Episode 1: The Stitched Star is Born
In another time long forgotten, there was once a kingdom whose inhabitants were both humans and monsters of all kinds. This kingdom was ruled by a good and wise king, who was preparing his beloved granddaughter, the princess of the kingdom, to rule after his death. The kingdom lived peacefully and was prosperous. That is, until the day an evil being arrived and disturbed the peace, bringing an army of darkness and betrayal. The King tried to reason with her, but the Ruler of the Dark was persistent. She devised a plan to conquer and destroy the kingdom, using anything she could get her hands on to her advantage.
The Queen of Darkness harnessed the power of her Kingdom to strengthening her own malevolent force. She released the power on the good kingdom. Within hours, nearly everyone and everything had been obliterated.
Although his kingdom and entire world was falling in ruin, the King transferred the last of his power to the Elemental Crystal and the Crescent Staff. Using it's power, the King sent the princess, her court and the people of his kingdom to the future in a new world called Earth, where they would all at last be safe. In return for their well-being, the people of the kingdom had their memories stripped away from them.
Without their memories to guide them, the King sent several special guardians to Earth with the princess and his people. These guardians must find the princess, so she can use her power to restore peace and truth to the world. And now… our true story begins.
A great deal of time had passed since that day. Now, Earth was a beautiful planet with many people. And issues.
In a sleepy Oregon town, a teenage girl was sound asleep. The alarm set on her phone started to go off with a loud buzzing noise with the sound only being multiplied from the table. She reached over and slid her fingers across the phone screen several times before successfully shutting off the alarm.
The girl swung her legs over her bed and walked over to her vanity with a yawn. Looking in the mirror, she saw her unchanging reflection, with the exception of a messy bedhead. If you were looking at her for yourself though, you would have thought she was kinda weird.
The girl was born with several birthmarks that circled her skin and strangely looked like stitching. There were two on her right arm, one on her left, two on her left leg, one on her right, a one that encircled her neck and one stitch on her right cheek. They were a dark color which made them stand out even more against her skin. They were hard to hide. The weird thing was that they looked like they held her body together. The girl just thought that they were a family gene or something similar. She never paid much attention in biology class. But her family had them on their bodies too.
The girl's eyes were as odd as the rest of her. The girl was born with heterochromia, meaning her eyes were two colors. Her left eye was green, and her right eye was blue.
Her long hair was also very unusual. The girl had been born with poliosis, creating a thick, long white streak in her black hair. Her bangs fell to the right side of her face. The girl pulled back her fringe with a hair clip before continuing her daily routine.
The girl refiled through her drawers and pulled out her school uniform. It was a normal uniform for a high school. It had a sleek white dress shirt and a dark blue jacket with the school's crest sewn on the breast pocket. It also included a blue skirt, a black tie and gray socks. The girl pulled out a pair of black and white striped heels to go with it. She quickly began to dress and get ready for the day.
As she had finished up, the girl decided to check her phone to see if there were any notifications. She picked up her phone as she loosened the tie around her neck. She froze solid for a split second before panicking.
"Ah! I'm gonna be late!" she cried as she read the time. One minute until seven o'clock. The girl hastily pulled on the rest of her uniform and shoes and ran up the stairs, seeing as her bedroom was originally the basement. There had been only two bedrooms in the house, but the girl had made the best of her situation and her loss to her older brother.
"Mom! Why didn't you wake me up in time for school?!" the girl asked her mother as she reached the top of the stairs and ran past the kitchen where her mother sat. Her mother looked a lot like her daughter. The only exception was her blue eyes and her short, jet black bob.
"I did, Frankie, sweetheart. Ten times I tried," replied her mother as she went through the newspaper at the dining room table. Frankie ran past with a toothbrush in her mouth. "Each time you said you were getting up in five minutes."
"And you actually believed me?!" Frankie wiped the foam off of her mouth as she ran out of the first floor bathroom. She grabbed her school bag and ran towards the door.
"Frankie!"
"Mom, I need to go!"
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Frankie spun back around to look at her mother, who was now standing behind her. She held a brown paper lunch bag in her hands. Frankie laughed awkwardly.
"Lunch… oh yeah…" Frankie took the bag from her mom and kissed her on the cheek. She turned and ran out the door, slamming it loudly behind her.
"I'm so tired!" yawned Frankie to herself as she ran down Main Street, narrowly avoiding men and women on their way to work. Several curses fell on her ears whenever she bumped into someone. "Why didn't I go to bed earlier? Stupid YouTube videos!"
"Hold it still! I wanna feel its tongue!" shouted a childish voice. Frankie stopped in her tracks with a confused look on her face. "I'm trying!" Franke turned into the alleyway where the voices were coming from. She saw three little boys. They were holding something furry and writhing violently in their little hands. Frankie took a few steps closer. She seized to a halt when she saw it was a dog. One of the boys' hands trying to pry its jaw open. Her eyes narrowed as a feeling of rage rose in her chest..
