Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Show Must Go On ❯ The Show Must Go On ( One-Shot )

"The Show Must Go On"

A Sailor Moon storybook by Katrina Kadabra

 

Page 1

 

It was a normal day at Crossroad's School. Well... almost.

After the afternoon's math lesson, Usagi's teacher, Miss Haruna, announced they would be doing a school play. Waves of murmur flowed around the room. The class had never done a play before. Miss Haruna had written it herself. It was an exciting story about a fairy castle, a royal family, a magical beast... and a whole lot more stuff that sounded wonderful to act out. That was, until the teacher passed out the parts.

Usagi and Mamoru were playing the queen and king. That wasn't so bad, Usagi had said, although she would've rather had Michiru's part. Michiru was playing the lovely fairy princess, and Seiya was to be her dashing elf prince. Haruka was supposed to be playing Seiya's best friend and traveling companion. She wasn't too happy about that either. In fact, the only ones who probably were happy were Michiru and Ami. Ami didn't have to play a part. She was the director's helper.

 

 

 

Page 2

 

Even though Rei went to a different school, she still came to help set up for the big event.

"I think you're just here to see the Three Lights," Usagi muttered. Rei's face turned red.

"I... um... don't know what you're talking about, Usagi," she stuttered. "Hand me that banner, will you please?" Usagi sighed and reached for the large red piece of cloth. It slid all the way across the floor as Rei worked to hang it up.

"I can't remember any of my lines!" Minako wailed, walking in with her script. She was the narrator, so she had to introduce each scene of the play.

"It's easy," said Haruka. "You go, 'and then Seiya walked off stage and was never seen again.'"

"I don't think that's how it goes," Usagi corrected, who was getting a little tried of everyone's complaints. The play could be a lot of fun if everyone just tried to enjoyed it. But all anyone could do was say they didn't like the parts they were doing.

"Hey, Haruka?" asked Minako. "If you could have any part in the play, which part would you want?" she asked. Haruka blushed.

"I... I'm not telling," she said quickly and hurried off to her dressing room.

 

 

 

Page 3

 

The next week, things still weren't looking much better.

"Makoto, what is this?" Ami exclaimed, looking over the newly painted set. Makoto was confused.

"It's a dairy castle," said Makoto. "Like you wanted, right?" Ami slapped herself in the face.

"I said 'fairy' castle," she cried. "Why on earth would I ask for 'dairy' castle? I don't even know what that is!"

Makoto looked back at the set, painted with its bright green grass and bold red barn doors. She had even drawn a tower on the barn in the middle, to give it more of that castle look. "I don't know... it looks good to me," she said sadly.

"I know you mean well," said Ami, a little sorry now that she had yelled. "We'll think of something to do with it. But for right now, do you think you could make me a fairy castle instead?"

Makoto smiled, giving Ami a thumbs-up. "No problem, Miss Director. I'll have it done in no time!"

 

 

 

Page 4

 

Finally, it was dress rehearsal night. Tonight everyone had to practice the play as if it was really happening. The next day would be their first real performance. Ami was running hither and thither trying to organize everyone. Seiya was practicing how to sign autographs for his fans. Usagi was trying her best to help Mamoru put on his fake beard and mustache. He looked a lot more handsome without it.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Usagi asked, dabbing a bit more costume glue onto his check.

"Sure, I'm sure," Mamoru assured her through the fake whiskers. "Plays are a lot of fun. It's great to get up there and pretend you're in a whole different world. It's like a door to the imagination. Don't you think so, Usagi?" He looked down at her with sparkling blue eyes and she couldn't help but smile.

"Yes, I think so," she said quietly. "But I wish everyone else was as happy about this as you are, Mamo-chan."

Mamoru patted her on the back. "Don't worry," he said reassuringly. "Everything will work out. I'm sure of it."

 

 

 

Page 5

 

"Once a long time ago, in a magical kingdom far away..." Minako's voice suddenly rang out. Usagi gasped. She had been talking with Mamoru so long that she had forgotten to make sure she was on stage for the opening scene. Quickly, she rushed towards the set, pulling up her dress so as not to trip on it, and her high heels going click-click-click every step of the way.

Meanwhile, Minako continued on stage, "...there lived a world of fairies in their magical fairy castle." As she spoke, the curtain came up, revealing the newly-painted set that Makoto had just finished, with considerable help from Rei. Giant daisies and daffodils lined the back wall, while the stage light revealed a high wooden tower with a creeping vine and purple buds lines around it. Usagi and Mamoru were supposed to be in that tower when the curtain opened, but they were a little late. Luckily Minako waited until they were in place before she delivered her next line:

"One day the king and queen were visited by a handsome elf prince and his friend." She stepped to the side and the spotlight search until it found Seiya and Haruka walked briskly onto the stage. Seiya looked very happy, but Haruka looked like she would rather be having her teeth drilled.

