The Tale of the Dark Scouts by Morgan Jenkins
CHAPTER ONE
The sun was setting over the Cherry Hill Temple. Raye, Mina, Jane, Daria, and Serena sat on the temple steps. Lita and Amy leaned against a wall, and Darien stood on the ground beside his girlfriend.
"They called themselves the Dark Scouts. It sounds familiar, but I can't place it." Serena explained to Luna. She and Artemis sat on the ground facing the eight teenagers (okay, so Darien isn't exactly a teenager, but he's close enough that it still counts!).
"Oh, this is bad!" Luna closed her eyes and shook her head in worry. "They SHOULD sound familiar! Those are the same girls that killed all of you back on the Moon Kingdom. At least, they're part of the same group."
Daria got up, leaving room for Serena and Darien to sit together. "So, you're saying there's more of them; one for each of us, perhaps?"
Luna nodded. "Mmhmm. Good thing we've already gotten rid of one. That would be Dark Moon, otherwise known as Queen Beryl." She looked up at the lavender sky. "There's a lot that I have to tell you. I'll explain the whole thing in the morning. I don't think we have time right now." She jumped up onto Serena's shoulder. "We should probably be going."
Darien stood and helped Serena up. "She's right. Remember what happened when I got you home five minutes late?"
She laughed. "Yeah. Dad went totally berserk! It took Mom forever to calm him down. I'm just glad he didn't hurt himself the way he was carrying on."
"Well, you are his baby girl. I don't think he'll ever see you as anything else."
"Not even when I'm queen? Too bad. You'd think that would make him see me in a different light." She was very careful not to say anything bad about her parents. It always made Darien so sad. His parents died when he was very young.
"At least you have parents that care." commented Jane. "Mine just left all five of us to raise ourselves. Not that I'd want them around all the time. But I do wish they were home a little more when I was growing up."
"I wish mine were home a lot less." replied Daria. "I know how Serena feels. My family constantly suffocates me. I just know my room will be redecorated when I get back to Lawndale."
"You know what's really weird?" mused Darien. "In our past lives, Jane and I were siblings. In this life we both never really had our parents around for whatever reason. Serena and Daria were cousins, and in this life, they both have families they can't stand."
"Very strange. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have chores to do. I'll see all of you tomorrow." Raye tried to rush them all out.
Serena smiled. "You know you just want to be alone with Chad." she teased. "Seriously, I think you'd make a great couple."(so do I, BTW. If she could quit smacking him with that broom.) Raye shot her a dirty look.
"Hmm... they're as bad as we are." Jane whispered to Daria.
"At least I don't have four of you to gang up on me."
"I choose to take that as a compliment." Jane and Daria left as they waved to their new friends. Everyone else started leaving, too, leaving Raye to go inside to catch up on her work.
Sandi, Quinn, and Tiffany sat around Stacy, who was typing something on a small, blue laptop that had her symbol on it. As ditzy as she could be at times, she was the best of the four when it came to fiddling with electronics. "Okay, I think I have it set up now so our transformation compacts also act as communication devices. All we have to do is talk into the mirror. Unfortunately, it won't have our voices come out of it. Each compact, including Dark Earth and Dark Sun's back in Lawndale, is hooked up to the computer, not each other. The compact sends what we say to the computer, and the computer digitizes it. It then sends the message to the other compacts. The voices will sound kinda like robots, though."
"Then how will we know who's talking?" asked Sandi.
"Her picture will replace the reflection in the mirror. There's a camera inside along with the microphone and speaker."
"I guess I can't use this to reflect attacks anymore. I don't know why, but Sailor Sun got on my nerves the most." Quinn played with her dolphin ring. "She seemed familiar, like she irritated me somewhere before."
"I don't know, Quinn." Stacy turned off her laptop and put it away. "But you CAN use it to reflect, as long as it's not otherwise in use." She opened her compact. "See, if you push down on the powder puff, it activates the communication device." She pushed it, and all the other compacts opened to show her. She quickly closed it, and the rest acted like normal mirrors. "One other thing, don't let any of the Sailor Scouts catch your reflection in this. Even though the camera sends out whatever you look like at the time, the mirrors reflect what you look like in everyday life. Unfortunately, it won't work on the Sailors. We can't find out their secret identities in this way."
