a poor fan. OPERATION END THIS STORY LINE By Cloretta Bailey Baileyct@ionet.net Episode 3: Operation New Moon Here's the buzz sailor fans: Rubeus has kidnapped Serena. Tuxedo Mask, the scouts and several others are trapped inside a negaverse cave. Can things get worse? Read on and find out. "Serena!" Tuxedo Mask leaped into the air after Rubeus. He was to late. The planetary warriors stared after their missing princess. Then the droids attacked. Tuxedo Mask charged into the fight, throwing five, ten roses at a time and welding his cane like a sword. He seemed determined to take his pain out on the droids. Mars was behaving in a similar fashion. Amy didn't hesitate. She transformed and froze a droid that looked like a human waterfall. It didn't take long to thaw, however. Mina and Leta glanced at the guys. "No choice. Venus Star Power!" "I guess not. Jupiter Star Power!' Ken watched them transform with a grin on his face. His best friend was Jupiter and he was dating Venus. "Cool." Joe looked around expecting Zoicite to appear. Andrew was a little numb from the evening's surprises or maybe from being clubbed by a caveman-like droid. Freddie didn't understand anything. Greg jumped on the back of a droid as it tried to blast Mercury. "Nobody messes with my girlfriend." Unfortunately, he didn't remember any battle tactics from his earlier life as a shadow warrior. His back protested when it slammed into the rock wall of the cave. Mercury rushed to his side. She was caught by Droid Hentai's chain whip. It had an electric charge. Mercury screamed in pain. Luna jumped on the droid. The droid flung her into the cave wall. Droid Mall Hopper chased Renie around intent on getting the crystal as the Luna ball bounced on it's head. Renie cried and released her energy beam. Tuxedo Mask leaped to her rescue but got a package bomb in the face. Joe joined the fight. He used his telekinetic powers to redirect the package bombs into the other droids. Artemis leaped on the back of the walking waterfall. He bit a hunk out of it, only to be knocked away by the water leak he created. A love chain saved him, but Venus needed to keep her attention on her two opponents. The first blast came from a green thing. It hit her in the back. She slammed into another wall. The second attack, coming from the caveman, was stalled by Ken and Andrew. They jumped on the caveman's back, but they could not subdue the droid. Mars was tangling with a droid dressed in a tuxedo and throwing dance steps. The plaster feet held an electric charge that hurt. Freddie could attest to that. The celestial fire melted the plaster but kept Mars busy. Jupiter's thunderclap smashed threw Droid Hentai's whip setting Mercury free. Jupiter then got hit by a surge of water from the waterfall. It didn't mix with Jupiter's lightning. She screamed and fell to the ground. Joe redirected the water away from Jupiter into the green thing and received a package bomb in the face. Mercury froze the waterfall again. Tuxedo Mask shattered it with 20 strategically placed roses. Renie jumped up and down. "You killed one." She spoke too soon. The shards melted creating hundreds of smaller versions of the waterfall. They ran around attacking everyone. Throughout the battle, the human warriors slowly gathered together. The 11 people and 2 cats were exhausted and out numbered. Joe could no longer effectively redirect the droid's attacks. Mercury's bubbles covered their retreat to another end of the cave. Mars carried Luna as the cat was unconscious. "Where's Sailor Moon?" Freddie asked. "We need her help." "You idiot. She was kidnapped," Ken replied. "We need an escape plan," said Andrew. "Freddie's right. We need Sailor Moon," Mercury said. "Renie, You'll have to be Sailor Moon." "How could she do that?" Tuxedo Mask asked. "She's Serena's daughter." "What!" A club crashed into the wall above Tuxedo Mask's head. "There is no time. They've found us," said Artemis. "Scouts use the forcefield." "The scepter will eliminate the droids," Mercury said. "It's up to you, Renie." The four scouts held hands and combined their powers, creating a forcefield in front of them. Clubs, water, plaster feet and the other attacks bounced off the forcefield, but the scouts wouldn't last long. They were weakening. "Why didn't they make a forcefield sooner?" asked Freddie. "They weren't together, you idiot." Andrew replied. "I'm tempted to hit you myself." Renie raised the crystal star locket and yelled "Moon Crystal Power," as she had seen Serena do at the temple. One moment she was wearing her grade school uniform; the next, she had lost her clothes and Sailor Moon's sailor suit appeared. The disks in her hair were the only difference in Renie's costume. They were not round as they were for Serena. The disks took on a triangular shape that fit her rabbit-eared hair style. "Enter Sailor Mini Moon." Once Mini Moon figured out how to produce the scepter, she was ready. Mars and Venus let her in between them. The fog had lifted and the droids were visible. "Moon Scepter Elimination." Nothing happened. She tried again. The second time, a tiny golden crescent moon zapped the closest droid. The green thing turned to