Note: Sailor Moon and all related characters are the property of Takeuchi Naoko, Toei Animation, and DIC.

All In A Day's Work
By D. Pung
Prequel #3
PG-13

She was walking down a long hallway. There were doors every ten feet, enough so it could be confusing, but she seemed to know exactly where to go. She stopped in front of a door and looked through the glass at the girl within. This girl was dressed similar to herself, and was practicing moves similar to her own....she saw this other girl, who had short dark hair and who resembled her, break out some attack moves that she could only dream about. Then the girl turned, and she was startled.

She was looking at her own face, even though the rest of the girl was different. A white light expanded outwards upon their gaze linking up, surrounding both girls.

Samantha woke up in a cold sweat. The sun was streaming in her window, warming her face. She glanced about her room in Serena's house. Her gaze rested on her clock. It was a weekend, and about 9 in the morning. She stretched and began her wake-up routine.

When she was dressed and awake, she headed downstairs to greet Serena's family. Serena was, predictably, still asleep, and Samantha enjoyed her breakfast.

It was almost noon before Serena staggered downstairs in her pajamas, trailed by Luna. As Serena eagerly began tearing into her breakfast, Samantha looked thoughtfully at Luna.

"I had an interesting dream last night," she said.

"You did too?" asked Luna.

"Yeah...whaddya mean, 'too'? Did you have an interesting dream also?" questioned Samantha.

"Mmm...both of us," mumbled Serena through her food.

"I think we need to get everyone together," said Luna seriously. "These kind of dreams usually means there's another Scout to be found....although I can't imagine who."

Samantha met Serena's gaze with raised eyebrows. She shrugged. Samantha got up to make some phone calls.

* * * *

As the girls and Darien gathered, Samantha considered what had been different about the dream last night as opposed to her normal recurring dreams. Luna and Artemis beginning the meeting abruptly brought her back to reality.

"Several of us have been plagued by dreams lately, the type we usually get before encountering another Sailor Scout. They have an interesting, unfinished feel about them, like something is not quite complete," said Luna.

Amy already had her computer out. "Another Scout? What representation would this one be?"

"I don't know," said Luna.

Samantha started as it abruptly all fell into place. "No way," she whispered.

Luna and Artemis looked at her.

"What is it?" asked Artemis.

"Well, you know how I've been practicing and have pretty much reached the limit of my powers, and how you've all expected me to have more than the four I do, be more powerful than I am?" Samantha asked.

"Yeah, you don't seem to be as much as you should be," Mina commented thoughtfully. "Why?"

"Well, I have a pretty good feeling what representation this Scout will be," said

Samantha, "after reviewing my memories and the interesting, different tone of a recurring dream I always have."

"What?" asked Lita.

"Earth," said Samantha quietly.

"What!?" everyone said at once.

"But you're Earth," said Raye.

"Yeah," said Lita.

Amy looked thoughtful, and surprisingly, so did Serena.

"Maybe I was seeing your dream last night myself," said Serena. "I know where you are going with this. Two girls, on different sides of the door, in similar situations, looking similar in all respects. One darker, one lighter. Then both faces are revealed and they are identical faces."

"Yeah," said Samantha quietly. "I am a twin, but my twin was kidnapped when we were very young. I don't remember much about it, but it is conceivable that my twin is near and she has the other half of my powers."

"On a similar note, we know that the Negaverse has had a subtle influence for quite some time," continued Amy thoughtfully. "Is it possible that the one who was to be Sailor Earth was deliberately and magically split into twins while unborn, to divide their powers? And I need to find the circumstances of her kidnapping. Might that have also been the Negaverse?"

"Yes," said Samantha. "It was highly unusual, but that's all I remember. By the way, her name was Melanie, that is, if this is what's going on." Samantha was clearly excited at the thought of being reunited with her twin.

"I don't know about this," said Serena, to everyone's surprise. "Remember? One darker, one lighter? Samantha's already proven she is the lighter."

"I think that impression reflects the nature of my powers versus the nature of hers," said Samantha, "not her outlook."

"Well, I'll look up what I can about this situation," said Amy.

"I will consult the fire and see what I can learn," said Raye.

