Note: This is an odd fanfic for me to write, because I had to do a little fudging within the anime and manga storylines, something I usually avoid. The actual plot is based on the Stars part of the manga. But this presented a problem. Okay, I love Takeuchi Naoko's manga as much as the next Sailor Moon fan, but creating sympathetic and developed villains was absolutely not her strong point. Seiren-chan has, what, six lines in the manga? The animators, on the other hand, did a fabulous job of making Seiren and Crow truly interesting characters. So, that said, this story is based on the manga, but Seiren and Crow have remnants of their anime personalities.

===============

"Please, please, I'll pay you right back!" Aya Reiko pleaded, making her eyes appear as large and watery as she could. "I'm soooooooo hungry!"

Umi, Reiko's best friend and recipient of her begging, rolled her dark blue eyes. "How can you possibly be hungry? We just ate a huge lunch!" She stopped and eyed her friend critically. "Or, rather, you just ate a huge lunch. And my lunch."

Reiko's lower lip trembled. "Pleeeeeeeeeeease? Umi-chan?"

Umi sighed, and reluctantly handed over a few bills. "I get a bite of whatever you're getting, though!"

Reiko giggled with childish glee, her long, pale blue hair bouncing up and down with the rest of her. "Okay! I'll be right back, Umi-chan!" She skipped off toward a snack vendor a few yards away.

"Moron," Umi muttered. The two had only been at the beach for half an hour, and Reiko was already borrowing money. But, Umi told herself, it was a beautiful day. Not the kind of day to worry about Reiko's black hole of a digestive system. With that in mind, she wandered farther down the beach, toward the shore, looking for a place to sit.

The beaches on Mermaid were perpetually crowded--the deep green-blue seas and mild weather made it a natural tourist trap, Umi noted with a grumble. But today seemed particularly bad. She could barely pick out any spots of pale sand, between the hordes of colorful beach umbrellas and bikini-clad girls. Finally, she discovered a spot next to a Mauvian couple and their baby, who was mewing quietly in her mother's arms.

She had just settled down on her beach towel when Reiko bounded over, clutching a large hunk of shellfish--crab, maybe? --skewered on a kabob. "Schanks fer zhe muhney!"

Umi took off her sunglasses and gave her friend yet another grievous glance. "Can you please refrain from talking with your mouth full?" She lay back down, stretching out in the sun. "Reiko...I swear sometimes..."

Reiko opened her mouth to speak again, but then thought better of it, and carefully swallowed first. "Umi-chan, I--"

She was suddenly and rudely interrupted by a volleyball smacking her directly in the face. She collapsed backward, a large red welt forming on her forehead.

Umi bolted upright. "Reiko! Reiko, are you okay? Speak to me!"

Reiko lay twitching on the sand, counting the volleyballs spinning in front of her eyes. "Ouch."

A tall, slender girl in a pale blue bikini ran over to Reiko and kneeled down to check on her. "Gosh, I'm so sorry, miss! Are you all right?"

Umi's jaw dropped. She blinked several times, to make sure she was seeing correctly.

"You're...you're..."

The girl blushed, realizing she had been recognized. "I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. She bowed her head slightly. I'm Kaifuu Megumi. It's nice to meet you."

Umi took in the girl's sea-green eyes, and her wonderfully deep, navy-blue hair, plaited into thick and wavy braids. It was the girl she had seen so many times, but never this close. She finally managed to open her mouth.

"Sailor Mermaid. You're Sailor Mermaid, aren't you?"

Megumi smiled. "Yes...I suppose it's hard for me to ever be incognito, isn't it?"

Umi suddenly realized that she was being very rude. "I'm so sorry! My name is Aoisei Umi! I'm happy to meet you, too!"

Reiko snapped up sharply, the redness on her face starting to fade. "Oh my God! You're Mermaid-sama! Aya Reiko! It's an honor to be hit by your volleyball!"

Umi flushed with embarrassment.

"Reiko, please...Kaifuu-san, she's fine. There's no need to apologize." Umi shook her head at her suddenly overjoyed friend.

Reiko nodded enthusiastically. "That's right, Mermaid-sama! I'm just fine! See?" She pointed to her face, nearly back to its normal pale shade.

Megumi smiled bashfully at the younger girl. "I'm glad to hear it. And please, call me Megumi, okay? I'm not a Senshi right now--I'm just a normal girl, like you!"

"Okay, Merma--Megumi-san!" Reiko then noticed her snack, sticking up in the sand. It had thankfully landed on its skewer end, so she picked it up and immediately began chomping on it again.