dust; its negacrystal turned black. The other droids intensified their attacks. "This is taking too long," said Freddie. "Could you do better." Tuxedo Mask stooped down by Mini Moon and held the scepter lending her his support. "Try again. You can do it." "Moon scepTER ELIMINATION." The droids screamed and turned to dust. Except for the hundreds of waterfalls, they turned to vapor which fogged the cave again. The scouts collapsed in exhaustion. Floating Mirror in Blue Space Serena lay unconscious on a table in the spaceship's main room. Rubeus stood over her. He expected the Wiseman to arrive soon, but he wasn't sure if he would receive the reward he had been promised. He had captured the princess but lost the crystal. Still, he was alone with the beautiful princess. He caressed her arm up to the wound on her neck. Rubeus preferred his women awake, willing or not. She didn't seem to be waking. Oh well, he would enjoy it even with no response from the girl. Rubeus lowered the front of Serena's black dress. "There is no time for that. We have more important things to do." Rubeus jumped to attention. He wanted to kill the Wiseman for his interference, but didn't reveal his feelings. "What is your plan, Wiseman?" "Did you get the crystal?" "She threw it away. The rabbit has it." The Wiseman's eyes glowed. They fired a blot of energy that missed Rubeus by a centimeter and smashed into the last remaining mirror. Rubeus' eyes became dots. "Let that be a warning. I would hate to replace you, Rubeus. Your evil is exactly what I need to complete my plan." "Thank you, Wiseman." "Do you want your reward for bringing me the princess." "What is my reward?" "You get to be the donor." Commercial Break Andrew jerked the mask from Darien's face. "You needed your tuxedo, I see." "Look's like," Darien replied dejectedly. The last few minutes of silence had given him time to reflect on the events leading to Serena's capture. His conclusion was, "It's all my fault." "What is?" Darien looked at his friend. Tears slid down his cheeks. "Serena would never have been with Rubeus if I hadn't jilted her." Sailor Mini Moon began to cry silently and crawled in Darien's lap. "You were dating Serena? How come you never told me?" Andrew's surprise turned to anger. "How long has this been going on?" "A thousand years," said Mars. She and the other scouts slowly picked themselves up off the ground. Darien clenched his fist. "If that red-haired reject from a gypsy caravan harms a meatball on her head--" "You'll What?" Jupiter countered. "Teach him how to break her heart instead?" Venus created a love chain that formed into a noose. "My love chain says otherwise." "Hanging him with a love chain. Isn't that an oxymoron?" Freddie asked. Venus imagined hanging Freddie instead. A mini Freddie with a noose around his neck appeared next to her head. As the noose got tighter, the mini Freddie's eyes popped out and his head exploded. Venus giggled. "We can't hang Tux boy without a tree." Mercury surveyed the cave with her visor. "The cave is similar to the one Zoicite and Malachite created." "Who are they?" Freddie asked. Mars looked down her nose at him. "Who are you?" "THAT is Freddie," Venus said. "With the famed hair?" Mars looked him over. "That is not hair. He has a tribble glued to his head." A sweat drop appeared on Jupiter's head. "My taste in men has improved." "It had to; it couldn't get worse." "He did me a favor. If he hadn't jilted me, I wouldn't have gotten into all those fights and been forced to transfer to Crossroads Jr. High. I wouldn't have learned my true identity." Venus glanced at Freddie. "You blew your chance at having the love of a warrior princess." "How was I supposed to know that? Her name's Leta; not Xena." "Did anyone get the name of that maniac?" Luna tried to stand but didn't have the strength. The scouts knelt down by the injured cat. "Luna, you're awake." "Are you okay?" "Now I know how a baseball feels." "That cat talked," exclaimed Freddie. "So did the other one," Ken said. "Were you too stupid to notice?" Freddie started to call Ken out for that remark but thought better of it. He had already been beaten up too much for one night. "Darien, why did that guy call you a prince?" Andrew asked. Darien didn't answer. He was lost in his own world of self incriminations. Instead, Artemis said, "He was a prince of Earth in a former life." Andrew had more questions. Artemis found himself explaining about the Moon Kingdom and everyone's role's in it. As well as the kingdom's destruction. Down to their rebirths on Earth. Andrew and the other guys were entranced with the story. "So that's why that strawberry-blond bimbo, Zoicite, was after me," Greg said. "I was a negaverse monster." Artemis further explained about the seven shadows, the rainbow crystals and their relationship to the most powerful crystal in the universe, the Silver Imperial Crystal. Andrew was shocked to learn his girlfriend had been a rainbow crystal carrier. To Joe, however, it made sense. "At least now I know why Leta decided she didn't want anything to do with me. I thought the bimbo scared her off." "Zoicite could never scare me off. It was a little unsettling, however, to