Fanfic / A New Order

A New Order is an Sailor Moon Alternate Universe Fic by Ashen-Author based on an occasionally played with but rarely explored idea: What If? the Senshi woke up in a different order than canon? The differences this causes are small at first, but grow larger. This plays around with group dynamics and competency levels, exploring the characters in interesting ways.

It includes the author's own spin on the nature of Senshi magic and transformations, tying in the mask that Usagi had in the beginning of the manga, the disguise field, and the nature of Sailor M compared to her genuine Senshi form.

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This story provides examples of:

• All of the Other Reindeer: The reason Ami transferred to Juuban High from Enkai Academy is because of how severely she was being bullied and tormented by her peers.
• Altar the Speed: Implied; Ami states that she was born five months after her parents married, and she wasn't premature.
• Alternate Universe Fic
  • Sailor Moon still wakes up second, but in the first chapter there's already a clue to the major changes in the works: instead of Sailor V running around England, it's Sailor M.
  • It's shown that Usagi is a much better student in this 'verse, though she still has attendence problems from time to time. While she still punishes her, Ms. Haruna also takes the time to pull her aside and chat about her issues, trying to work out some solutions.
  • Luna is much more forthcoming with information about the Silver Millennium, explaining everything that she remembers to the girls right up front.
  • The order that the Senshi awaken in. So far, it's been: Sailor M, Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Uranus.
  • The first General that Usagi and the others face is not Jadeite, but Zoicite.
  • Ami transfers directly into Usagi's class instead of being sorted into another homeroom.
  • The Senshi start learning martial arts much earlier on when they meet an unawakened Sailor Uranus who later wakes up.
  • While Usagi is still a ditzy, lazy Big Eater, she takes her new responsibilities a lot more seriously than in canon.
• And Knowing Is Half the Battle: Inverted. If the Dark Kingdom knew how weak and uninformed the Senshi really were, the war would be over in days.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Haruka refers to fighting three youma simultaneously as a warm up.
• Ascended Extra: In the anime Jadeite has a subordinate, Thetis, who specializes in water and shows the most hints of humanity (crushing on Jadeite) out of the series, but still gets killed off in one episode. Here, Thetis is upgraded into Tethys a member of one of the second generation of Shadow Warriors, making her one of the ten strongest youma to ever have existed. When she fights against the Senshi, Tethys quickly pushes the team further than they ever had been pushed before (Moon and Mercury pass out immediately after the battle ends) and had the Senshi been seconds slower or less well prepared, they would have died two or three times. But she still gets killed in the end.
• Author Appeal: Inverted with Uranus, the author's least favorite Senshi, which is why she gets worfed early on. Playing it straight, Mercury is his favorite, which is why she wakes up after Moon.
• Bad Boss:
  Queen Beryl: I don't enjoy being a bad boss, Zoicite. Well, no, I do, but I prefer to torture weak minions, since the strong should be in good health to serve.
• Badass Normal: Deconstructed with Naru. When it was only her and Usagi she helped out against the youma, but mostly as a distraction. With more Senshi awake, she mostly stays on the side lines as support, to keep from getting hurt, but is still a member of the team
  • There's foreshadowing that she will end up being Sailor M's successor.
• Barrier Warrior: The youma Imime specializes in erecting barriers, which causes issues when she cuts Sailor Moon off from potential backup.
• Berserk Button
  • For Zoicite, it’s hurting his good looks, especially his face.
  • For Usagi, it’s when other people, such as the Dark Kingdom, hurt the innocent.
  • For Ami, she tends to be annoyed by her initial lack of attack spells.
• Big Damn Heroes: Ami shows up to save Usagi and Mamoru from Tethys's water attack with an ice shield.
• Blood Magic: Usagi can only cast her spell Mirror Light Escalation if she is injured and bleeding
• Body Double:
  • Played With: Queen Beryl is well aware that Sailor Venus used to serve as a body double for Princess Serena; as a result, she assumes that Sailor Moon is serving the same purpose.
  • Naru uses the Disguise Pen in order to hide her own identity, and impersonates Sailor Moon a few times.
• Body Horror: In what may be a homage to another popular fanfic, Shadow Warrior Bokushi’s awakening makes it sounds as though it grew inside and burst out of its host’s skin.
• Break the Haughty: Becoming Sailor M gave Rei a major ego boost... for about a week. Then she made a mistake that nearly cost a victim their life. But the worst reality shocks came at the warehouse, with her lover's betrayal and Katarina's apparent death.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Helios does this when conversing with Queen Serenity.
• Breather Episode: Invoked. The first episode without any youma attacks is named Just Breathe, the Bus is Here.
• By the Power of Grayskull!: Much the same as in canon.
• Calling Your Attacks: All the time, without fail.