"Hey, kids! Knock it off!" she yelled at the kids. "Leave that dog alone!" The boys turned to look at the girl. They all went stiff as a deer caught in headlights.
"We've been caught!" one of them yelled. The three boys dropped the dog and ran off in the other direction. Frankie glared at them before heading over towards the dog. She knelt down and carefully picked it up.
The dog had soft brown fur and heterochromatic eyes. His eyes oddly enough matched Frankie's perfectly, from the color to the placement. The dog also had harsh stitches and scars across his skin. The scars shown through his fur. It was as if the stitches had been done by a drunken veterinarian or a pet owner trying to avoid police charges. Obviously, both of them had failed to hide something horribly.
"You poor thing," Frankie said sweetly, petting his forehead gently, "You must have been through a lot, huh?" The dog barked happily and began to lick Frankie's face, making her giggle. "Aw, you're so sweet!" Frankie smiled and decided to take a better look at the dog. She pulled him away from her face. There was a dirty old band-aid stuck to the fur on his forehead.
"Do you want me to take this band-aid off?" she asked the dog. The dog began pawing at the band-aid. Frankie, taking the pawing as a yes, carefully peeled the band-aid off, making sure not to hurt the dog further. Her heterochromic eyes widened at what was underneath. It was a gray skull.
"Is that a skull?" She went to poke it, but the dog wriggled out of her grip and ran a good distance away from her. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you." The dog barked at her, causing the stitched girl to jump back a few feet. Frankie took a quick look at her phone for the time. 7:10.
"Ah!" she yelled, "Now I'm going to be really late if I don't hurry up!" Turning on her heel, Frankie ran towards the high school the best she could in her shoes.
Frankie arrived at Merston High, Salem's local high school, with only a minute to get to her first period class. Luckily, she got her seat next to her best friend, Rebecca Steam. Even Rebecca, who was always late, beat Frankie to school and to class.
Like Frankie, Rebecca was was strange girl as well. She had tan skin, black curls and copper colored eyes that Frankie swore looked like gears sometimes. Rebecca was in love with robotics and mechanics, which made her an outcast among the students. She almost always had grease and oil stains on her clothes. She kept a pair of goggles on her forehead as well to keep herself from losing them. Frankie always joked that Rebecca might have been a robot in a past life or something. Rebecca loved to take risks and would often either get hurt because of them or get in trouble with her guardians. She even was on the roller derby team at the school as well.
Rebecca was outcasted by the rest of the student body for many reasons. One reason was because she was an orphan. Rebecca's mother had died in a car accident, while her father mysteriously disappeared. One of the teachers had taken her in, and raised her from the tender age of eight. Most people said that her father had just gotten sick of looking at her and abandoned her. This would always make Rebecca upset since she had been close to her father before his disappearance.
"Wow, you're far later than I usually am," said Rebecca in her British accent, "Did your alarm clock short out again? Or did you forget to set it? Your parents got you that for a reason you know." Frankie shrugged as she sat down.
"I don't know, it might have. I even had a backup set on my phone," Frankie answered, "You know how electricity just loves me. It shocks me constantly, and all of my things are always shorting out!" Rebecca laughed nervously at her friend's strongly intended use of sarcasm.
"Calm down, Frankie before you short out," Rebecca said jokingly as she tried to find a way to change the subject. "Hey! Did you hear about the new Sailor D video game that came out? I saw it on T.V. last night!" Frankie's mood perked up.
"Yeah, I saw that too. I'm going to the arcade after school to see if they have it." Suddenly, someone cleared their throat from behind the two girls. Their teacher standing behind them.
"Miss Stein, you should be studying more and watching less T.V.," he said. His sudden presence made Frankie jump. "There isn't any excuse for failing this test!" Their math teacher held out Frankie's test to them. On it was a large, red thirty percent on the top of the paper. Frankie's eyes grew wide.
"I failed?" she said with her mouth wide open, "How?! I studied all night for this test!"
"Have one of your parents sign it and return it to me." The teacher handed Frankie her paper and walked away. The stitched girl sighed.
"I can't believe this happened," she told Rebecca, "I studied all night the night before! How could I have possibly have failed?!" Rebecca took Frankie's paper and read it over. She stifled a laugh. "Ow, thanks for being a real good friend, Rebecca."
"It's not that, love," said the tanned girl, "Most of your answers are blank!"
"Best friend say what?" Rebecca handed Frankie back her test. The black-and-white haired girl skimmed it. Every question after the sixth one was left blank.
"Please tell me this wasn't on that day I fell asleep in class." Rebecca nodded.
"I'm afraid it was." This morning was not a good one for Frankie Stein, and the day would only go downhill from there.
After school, Frankie, Rebecca and their male friend, Cyrus Clops were standing outside of the school.