see a guy I liked turn into a horrible red monster trying to kill me. Then I met Andrew and had a crush on him for awhile." Jupiter's admission bewildered Andrew and embarrassed her. "I'm over it." "If you felt that way, why did you encourage me to date Greg?" "That was different." "It was not." "It was too. It was YOU." Venus got a conspiratorial look in her eyes. "Joe, do you have a girlfriend?" Ken looked disgruntled and prepared to fight for Mina. Joe swallowed hard. He glanced around. The cave had no posted exits. No exits at all. "Not at the moment, but I can find one." Venus pushed Jupiter toward Joe. "Leta's free." Ken started to breathe again. Jupiter blushed giving her reddish-brown hair a more auburn appearance. "Venus!" "Turn about is fair play, friend of mine." "Fixing you up with Ken was Serena's idea." "Meatball Head." The mention of Serena's name drew Darien from his semi-catatonic state. "I have to save her." Darien stood and looked around the dark cave. "I've got to get out of here." Mars turned his direction. "Oh yeah, I was planning to see how flame retardant that cape was." "I can create another noose," Venus suggested. "We still need to get out of here first," Mercury added. "Then we find a tree and hang him." She started analyzing the cave with her visor and mini computer again. "Arguing among yourselves isn't helping Serena," Andrew said. "We're not arguing." "We are in perfect accord." "Darien is paying for this." "You promised Serena you wouldn't hurt him," said Sailor Mini Moon. "Why a red-head? She could have used any guy to make me jealous." "She wasn't trying to make you jealous." "Then what was that stuff about her marrying a red-head?" "Serena thinks she has to marry a red-head because Renie's hair is pink." "Oh. . . right. That makes a lot of sense. And because I wear a tuxedo and a mask, I am a phantom who lives below the Paris opera house." "You do?" Freddie said. "Does this have something to do with your belief that Serena is Renie's mother." "All the evidence indicates that she is." Artemis relayed the details as Serena had told them at the temple. "She's not my Mommy. My Mommy is perfect." "Serena's perfect to me," Darien replied. "I knew you still loved her," Luna said. "Why did you jilt her?" "Rubeus tricked me." Darien described his nightmares in horrifying detail. "He even gloated about it. I bet that red-hair comes from a bottle." "If Serena was in danger, we needed to know," said Venus. "Real intelligent, cape boy." Mars, in an angry fit, released a celestial fire into the cave wall. Mercury scanned that part of the wall. "Mars, you've just weakened the molecular structure of the wall. It's only 5% weaker but it's a start." "We blast our way out?" Jupiter asked. "Exactly," Mercury replied then groaned. She scanned the area again. "The weakness is gone." "Amy," Greg said. "How did you get out of the other cave?" "Sailor Moon," Mercury looked at the pink-haired child. "Renie can't do it. You saw how much trouble she had with the droids." "I can too." "I don't mean for her to do it alone. But I think we can make a plan. Come on." He dragged Mercury away from the others to plan a strategy in peace. * * * * * * Yellow. Nothing but yellow. As far as the eye could see. Serena saw so much yellow she wasn't sure she would ever like the color again. She kept telling herself that someone else had to be there somewhere. After walking for what seemed like hours she had found nothing. She had tripped twice but found nothing. There had to be something out there somewhere, so Serena kept walking. Rubeus and the Wiseman surveyed their unconscious captive. Serena was encased inside a large crystal orb. She seemed to be suspended in a gray liquid. "What do we do with her when the process is over?" Rubeus asked. "I will have no more use for her. Dispose of her." Rubeus had other plans for the princess. "How long will the process take?" "About three weeks. The aging liquid isn't accurate, however, it may take longer. I want that crystal by then." "Yes, Wiseman. The droids should have the crystal by now. Without Sailor Moon, the scouts could not win a battle. I will go and retrieve it." Rubeus looked around the room for an exit. "I will go as soon as I obtain a new mirror so I will have an exit." Commercial Break "I still don't get the red-head," Darien said while they were waiting for Mercury and Greg to complete their escape plan. Luna explained why Serena thought Renie's father had red hair. "My daddy doesn't have red hair." Darien and the scouts, minus Mercury, looked at each other. "What does your father's hair look like?" Mini Moon gazed at Darien. "Your hair looks like my Daddy's." The scouts slapped their heads and fell over. Freddie got an enticing look up their skirts. Ken slugged him. The bruise that appeared around his eye matched the color of his hair. Darien held Mini Moon in his arms. "What are your parents' names?" "Mommy and Daddy." He tried again. "What does everyone call them?" "Your majesty." Let's try it like this. "What does you Mommy call your Daddy?" "Darling." One more time. "What does your Daddy call your Mommy?" "Bubble Head." Darien dropped his head is