• The Chains of Commanding: Luna doesn't recall much about Usagi's past incarnation, but recognizes that Sailor Moon was the leader of the senshi. Usagi's worries about her abilities leads her to push herself harder.
• Combination Attack: Like in the anime, the Senshi can combine their spells into even stronger attacks.
• Conservation of Ninjutsu: Averted. The Senshi easily gang up on and kill one youma, so the Dark Kingdom starts throwing two or three at a time at them, which makes battles longer and harder.
• Cool Mask: In this continuity, simply transforming doesn't conceal one's identity, since the identities of the senshi were well known back in the Silver Millennium. However, they can create magical masks that DO prevent others from being able to identify them.
• Crash-Into Hello: Usagi and Mamoru, but also Usagi and Ami. Usagi is late for class and runs her over when rounding a corner.
• Creepy Crossdresser: Zoicite isn't afraid to dress up in various disguises. The girls occassionally joke about this.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: Had Mercury not figured out how to kill her at the last second, Shadow Warrior Tethys may well have killed the senshi by sinking the cruise ship.
• Early-Bird Cameo:
  • Haruka, due to the nature of the story.
  • Ryo Urawa first appears by approaching Ami to check on her after noticing her distress over Haruka's injuries.
  • Helios appears to Usagi in a dream.
  • In one chapter, Haruka and Naru are arguing over whose musical tastes are superior. Their respective choices: classical genius Michiru Kaioh and pop star Minako Aino respectively.
• Eldritch Abomination: Metaria, obviously, but also Helios! The last we see of him, his flesh is melting and a horn is growing out of his forehead.
• Elite Army: Zoicite's remaining youma after he specifically empowers them to kill the Senshi in his last attempt.
• Entertainingly Wrong:
  • Luna assures Usagi that she is most definitely NOT the crown princess. After all, it was VERY rare for an heir to become a senshi. Since Princess Serena's father died before a second child could be born to take the mantle, obviously Usagi must have been a cousin.
  • Queen Beryl and her followers are operating under their own assumptions based on what they recall of the Silver Millennium.
  • Upon meeting Rika again, Usagi comes to the conclusion that she’s Sailor Pluto based purely on her impressive profile. She later comes to a similar conclusion with an artist drawing pictures resembling the Moon Kingdom, assuming her to be Sailor Neptune.
• Even the Girls Want Her: Haruka.
• Face–Heel Turn: An extra sequence in Chapter 6 reveals that somebody betrayed the Silver Millennium, and is still around as part of the Dark Kingdom. Their identity is currently unknown, only that they're female.
• Family-Unfriendly Death: Zoicite gets reduced to a blackened, charred skeleton. (This may be a Mythology Gag, as this is what happened to Jadeite in the manga.)
• Flat "What": Tuxedo Kamen reacts this way when Mercury informs him that their current theory about his identity is that he's a defector from the Dark Kingdom.
• Foreshadowing: A mysterious figure advises Queen Beryl that Sailor Moon may actually be Sailor Venus in disguise. They know this because they betrayed the Silver Millennium.
• Gas Leak Cover-Up: Used to conceal the contest incident; however, Umino cites rumors that it may have been another youma attack. The same excuse is used to cover the attack at Juuban High.
• Genre Savvy: Usagi tries to be this after discovering TV Tropes, often invoking tropes by name, but it doesn't always work.
• Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Usagi does this to her own mother while in the middle of a major Freak Out over Haruka's hospitalization.
• Hammerspace: Subspace pockets that the Senshi can create with a little help.
• Healing Factor: All of the senshi are naturally rapid healers. Unfortunately, Luna can't remember the method to speed it up, meaning the girls still have to deal with hiding injuries, but they usually heal within a day or two.
• Heart Is an Awesome Power: Tuxedo Kamen learns that he can summon more than just roses, and how to use this to his advantage.
• Heel–Face Turn: One of the most powerful youma DEFECTS after Zoicite treats it badly.
• Heroic Bystander:
  • Naru deliberately exploits this when she's disguised. An outside observer wouldn't have any reason to suspect that it's the same person 'randomly' helping out the senshi during these various youma attacks.
  • Suzume Shihoin, the school's secretary, manages to get a good hit in on Zoicite during a scuffle at Juuban High.
• I Know Mortal Kombat: The Sailor M video game is actually a training simulation in disguise. Luna actually starts investigating the potential for Mizuno Ami to be a senshi after learning she got a high score on it.
• In the Name of the Moon: But of course. It is a Sailor Moon fic after all.
• Indirect Kiss: Umino gets flustered when he sees Ami give Usagi part of her lunch as he sees it as an indirect kiss.
• Invisible Parents: Averted with Ami and Usagi: we meet both their families and they appear in several scenes. Played straight with Naru and Haruka.
