Episode One: Guarded by Pluto, Scorpion Reluctance
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Author Notes: I know, I know. 'Didn't I have one of these stories up before?' The answer is yes. No one bothered to note that it disappeared tho. O.o Well, this is the edited version. I hope it's better, too.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, the original storyline, or anything of that nature. But I do own all original characters! Mine! My own... my love... my PRECIOUS!
The morning was cold and rainy. Aria hated the rain. It made her calico fur clump and often led to her becoming the victim of deeper than they looked mud puddles. She was careful to avoid anything that resembled one as she trekked down one of the main streets of the Juuban District of Tokyo. Ahead of her she could see a few students with identical school uniforms heading towards their morning classes.
"What school is near here?" Aria thought. She scanned her memory and decided it had to be Crossroads High School. Something in the small calico's memory clicked when she thought of that school, but a piece was missing.
She was searching for someone, though, and didn't have time for idle thoughts of schools that didn't matter at all. The calico started, the starburst mark on her forehead glowing suddenly as a girl of about sixteen rushed by. The briefest glimpse that Aria caught led her to believe the girl was blonde. Not very tall, but something strange seemed to surround her. Not to mention the haunting familiarity of that hairstyle that reminded Aria of meatballs.
The calico only shrugged as the girl disappeared up the stairs to the school. She sat down, careful not to get her already soaked fur dirtier than it already was. "Now where is that feline brother of mine?" Aria complained. She glanced left and right, looking for him, but saw no one approaching. Finally she sighed. "I did not come all the way from London to be stood up by that fleabag."
"Geez, can't a cat be a few minutes late?" came a teasing male, but dominantly feline, voice. Aria turned.
"Artemis!" she exclaimed. The white cat sat perched on the tall brick wall before her. He grinned and jumped down beside her.
"Hello, Aria. How's my favorite litter mate?" he laughed.
"I'm your only litter mate, if you've forgotten." she prodded. She glanced around to make sure they were alone and nodded towards him. He understood the sign, and headed towards an empty side alley near where they were.
"Now, what was so important that you managed to find a way to Tokyo?" Artemis pressed. Aria took a deep breath.
"I found this." she said, producing a moment later a small round compact. It was inlaid with silver, the back a deep crimson red. A sign in the center of it, unlike any either could recognize, was embossed, also in silver. The sign appeared to be a fancy 'M' with a arrow for a tail.
"What is it?" Artemis asked, feeling the small vibrations the dormant compact put off.
The vibrations were almost impossible to sense, but they were there. The guardian senshi of the planet Pluto could feel them. She smiled slightly.
"It is beginning." she whispered. No one heard her, and she was glad. She only hoped that the secrecy could last long enough for...
Trista shook her head. Better not even to think about it. You never knew who was watching.
Celeste Taylor bit her lower lip, very near drawing blood, at her annoyance. She hated her parents. She hated her new school. She hated the kids in it. And while she was at it, she might as well hate the whole planet, too.
"Ms. Taylor, welcome to Crossroads High School. I am the principal here, Mr. Miyazaki." the man who entered the cramped office introduce. Celeste stood, accepting his hand and shaking it gently.
Celeste fought a scowl. The man was using English with her. She DID know Japanese. She'd had to learn it since her parents decided it would do her good to finish off her schooling under the care of her grandmother. That had been six months ago. Now here she was, sitting in the principal's office of her new school, just a few blocks from her new home with her grandmother.
Celeste was brought back to reality as she realized the man had continued talking.
"I hope you'll find your classes acceptable. They may be a bit more difficult than you were used to from your American schooling, but you seem to be a bright young lady. I'm sure you'll do fine." he explained. He slid a half sheet of paper towards her. She lifted it and saw it was her schedule. "You can report directly to third period. Do you want a guide to help you find your way?" he asked.
"No, sir, I'm sure I can manage." she replied in flawless Japanese. He seemed thrown a bit off step. He then let loose a laugh.
"You'll do fine, Ms. Taylor." he ensured.
"So, what do you make of it, Artemis?" Aria asked finally. Both cats had long ago lost track of how long they'd been examining the compact.
"It's a senshi piece, no doubt. But I was under the impression that all of the senshi were accounted for. This doesn't make sense." Artemis mumbled. He pawed at the compact one last time before sighing heavily. "I guess I'll ask Luna. She might have an idea."
Aria nodded. She remembered Luna from the few times she'd communicated with her brother over the years.
"Artemis... the second breath is almost upon us, isn't it?" Aria asked.
Artemis stopped. "It's close. We're not ready for it yet, though." he replied. Aria nodded slightly.