defeat. "Anyone got an aspirin?" Mercury and Greg returned to find the scouts still on the ground. "What's wrong with them?" Venus looked up at them then dropped her head back down. "Darien is Renie's father." Mercury slapped her head and joined her friends on the ground. "Oh . . . come on," said Andrew. "Serena and Darien are not this kid's parents. They're not old enough." "I'm from the future." Andrew rubbed his eyes. It was his turn to need an aspirin. He shouldn't have been surprised by Renie. He had been right. She was one strange kid. He doubted if anything she did would surprise him again. "You do know what your parents look like?" "Of course." "Does Serena look like your mother?" "Well. . . maybe. If she had wings on her back and a crescent moon on her forehead." Jupiter set up. "That sounds like Queen Serenity. What kind of wings?" "They look like the wings of an angel." "Queen Serenity had fairy wings," Luna said. The scouts shook their heads. "It's Serena." "Oh no!" "Luna?" "Serena doesn't remember loving Darien." The scouts bowed their heads. "This is not a good day." "You said it sister." "You can't blame me," Luna exclaimed. "All of you went along with it, even Artemis." "It seemed like a good idea at the time," he said. "What idea?" Mini Moon asked. "I used the Luna Mind-Meld to make Serena forget she loved Darien." His face lost all color, so Luna quickly added, "It was her idea." Darien looked bleakly around him. "I truly screwed up." The scouts agreed with him. "Does anyone want some good news," Greg interjected. "Amy and I think we have a way out of here." His plan was simple. Joe, however, wasn't sure if he was strong enough to complete his end of the task. "You had better," said Freddie. "I want out of here. Have I got a story to tell." Jupiter smiled. "You tell anyone about us. You die." "And your body will never be found," Mars added. Freddie swallowed hard. "Tell what?" "Can't trust him," Darien said. "Give him a dose of the Luna Mind-Meld." "I'm still a little shaky." "Artemis, can't you do it," Venus asked. "There is a reason it's called the LUNA Mind-Meld." Luna said she would do it. Freddie started backing away. "Wait a second." Ken and Joe grabbed him. "Better make it fast." Freddie struggled. "I won't tell." Joe slugged him. Freddie slumped to the ground unconscious. "Had to oblige him. He was begging for another black-eye to match the one Ken gave him." "He isn't the only one who doesn't need to remember these events," said Artemis. "Don't look at me," Greg replied. "I knew before." "I won't tell. I think it's cool." Ken said. Joe glanced at Jupiter and arched an eyebrow. "Lighting storms are beautiful." She blushed. "Are you busy tomorrow night?" he asked. "She's busy until we save Serena," Mars replied. "I'm free afterwards." "Can we get on with this?" Darien said. Andrew returned his mask. "I'm mad at you for not telling me any of this, but I won't tell either. I owe the scouts. They saved Rita, twice." While Luna erased Freddie's memory, the warriors started blasting their way out of the cave. First, Tuxedo Mask created an arc pattern in the wall with several roses. Then he and the scouts blasted along the pattern until a gap in the wall appeared. The result was a boulder separate from the rest of the wall Beyond this boulder, Joe could see the dawn sky. Venus encircled the boulder with a love chain. She, Artemis, and the guys pulled on the chain while Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Mini Moon continued to blast the gap to prevent its closing prematurely. Mercury had estimated that a hole in the wall at least eight feet tall would be required to insure everyone could escape before the opening closed itself. A boulder that size weighted at least two tons which was why Joe's telekinetic powers were crucial to their escape. Though he pulled mentally, the boulder had barely budged after ten minutes. When Luna completed the Mind-Meld, she and Freddie joined the tug-of-war. But still the boulder resisted. Commercial Break The scouts began to weaken. The gap began to close. Rubeus returned and blasted them scattering the scouts. Joe saw Jupiter crash into the opposite wall. The veins on his neck stood out. He focused on the boulder and concentrated. The boulder lifted. It slammed into the floating Rubeus penning him to the ground. Ken's eyes became dots. "You sure your name's not Luke Skywalker?" While Rubeus struggled to remove the weight off himself, everyone ran for the exit. Outside, they were greeted by a bright day, many people, a TV news crew and newspaper reporter Nancy Bargis. Everyone, except Freddie, retreated to the entrance of the cave. The sailor teleport was their only escape. Nancy Bargis reached Freddie before the news crew. Who were the sailor scouts fighting? He didn't know. How did the huge rock with a cave inside get there? He didn't know. His own name? He didn't know. Commercial Break Large tasks may seem impossible. Break them down into several smaller more obtainable tasks. With careful planning and proper use of your resources, you too can move boulders. SAILOR SCOUTS SAY (Sailor Moon is still unavailable for comment) Eye winks and giggles.