"My king and queen!" Seiya called out, bowing as he reached the wooden tower. "I have come from afar to seek the hand of your fair daughter in marriage. Pray tell, where might I find her?"

Usagi smiled and took a deep breath. This was it, her big scene. She was ready.

 

 

 

Page 6

 

"Alas, prince," she called out. "But my daughter has been kidnapped by a magical feast." At that moment, everyone on stage giggled and Usagi quickly covered her mouth. Hours and hours of practicing and she still made a mistake. "Beast! I meant beast!" she quickly corrected, but everyone was still laughing. Even Mamoru. Usagi felt like she wanted to cry.

"Well, let's see you do it right!" she yelled down at Seiya.

"Usagi, please," said Ami from the audience. "This is a dress rehearsal. You can't yell out of character." Usagi blushed.

"Sorry," she said quietly, taking another deep breath and trying to remember her role as the fairy queen. "Go, and seek the council of the wise rabbit," she said strongly. "He will tell you where my daughter is and how to save her. If you bring her back safely and she agrees to marry you, then you have my blessing." She looked over at Ami, who gave her an energetic thumbs-up. Maybe things weren't so bad after all.

"Thank you, my queen!" Seiya called out. "I go now and promise I will return with your daughter safely." At that point, he turned to Haruka, being careful not to face his back to the audience. "Come my friend! We go on our quest!"

"Of course, my prince," said Haruka, and with that Seiya started to walk off stage. But instead of following him, Haruka stuck out her foot, causing Seiya to trip and fall forward onto the stage floor.

"Opps, my mistake," she said, even though it didn't seem like it was a mistake at all.

"Cut!" Ami cried, throwing her script in the air. "Everyone, take a break!"

 

 

 

Page 7

 

Usagi went home that night almost exhausted. They had gone over the play two or three more times, and each time something was wrong. She forgot a couple more of her lines, Seiya spent most of the play looking for a way to get back at Haruka for tripping him and at one point, Minako leaned on the set only to realize the paint hadn't dried yet. It looked like they were heading for a complete disaster.

"Mamo-chan," she said. "Why did you laugh at me when I messed up?"

"I'm sorry, Usako," he said. "It just... sounded funny, that's all. I wasn't laughing at you."

Usagi wasn't convinced. "It sounded like you were," she said. Mamoru smiled and put his arm around her. It felt good with the cool breeze that was beginning to blow.

"You know I would never make fun of you," he said. "You'll be wonderful tomorrow night, and so will everyone else."

Usagi found herself starting to believe him. "Do you mean that?" she asked hopefully.

"I promise you."

 

 

 

Page 8

 

The next morning Usagi woke up in a panic. She was late again, as usual. And to make matters worse, she had fallen asleep on the couch last night without even putting the curlers in her hair. Her usual smooth and bouncy hair looked like a collection of knots.

"Why me?" she cried, grabbing her lunch as she desperately tried to brush the knots out. "Not when we have the play tonight."

She tried all day to get the tangles out, but nothing seemed to work. Even Minako tried to help smooth it down, but all Usagi got out of it when head pain. Finally, she gave up.

"My hair will just have to go on stage as is," she sighed. And before she knew it, the school day was over and she was in her dressing room preparing for the opening scene. It was showtime.

 

 

Page 9

 

The beginning went much better than it did before. Usagi didn't forget any lines, and Haruka and Seiya didn't bother each other. The problem came after the two of them had left the stage.

It started with Ami tapping Mamoru on the shoulder,

"Psst!" she whispered. Mamoru turned around.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Makoto. She's sick and cant' play her part. Can you fill in for her?"

"Um, sure, I suppose," said Mamoru, although Usagi guessed he didn't have much choice. Ami was already pulling him backstage to change into Makoto's costume.

Meanwhile, on stage, Seiya and Haruka made their way to the lair of the wise old rabbit.

Seiya had the first line.

"Are you there, wise rabbit?" he called out. No answer. The silence that fell on the stage made every second seem like an hour. Haruka shifted her feet nervously. She wasn't supposed to speak in this scene, but it looked like someone had to cover until the rabbit appeared.

"Wise rabbit, please come out so that we may speak with you!" she called out. At last, there was a rustling in the plastic bushes. Haruka and Seiya turned to look and out stepped...