"Very well." she answered. She disappeared the compact and stood. "Where does this Luna live?" she asked.
"Not far from here. With one of our senshi." he replied.
"Shall we?" she spoke. He nodded and the two began their walk.
It had been a long day. A really long day, Celeste decided as she trudged home that afternoon.
"Hey, wait up!" a voice called from behind her. Celeste didn't bother to stop, she hadn't made any real friends that day and doubted that they were calling for her.
"Celeste, was it? Wait up!" called another voice. Celeste stopped dead in her tracks and glanced back. Four girls about her age were rushing to try and catch up to her. She furrowed her brow at the strange collection. She recognized one as the brain of every class they shared. Another had slept through most. The other two could have often been found dishing about the latest gossip. "Who are you?" Celeste finally asked as they surrounded her. She wasn't used to such friendly people. Her old school had been a public school in the heart of New York City.
"I'm Mina." one of the gossipers spoke. She had really long, beautiful blonde hair. "That's Ami, Lita, and Serena." she introduced. Ami was the brain, with short, odd blue hair. Lita was the tallest, one of the gossipers. She had chestnut brown hair. Serena was the one who had slept through most every class. Her hair was tied up in pigtails, that strangely had little buns at the beginnings. They reminded Celeste of something, but she couldn't place what.
"We wanted to welcome you to Crossroads High." Lita spoke up. Celeste nodded slightly.
"Thank you." Celeste spoke.
"Where do you live? Maybe we can walk you home." Ami asked with a friendly smile.
"Not far from here." she stated. She gave them what directions she could remember and they smiled.
"Serena lives right near there." Mina spoke up. Celeste forced a polite smile.
"Great." she spoke, trying to sound excited but only managing to sound almost nervous.
"How was school, Celeste?" called the voice of the girl's grandmother as she pushed open her front door. She deposited her shoes next to the door and slipped on a pair of slippers.
"Fine, Grandmother." she answered. She dropped her bag near the end table where the phone was hooked up and ventured into the kitchen. There she saw her grandmother and a woman she didn't recognize.
"Hello." she greeted, bowing slightly as she'd been taught was proper. The woman smiled.
"Hello there, dear. So you're the famous Celeste?" she asked. Celeste pulled a can of soda from the refrigerator and took an empty seat at the table.
"Famous?" she asked, eyebrow raised slightly.
"I've heard so much about your from your grandmother. She's very proud of you." the woman smiled. Celeste smiled, too, fighting a faint blush.
"Oh, don't fret over it dear." her grandmother admonished. "It's only the semi-embarrassing stories, I've told." she teased.
"I'm not worried, Grandmother." Celeste assured.
"You must meet my daughter. She's your age. Her name is Serena." the other woman spoke. She took a sip of the tea in front of her.
"Does she happen to wear her hair in a strange pigtail style?" Celeste asked.
"Why yes, she does. Have you already met?" the woman asked. Celeste nodded.
"Serena and her friends walked me home today."
"Then I guess that means the whole crew is over at my house." the woman sighed.
"I'd guess so. They invited me over, but I declined. I have so much homework to do." Celeste spoke. The woman smiled, overjoyed at the statement.
"I hope you're habits rub off on Serena." she laughed. She drank the last bit of her tea. "Well, Takara, it's been nice chatting but I must be going. Celeste, it was nice meeting you. You're welcome to come over any time you like." the woman spoke. She stood, and Celeste's grandmother, Takara, walked her to the door.
Celeste made her way upstairs to her room.
Luna was as stumped as the other two cats. "I don't have a clue. Really I don't." she spoke, eying the compact.
Artemis sighed. "It was worth a shot, I guess. I'd really like to know what it's here for." he sighed. Luna shrugged.
Without warning the compact started to glow. All three cats jumped. The glowing compact floated up off the bed and began to emanate a silver beam upward. A small projection of Sailor Pluto appeared.
"Pluto! What's going on?" Luna exclaimed.
"Luna, Artemis. Since this compact has appeared means that the other galaxy is resonating. Their calling for their senshi." Pluto began.
"Other galaxy?" Artemis asked. "What do you mean?"
"It's too long of a story. I don't have time to tell you now. Is their a third guardian with you?" Pluto asked. Aria started.
"Yes." Luna finally said, eyes turned towards the calico.
"Good. Step forward Aria." Pluto spoke. Aria complied. "You are the one that I'm ordaining to do this. It was your duty once, to guide this girls, and it will be again. You have to find the owner of this compact, and soon. We don't have much time."
"How am I supposed to know who it's for?" Aria asked.
"All I can tell you is who she'll become. Since I can feel the life of this power, she must be Sailor Scorpio." Pluto spoke. "Our powers are interconnected." she added in explanation.
