The Mysterious Stranger

Synopsis: Continuing after "Putting Her Research into Practice", Somnibot not only finds herself as a mascot for sleeping pills, but the owners of an Angel Grove theme park called Dreamland Twinkle-Star Park want to cast her as the park's mascot, the Lullaby Princess (based on the disguise of Dream Dolly from the Sailor Moon episode "A Nightmare in Dreamland").

Chapter 1--Somnibot’s New Line of Work

The next day, Somnibot received a call, not from the Luna Institute but from a local TV company wanting to use her talents for a commercial.

‘It’s for a completely natural sleep remedy.’, the pitcher said, eagerly.   They had heard of her incredible prowess. Besides, a trustworthy, unassuming and gentle face such as her’s would make for irresistible selling points.   

Before she knew it, Somnibot had become incredibly popular.  So much so that she had a theme park deal she couldn’t possibly turn down.  

‘You mean this park is all about dreams, sleep, reveries ?’, she said, her eyes lighting up like a young child’s on Christmas morning.   

‘That it is.   We just wanted your opinion on our mascot.  We all think she’s perfect for the position, but we wanted to see what you thought.’, one of the directors of the park said, as they were walking the grounds where it was in the process of being built.   

‘I have never seen something so meticulous.  You really went all out !’, Somnibot said.

‘Oh yes, even down to the food.   Everything here hearkens the amusement seeker to a simpler time and awakens nostalgia in the thrillist.’, another imagineer explained.   The park was rather gargantuan and impressive. All of them were looking forward to the ribbon cutting. The park was to be called Dreamland TWinkle Star Park and Dream Dolly was its mascot, amongst other kawaii characters that traipsed around giving out hugs, handshakes, fistbumps and the like.  

Chapter 2--Dolly’s Agenda

Dream Dolly put on her best facade.  No one knew her true intention, but she had come from the Negaverse to do her Mistress’s, Queen Beryl’s bidding.   She was to drain all the energy from the amusement park attendees. This feat would be easy, since her siren’s song instantly lured anyone in the vicinity into a deep slumber.   The useless husk would then be tossed aside, so much as a rag doll. Once vessels had been squeezed of their essence, they were as pointless as unsharpened pencils.

Dolly was somewhat of a diva, and she certainly did dress the part.   She had everyone eating out of the palm of her hand but she didn’t know that the Rangers felt there was something odd and ‘mechanical’ about her.   

‘She does seem rather robotic.’, Tanya stated. Aisha agreed.  Somnibot had been close enough to hear the metal creaking of joints and the pneumatic hiss of pistons firing infrequently.

‘She’s definitely AI and she’s not from our dimension.  I can see it in her aura.’, Somnibot observed. The children had caught on to this as well.   It was no time to be deceived, or slack off and have fun. This was a moment to strategize and be diligent and wise.   

Chapter 3--Dreamland Twinkle Star Park Open for Business

Many mascots and characters opened the doors excitedly to welcome thrill-seekers into the park.   Somni herself cut the red ribbon to herald the official first day of Dreamland’s running. It truly was an auspicious day.  However, the lovely, petite, coquettish Dream Dolly had other nefarious plans.

'Those silly Sailor Scouts won't get off scot-free this time around.', she said to herself.  They weren’t in this part of the country and there was no possible way they’d be alerted in time.  The Negaverse would have more than enough energy to rule the Earth and subsequently, all the earths in multiple dimensions.   Dolly would go down in history as the most successful monstress Beryl ever created out of pure darkness. Little did she know that Amy had felt a ‘shift’ in energy in Japan and located its origin on her laptop.   Before long, she and the Scouts had decided to take a little ‘vacation’ in California with the help of Hotaru and Setsuna.

The park was filled with the sounds of merriment, pop music and overflowing with the fattening smell of popcorn, deep-fried twinkies, funnel cakes and the park’s signature ‘Twinkle Stars’, which were both baked by professional patistiees and given a gluten-free alternative.  Dolly was called out on stage to entertain.

‘Showtime.’, she thought as a dark smirk blossomed on her face.  Three pajamaed characters, Winkin, Blinkin and Nod, handed her the microphone in sequence and she began to sing.   Everyone started falling into a deep sleep, besieged by horrible nightmares. Shrieks would erupt from them. All of a sudden, a tiara was thrown at Dolly and she hollered,

‘Sailor Moon ! However did you find me here ?  It’s impossible that you could’ve traveled by plane that quickly !’

Setsuna and Hotaru winked, being masters of Time and Space.  What they knew they wouldn’t reveal, and even if they did no one would’ve believed them and their methods after all.   