Sandi smiled. "We'll find out some way, though. Good work, Stacy." Stacy smiled until Sandi continued her sentance. "I *WILL* expect much better work from you from now on!"
Daria and Jane walked down the hallway and passed Jodie. "Hey, guys. I haven't seen you lately. What room did you get?" Jodie looked a little stressed. She had bags under her bloodshot eyes and her braids were frizzed. She was also wearing a "I'm gonna snap" gin.
"207" Daria answered.
"Too bad. That's such a small room." She tried to look as innocent as possible. "You know, I consider you two of my best friends. One of you could trade with me! I don't mind!" she chirped.
"Forget it, Landon." Jane bluntly replied. "We know what you're up to."
"What do you mean?"
Daria sighed. "We know you're sharing a room with Brittany. If you're really our friend, you'll live with the torture yourself."
"Come on, guys! I can't sleep. She and Kevin had a fight last night. Something about he wouldn't let her pick a room." Jane and Daria looked at each other and grinned. Jodie didn't notice and went on. "If her bat-like screeching goes on much longer, I may have to pull those bleached pigtails of hers out by their mousy brown roots!"
Jane rolled her eyes. "That's not our probl..." she trailed off as she realized what Jodie just said. "Did you just say she bleaches her hair?"
Jodie covered her face with her hands. "Oh, no! I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. She has since she was five. Her family thought it would make her more popular."
"Could have fooled me." Daria smirked. "I thought she was a natural blonde."
Jodie smiled. "I think the dye has seeped into her brain over the years. Her hair is totally fried, though. Even if she tried to dye it back, the color wouldn't take."
"So THAT'S why her hair leaked onto my shoes." Jane was remembering that incident at the Zen. "Who would've guessed that the stereotypical blonde wasn't really blonde?"
"Well, I've got to go try to sleep. You guys have to swear you won't say anything. If you do, I might wake up with a pom pom shoved down my throat."
"We promise." replied Daria.
"Yeah," Jane added. "no one would belive us, anyway."
They waved at Jodie and went to their room. "I wonder why the Rock-N-Roll Knight didn't come and talk to us after the Dark Scouts left?" Daria thought to herself. Unfortunatly, she was thinking out loud.
"Aww, how sweet. You're trying to make Trent jealous. Sounds like something..."
"DON'T SAY IT!"
"...Quinn would do." Jane knew the joke went to far and instantly regreted it..
"Number 1, I'm not trying to make anyone jealous. Number 2, I'm NOTHING like my sister. And number 3,..."
The author cut in. "Will you two PLEASE shut up? You're giving me a head-ache."
Jane looked puzzled. "You have a head? I thought you were just a disembodied voice?"
"Only in your world. In my world I have a physical body and you're cartoons."
"Well, why do you keep popping up in our world?"
"I'm trying to cure writer's bock, and this seems to be the only way I can."
Daria smirkeded. "So, exactly how much leftover Valentine's candy HAVE you eaten?"
"Way too much."
"Quit writing when you're on a sugar high!" Jane yelled. "We've had enough problems lately!!!"
The author rolled her eyes (in her world, anyway) and decided to end the chapter.
CHAPTER TWO
Jane tried to remember anything she could about the past that night, but couldn't. She finally gave up and fell asleep. But the family of Earth always was able to see things in their dreams....
She was in her Scout uniform on the Moon. Her eldest brother was dead, and her best friend was dying. She felt Sailor Sun's wrist, and her heart broke. "I'm sorry. It's too late." she whispered to her favorite brother. "She's gone." He had been engaged to Sailor Sun, and she knew that this would tear him up. She got up to leave him with his fiance's body so he could mourn, but he grabbed her arm and held her back.
"You aren't going out there. Stay here and I'll fight in your place."
"You'll be slaughtered! You may be a prince, but you're still a civillian. You weren't trained for this. I was." she said firmly.
"A lot of good your training did. She had the same training as you, but it didn't seem to help her." the pain he was in was evident in his eyes, and it was obvious that he wanted revenge.
"I know what you're going through...."
"No you don't! I loved her."