"And the rest of us will keep our eyes open for this other girl," said Amara.

"Good," said Artemis and Luna.

* * * *

Melanie walked down the street. She had her mission, given to her by her mistress. Her mind went back to the conversation.

"You are Sailor Dark Earth, enemy of the Sailor Scouts," her queen had said,

illuminating the crystal ball. "Your mission is to hunt down the Sailor Scouts and kill them."

"Yes, my queen," she had replied.

"This is your destiny...." her queen had said.

"I will not fail you, my queen," she had answered before departing.

All Melanie had ever known was the Negaverse. Her earliest years were a blank, followed by a sudden awareness and intense training and development of her powers. And now it was time to prove herself. She had been given descriptions of the Sailor Scouts, and tips on how to get their attention.

"Time to find some innocent kids to beat up on," she murmured evilly to herself.

* * * *

The girls were at the mall, in the food court, where they were relaxing after a hard day of shopping. Serena was predictably eating as the others lounged around, keeping an eye on Reeni, who was happily dancing around.

"Mmmm," murmured Serena contently.

"Well, at least it's a nice day out," said Mina.

Samantha sat up as a funny feeling alerted her. The others were looking around also, including Reeni.

Reeni turned and started running back to Serena, who had actually stopped eating as the feeling had come. She was about ten feet away when a hand grabbed her.

The girls all jumped to their feet as a girl in an all-black Sailor Scout outfit grabbed Reeni.

"Hey!!" shouted Serena. "Let her go!"

"No, I don't think I will. I need this little brat," the girl said.

Samantha started at the voice, so similar to her own. She could only stare in shock as the girl continued.

"Pass the word. I am Sailor Dark Earth, and I am looking for the Sailor Scouts!"

And with that, Sailor Dark Earth left, still holding a crying Reeni.

Samantha fainted.

* * * *

"You were right, Serena," said Samantha at the emergency gathering of all the girls. "And now, my evil twin has Reeni! How are we going to find her?"

"I daresay that if she gets upset enough, Reeni will make it surprisingly easy to find her," Serena said dryly.

"How?" asked Samantha.

Darien chuckled. "When Reeni throws a temper tantrum, all her power gets released in a large energy blast. It's unmistakable."

"So we wait?" asked Raye.

"Let's go outdoors....like to the park. And let's keep our eyes on the skies, ok?" said Trista, worriedly.

"Let's do it," said Artemis.

* * * *

"So you like the Sailor Scouts, little girl?" asked Sailor Dark Earth. "I like them too....or will, after I destroy them all!"

"No!" cried Reeni.

"Aww, the little brat likes Sailor Moon, huh? I'll kill her first!" said Sailor Dark Earth.

Reeni just sat there, trembling. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she began to cry.

"Shut up brat!" snapped Sailor Dark Earth.

"NO!" Reeni screamed as her eyes lit up.

"What the..." trailed off Sailor Dark Earth.

* * * *

A beacon of pure energy blasted skyward, causing most people to stop and stare.

"Look!" said Lita.

"I've got her coordinates!" said Amy, typing on her microcomputer.

"Let's go!" said Serena.

Simultaneously, all the girls raised their hands to the sky.

* * * *

"Stop this, you little brat!" she snapped, staggering closer through the energy to try and knock Reeni unconscious.

"Hold it!" a familiar voice said. "I am Sailor Moon, defender of the moon, protector of love and justice! Picking on little kids is evil, and in the name of the moon, I will punish you!"

"Yay!" said Reeni.

Sailor Dark Earth casually regarded the scouts. All but the one in purple were glaring at her.

"Yeah, whatever," she said casually. "I'm quaking with fear."

"You will be!" promised Sailor Jupiter. "JUPITER THUNDER DRAGON!"

Sailor Dark Earth casually absorbed the energy of the attack.

"Ha! Try this on for size! EARTH ANGER GROWTH!"

A nearby rosebush sprouted long, thorny vines that wrapped around Sailor Jupiter, choking her and tearing into her skin painfully. She collapsed as the vines kept tightening their hold.

"Jupiter!" exclaimed Sailor Moon. "You Nega-creep! You'll pay for that!"

"MERCURY ICESTORM BLAST!" cried Sailor Mercury.