 

 

 

Page 10

 

...Mamoru! Usagi had to cover her mouth to keep from bursting out laughing. Now she knew how Mamoru felt last night when she messed up on her line. There he stood on stage in a white bunny costume, complete with big floppy ears and whiskers painted on his face.

"Uh, wise rabbit, do you know where the beast that took the fairy princess is?" Seiya managed to get out without giggling. Mamoru pointed.

"The beast lies in wait at the..." Mamoru squinted to remember his lines. "...dairy farm," he finally finished.

"The wha...?" Haruka started to object, but suddenly the curtain flew up and she saw exactly was he was talking about. The lovely scenery that Makoto had accidentally painted earlier was put to good use after all.

"What do I say?" Seiya whispered. "This wasn't in the script!"

"Wing it," Mamoru muttered. "I'm going backstage to change out of this costume."

 

 

 

Page 11

 

As Mamoru left the stage, a burst of steam came from the set. Seiya stepped back and drew his sword. From a trap door, Michiru entered the stage in full princess attire. Her hands were tied behind her back.

"Oh brave prince, please save me!" she cried out. "Otherwise the terrible beast will eat me alive." Another burst of steam and the terrible beast began to enter the stage. It was hard to make out at first through the shadows. But it had horns, and blackish-whitish fur, and something around its neck that made a ding sound every time it stepped.

"It's a cow!" Seiya exclaimed when the creature finally came into view. And it was indeed a cow.

"Well, what did you expect from a dairy castle?" the cow asked. The two actors were very confused. Mamoru's costume was obvious, but this cow looked quite real. And it talked.

"But I thought cows were herbivores!" Haruka objected. "They only eat plants." Michiru shot an angry glare in her friend's direction.

"Just get up here and save me," she said.

 

 

 

Page 12

 

At that moment, the cow held out its hoof and a blast of red light flew onto the stage. Haruka and Seiya quickly jumped out of the way. Seiya's eyes widened in shock when he saw the space were they can been standing was blown to bits by the attack.

"I think... that thing's real..." he stuttered. Again, the magical cow attacked and again they had to jump out of the way to avoid being fried. Even Michiru looked a bit scared now.

"I guess Ami really wanted to go for realism," she muttered.

No one quite knew what to do. They didn't want to hurt the cow, but it was certainly during some nasty damage to the scenery Makoto worked so hard on, not to mention the stage itself. "I've had about enough of this!" Haruka finally called out. Without a second thought, she reached for her weapon. "Space Sword Blaster!" A flash of yellow light filled the stage, knocking the cow out cold. Seiya stared in disbelief.

"That was your real attack!" he exclaimed. Haruka blushed a bit.

"Well, you need a real attack to defeat a real magical beast, right?" she asked hopefully. But Seiya didn't look too convinced.

"You ruined the entire play..." he started to say, but the clapping from the audience drowned him out.

 

 

 

Page 14

 

As the audience cheered, Seiya walked over and untied Michiru, holding her hands up and the three of them bowed. At Ami's cue, the rest of the cast hurried on stage to take their bows as well. Who'd have thought the play would have been such a success?

"Nice job with the cow, Ami," Michiru whispered. "Where did it come from?"

"Actually, it came from Dr. Tomoe's lab," said Ami. "He told me we could borrow it for the play. He didn't mention its... um, special powers."

"That figures."

Usagi happily took her place next to Mamoru. The clapping was so long and loud, she couldn't stop smiling. Even if things had gotten a little out of hand, Mamoru was right. Plays were great. And the best part was yet to come... the cast party!

 

 

 

Page 15

Everyone gathered backstage for juice and cookies. Usagi went straight for the chocolate chip, since those were her favorite, while Mamoru went to fetch them something to drink. While Usagi was munching away, Minako walked up to her.

"Hey," said Minako, smiling. "Sorry I laughed at you earlier. I really think you did a great job.

"It's okay," said Usagi. Minako was her best friend, so of course, she couldn't help but forgive her. Haruka came up too, looking down at the ground.

"I'm sorry too, for complaining so much," she said. "I was just upset that I didn't get the part I wanted."

"What part did you want, anyway?" Seiya asked. Haruka looked sheepishly down at her feet.

"Honestly? I wanted to play the princess," she admitted sheepishly. A couple of her friends giggled, but it wasn't in teasing. They enjoyed putting the play together just as much as she did. Michiru smiled and took the tiara off her head and placed in on Haruka's.

"You'll always be a princess to us," she said. The others happily agreed.

 

The End!