Cyrus, or Cy as the g was the one of two males in their little group of friends. He had messy brown hair and green eyes. He had glasses over his eyes, but Frankie and Rebecca joked around saying they didn't work, because he was always walking into things. Most of the kids harshly called him "cyclops" for the fact that his eyesight and depth perception were so bad, it seemed like he only had one eye. But, despite all that, Cy was the smartest one out of the three, making him the one the girls turned to whenever they need help with homework or studying.
Frankie was sitting on the curb outside of the school, still complaining about her math test.
"Calm down, love," Rebecca said as she sat down next to Frankie, "It's just one test! You'll pass the next one!"
"You don't get it, Rebecca," sighed Frankie, "If my mom finds out I failed a test because I fell asleep, she is going to ground me for all eternity!"
"You know I could always tutor you," suggested Cy as he sat down on Frankie's other side, "How would you like that?"
"No offense, but I would like that as much as I would a root canal." Cy sighed.
"You're such a dork sometimes, Cy!" said Rebecca, "She doesn't need a tutor! Frankie is smart enough on her own."
"Thanks, Rebecca, but that doesn't help my current problem."
"Hey, why don't we go to the Shopping Center? That will get your mind off of all this. Just call your mum and say that you're at my house."
"You two are going shopping?" Cy said in disbelief, "Is that really more important than your grades? I didn't study, and I only got a ninety-five! How am I going to explain that to my sister?"
"Why are you telling us this?" Rebecca asked, confused.
"Maybe he's right!" cried Frankie, "I'm going to flunk out of school and-" Frankie's voice was cut off as she buried her face in her knees. Rebecca put an arm around her friend as she gave Cy a look that told him to keep his mouth shut before he made the problem anymore worse.
"Don't say that. We're going shopping, and that's the end of it. By the time you get home, your mum will have forgotten about the test!" Frankie looked at Rebecca with hopeful eyes.
"Do you really think so?" Rebecca nodded.
"Have I ever lied to you? We can even get ice cream while we're there!"
"Can we get earrings?" Frankie asked. Rebecca nodded again.
"That's a great idea!" said Rebecca as she stood up, "We can go to that store my stepbrother works at! He says they stuff they have there is pretty wicked."
"Are they really that good?," Frankie asked as she twirled her white section of hair around her finger."They have all kinds of wonderful things! You have to see them! They'll blow you away! They even have those necklaces I saw you looking at the other day!"
"Really?" Rebecca nodded. With a newfound spark, Frankie stood up and grabbed Rebecca's hand. "What are we waiting for? Let's go! Right now!" Laughing, the two girls ran off, leaving Cy behind.
"Those girls are beautiful in their own ways… but they don't have their priorities straight…" he sighed before getting up himself and heading home.
The two girls arrived at the local Shopping Center to hear a person calling out advertising in order to draw in customers.
"COME ON IN! EVERYONE'S WELCOME! MAKE US AN OFFER!" After walking a bit further, they saw it was coming from the jewelry store.
"Rebecca, what's going on?" Frankie asked her friend. Rebecca shrugged.
"WELCOME LADIES! HERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO OWN DIAMONDS, SAPPHIRE…"
"I don't get it…" said Rebecca as the two girls approached the store, "My stepbrother is in charge of the store while the owner is away. Why would he do something like this? It really isn't like him..."
"Yeah, what did he put in his coffee this morning?"
"TODAY ONLY, EVERYTHING IN THE STORE IS NINETY PERCENT OFF! PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TRY ON ANYTHING!" The two girls walked into the store and immediately found Rebecca's stepbrother at a counter.
Unlike his stepsister, Howard was not an orphan. No one really knew why he didn't talk about his biological family or anything about his life before he was adopted, but most people could see why. He had the harsh scars all over his skin to prove it. The teenager had shaggy light brown hair, and heterochromia, like Frankie did. This was one of the reasons why Rebecca had introduced the two. Howard's left eye was a pale red color while his right was turquoise. His unnatural eye colors had made him very uncomfortable, thus why Rebecca introduced him and Frankie in the first place. He was clumsy, naive and a kind soul. He had fit right in with their little band of misfits.
"Howard!" called out Rebecca. The boy in question turned to see his stepsister and her friend walked towards him.
"Rebecca, welcome to the store!" he said kindly, "Hello, Frankie, how are you?"
"I'm good," replied Frankie, "Fell asleep and failed a test, but I'm good!"
"Yeah… I heard…" Frankie almost turned to stone. "Rebecca told me you would be coming." Frankie shot a look at her tanned, British friend. Rebecca laughed nervously.
"Anyway, Frankie and I came to see those necklaces you got in earlier." Howard nodded and went to get the item his sister asked for, but someone stopped him. It was a young, brunette woman.
"Don't be silly," said the man, "Why don't you show them some diamonds? There are plenty to go around."
"And who are you?" asked Rebecca. The woman took a slight bow.
