Sailor Moon found herself falling painfully to the ground and cried out as her knees hit the hard pavement of the schoolyard. She heard a sound to her left and turned to see the disgusting Negaverse monster, Pyro-Head, begin her fiery attack. Sailor Mercury and Mars appeared to battle their foe. Their opponent was too strong. "Hold on, I'm coming!" the blond teenager shouted. She tried to push herself upright but found that her limbs were heavy. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she willed her legs to respond to her mental command. "No!" she screamed as Pyro-Head, downed the two Sailor Scouts with her powerful attack.
Mercury crawled in her direction, a shaking hand outstretched in a pitiful plea for help. "Help us, Sailor Moon! You're our only hope!"
Sailor Mars pushed herself weakly up onto her elbows, groaning. "Sailor Moon! Get off your butt and DO SOMETHING, you Meatball Head!"
Tears of frustration sliding down her cheeks, she tried to rise again. "Pyro-Head, you Negaverse trash, I'm going to finish you off!" she shouted defiantly. Pushing herself off of her bruised knees, she was finally able to stand up.
Hearing Mercury's scream as Pyro-Head began her final attack, the blond Scout tried to run towards the violence before her. "I'm coming!" she gasped. Her progress towards the Negaverse Monster was abruptly stopped as shackles appeared around her ankles. "No!" she cried, desperately pulling at her bonds, "There's nothing I can do!"
Through tear-filled eyes, she witnessed the death of her two friends. It's all my fault... I couldn't stop it from happening again! She pulled again at the chains, hoping in vain to loosen them and slip her ankles out. She fell to her knees and began to sob in earnest, her tears spilling onto the pavement below. "Not again!" she whispered, "I failed again!" Then she flinched as it happened... the school exploded into a raging ball of fire.
Serena didn't open her eyes; she didn't have to. She sniffled again and pulled the blankets closer to her. The dream had repeated itself throughout the entire night. She had watched Pyro-Head finish off her friends a dozen times and could still remember the feeling of the ground shaking as the school exploded. I can't cry anymore... There's nothing left. I feel so empty. I feel so helpless.
"Serena, wake up!" a stern voice ordered.
She opened her puffy, reddened eyes to see the blurry vision of her mother standing above her, her hands planted menacingly on her hips.
"Young lady, I woke you up forty-five minutes ago!"
In response to her mother's rage, she tried to jump out of bed. But the world began to spin and she slumped back into her rumpled blankets. "What's going on?" she muttered, waiting for the world to become still once again.
Her mother's anger faded quickly away when she noticed her daughter wasn't faking it. She leaned down and felt the girl's forehead. While she did feel hot, she didn't have a fever. Those eyes were awfully red.
"Just go back to sleep, dear. I'll call the school and tell them that you're not feeling well." She tucked the blankets tightly around her daughter and tiptoed quietly out of the room. If you're faking it, Serena, you'll wish you'd gone to school!
Jadeite appeared on top of Crossroads Junior High. He watched the adolescents scurry to their pathetic classes. What a waste of time... The Negaverse could teach them so much more. A figure appeared behind him and he turned his head to acknowledge her presence. She had to be one of the most repulsive of Beryl's minions, and he swore her hair looked like rotted seaweed.
"I want you to attack the school below, to cause panic and fear amongst those stupid children," he said, turning his head to study the scene below.
"I do as I am told, My Lord Jadeite, but why?" she asked, a ball of flames appearing suddenly in her hands. "I am capable of so much more destruction!"
"You question my orders, Pyro-Head?" He turned to watch the homely Negaverse monster back away respectfully.
"No, My Lord, of course not. I live to serve the Negaverse."
Jadeite sighed, annoyed that he would have to explain himself. "See the creatures below?" he asked, pointed to the students who made their way obediently to their classes. "They are adolescents, full of energy and spirit. They are made to behave and listen to their elders. They are forced to waste their potential in boring classes where they sit and stare at a teacher all day, wasting that wonderful energy on inertia."
Pyro-Head smiled revealing disgusting teeth that made Jadeite cringe. "So we will cause chaos and panic among the stupid children, compelling them to use their wasted energy."
"And then, we will collect it," the blond General of the Negaverse said with an evil grin. "We will soon bring forth the Negaforce!"
Luna watched carefully as her charge slept restlessly. Just what is going on in that girl's head? She usually sleeps like the dead.
Serena began to moan, "I'm coming!" Luna raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I'll save you!" the girl muttered in her sleep.
"Maybe the incident at Rei's last night really had an impact on Serena," Luna commented to herself. But when the blond teenager whimpered in her sleep and tears began to pour down her face, the black Lunar cat began to worry. The only thing that would bother her this much would be the banning of junk food... or the disappearance of Tuxedo Mask.
She contemplated waking the girl out of her obvious nightmare, then quickly changed her mind. Waking Serena was a dangerous proposition, one that usually turned out to be painful. I'll wait and talk to her when she wakes up.