As the freezing shards impacted around her, Sailor Dark Earth retaliated. "I like this one better! EARTH ANGER STRIKE!" She made a punching motion upwards with her glowing fist.

A huge fist of rock smashed into Sailor Mercury, launching her upwards and backwards. She hit the ground, unconscious.

Sailor Moon's jaw dropped. This wasn't good.

"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" called Sailor Mars, blasting the rings of flame towards Sailor Dark Earth.

Sailor Dark Earth actually got hurt by that one. She glared at Sailor Mars. "EARTH ANGER BLAST!"

A fissure ripped open beneath Mars' feet and lava and burning steam exploded around her, burning her badly as she fell, shocked.

"VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!"

The impact of the chain hurt also. Sailor Dark Earth pointed both hands at Sailor Venus.

"EARTH ANGER SWARM!"

Thousands of energy bolts in the shapes of animals began impacting into Venus. Again and again, she was badly wounded. She fainted.

The rose hit the ground. The remaining Scouts, with the exception of Sailor Earth who was frozen with shock, regrouped behind Tuxedo Mask.

Sailor Dark Earth grinned as she focused again on multiple targets.

"EARTH ANGER SWARM!" she shouted again and again. The energy blasts dropped Sailors Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto unconscious.

"EARTH ANGER STRIKE!"

Tuxedo Mask got drilled. He hit the ground with a horrifying snapping sound, his head at a strange angle to his neck.

"NO!!!!" screamed Sailor Moon. "DARIEN!!"

"Aww, did I break your man? The only one left besides your unconscious friends is the dumb one over there. Now I will kill you, Sailor Moon!" laughed Sailor Dark Earth.

Sailor Moon just looked up in shock, cradling Tuxedo Mask's body in her arms. She was conscious of Reeni's crying, and of Sailor Earth's sudden awareness of what was going on.

Sailor Dark Earth pointed her hands at Sailor Moon.

"EARTH ANGER SWARM!"

"EARTH LOVE SHIELD!"

Suddenly, Sailor Dark Earth noted the other scout in purple jumped forward. The bolts of the swarm impacted harmlessly on the shield of energy the other scout had put up. This, then, was the other Sailor Earth.

Samantha was boiling with rage at seeing her friends, and at her own inexplicable weakness.

"EARTH LOVE DARK!"

The purple beam of crackling energy connected to Sailor Dark Earth, dropping her to her knees as Sailor Earth drained her lifeforce. I will kill her! she thought. Another voice in her mind. But she's my twin. She argued with herself. But she hurt my friends and Reeni. A valid point.. But I can restore that.....

Sailor Earth cut off her death attack. Sailor Moon looked up in surprise, then

acceptance. She would have to do it. It was too much to ask Sailor Earth to destroy her twin, evil or not.

Sailor Dark Earth was gasping for breath as the battered and bruised Sailor Scouts began regaining consciousness.

"Why?" she demanded, gazing at the ground as she struggled to regain herself.

Sailor Moon paused.

"Why didn't you finish it?" gasped Sailor Dark Earth to Sailor Earth.

* * * *

No! She isn't! Again those dratted Scouts had to mess it up! She turned and ordered another of her minions sent. She glared at her ball, fuming.

* * * *

Sailor Earth gazed steadily at her twin.

"Look at me carefully," she said.

Sailor Dark Earth weakly looked up and gasped. Sailor Earth looked exactly like her! How?

"We are twins. You were kidnapped by the Negaverse when we were very young," said Sailor Earth.

"I don't believe you!" snapped Sailor Dark Earth. "All my memories are of the

Negaverse, my home!"

"Are you sure?" asked Sailor Earth sadly, tears in her eyes.

The now conscious scouts hovered over Tuxedo Mask's broken body.

"Sailor Moon, what are you waiting for?" hissed Sailor Mars.

Sailor Moon put up one hand.

"I...I..." said Sailor Dark Earth. "No! You lie! It's not possible!"

"I'm your twin," said Sailor Earth. "I can't lie to you."

Sailor Dark Earth knew, with a sinking certainty, that she was right.

"Trust me," said Sailor Earth quietly.

Their gazes met.