Umi and Megumi stared at her, incredulous.

"Reiko-san," Megumi said, clutching the girl's arm, "I feel so terrible about what I did. Are you sure you're okay? Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

"Well..." Reiko cast a sad glance at her now-empty skewer. "Could you get me another kabob? I'm kinda hungry."

Megumi laughed light-heartedly. "Sure. I'll be right back."

The two friends watched Megumi jog to the vendor's cart. Umi glared daggers at her friend. "I can't believe you just asked our planet's hero to buy you a snack!"

"But she offered, Umi-chan!" Reiko looked incredibly pleased with herself--she had that sparkle in her pale blue eyes that always made Umi groan inwardly. Her daring look. Nothing good can come of this. "And now the famous Sailor Mermaid wants to be our friend! Isn't this cool? We'll be famous!"

"What in the world makes you think that? She won't want to be your friend if you keep treating her like a celebrity!"

"I can't believe you're being so...what's the word? Nonchalant! We have a Sailor Senshi for a friend! That's our ticket to fame!"

"Actually, Reiko-san, it's not as great as it sounds."

Reiko blanched. "Um...thanks for the snack, Megumi-san!" She snatched the kabob from the bewildered girl and attacked it.

"I'm sorry, Megumi-san," Umi said, head bowed. "She's a bit...starstruck, I think. She'll get over it eventually."

Megumi giggled, a light blush lighting up her face. "Don't worry! I don't mind being a celebrity. But I want to be your friend, too!" She sighed dreamily, and looked at her feet, pushing sand between her toes. "Sometimes it's hard to do both."

Reiko gulped down the last of her crab and smiled cheerfully. "If that's what you want, you've got it! Normal, normal, normal!"

"Thank you, Reiko-san."

Umi rolled her eyes and pushed her short, emerald-green hair back from her forehead. Why thank her? It shouldn't be too much to ask to be treated like a normal person. But, she thought, Megumi is a Sailor Senshi. Maybe Reiko's reaction is understandable.

Reiko stood up. "I'm gonna go swimming! How about it, you two?"

"You can't swim now!" Umi said. "You just finished eating...again. You'll cramp up!"

"Don't worry about me, Umi-chan! I'll be fine! How about you, Mer-Megumi-san? Wanna go swimming?"

She smiled. "No thank you, Reiko-san. I think I'll stay here and chat with Umi-san."

"Suit yourselves," Reiko said with a shrug. "I'm off!" She ran down to the shoreline, jumping into the waves.

At that point Umi realized that she still hadn't received a bite of Reiko's food. She swore under her breath.

Megumi's ears perked up. "Is something wrong, Umi-san?"

Umi blushed, realizing she had sworn out loud, in front of a Sailor Senshi, no less. "No, I'm fine."

"Reiko-san certainly is an interesting girl. How long have you known her?"

"All my life. And she's been borrowing money and food from me the whole time." She added that last part with a bitter smirk. "But she's a very nice girl, when you get to know her. She just...comes on a little strong at first."

Megumi smiled sweetly at the chipper girl in the water, swimming and diving and splashing other beach goers. "She's very energetic, isn't she?" She broke her stare and looked over at Umi. "That's an attractive quality in a person. You're her friend. Don't you think so?"

Despite herself, Umi laughed. "Yeah, you're right." She, too, glanced out at her friend in the water, who seemed to be making quite a ruckus. "Her, um, spunkiness gets on my nerves sometimes, but it's what makes her unique. Reiko is...an acquired taste in friendship, I think."

"Well said, Umi-san," Megumi replied with a giggle. "She seems sweet to me already--"

Their conversation was cut off by a shrill, terrified scream from the water. They both looked up sharply to see Reiko, flailing wildly and screaming at the top of her lungs.

Umi sighed. "There she goes again..."

"No!" Megumi was suddenly deathly serious. "She's in trouble!"

On closer inspection, Umi noticed that Reiko was not joking around. She seemed to be genuinely distressed.

"Damn!" Megumi nearly shouted. "A youma!" She clutched the shining blue star-shaped pendant hanging from a silver chain on her neck, as Umi watched, frightened and wordless.

"Mermaid Star Power Make UP!"

Sailor Mermaid, resplendent in her aqua fuku, sprinted with divine speed to the water and jumped in. As she approached Reiko, she could see the girl's terrified face, her body entangled in the tentacles of a squid-like youma. Mermaid could only see its appendages, however; the youma itself was underwater. She dove.

Like all the people of her planet, Sailor Mermaid could breathe and otherwise function perfectly well underwater. She laid eyes upon the monster, which, for its part, glared back with horrible, dead eyes at the Sailor Senshi.