"Excuse me, but I'm the manager of this store while the owner is away." Frankie and Rebecca took a quick look at each other.
"But I thought Howard was in charge of the store?"
"I was," admitted Howard with a sigh, "But my boss called, and I got demoted."
"Yes," cut in the woman, "And I believe you are Mr. Voodoo's sister, correct?" Rebecca nodded.
"Stepsister, yes," she answered.
"Anyone related to my employees deserve nothing but the best!" The woman pulled out a ring from the counter and showed it to Frankie. "Here, miss, would you like to try on this ring?"
"I can't believe this is happening!" Frankie said uncomfortably, "But no, thank you. I'm fine."
"But it's a twenty carat diamond! And for someone as lovely as you, only ten dollars!" Frankie began blushing when the woman called her beautiful. Then, both of the girls and the employee heard the amount the woman offered.
"TWENTY CARATS, TEN DOLLARS!?" they all exclaimed in shock. Women around the store began crowding around them, and the two girls got pushed out of the store.
"Do you think Howard will be alright?" Frankie asked.
"I hope so," said Rebecca, glancing back at the store, "This is really strange, Frankie. Howard worked hard for his promotion. Why would his boss demote him just like that?" Frankie shrugged.
"It is really weird." Frankie turned away from the store.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going home. I'm probably going to take a nap before showing my mom my grade."
"Alright, I'm going to wait here for my brother. Be careful!"
"You, too!" Frankie then walked away, thinking about how on earth she was going to tell her mother what happened.
Frankie walked home from the Shopping Center alone. Today had been horrible beyond comparison. She sighed and took out the test from her school bag and looked at the large thirty on it. Frankie moaned and pushed a few loose strands of her hair out of her face.
"How can I tell Mom I fell asleep during a test?" she muttered to herself, "Better yet, how can I show her? Dad's on a business trip for the University, and he handles these things a lot better than Mom does!" In her frustration, Frankie crumpled up the paper into a ball and threw it over her shoulder without looking where it was going to land.
"Can you please watch where you're going, Heterochrome?" Frankie stopped in her tracks and turned around. Behind her was a boy. He had black hair with blonde ends, blue eyes obscured by rectangular glasses, pale skin and a piercing on his left eyebrow. He wore a yellow dress shirt, a checkered sweater vest, a blue bowtie, light blue sneakers and gray jeans. He had a bag slung across his shoulder and Frankie's test in his hands.
"Wow…" Frankie said in surprise, "That's a first. No one's ever called me that before, but I would prefer if you didn't point out my streak, my eyes, my skin or anything else. Look, I'm really sorry about hitting you with that." She held out her hand to collect the paper.
"No, it's fine. Really," said the boy. He unfolded the test and handed it back to Frankie. Unfortunately, he had also seen her grade. "A thirty? And looking at you and hearing the way you talk, I thought you were smarter than this." Frankie began to blush, but it was not with embarrassment. It was with anger.
"I am," Frankie snapped as s snatched back the test, "For your information, I maintain a steady B average! Sometimes an A!"
"Hold on a second," the boy stuttered out. "I-"
"Nevermind," Frankie said sadly turned and walked away from the boy. She had enough of her bad luck streak today and just wanted to get home.
"The nerve of him… calling me 'Heterochrome', and talking to me like that" Frankie muttered furiously as she continued on her way home. "... still…" Frankie looked back at the boy. "He is kinda cute."
The boy looked at Frankie with wonder as she walked away.
"There's something about that girl…" he muttered before walking in the opposite direction to back to his apartment.
Frankie continued on her journey home. However, she got distracted halfway and stopped outside of the arcade. In the window was a poster of the new Sailor D video game Rebecca had been talking about. Frankie's eyes lit up.
"It's the new Sailor D video game," she said while looking at the poster. Frankie sighed. "I wish I could be like Sailor D…" Frankie gazed at the heroine in the poster. It looked like it had to be drawn, unlike the rest of the poster, which was photographed. The girl had pale pink skin, pale purple eyes, and black hair with pink streaks that was tied in pigtails. Her bangs fell straight down on her forehead. The girl seemed to be a vampire, seeing as she had pointed ears and fangs. She also had a small pink heart right under her left eye, which looked like a birthmark. She was wearing a pink and purple Sailor uniform, a pink mask and pink heels.
"I bet something exciting is always happening in her life," continued Frankie, "Unlike mine. Oh! Who am I kidding?! I'm never going to be like Sailor D! Not when I'm lie this. And definitely not when I fall asleep in class!" Frankie took a look back down at her test. "Mom's going to pop a stitch when she sees this! What am I going to do?" Frankie sighed and continued walking. Little did she know that the dog from earlier had been following her all day.
"I can't believe it!" the dog told himself, "That girl?! This is the one I'm looking for?!"
Frankie stood braced outside her front door. She drew a breath on through her teeth.