• It's Personal: Part of the reason Naru wants in on the action is because of how her family's jewelry store was targeted in a scheme and she and her mother were nearly killed. Usagi also states that if Luna'd awakened her even an hour later, her best friend would have been killed.
• Knight of Cerebus: The author attempted to invoke it with Nephrite. His first appearance awakening a Shadow Warrior has him accompanied by a wolf-like youma named Kerberos. This is because the author thought it read cerberus syndrome (as in the three-headed dog).
• Late-Arrival Spoiler: For Codename: Sailor V. A Sailor M version of the manga is widely published in this universe, and is heavily based off of the real Sailor M's experiences. Luna cites what happened with Ace as her reasoning for distrusting Tuxedo Kamen.
• Late for School: This is a recurring issue for Usagi, enough that Ms. Haruna has noticed a pattern and has been trying to figure out the cause.
• Let Us Never Speak of This Again: When the rest of the team is playfully teasing Ami about potentially having a crush on Jiro, Ami blurts out that she's more attracted to Zoicite than she is to him. While this appears to have came out wrong, it still shocks the others into silence before they decide to forget this ever happened.
• Magnetic Hero: Ami observes that while Usagi isn't an obvious Queen Bee, others seem to be naturally drawn to her. She also theorizes that Usagi's influence protects Umino from being bullied.
• Mistaken for Romance: Luna teases Usagi for spending so much time with the New Transfer Student Ami, provoking a She Is Not My Girlfriend outburst. She also notes that such relationships were common during the Silver Millennium, even among the senshi.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: This, combined with Because You Were Nice to Me, leads to a youma's defection.
• My Friends... and Zoidberg: When listing off the senshi team thus far in Chapter 7:
  Usagi: So we have one super soldier, one genius, an invincible fighter, an undercover redhead, and a cat! We're unstoppable!
• Mythology Gag:
  • The names of the girls' Silver Millennium's incarnations are drawn from their names in the original English Dub.
  • In keeping with the above, it's stated that it was traditional for the heir to be known as a diminutive of their parent's name until they were grown. Meaning that Serena wasn't the moon princess' real name, and Chibi-Usa would be following the same tradition if she appears in the story.
• Nightmare Fetishist: Downplayed and played with through Usagi, who's revealed to have gone through a ghost story/horror movie fanatic phase when she was eleven. Despite all her other fears, she isn't scared of that sort of thing, proclaiming that "Haunted houses just make me laugh!"
• No Periods, Period: Averted: in the first chapter, Ms. Haruna asks if Usagi’s cycle is affecting her schoolwork. It may be hinted at in chapter 17 when Usagi goes through a number of mood swings during a fight.
• Not the Fall That Kills You…: Usagi refers to her brother joking that she's not afraid of heights so much as she is the ground, since it's the impact that does damage.
• Oblivious to Love: Naru has been secretly crushing on her Childhood Friend Umino for several years, but he's completely missed that because he's too preoccupied with his crush on Usagi. (Usagi, for her part, averts this: she's aware of his feelings, but isn't sure how to let him down gently.)
• Oh, Crap!: Multiple times throughout the story by multiple people. The most interesting, however, might be Beryl, when she learns that a Shadow Warrior has defected.
• One-Steve Limit: A side note in the chapter detailing Sailor M's backstory notes that her parents almost named her Ami, "which would have caused some confusion in later life."
• One True Sequence: Averted and played with. Thus far the Dark Kingdom and the Senshi have been chasing and getting closer to different Rainbow Crystals, but when they find and try to remove a crystal, it takes so much power and energy that the others can show up to interfere. This is completely averted when Nephrite secretly removes the Indigo Rainbow Crystal while Jadeite creates a distraction.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Used as a Running Gag. Usagi's such a big eater that those who know her get worried whenever she leaves food behind.
• Paper-Thin Disguise:
  • Played with. Without the magical mask the senshi are easily recognizable (as seen when Naru recognizes Usagi as sailor Moon), but with the mask on they are completely unrecognizable, even if you are looking straight at them and have suspicions already. When Haruka awakens as Sailor Uranus, Usagi doesn’t see her until after she puts the mask on, and even though she had already suspected Haruka was a senshi and was looking straight at her, she didn’t realize it was her.
  • Usagi sees through most of Zoicite’s disguises easily.
• Parents as People: Ikuko and Kenji are fleshed out. So is Ami's mother, Saeko.
• Pet the Dog: Queen Beryl's decision to heal a youma who survived their encounter with the senshi, restoring their sight and accidentally triggering their ascension to Shadow Warrior status.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Queen Beryl, Zoicite, Jadiete and several other members of the Dark Kingdom refer to the sailor senshi with a variety of slurs.
• Poor Communication Kills:
  • Downplayed in Chapter 9: when Usagi returns in tears, she can only stammer out Haruka's name at first. Ikuko and Kenji start to assume the worst, leading to Usagi exploding and slapping her mother before blurting out that Haruka was hospitalized.