"Sailor Scorpio? Guardian of the constellation of the scorpion?"Aria asked.
"No. I'll explain later, after you find her. My time is up. Good luck, Aria. Godspeed." Pluto spoke, the projection fading. The compact fell to the bed it had laid on a moment before.
The three cats were silent.
"Well... now what?" Aria asked.
No one had a suggestion.
Aria was even more confused as she walked away from Luna's home. She was in shock. "How can I be their guardian? There's got to be a rule against all this somewhere." she mumbled. She had her eyes cast down and didn't notice anyone in her way until she'd head butted into an ankle.
"Oh. It's a cat." someone spoke. Aria glanced up at the person she'd run into. The girl had long black hair that had a strange undertone of a deep red. Her eyes were strange, the color of fire brandy. She knelt next to the calico. "Hello there, kitty." she greeted, rubbing the cat behind her ears. Aria purred despite of herself.
"What's that you got there, Celeste?" came another voice. An elderly woman appeared next to her. "She's pretty calico."
"Yeah, she is." the girl called Celeste responded. The elderly woman smiled so that Celeste couldn't see, but Aria did.
"Does she have a collar?" the elderly woman asked. Aria's hopes soared. They might keep her! Then she would have a base, a place to come back to when she looked for Sailor Scorpio.
"No. No tags or anything. She's probably a stray." Celeste answered. The elderly woman stooped down and rubbed Aria below her chin.
"She's a bright eyed little one. I think we should keep her." the woman smiled. Celeste started. She glanced up. "I love cats, myself. And if I remember correctly, you do too."
Celeste smiled and looked back down at the cat. "Do you want to live with us, little kitty?"
Aria meowed on cue. She jumped into Celeste's lap and purred as she rubbed up against the girl's chest. Celeste laughed.
"I think that's a yes."
Aria smiled cattishly as she was carried into a large house, not more than a block from where Luna lived. Things were going well.
Celeste smiled despite how much she was trying to be miserable. She set the small calico cat on her bed and laughed as immediately the cat curled up. Her eyes followed Celeste, however.
"Well, you're an alert one, kitty. You need a name, though." Celeste spoke. She thought long and hard, but nothing seemed right. "Oh, I guess I'll come up with something." she finally decided. She turned to sit at her desk and pulled out a large book.
Aria was curious as to what she was studying so she wandered over. She was on Celeste's lap a moment later.
"You're a curious one, too." Celeste laughed. She rubbed the cat's head gently and set her down. But Aria had left something behind. A small, round compact of deep red and silver. Aria panicked when she saw Celeste with it.
'How did I manage that!?' Aria thought as she watched Celeste examined it. 'Dear goddess Selene, I'm a failure already!'
"What's this? It's pretty... never seen anything like it, though." she mumbled. It began to glow a second after Celeste ran her hand over the sign in the center. She stood in surprise. A second later, a bright white light flashed. In Celeste's place stood a sailor senshi. The fuku's were cut differently than any Aria had remembered seeing before. The skirt was layered, all but the very last layer iridescent. Deep crimson, black, and silver alternated as the colors. The body piece was similar to what Aria knew, but the bow in the center was larger, fuller. The compact was at the center of it now. Over the shoulders the old sailor type addition was replaced by an iridescent crimson half cape that only fell to about the backs of her knees. It was clasped on either side by ornate scorpion shaped pins. Her gloves only reach to her wrists and were bound by crimson and black ribbons to match the skirts. Her boots were tall, and of a crimson hue.
Celeste panicked. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed, looking down at herself. Aria finally realized that finding Sailor Scorpio had been easier than even she could have guessed.
"Please don't panic, Celeste." Aria spoke. The girl's eyes grew wide.
"I've cracked! Cats talk and compacts make scary clothes... I've gone crazy." she told herself shakily.
"You have not cracked! Calm down!" Aria ordered. Celeste was surprised at the cat's volume and listened. She sank into her seat. "You are a sailor senshi. You fight evil, get it?" Aria snapped.
Celeste nodded, eyes no less wide. "I must be dreaming." she muttered.
"You aren't dreaming either, Sailor Scorpio." Aria responded dryly. Celeste glanced up and for a brief moment the two shared a thought.
'How did I get myself into this?'
Author Note... 2: Well... if that didn't make any sense, it's because I'm really sick. Ick. I shouldn't be up, and if my parents knew I'd be skewered and roasted on a spit for dinner. X_x Oh well. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Soon, yeah... soon especially for me! If this gets to be a wait of about a month... feel free to beat me with a stick. I need that once in awhile. ^_^