"I can do this. I just have to avoid telling Mom," she said cooly. "Yeah. That's what I'll do." Frankie opened the door.
"So, how did you do on that math test yesterday?" Frankie heard her mother say as soon as she walked in the door. Her cool façade completely melted away.
"A test…?" Frankie repeated, "In math…?" Frankie's mother nodded.
"The same test you stayed up all night studying for. Cyrus's sister called and said he got a ninety-five. She sounded really disappointed about it."
"Oh yeah… that math test." Frankie dug her heel into the carpet. "Well… uh…"
"How did you do on it?" asked her mother. Frankie swallowed a nasty taste that was rising in her mouth.
"You see Mom, it's like this… I… uh…"
"Frankie, if you can't tell me, then let me see your test." Frankie looked up into her mother's eyes. She was being as serious as stone. Frankie reached into her schoolbag, pulling out the piece of crumpled paper in question
"Okay." Frankie held out her test to her mother. There was a pause of uncomfortable silence. Her mother's eyes looked like fire was dancing in them.
"Thirty percent?! You got an F?!" she said angrily, "You said that you studied!"
"I did!" said Frankie, trying to the situation to her mom, "I-"
"Frankie, I ask one thing of you. All I want you do is get good grades! Is that too much to ask for? Go down to your room and start studying-"
"But Mom! It's too late in the afternoon to study! It's not going to work and implant into my brain at all!"
"I don't want to hear it! Go!" With a dejected looked, Frankie walked down the stairs and into her bedroom, slamming the basement door shut.
After about three hours, the sun had started to set, dousing Frankie's bedroom in an orange glow. Frankie slammed her school books shut and fell onto her bed, tired from all of the studying her mother just made her do.
"Studying in excess like this can't be good for one person" she sighed as she laid back on her pillow, "How does Cy do it?! Ah… I'm so sleepy… Oh, sleep… that sounds pretty good…" Frankie closed her eyes and fell asleep.
A young woman took her lover's hand. She was trembling. Her features weren't very clear to the eye, and neither was the man's hand she was holding. She appeared to be gripping it tightly, with her other hand holding up the dress she was wearing to allow her to run better. There were faint explosions off in the distance. The world around them was falling apart.
"Come on, we have to hurry," said the man. "We need to get you out of here."
"What about everyone?" asked the woman, "My friends? My grandfather? My people?"
"They'll have the Sailor Guardians to protect them. Right now we have to get you out of here." The woman stumbled in her path. The man helped her along a little further.
"What about you?" asked the woman. A tear streaked down her cheek. "I can't lose you. Not after all we've been through together." The man's hand tightened around his lover's as they both came to a stop. He wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"I promise I won't leave you. Not again. My princess…" The scene faded to black. There was the sound of a crash, followed by a set of screams.
Frankie sat up with a start. A shiver ran up her spine as cold sweat dripped down her face. Her heart was pounding heavily in her chest. Frankie took several deep breaths to calm herself. Her dream had shaken her up. She didn't know why, but it all felt very familiar and all too real. Maybe that's why it scared her so much.
She sighed, flicking on her lamp beside her bed. Then she screamed.
Sitting on her bed was the dog she had saved this morning. Frankie relaxed a bit.
"Oh god, you scared me," she said with a relieved sigh, "Wait, how did you get in here?"
"I came in through that window," said the dog, waving a paw at one of the small windows Frankie had placed around her bedroom. Frankie stared at the dog for a moment.
"Did you just… talk?" she said in surprise. The dog nodded. "Oh jeez, a talking dog! I'm still dreaming!"
"Will you pay attention? I came all this way to see you, after all." said the pup as it took a step closer to Frankie, "My name is Watzit."
"Watzit?" she repeated. The dog's eyes narrowed.
"My owner gave me that name! I can't believe I was searching for you all of this time!" Frankie stopped laughing.
"You were looking… for me?" said the confused girl. Watzit nodded.
"Yup! You're the Chosen One, and I've been sent here to guide you on the path to your destiny! I wasn't really sure about you the first time we met in that alley, but I've been following you-"
"You've been what?"
"I've been following you. Haven't you been paying attention to what I've been saying? Anyway, I know for certain now that you are the Sailor Guardian for the Simulacrums!" Frankie picked up the dog, staring at it with her blue and green eyes.
"What the heck is a simulacrum?" Frankie asked curiously.
"Scientifically, artificially or supernaturally created life," Watzit explained, "Kinda like a gargoyle or Pinocchio." Frankie laughed worriedly.
"Okay. This has to be a joke, right?" she asked, "This sounds like something a certain someone might do." Frankie felt lack-luster at the idea of her brother doing this to her. But a talking dog seemed a little over the top.
"No one's tricking you! You are Sailor Stein and your friend is in trouble!" Frankie stared down at the little dog.
"What?" Watzit nodded.
"You have to help her!"
"Me?! I'm only fifteen! I can't do anything to help! The closest thing I can do is call the police." Watzit sighed.