  • Led to tragedy and heartache in Rei's past, as her parents' misunderstanding of each other following her mother's miscarriage led to a series of misinformed decisions.
• The Power of the Sun: Sunlight helps the senshi's Healing Factor. This becomes a problem when Uranus is seriously injured while they're in a pocket dimension.
• Protectorate: Usagi is devoted to protecting her friends, especially Naru. Seeing the strength of this devotion repeatedly reminds those around her that the Silver Millennium's incarnation of Sailor Moon wasn't The Leader for nothing.
• Red-Headed Stepchild: Jadeite boastingly compares Zoicite to one of these when comparing himself to his rival. He only realizes how poor a choice of words this was when Beryl states that her own step-mother never laid a hand on her, though her father was a different story.
• Reincarnation Romance:
• Running Gag: Sailor Mercury has three spells, none of which are offensive. One creates mist, one freezes things, and one makes a shield. If she wants to kill a youma on her own, she has to freeze it and beat it to death bare-handed. Her lack of offensive ability repeatedly annoys her.
• Sailor Fuku: During the Breather Episode, the just-awakened Haruka complains the way their uniforms look, kicking off a long discussion about why this is and the possibility of changing them.
• Secret-Keeper: Naru and Rei's Grandfather.
• Secret Secret-Keeper: The principal's secretary is implied to have figured out that Ami is Mercury.
• Self-Made Orphan: The very first person Beryl sacrificed to Metaria was her own abusive father.
• Shout-Out: A number of them:
  • Usagi is a fan of Neon Genesis Evangelion.
  • Tsuruko Aoyama is a government agent.
  • Queen Serenity references both Time Lords and a certain trickster priest as being able to come through the Time Gate.
  • Ami enjoys playing Dungeon Keeper.
• Sonic Scream: Usagi uses it against the first youma she fights, same as in manga canon, and keeps using it throughout all her other battles.
• Sufficiently Analyzed Magic: When Ami is struggling to wrap her mind around her crash course on the Silver Millennium, Luna lessens the impact by explaining that magic is often interwoven with science, and about thaumology.
• Talking Is a Free Action:
  • Played straight, reconstructed, and averted. Some speeches go off without a hitch, some are interrupted, and some are specifically to distract from the real plan.
  • In one event, Sailor Moon pulls this on a youma right after it pulls this on Tuxedo Kamen.
• Teen Genius: Ami, of course, having an IQ of 300. Mamoru is implied to be a slightly lesser one, having skipped a grade.
• Thanks for the Mammary: How Usagi discovers that Haruka is a girl.
• Tokyo Is the Center of the Universe: Played with. After their operation in England was busted, the Dark Kingdom only had the manpower to focus on one area. They chose Tokyo because it was prophecied that the Silver Crystal would show up there. They would move elsewhere if they thought it would be worthwhile.
• Took a Level in Badass:
  • The overall strength of youma took a level when Zoicite empowered his remaining forces so they could better kill Sailor Moon. It was the first time any youma couldn't be killed with a single tiara, and there were several of them.
  • Tuxedo Kamen's flowers are used to new and deadly effect on the cruise ship. Possibly doubles as a Moment of Awesome.
• Transformation Is a Free Action: Averted. The senshi all transform well before any battle begins precisely because it isn’t.
• Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Played with when Usagi decided to tell Hino-sensei her secret during the bus plot.
• Was It All a Lie?: After awakening, Ami tearfully asks Usagi if the only reason she befriended her was because she was Sailor Mercury.
• Wave-Motion Gun: Usagi's spell Mirror Light Escalation, which is powerful enough to almost kill Zoicite!
• Wham Episode:
  • Chapter 12. A Shadow Warrior defects and Zoicite dies.
  • 17. Nephrite uses Jadeite's ship plan as a distraction to obtain another Rainbow Crystal and the Shadow Warrior doesn't get purified.
• Wholesome Crossdresser: Haruka.
• The Worf Effect: Haruka, as Sailor Uranus, is several years older than the other senshi and a trained fighter, as well as an Outer senshi. By all rights, she should be the most powerful fighter on the team. Her first battle after transforming has her almost killed and hospitalized.
• Worldbuilding:
  • Luna doesn't have all of her memories, but goes into as much detail as she can about what she remembers about the Silver Millennium, how the Senshi's magic works, and so on.
  • Starting with Chapter 12, some Extra post-chapter content gives information about the previous generation of Sailor Senshi — the ones before those who wound up reincarnated.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Usagi's reaction when she sees advertising for Zoicite's next scheme in the paper the morning after she'd thwarted his last one.
• You Just Told Me: When telling Usagi about how Sailor Moon saved her, Naru deliberately flubs the youma's name. Usagi automatically corrects her.

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