"So did I! It may have been a different type of love, but that doesn't mean I hurt any less than you do! We were like sisters. And we almost were. I can't lose you, too."
He sighed. "Okay, I'll stay here. But there is a chance you could end up like her. What do you want me to do then?"
The tears she had held back since she first saw her brother Darien's corpse holding hands with Serena's finally started pouring out of her eyes. "If I don't come back." she whispered. "Tell my husband that I love him."
She whiped her eyes with the back of her glove and then ran off into the battle.
The next mornng, Daria and a very worn out looking Jane arrived at the Cherry Hill Temple. Jane hadn't told Daria any of the things she had dreamt that night. She didn't know if half of it was real, and besides, Luna said that they had to remember on their own. She felt emotionally drained, and could barely pay attention to the meeting.
Artemis began. "Not much is known about the Negaverse before it became an evil place, but it was a parelell Universe to our own. Something happened, that we still aren't sure of yet, and the people that lived there became evil."
Luna continued. "Now, as a parelell universe, it makes sense that everyne has a counterpart. Those Dark Scouts were originally the Sailor Soldiers of that plane. Which is why you are equally matched with your powers."
Jane spoke up, very weakly. "If that's the case, then where are Serena, Daria, and my counterparts?"
"Serena's evil alter ego was Queen Beryl. She resided on the Negaverse's version of the Moon. She stayed with their dead ruler and tried to revive her when the other Dark Soldiers split to form their own group. It's possible that Dark Sun and Dark Earth are still where ever the other evil scouts are from." Luna answered. "That would be the only problem with trying to find them. Where would we look?"
Artemis continued about the past. "What ever turned the people from that universe evil also helped them to break through the dimensional barrier. The Princesses and Queens of the Negaverse wanted what they had in their Universe here as well. They hated the Princesses of the planets they thought that they should rightfully rule, and wanted to take everything they treasured for themselves."
"Which is why Beryl killed my cousin and her fiance in a jealous rage when Prince Darien refused her." Daria commented. Serena mumbled a few things under her breath about Beryl and then unwrapped a chocolate bar.
"Umm, out of curiosity, how large was the Royal Family of Earth?" Jane asked. She wanted to see if her dream had any basis of reality.
"Blood related? Five." Luna answered carefully. "The King, the Queen, and their children."
Jane nodded. "That's what I thought. I had two brothers." She got up and started to walk away. "I need to think for awhile."
Stacy turned on her laptop and went pale. "Quinn?! Get Sandi and Tiffany in here. And hurry!"
"Why? Did you just find out that Sandi's outfit is out of date or something?" she asked hopefully.
"This is a little more important. I got an e-mail from Dark Sun. She's not thrilled."
"Ugh. Is she ever? I'll get them." she walked out of the room and came back a few minutes later with the other two girls.
"Okay. What does SHE want?" Sandi's distaste for the mysterious girl was quite obvious.
"Read this." Stacy stepped back and let the others see the screen.
" FROM: [email protected]
TO: [email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected]
SUBJECT: (no subject)
We organized your trip overseas, and no energy? You did a better
job, as lousy as it was, here in Lawndale. Dark Earth and I think
you're just goofing off. If those girls are giving you trouble (yes, we
did know about them, and no, we didn't inform you. We thought
you wouldn't go through with the plan.), just waste them. You did
before. It's not that hard. Just remember that none of you are
indispencable. Got that?
M. "
There was a long silence. Tiffany finally broke it. "Buuut.....that's sooooo wrooong!"
"Fine, then." Sandi said through clenched teeth. "We have to find those brats. And if she would help us every now and then, we'd actually get some work done." She stormed off.
Notes and disclaimer
This is a little shorter than the rest of the series. It was ment to just explain a little more about what's going on, and is mostly dialog. Stretching it out too much would contain too many spoilers. So therefore, it's a chapter shorter.
Well, Jane remembered something! Good for her. Let's see how closely you've been paying attention now ^_^
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Daria and Sailor Moon are obviously not owned by me. This was written out of bordem as a way of entertaining myself and others. I'm not getting any money from this. Please don't sue me. All you'd be able to get is a pile of dirty laundry, anyway. ^_^