"Fine! I'll prove it to you!" He jumped off the bed and climbed out the window he came in. A few minutes later, Watzit returned with something in his mouth. He dropped it in front of Frankie. The skeptical girl picked it up. It was gray, circular metal disk on a silver chain. In the center was a silver lightning bolt.
"Why the heck did you just give me a necklace?" asked Frankie.
"It's not any necklace. It's a special locket. It's meant for you," Frankie blushed slightly, her hands and the locket dropping into her lap.
"Now I really feel like this is a prank…" Watzit growled and barked at her, making Frankie jump.
"I'm sorry about that, but you're starting to frustrate me! Now, listen. You are Sailor Stein, and you are sworn to defend the princess of Salem and your people!"
"Salem has a princess?" Frankie said curiously. "Since when?" Watzit shook his head.
"Not your Salem. My Salem. It's the place where I came from. It's an alternate world that-" he said before shaking his head and stopping halfway, "I don't have time to explain all of this! Powerful and evil forces have come here and that locket in your hands can help you fight them! You are Sailor Stein and you must fight evil when it rears it's ugly head! You can not be afraid!"
"You mean like Sailor D?" asked Frankie, "Sorry, but this doesn't sound real."
"I'm not joking, Frankie! This is your destiny!" shouted Watzit as he began pawing at Frankie's leg.
"My destiny? I am dreaming!"
"This isn't a dream! I'll show you! Hold up your locket and say 'Stein Prism Power, Make-Up,'" Frankie raised an eyebrow at the dog. "I didn't create it! The locket's maker did. Just do it!"
"Alright… I'm trusting you on this, magic talking dream dog," Frankie said as she got up off of her bed. She held the locket up in the air.
"STEIN PRISM POWER! MAKE-UP!" Frankie yelped as black and blue light came out of the locket and surrounded her. She shut her eyes tightly until the light faded. Opening her eyes slowly, Frankie turned around to stare at her reflection. Her eyes grew wide. She touched the mirror to make sure what she was seeing was real. And it was.
Frankie was no longer in her school uniform. Her clothes had been replaced with a white leotard with a blue sailor collar that had three stripes on it and a blue skirt. Black bows were on her chest and the back of her skirt, holding the collar and skirt in place. She wore a pair of black knee-high boots with a white border at the triangular top and white elbow-length gloves that had three black bands on the ends. Her locket was now on the middle of the bow on her chest. Frankie also was wearing a golden tiara that wrapped around her head. In the center of it was a blue gem. But that wasn't the part the freaked Frankie out. It wasn't her clothes, it was her appearance.
Her pale skin had turned into a light mint-green color, and her birthmarks had turned into real stitching keeping her body held together. On her neck were two, tiny bolts sticking out of her neck right on the neck stitching. Her white streak had multiplied and took over a great deal of her hair, making it seem like it was the natural black color was he unnatural streaks instead.
Frankie immediately began to panic.
"What did you do to me?!" she cried, getting a look at her entire body, "I look like Frankenstein's bride!"
"This is your true form, Sailor Stein," explained Watzit, "Back in my world, you must have been a daughter of the Frankenstein family, given your simulacrum look. When you transform, you become who you really are. How your soul appears to be. Your true inner self."
"I look like a freak! This is the worst day of my life!"
"Are you listening to me at all? You'll only be like this when you transform. Although I wish you always looked like this. You look far prettier when you're who you really are."
"That doesn't help," said Frankie dejectedly. Watzit sighed.
"Right…"
"Help!" cried out a faint voice, "Somebody help!" Frankie's eyes widened when she recognized it.
"That's Rebecca's voice!" she said.
"That's right, and she's in danger!"
"But what can I do?" Frankie put a gloved hand on Watzit's head. "You keep forgetting that I'm new to this whole thing."
"You are Sailor Stein," Watzit reminded her, "You will know what to do when you look into your heart. Now, let's go save your friend!"
"Right! And you are so lucky that my mom and brother went to pick my dad up from the airport or else I would have to crawl out my window."
Frankie and Watzit rushed to where they heard Rebecca's screams coming from. It was the jewelry store. They peeked into the store to see women lying unconscious on the floor, and both Rebecca and her brother being held against a wall. Frankie shuddered at the thing holding them. It looked like a woman in a long black dress, but her skin was rotted and molting, and her hair was short, greasy and brown. The thing reminded Frankie of a witch she had seen in a horror movie her brother made her watch once was she was ten. She had Rebecca and Howard held up to the wall by their throats. They were doing their best to escape, but their efforts were futile.
"Oh no," whispered Frankie in a panic. "She's going to kill them!"
"Then go and do something!" Watzit whispered back. Frankie nodded and opened the door, trying her best to show she wasn't afraid.
"Hey! Let them go!" shouted Frankie as she walked into the store. pushing the doors open with a loud bang. The witch twisted her head around to face her. A chill ran up Frankie's spine.