Serena's mother watched her daughter sleep quietly. I don't think Serena is sick. She usually complains incessantly about her stomach or a headache./i> She sighed as the teenage girl began to moan in her sleep. "Something is wrong, Serena, I know there is," she said to the air. I know the girls had a fight last night, but that's not unusual, Rei and Serena fight like sisters. So what is bothering you, Serena? She decided to let the girl sleep for a while. "I hope you decide to confide in me," she whispered to herself as she made her way down the stairs.
The dream released her tortured mind and Serena finally opened her eyes. She winced from the light streaming pleasantly in from her bedroom window. Does it have to be so bright today? She rolled onto her side, and covered her face with her blanket. It's just going to happen the same today... just like my dream. Everyone is going to die and it'll all be my fault. A tear slipped down her face and she sniffled. I can't stop it from happening. I've tried. I even got myself killed in the process.
A gentle touch on her shoulder startled Serena from her thoughts. "What do you want, Luna?" Serena said softly. She tried to roll over to ignore the black cat, but Luna only jumped and sat herself primly in front of Serena's face.
"I'm worried about you, Serena... What's wrong?" the cat asked, smoothing dampened hair out of the girl's face.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told..." she started, and then her mother walked in.
Serena sat up slowly, expecting her head to spin again. But, this time, the world remained in its place.
Her mother noticed her daughter's red, tear-streaked face. You're not sick, Serena... so what's upset you this much? She placed a tray of food near her daughter and sat down on the corner of the bed.
"Are you going to tell me what's upsetting you so much?" the longhaired woman said softly. She watched the girl's eyes widen in surprise.
"W-What do you mean?" Serena stuttered. "I'm just not feeling good." A look of panic came over her face. I can't tell Mom that Monday is repeating itself over and over again. She'll have me packed away to that loony bin again!
Her mother's eyes narrowed, giving her the `I know you inside out, so don't lie to me' look. "Serena, you're not feverish, you haven't coughed once, and you haven't whined about a headache. So when are you going to tell me what's going on?"
Pushing the tray away from her, she rolled onto her side and sniffled. "You wouldn't understand..." she said, trying to keep from crying.
"Was it about the fight you had with the girls last night?" With a Kleenex that always seemed to magically appear out of thin air, she wiped the tears rolling down her daughter's face. Serena shook her head and squeezed her eyes tightly shut. "Is this about a boy?" she tried, fearing the worst.
Serena's eyes popped open. Ack... the only two guys I really know are Melvin... not if he was the last geek on Earth, and Darien... yuck! "Ah... no..."
Her mother sighed in relief. I really didn't need to have THAT talk with her today... "You can tell me anything, Serena, I'm your mom."
Serena suddenly turned and attached her arms to her mother's neck, hanging on for dear life. Her mother held her distraught daughter tightly to her, rubbing her back gently as she sobbed. "It's all my fault, Mom..." she cried, sniffling. "And now, I can't fix it."
The adult holding her waited a while until she calmed. "Now Serena, you're a bright, intelligent girl..." I just wish you'd do your homework once in a while. "I know you will decide what to do and do the right thing. You can do anything you set your mind to!" Well except for getting out of bed on time.
Serena leaned back onto her pillows and looked at her mother hopefully. "You really think so, Mom?"
"Yes I do," she responded sincerely. "Now you probably didn't get a lot of sleep last night worrying about everything. So how about you eat your breakfast and get some sleep?"
"Okay," Serena agreed, pulling the tray heaped with food towards her. Just as her mom was about to leave, she said, "Thanks Mom."
The blue haired woman just smiled satisfied she had helped her child feel better.
Luna watched the usually ravenous teenager pick at the tray of food sitting in her lap. "Serena," said Luna, jumping on the bed, close to her feet, "You need to eat or you'll just get dizzy again, like you were this morning."
The girl made a face and pushed the tray of food away. "I know, Luna, but I'm just not hungry." How can I eat when I know that Rei, Amy, and then Molly are all going to die while I sit here in bed, crying?
Serena not hungry?! That's impossible... What's going on in that girl's brain? "So exactly what is bothering you, Serena?" the cat asked.
Serena put her fork down and shot the cat an annoyed look. "I told you before, you just wouldn't believe me if I told you." She started to pick at the soft bagel sitting invitingly on her plate. "Anyway," she said between bites, "you'll think I've gone crazy." And then, she sighed. But how am I going to figure out what to do without help?
Pyro-Head appeared at on the roof of the school and peered down at the innocuous students below. They were doing something she still found totally disgusting, eating! Being of the Negaverse, she didn't require food supplements to maintain her body. Once in a while, she had watched the Generals eat with great pleasure and it had always sickened her. How could they depend on food like that... They may be the favorites of Beryl... but they are weak!
She found a group of young girls sitting under a shady tree. She shuddered at what they were wearing. "I wouldn't be caught dead in a stupid outfit like that! They must be brainwashed!" Those girls would scare easily. They would make perfect targets for her terror inducing attack.
Pyro-Head launched herself off the roof and landed adeptly in front of the group of schoolgirls, eating their lunches and chatting about gossip. At the sight of the hideous Negaverse monster, they screamed and began to scurry away in fear. Pyro-Head laughed, this was fun! She was about to launch her first fireball when a voice interrupted her.
