August 24th, 2006
A nippy evening breeze swept over the quiet neighborhood. The top of the trees bent slightly in the light draft. On the front porch of an inviting, coquet house, the wind flipped the pages of the yet-unread daily newspaper. In few minutes, one of the inhabitants of the house would come out and pick up the evening edition, then head back inside to enjoy a hot cup of tea.
“Live news from the center of Juban District! A terrifying monster is attacking the visitors of the city planetarium! Sailor Moon is on the scene and trying to subdue it, but—”
Michiru turned off the television.
“Let’s go! The planetarium is just minutes away!”
Haruka, her sandy blonde partner, and Setsuna, the green-haired guardian of Time, nodded in agreement. They rushed out the front door.
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Meanwhile, at the planetarium…
“Hey, you! Stopping people from watching the stars and learning about our solar system! Don’t you know how fascinating astronomy can be? That’s unforgivable! I, Sailor Moon—”
“—and Sailor Chibi Moon—”
“—will punish you, in the name of the Moon!”
“And we, the Sailor Team, will punish you as well!”
“Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho!” The monster turned on the Sailor Team. “Time for your astronomy quiz!” From each clawed hand, it produced two razor-sharp blades, aiming them at Sailor Moon. “Tell me the right answer, or else…” it sent the two blades towards one of the telescopes in the large hall; the machine was shattered into pieces. “Heigh-ho!”
“Whaa-aat!” Sailor Moon swallowed hard. “Okay…okay…” She gave Mercury a pleading look. “It’s just a small quiz, Ami-chan, right?”
“Don’t worry, Sailor Moon!” the blue-haired girl replied confidently. “We’ll beat this monster at its own game! Ask your question!” she dared the menacing creature.
“Heigh-ho!” From between its pointed claws, the monster produced a card. “Question one, heigh-ho! How many planets are there in the solar system!”
“That’s easy!” Mercury replied with a smile. “Nine! Nine planet—whoaaaa…!”
She barely dodged one of the blades that flew towards her. The second one pinned a corner of her skirt to the wall.
“Wrong! Heigh-ho!” The monster’s rage seemed to grow, as it produced another set of knives, and another card.
“That’s not wrong!” Mercury protested.
“Question two, heigh-ho! Which is the farthest planet from the Sun!”
“Even I know that one!” Sailor Chibi Moon gave a victorious grin. “It’s Pluto!”
The next second, four knives pinned her next to Mercury. The two Senshi gave each other confused, desperate looks.
“WRONG!” The monster tapped its hoofed foot on the floor, increasingly irritated. “Wrong, wrong, wrong!” It took out another card. “Question three—”
“Hold it right there!”
From behind the tall, wooden doors of the planetarium hall, three figures emerged.
“Haruka-san, Michiru-san, Setsuna-san!” The relief in Sailor Moon’s voice was evident.
The three older girls took out their transformation wands.
“Uranus Planet Power, Make Up!”
A wall of earth and stones rose around Haruka, and she stood tall as Sailor Uranus.
“Neptune Planet Power, Make Up!”
In a shower of ocean water, Michiru changed to Sailor Neptune. She stood proudly next to her partner.
“Pluto Planet Power, Make Up!”
A misty drizzle surrounded Setsuna, and as it cleared…
“…”
“…?...”
“…!...”
“Erm…Sailor Pluto…where are you?”
But the Senshi of Time had rushed to hide behind one of the massive stone pillars in the hall.
“I’m not coming out!”
With a look of concern, Uranus went around the column and came closer to the green-haired warrior.
“Are you alri—shimatta!”
She nearly jumped back in shock at first, but slowly, the corners of her mouth turned upwards.
“Uranus? What’s wrong with Pluto…?” came Sailor Moons tentative question.
“Ahem…” The sandy blonde fought to swallow her laughter. “Erm…she just… she feels a little different…”
Pluto’s utterly not amused voice came from behind the pillar.
“I think I’m getting a headache.”
“But Sailor Pluto…why won’t you come out? Tell us what’s wrong…” Sailor Moon pleaded.
“Yes, any small clue would help” Uranus added with a smirk.
“Uranus, cut it out! This is…this is a disaster!” Pluto’s voice held a note of madness.
“Now, now, let’s not blow this matter out of proportion…”
The monster decided to put an end to the interruption.
“Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho!”
“I hear you…” Pluto muttered under her breath.
“Err, Pluto…?” Sailor Moon looked to the stone column with uncertainty. “We really need everyone’s help to defeat this enemy…”
“This is serious” Uranus added, all traces of mirth gone from her tone. “You need to come out and fight with us.” After a second of thought, she added with a grin: “Don’t let the minute details get in the way…”
Pluto rolled her eyes in exasperation. She raised her gaze to meet her friend’s…and raised it higher, and higher…and higher…
“I suppose you’re right…” she eventually admitted with a long sigh. “Just…give me a minute.”
She swallowed hard and called out from behind the pillar.
“Small Lady…?”
Still pinned by the four knives, Chibi Moon turned her head towards the stone column.
“Yes, Puu…?”
“Do you think I could borrow one of your uniforms…?”
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Next day, at IAU, Prague…
The explosion blew away the front row of seats, and most of the eastern wall of the council room. Pieces of wood, paper and plastic floated through the air, and a small fire smoldered in the corner of the majestic room. Cowering under the few remaining chairs, the people inside watched the cause of all the damage with fearful eyes.
“Dead Scream!”
Another explosion took out the massive globe that stood at the front of the room. Wide-eyed, the people kept their horrified gazes fixed on the small figure that ransacked the headquarters of the IAU. About one meter tall, the raging person wielded—with some difficulty—a staff almost twice her size, sending balls of energy flying about the room. Her long, dark-green hair completely covered the back of her pink uniform, down to the heels of her pink boots. The attacker—who despite her small frame, seemed to hold the fire power of a whole fleet—looked down at her attire and winced in pain. Her ire seemed to grow.
“Dead Scream!”
Another attack destroyed some random rows of seats. Luckily, there had been no people hiding in that particular spot. The small warrior looked around her for a second, appraising the damage she had caused. She scowled at the astronomers who elbowed each other for a better spot under the debris-covered chairs. With one last gaze at the demolished room, she turned on her heels, and headed for the doors with a contented smirk. Right before vanishing in front of their eyes, she threw one last word over her shoulder.
“Heigh. Ho.”
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