She didn't hesitate. Careful to aim away from Reiko, she attacked. "Mermaid TSUNAMI!"

Mermaid knew that the water itself would not harm the youma, but the force of her attack startled the creature long enough for it to release its hold on Reiko. The girl gasped and wheezed, and swam desperately for shore. Confident that Reiko was out of harm's way, Mermaid pursued the shocked, but recovering, youma.

The Senshi took a deep breath, and concentrated her power, focusing it on her fingertips. The youma prepared to lunge.

Her eyelids flew open. "Mermaid Deep Sea WRATH!"

Searing blue bolts of sea energy tore into the youma, reducing it to an ashy cloud in the water. Satisfied, Mermaid swam back to shore, where the entire beach population had gathered to congratulate her.

Ignoring them, she ran to Reiko, who had collapsed with fatigue when she reached Umi. The other girl was holding her, trying to warm her up.

"Reiko-san! Are you all right?" She flashed for a moment, and her fuku disappeared.

Reiko, regardless of this, didn't see Megumi. "Mermaid-sama...you saved my life...how can I repay you...?"

Megumi blushed a deep crimson. "It was nothing, Reiko-san. It's my duty. Let's just say we're even now, okay?"

Reiko smiled weakly. "Okay. Let's be friends, okay...Mermaid-sama?"

"It's Megumi. And yes, I'd love to be your friend." She and Umi shared a warm smile.

"Wow," Reiko said, color and life returning to her pale face, "Sailor Mermaid is my friend."

~***~

Reiko made her usual noisy entrance into her home, plopping down bags, shoes, and any number of other items. She rushed into the kitchen, where she knew she would find her mother, making dinner. "Mom!" she gasped, so excited that she was nearly hyperventilating. "Guess what?!"

The matriarch of the Reiko household was used to Reiko bounding in with amazing, incredible news on a daily basis, so Reiko's apparent excitement was hardly surprising to her. Her tone was flat, disinterested. "Yes, dear. What is it?"

"Umi-chan and I met Sailor Mermaid today! She even saved me from a youma! We got along great and she even wants to be my friend!" She was panting, thrilled beyond belief at her own words, tumbling from her mouth at amazing speed.

Reiko's mother turned to her daughter and smirked. "I hope you didn't fall all over yourself and embarrass Umi. How did you get tangled up with a youma, anyway?"

The girl's optimism was hampered, just a little. "Mother! I was completely proper and ladylike. It attacked me while I was swimming, for your information! Mermaid-sama arrived just in time!"

"Yes, dear," came her mother's monotone reply. "I'm glad you made a new friend."

Reiko grunted. "Well, Mom, I'm sure your day was just so much more interesting. I'm going to my room. Call me when dinner's ready."

"I'm sure you've had plenty to eat today. But then again, you always seem to be hungry anyway."

"ARGH!" Reiko fumed at this last comment. Her mother heard her stomp up the stairs and slam her bedroom door behind her. She sighed, in that way that only mothers do.

"That daughter of mine is such a strange one."

Still slightly angry at her mother, Reiko tried, in vain, to push those feelings out of her brain, and pulled out her journal. Everyone she knew probably considered her too vacuous to keep a journal, but she didn't have to prove herself to anyone. Reiko loved her journal, and considered it her dearest friend--it was the only being she could pour her emotions into and not receive some kind of sarcastic, skeptical response. Stupid Mom, she thought bitterly. Everyone thinks I do nothing but klutz out and make a fool of myself.

She began to write:

Dear Journal,

I had the most wonderful, amazing, unbelievable day! Umi-chan and I made a new friend. But not just any friend--our planet's totally cool Sailor Senshi, Sailor Mermaid! Her real name is Kaifuu Megumi, and she's really sweet! And what an amazing friend! She actually saved my life from this creepy squid youma. I've never been so scared in my life, Journal! And all Mom can say is "How did you get tangled up with a youma, anyway?" How unfair.

Am I the only one who takes my life seriously? It seems like everyone thinks I'm some kind of walking joke. All I want is some excitement in my life! I'm so tired of being normal. I bet Mermaid-sama always has exciting things happening to her. It would be so cool to be a Sailor Senshi...and be respected, and loved. I wish I could be like her. What a life that would be. Mom and Umi-chan would always take me seriously, then! Oh well. That will never happen...

Reiko wrote this last sentence with a deep, listless sigh. She set down her pen, and closed her journal quietly. A few moments later, the smell of dinner lured her out of her room and downstairs, while her wishes and feelings sat and waited for her, written in the small, leather-bound book.