"Hold it right there!" said a young voice. The Negaverse minion turned to see a blue haired girl, in a matching Sailor outfit and knee-high boots standing before her. "I will not allow you to ruin lunchtime for all these people."
"You won't, eh?" said Pyro-Head, laughing at the girl's impudence. As if a teenager in a stupid skirt was going to stop her. "You can't stop me alone, little girl."
"She's not alone!" another voice shouted. To the right of the blue haired twit before her appeared another Sailor Scout, this one in a red skirt. "I am Sailor Mars, and in the name of Mars, you will pay for disturbing this place of learning!"
"Nice speech," said Pyro-Head, yawning in her boredom, "But what are you going to do to stop me?" With that taunt, she threw the first of her deadly fireballs.
Mercury stood her ground, unfazed by the attack. "Mercury Bubbles Blast!" The schoolyard clouded with a thick, white mist.
"Oh you like fire, well take this!" said Mars. "Mars Fire Ignite!" Her attack hit the oncoming fireball and it exploded with such a force that it threw the two Sailor Scouts to the ground.
The leather skinned Negaverse monster cackled and glee and prepared to finish them off when a voice interrupted her. "Pyro-Head, retreat!" said Jadeite. "You are not yet strong enough to face Sailor Moon, when the Scouts appear, she follows!"
"As you wish, My Lord Jadeite," said the fiery monster, disgusted. "Next time we meet, Sailor Brats," she taunted the two girls, now on their knees before her, "you won't survive."
Sailor Mars helped her friend to her feet and sighed. "Jadeite was right. We could've beat that Negaverse creep if Sailor Moon had shown up. Where is that meatball head anyway?"
"I am not sure," said Mercury, "I tried to contact her on the communicator, but there was no answer."
A crowd of teenagers began to gather around them, cheering their delight at being saved. "We'd better get out of here," said Mars and the two Scouts leapt away.
"I knew you wouldn't believe me!" retorted Serena, an offendedlook spread across her face. She crossed her arms and sniffled a bit. Stupid cat... I shouldn't have said a word.
"But that's impossible, Serena, days just don't repeat themselves. I think you've had quite the nightmare."
"It's not a nightmare!" the teenager replied, tears now sliding down her face. She left her half-eaten breakfast on the bed while she paced around her room. "The first day, the school exploded and then Molly died. The second time, I tried to save everyone and got killed. The last time, I ditched school and Molly, Mercury, Mars, and most of the school kids were killed."
"But that's impossible!" said Luna.
"It's not!" Serena retorted angrily, picking up the cat. "I even ended up strapped down to a hospital bed all drugged up 'cause they thought I was going nuts. Her grip tightened on the cat. "Do you KNOW what it's like for people to pat you on the head and tell you everything is going to be okay while they pump you up with something to knock you out?!"
"But Serena..." the cat began to argue.
"It really happened and I don't know who to stop it!"
She put the cat back on the ground and crawled back in to bed. Luna won't even help me make it stop... What will I do?
Luna was about to say something when Serena's mother looked in. The blue haired woman shook her head in confusion. I could have sworn I heard Serena talking to someone...but she's asleep. Oh well, must've just been noise from my vacuuming...
The dream came back again, more violently than before. She watched as Molly, Mercury, and Mars died again and again. This time, Pyro-Head turned to Serena and finished her off to. She woke up suddenly when she heard her mother's voice.
"Serena, wake up," her mother said insistently. She opened her eyes to look up into her mother's tear-streaked face. "Something happened at the school today, Serena, it was awful!"
Serena closed her eyes to brace herself for what she knew was to come. "Your friends were killed, Serena. I'm so sorry!" The teenager was pulled into her mother's arms and the two began to cry.
Serena sat near her window, looking out at the star filled sky above. She knew now that staying at home and avoiding the problem didn't make it go away. The Scouts were still finished off by Pyro-Head and Molly still died when the school exploded. And telling someone didn't help either. Who the heck would believe that the day was repeating? Luna didn't even believe her... even after she found out what had happened at the school that night.
At least I know that they'll be alive again tomorrow, she thought, stretching her legs for a moment. She had slept most of the day away and was pretty stiff. And school will still be there too. Serena made a face at the thought of going through that stupid Christopher Columbus lesson.
"Wait! I can find out!" she said out loud, startling the black Lunar cat sleeping quietly on her bed. Luna awoke to find Serena tearing through her school bag for her lessons on the European explorer.
"Serena, what are you doing?" Luna asked, aghast that the girl would actually be cracking open a textbook.
"Well if I have to sit through another review about Christopher Columbus, I might as well know the answer that Miss H has asked me three times already!"
Luna gave Serena a confused look. She must really be distraught over the tragedy at the school... She doesn't want to talk about it... and now she wants to study?!
Serena began to sift through the pages on Christopher Columbus. Aw man, why does there have to be so many pages? It's just a guy that sailed somewhere across the ocean for pete's sake...
"There it is, I've got it!" cheered the blond teenager. Tomorrow, somehow, I'll save everyone, and I'll show Miss H that I do know something!