"What was that?" asked the creature with it's raspy voice.
"I said to let them go!"
"And who are you?"
"Well… My name is… uh…" Frankie took a breath and picked up her courage. She remembered the name Watzit had given her after she had transformed
"I am Sailor Stein, The Guardian of Love and Justice. In the name of the Kingdom of Salem, I shall punish you!" The witch seemingly raised an eyebrow.
"Sailor Stein? Never heard of you, and I'm sure I never will again!" She dropped the brother and sister duo, letting them fall to the floor with a sickening thud. Sailor Stein winced, hoping they weren't harmed. The witch held out her arms, as if she was controlling puppets on strings.
"ARISE, MY CHILDREN, AND SERVE THE GREAT POWER THAT IS THE DARK KINGDOM!" The unconscious women began to stand like marionettes on strings. They growled in a low, harsh tone. Sailor Stein began shaking slightly in her boots.
"Watzit, help me!" she said in a harsh whisper, "I don't know what I'm suppose to be doing! Ah!" The witch sent the women at Sailor Stein with a wave of her hand. Sailor Stein yelped and moved out of the women's way as they tried to attack her. She didn't want to hurt them as the women were only under the witch's control. Soon, the brainwashed women had back Sailor Stein into a corner. One of the women took a swipe at her, cutting her green skin. While no blood flowed from it, a rocket of pain shot up Sailor Stein's arm.
"That hurt! This isn't a dream, then!" she cried, "Watzit! I don't want to hurt them! What do I do!?"
"Sailor Stein, what are you doing?!" shouted Watzit, "You have to fight or else the whole universe will be destroyed!" The witch began laughing evilly as the women closed in on Sailor Stein.
"Ah! I'm too young to die! Somebody help me!"
"I'll help you!" laughed the witch, "I'll help you to die!" The witch laughed again as she raised a clawed hand and aimed it at the green skinned girl. Sailor Stein paralyzed by fear. She was about to die. Sailor Stein closed her eyes tightly as the witch brought her hand down.
Pain never came.
Slowly, Sailor Stein opened her eyes to see the witch hold her now bleeding hand. Stuck in front of her was a beautiful, red rose. Sailor Stein looked up.
Silhouetted against the moonlight, was a man- or a teenager, she couldn't real tell- standing in the doorway. He was pale and had black hair with blonde ends. He had on a black tuxedo, and a yellow lined black cape. His jacket was left open to reveal his white dress shirt underneath. He also wore white gloves and a white mask that covered his eyes. The final touch of his disguise was a black top hat that was straightened on his head.
"Who the heck are you?" asked the witch.
"I'm uh…" stuttered the man. His blue eyes meet Sailor Stein's, and the man put a hand on his mask, fixing it. "I'm Tuxedo Mask."
"That is a really stupid name." Tuxedo Mask sighed.
"I… uh…" he muttered before turning to Sailor Stein and clearing his throat, "Sailor Stein, you have to look into your heart and find the warrior within you! This is who you are!"
"But I'm a lover, not a fighter!" cried Sailor Stein.
"Will you shut up?!" the witch yelled."You're making my ears bleed!" That's when Sailor Stein got an idea.
"Cover your ears, Tuxedo Mask!" Confused, the man obeyed. Sailor Stein put her gloved hands over her own ears. She let out a loud and powerful wail. The witch covered her ears in pain. Seeing her plan had worked, Sailor Stein smiled and removed her hands.
"Smart move!" commented Watzit, "Now, throw your tiara and say 'Stein Tiara Boomerang!'" Both Sailor Stein and Tuxedo Mask gave Watzit a quizzical look. "I don't come up with these things!" Sailor Stein pulled off her tiara and aimed it at the witch. As soon as it was in her hands, the tiara turned into a gold disk of light.
"STEIN TIARA BOOMERANG!" She threw the tiara with all the strength she had. It went flying like a frisbee straight towards the witch.
"NO!" cried the witch as the disk cut right through her torso like butter. She disintegrated into a pile of dust on the tiled floor.
Sailor Stein stared at the pile of dust. All words seemed to get caught in her throat.
"Did I just… Did I really do that?" she finally gasped. Tuxedo Mask walked over and picked up the golden tiara that was lying on the floor. He brushed off any dust that might have gotten on it and walked back over to Sailor Stein.
"You did very well, Sailor Stein," said Tuxedo Mask as he handed the Sailor Guardian her tiara. Sailor Stein took it in her hands and slid it back on her head.
"Thank you," she replied, "and thank you again for saving my life."