~***~

A figure was seated in a dark, endless void. She leaned back in her regal perch, intrigued by this being she had been intently watching. She narrowed her blank, soulless eyes, and smiled. It was a dark smile, without any joy--it emanated evil.

"What a weak, vulnerable heart. So concerned and occupied over such small things." A small part of her sympathized, remembered her own concerns over small things, but that tiny, desperate voiced was quickly squashed. "I think she will be perfect for my purposes." The woman licked her lips in anticipation. "Time is up for this trashy, insignificant star."

She stood up, and looked down once more at the wormhole through which she had been observing Aya Reiko.

"I cannot wait to meet you, my child."

~***~

Reiko returned to her room in a foul mood after dinner. She had just had to sit through half an hour of ridicule and laughter from both her mother and father, who found it terribly funny that she had been attacked by a youma that afternoon. "Maybe it chose you as a target because it was obvious you were well-fed," her father had quipped, poking at her belly. Fuming, she disrobed, quickly, methodically, pulling a sheer nightgown over her head. She flopped unceremoniously onto her bed, and stared angrily out the window, trying to calm down.

Doesn't anyone care? I feel so worthless in everyone's eyes. Her thought stream continued, bitterly: I wonder if they would have laughed that hard, had Mermaid-sama not saved me from that youma.

She gazed out at the stars, twinkling beautifully in the blackness of space. Oh, Mermaid-sama...how I envy you. "If only I could be a Sailor Senshi...then I wouldn't be laughed at. Not by anyone."

"You can be a Sailor Senshi, if you really want to be."

Reiko's ears pricked. A voice...? "I-Is someone there?"

"Just a friend, Reiko. Someone who wants to help you."

"But I can't see you! Where are you?"

"Tell me, my dear...do you really want to be a Sailor Senshi? Is that your wish?"

Reiko was a little more than disturbed by these events, but she decided to be honest with the enigmatic voice.

"Yes! I want to become a Sailor Senshi! But...I can't! I don't have that kind of power!"

The voice laughed lightly. "That's why I'm here, Reiko. I can help you...I can give you what you desire."

"R-R-Really?" No way...this can't be real...

"Oh, this is very real, Reiko," the voice said, giving Reiko quite a shock.

"You can read my thoughts?"

"I have that power." The voice became curt, businesslike. "Well then, Reiko. Are you interested? Would you like me to help you become a Sailor Senshi?"

Reiko gripped the blankets beneath her--as a ground of sorts for her, in the real world. "How can you do that though? I don't see--"

"I do not wish to be doubted," the voice said, impatiently. Suddenly a golden light filled the room, blinding the somewhat nervous girl. This light...it has to be the light of a Senshi. Incredible...

Next to Reiko's bed appeared a tall Sailor Senshi, wearing glittering gold armor, her hair tied in a warrior's knot. Something about her bothered Reiko, but she was too bewildered to think about it.

"A...Senshi. You're a Sailor Senshi, right? Who are you?"

I am known as Sailor Galaxia. I possess the ultimate power in this galaxy. Now do you trust in my ability to help you?"

How could I not? Reiko thought. "Yes! I believe you! Tell me what I can do!"

Galaxia smirked. So trusting. "It's simple, really, Reiko. All you have to do is..."

"Yes?"

"Join me. Swear allegiance to my cause."

"Swear allegiance to a powerful Sailor Senshi..." she hesitated for a moment.

"What's wrong, Reiko? Don't you want to be respected? Loved? Aren't you tired of your friends and family mocking you?!"

Reiko grew a little cold at those words. "Yes. I'm tired of that."

"Then do it! Join with me! Become a Sailor Senshi! Live out your desire! Do you know how few people actually get to make their dreams come true, Reiko? Think of the opportunity in front of you! Think of the power I can give you!"

Finally, Aya Reiko uttered the fateful words--words that would affect so many. And she had no idea.

"Yes. Give me the power."

Galaxia grinned--an evil, monstrous, horrible grin. "Excellent." Her bracelets flashed with that same golden light. The flash grew brighter in Reiko's suddenly terrified eyes.

And she screamed, as her Star Seed was ripped from her chest.

~***~

Sailor Mermaid shuddered with sudden intensity. "What was that I just sensed?" she said, stopping in her tracks. "A life...extinguished."

Her instincts as a Sailor Senshi had been flaring madly for the past half hour--something evil had invaded her planet. But where was it? And why did she feel that sudden wrenching pain?