White crackling energy suddenly linked the two, as their minds were combined, as memories were restored. In a sudden purple flash, the Nega-energy left the area. The Sailor Scouts gasped. Neither girl had a Scout outfit on, and both had the symbol glowing on their foreheads.

Melanie looked up, tears flowing down her cheeks. She surveyed the damage she had done, the unconscious form of Tuxedo Mask.

"I'm sorry," she managed to say before she collapsed in sobs. Samantha put her arms around her twin. They sat like that for several minutes.

The scouts all relaxed, with Sailor Moon crying over Tuxedo Mask. Samantha had just helped Melanie to her feet when there was a pink flash of energy behind them. They both turned.

Another Nega-villain hung there in midair.

"Well, now that you both now the truth, I shall have to destroy you!" the thing said.

The Scouts jumped erect. They were all badly hurt, but ready to fight. However,

Samantha and Melanie were quicker.

"EARTH-LOVE CRYSTAL POWER!"

"EARTH-ANGER CRYSTAL POWER!"

Samantha and Melanie were replaced by their new Scout forms. Samantha's outfit altered slightly. Her ribbons became pink as she became Sailor Earth-Love.

Melanie transformed into a Scout whose ribbons were purple, and the rest of her outfit was pink. She became Sailor Earth-Anger.

The twins stood side by side.

"Let's rumble, dirt bag!" said Sailor Earth-Love. She concentrated, drawing out all her chaotic emotions and concentrating them into one.

"I know who I am now," said Sailor Earth-Anger, "I know how I have been hurt and deceived. You will pay!"

"EARTH LOVE DARK!"

"EARTH ANGER SWARM!"

The combined might of the two sisters brought the thing to its knees just that quickly. Right before Sailor Earth-Love's attack would kill the thing, there was a sudden additional input.

"MOON SPIRAL HEART ATTACK!"

And it was over.

Sailor Earth-Anger endured the angry, condemning stares as she examined Tuxedo Mask's body.

All Sailor Moon could do was cry.

The girls waited in the tense silence, angry glares occasionally raking over Sailor Earth-Anger. She just looked at them.

"I got this," said Sailor Earth-Love. "EARTH LOVE REFRESH!"

The white glow expanded to Tuxedo Mask's body, and he suddenly blinked his eyes as he was healed completely. The effect spread, healing everyone, refreshing their energy, boosting their spirits.

The emotion and stress of finding each other suddenly overwhelmed both twins, and their Scout outfits dissipated as they collapsed, unconscious.

* * * *

Melanie awakened slowly, unaccustomed to comfort. She was lying next to her twin in her twin's bed. The soft fluffiness of her surroundings lulled her to complacency.

"Well, at least one of you is awake now," said Serena.

The light clicked on. Melanie shielded her eyes and noticed all the scouts - and Darien - in their normal forms. She sat up, clutching her head.

"Uhhh," she moaned.

Just then, Serena's mother walked in with a glass of water and some aspirin. Her timing was perfect, because Samantha started to stir.

When both twins had woken completely up, they sat there with legs dangling over the edge of the bed.

"So this is your long-lost twin?" asked Serena's mother.

Samantha merely nodded.

"She can stay here too. We'll get you all set up!" she said cheerfully, leaving.

Melanie looked shocked. "Where's our parents?" she asked.

"It's a long story," began Samantha. "I'll fill you in later."

"So, how do we know there won't be another day like today?" asked Raye, still unhappy with Melanie.

"I don't know what to say," said Melanie.

"Oh, leave off, Raye! If your mind had been under control by the Negaverse, you would have done the same things!" snapped Samantha.

Raye looked thoughtful at that.

"Well, can you tell us who's in charge of the Negaverse?" asked Serena. "We still don't know."

"I could've before, but it's all faded now. All I remember is the darkness," she shuddered.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore!" said Samantha happily.

"Yeah!" said Melanie. "But I sure have a lot of catch-up learning to do!"

"All part of being a Sailor Scout," said Luna.

"I just know these two are going to use the fact they are twins to their advantage," sighed Mina.

Samantha and Melanie exchanged glances.

They grinned.

THE END (of this story, anyway!)

GO TO: SAILOR MOON ALTERNITY