‘No. You Sailor BRATS aren’t going to disrupt THIS little concert !’, Dolly said, continuing to sing.

‘That’s enough singing, you’re hurting my ears !’, Mars said, using her Mars Fire Ignite to burn the microphone to cinders.

‘Who are these guys, they’re kick assed !’, Aisha said, loving the ladies uniforms and their signature style of combat.   

‘I don’t know but they’re strong.’, Adam commented, clearly impressed.   

‘I may not have my microphone but what I gathered is enough to help me defeat the likes of you !’, Dolly said beginning her transformation.   

‘Not so fast.  You won’t be hurting any children or anyone else anymore for that matter.’, Somnibot said.    She sang her siren song and instantly everyone was transported to the dream realm. Unfortunately, she didn’t realize that she and Dream Dolly were on equal fighting terms in their own backyard.

Chapter 4--Turning the Tide in Her Favor

Dolly could easily transform the ambiance and background to suit her need for fear, loathing, hatred and other emotions and feelings that would grant her more power.  

‘We can’t give into her influence !  She’s trying to manipulate us ! It’s a trick !’, Sailor Mercury noted.  

‘That’s right !  We have to remain positive’, Sailor Venus agreed.   It was challenging to do since all the warriors had seen were nothing but negative images.  They had heard nothing but sad commentary on the news today. So many people were committing suicide by hanging it couldn’t have been coincidental.   The evil one was most definitely at work and it certainly made Dolly’s job easier.

‘You’ll give in sooner or later.  It’s inevitable. Fear is the ultimate victor, everyone kowtows to it eventually !’, Dolly shrieked maniacally.    None of her words disturbed the Rangers, even though Dolly had grown exponentially in size and her appearance had become nightmarish.   She looked like something out of Salvador Dali’s rejected ideas. Her blob-like form hurled from left to right. No matter where she struck, her blows had little to no effect.

‘This realm is the Nightmare Sphere !  I should RULE this plane !’, she yelled, clearly becoming more and more psychotic by the minute.   Her rage overtook her until she was nothing more than a shadow of her former self, controlled by wrath.   

Chapter 5--Light vs. Darkness

'You cannot defeat me in this realm, Scouts and Rangers ! Its power feeds me, makes me stronger !', Dolly gloated.  

‘Your power can’t overcome love though.’, Pashitea said, raising her scepter high.  The others raised their weapons and a brilliant glow emitted from them, blinding Dolly.   

‘Too bright !’, she said, shielding her eyes but the luminescence only grew more vibrant.   The unconditional love and care the Rangers and Scouts held was unparalleled to any other emotion on earth and surpassed all others.   The light grew white hot and burned Dolly into ash. She didn’t even have a chance to execute another counterattack because she was incinerated into cinders.    The battle had been long and hard. The Rangers and Scouts stood bruised and sore, but victorious.

‘If you should ever encounter another one of those Negaverse twerps, here’s a little something to make communication easier.   Call us if you’re ever in a pinch.’, Sailor Moon said, tossing a compact communicator to Jason. Jason caught it without missing a beat.  

‘We should really return.  The park employees are probably wondering where we’ve been and why we’re not on their tour.’, Isaac said, thoughtfully.   The Sailors nodded. Pluto spun her baton counterclockwise and returned them all to Japan. Somnibot then prepared her friends to awaken from the Dream Realm just in time to join their tour group before they had been missed.   

Chapter 6--Back to the Tour

‘Did you disappear for a moment ?’, the tour guide asked, curiously.   Yume smiled innocently.

‘We had to catch up !  You were too far ahead.’, she said as a quite little white lie.   Yume usually didn’t lie but it wasn’t exactly not true.   They did have to catch up with the rest of the tour group.    

They saw the rest of the amusement park and savored a show that featured dream-inspired characters as well as familiar franchise faces.   No company actually owned Dreamland Twinkle Star Park. It was an independent franchise whose profit went to help Make-A-Wish kids and many other child-centric charities.  

Epilogue

'We so need a Dreamland Twinkle Star Park in Angel Grove. This place is so fun I feel like I NEVER want to leave !', Herman said.

'Hey, let's go check out the TechnoDream land again !', Tega said.   Somni winked.

‘With the rapport I developed with the imagineers and creators, we may well be getting our own version of Dreamland, but it’ll take time.   This one has to be successful first’, she beamed a confident smile. Everyone was tuckered out, however, and took the tour bus home resting all the way, dreaming about the Dreamlands that would be built in the future.  

The End