She needed to find out--soon. Her mother, Mermaid's Queen, had sensed the presence herself, and was pacing restlessly back at the palace, waiting for her young daughter to return with some kind of news. Well, she thought ruefully, that shouldn't be too hard. There is definitely something here.

She stood on the rooftop of a tall office building, under the light of Mermaid's four moons, a breeze ruffling the ribbons of her fuku, as she scanned the city for anything unusual. But the thing she was searching for had, instead, come to her. A screeching alarm sounded in her head, warning her of the imminent danger.

She whipped around, to see a shadowy figure quietly approaching. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Sailor Mermaid. The guardian of this star, correct?"

She nodded uncertainly. "Yes. Now answer my questions! What is it that you want?!"

"You want to know? Then you will see." The figure emerged, her gold-plated fuku glimmering under that same moonlight. She smirked at the other Senshi. "I am Sailor Galaxia. You should be honored to meet me, Senshi."

Sailor Mermaid went ghostly white. Galaxia...? On my planet...? She had heard early reports, of an evil Sailor Senshi, known as Sailor Galaxia, who was obliterating the population of planet after planet. "Oh God. No..." She clenched her jaw, suppressing her fear. "No! I won't let this planet fall like Coronis!"

"But it will. Because this planet is trash. Like every other planet out there. Your fate will be no different than Sailor Coronis, my dear." She laughed, coldly, arrogantly. "Your Sailor Crystal will shine beautifully with the others! Won't that be a sight!"

"NO! You will not take my Sailor Crystal!"

Galaxia laughed even harder. "No, of course I won't! I've enlisted the help of a local for that." She directed her glance to the shadows. "Step forward, my faithful servant!"

If there was any color left in Sailor Mermaid's face, it quickly dissipated.

"R-Reiko-san...no..."

Aya Reiko's eyes were no longer bright, or cheerful, the way they had been at the beach that afternoon. Her stare was blank, and cold...dead. Sailor Mermaid realized with horror that Reiko's soul was not behind those eyes. The only shine about her was the glint of Galaxia's golden bracelets on her wrists. She still wore her sea-green nightgown, as she had the moment Galaxia had stolen her Star...her life.

"Galaxia!! What have you done to her?!"

"I have done nothing that Reiko did not desire," she said flatly. "She wanted to join me. She is loyal."

"NO! You've manipulated her!" She stepped closer to Reiko. "Reiko-san, please speak to me..."

Reiko was motionless. After a moment, she spoke, but not to Sailor Mermaid. "What is your wish, Galaxia-sama?"

"Reiko-SAN! STOP! What are you saying?!"

Galaxia stopped smiling, and sneered contemptuously at Sailor Mermaid. "Don't you see? She is dead to you. She will only listen to me." Yet again, a playful, sinister smile danced across her lips. "And it's time I tested that. Reiko," she said to the lifeless girl, "take this girl's Sailor Crystal."

The Senshi burst into tears, pleading with her friend. "Reiko-san, I don't want to hurt you! Stop! Please!"

No response. Reiko only stepped closer, bringing the bracelets up to her face.

Mermaid blinked away her tears. With pain in her face, and no other choice, she acted. "Mermaid TSUNAMI!"

The attack bounced off an invisible shield.

"Mermaid Deep Sea WRATH!"

Again, nothing.

The girl now crackled with a powerful, black aura--Galaxia's aura. She finally cast her eyes on her victim, but no pity or emotion lay in her pale blue orbs. Only death.

Galaxia laughed. "Go ahead, servant! Do it! Show me the strength of your desires!"

Reiko sneered.

At that moment, Sailor Mermaid realized what terrible trouble the galaxy was in. She made a final plea.

"Reiko-san, bring your heart out of this darkness. Aren't we friends, you and I?"

No response.

The bracelets flashed.

Sailor Mermaid closed her eyes. Reiko-san...why...?

And another pained scream echoed through the night.

A brilliant blue Sailor Crystal floated through the cool night air, into Galaxia's outstretched palm. Neither one paid any mind to the fading form of Sailor Mermaid, as her body blinked into ethereal nothing at Reiko's bare feet. "Wonderful. Good work, servant--now you may receive your power as a Sailor Senshi!"

Galaxia raised the Sailor Crystal above her head, and its blue light poured into Reiko's body. A fuku--different from Mermaid's, and pale blue--cloaked her body.

"You have shed your mortal body and soul, Aya Reiko!" Galaxia shouted into the night. "From this moment forward, you have been reborn as my servant, my Sailor Animamate, Sailor Aluminum Seiren!"

Seiren grinned wickedly. "Yes..."

~***~