"I wasn't any problem." The bodies of the women began to stir. "It looks like all of the women are free." Tuxedo Mask turned to Sailor Stein. "Listen, Sailor Stein. There will be others out there who will challenge you. Don't be afraid, and don't forget that I am here. I will fight alongside you." Sailor Stein blushed a little bit as Tuxedo Mask left the store. Watzit began to paw at her leg when she didn't move,
"Are you alright, Sailor Stein?" asked the pup, "Come on! Say something!" Sailor Stein gave a little smile
"What a sweet guy…" said the Sailor Guardian. "He was nice to me, even when I look like this…"
"Sailor Stein! We have to hurry and get back before your family gets home!" Suddenly realizing what Watzit had said, Sailor Stein ran out the door with the dog running beside her.
The next day at Merston High, Rebecca rushed into the classroom with an excited look on her face.
"Frankie, you are not going to believe it!" said the British girl as she sat next to Frankie, "My brother and I both had this really weird dream last night that we were attacked by this hideous monster and this other monster came too! She called herself Sailor Stein. I thought she was going to kill us too, but she actually saved our lives!"
"Did she have green skin and stitches?" asked a nearby girl.
"Yes! She did!" answered Rebecca
"I had the same dream!"
"So did I!" added another girl.
"That is really weird," said Rebecca, "Isn't it Frankie? Uh… Frankie?" The girl in question had her head down on her desk, and her heterochromic eyes were shut.
"Hey… guys?" said Frankie sleepily, "Do you mind keeping it down? I was up late last night, and I need some more sleep. Good night."
Suddenly the teacher walked into the classroom, and Rebecca shook Frankie awake. Frankie sat up and rubbed her eyes with a yawn.
"Good morning, class," said their teacher.
"Good morning," the class echoed back. Frankie yawned again. When she got home, she was going to take a nice long nap. That daring deed she performed last night was tiring! Frankie's mind began to drift back to Tuxedo Mask. He had been so kind and sweet, even with what Sailor Stein looked like. Maybe… being freaky wasn't so bad after all.
Frankie sighed as she was caught up in her memory of the previous night. However, she was snapped out of it when there was a knock on her classroom door.
"Come in," said her teacher without turning away from the board. The door opened and two boys walked in. They were both dressed in the male version of the Merston uniform, which was like the girls', but with black dress pants instead of the skirt. The first boy had sunrise-like eyes and a dark mark on the side of his face that barely stood out against his tan flesh. His hair looked like it was made out of flames and he had an eyebrow piercing on his left eyebrow. His uniform was far messier than anyone else's. It looked as if he had just thrown it on. He had a pair of headphones on around his neck as well. The second boy, however, Frankie recognized. It was the same boy who she had met on the street yesterday.
Frankie's entire body tensed as the two looked at each other.
"Can I help you two?" asked their teacher. The boy with the headphones nudged the one with the glasses.
"What?" he asked the other. The redhead gestured over to the teacher. "Right. I have a note from the principal…" The teacher raised a brow until the black haired boy handed him a piece of paper he had in his hand. He read over the note briefly before putting it on his desk and turning to his class.
"Alright class, it seems that no one told me that our class would be getting two new students today. I want you to welcome them to Merston High. Boys, why don't you introduce yourselves?"
"I-I'm Jackson Jekyll," said the boy in glasses, "This is my twin brother, Holt Hyde." Holt gave a slight wave to a small group of female students. Jackson nudged him in the side. Someone raised their hand.
"Yes, Miss Screams?"
"If you two are twins, then how do you have different last names?" asked a girl.
"That's not any of your business," said Holt rather quickly, the grip on his bag t, "Don't ask again." Frankie looked over to see the girl slump down in her seat.
"Anymore questions?" No one raised their hands. "Alright. Mr. Hyde, please take a seat next to Miss Phantom. Miss Phantom, for the third time, take those things out of your ears. As for Mr. Jekyll… take the open seat next to Miss Stein right over there." The boys nodded and headed to their individual seating arrangements. Frankie gripped her pencil tightly and tried her best to keep her mind on Tuxedo Mask.
"Hello…" Jackson whispered to her, "Heterochrome."
"Don't call me that," Frankie whispered back, "My name is Frankie Stein."
"Alright, Frankie. I'm still going to call you heterochrome."
"Why?!"
"Because it suits you. Everything about you is different."
"Would you like it if I called you-" Frankie said she whipped around to face him.
"Miss Stein! Mr. Jekyll!" their teacher snapped, making both students jump and look at him, "If you two can not remain silent, then I will have to ask you to leave my classroom. Am I clear?"
"Yes, sir," the pair said in unison. Frankie turned away from the lesson and looked out the window, getting lost in her daydreams about Sailor Stein and Tuxedo Mask. It had changed not only her opinion on yesterday, but now her entire life.
Chapter one of the rewrite has been posted. It's a day later than I wanted, but I have been having issues with technology lately. I need a new computer.
Anyways, other than this story, I have a couple of other things planned for Sailor Stein. A new cover for the story for one, as well as a slightly good transformation sequence on YouTube? I don't know about that last one.
So, anyway, keep an eye out for chapter two on April 22nd!