I am SO SORRY for the hiatus! I never truly intended it to take me this long, it's just that I've had a serious lack of motivation lately. Just to warn you, there is a lot of MLP FIM and Astro Boy in this chapter. With that note, I say it's time for a well deserved chapter. ON WITH THE SHOW!
Winx, Meet Ghosts
Chapter 4: June's Story
"This seems a bit too easy," Danny said, suspicion was evident.
"I'd have to agree," Sam said "Usually Vlad would put up a better fight and from the looks of it, Sarah's a partially failed clone attempt of him."
"If you think about it, it's pretty scary how close he was to what he really wanted. He was probably after a 14-year-old boy and ended up with a 12-year-old girl, even though he's in his 50s," Carissa butted in.
"If this Vlad guy really is as smart as he seems, we should probably be ready for anything," Bloom said, trying to spark some ideas.
Danny was about to open the thermos.
"Wait! I'd have to interfere if there's any hope of Carly's fate changing," June said, stepping up to Danny and the thermos.
"Are you seriously ready to face Carly and possibly Sarah?" Danny asked June, a hint of worry in his voice.
"I never said I had to do it alone," June said smirking. It was then that something happened that surprised the others: June "went ghost." It didn't exactly look like it did when Carly or Danny did it though; it was more like a bright flash of green light that eventually faded away.
In June's place was Shadow Moon. She had on a Black jumpsuit and gray, elbow-length gloves. There was a loose green belt and green lights along the side of her legs illuminating "feet." It was obvious now that how her jeans had flared were actually her legs. On her chest was a full moon with a green crescent moon, exactly like Carly's symbol, inside. Her hair was no longer a light brown, but snow white with some bangs off to the side like Carly's. She also had noticeable black eyeliner on.
Danny only stood and stared for a moment before shaking his head and opening the thermos. In a split second, Sarah and Carly shot out of it, Sarah duplicating and sitting down while the other floated next to Carly. Carly shot toward Danny but was pushed aside by June and pinned to the ground. June's grip was surprisingly strong and rendered Carly's intangibility useless.
"Danny! Knock Sarah out! I can't hold her forever!" June said, grunting.
"It's not that easy!" Danny replied, narrowly missing one of Sarah's punches.
June finally gave way, gasping for breath. Carly sat up, breathing heavily as well. They were definatly a match for each other. June was slightly surprised though. Being a robot gave her increased strength without the addition of her ghost powers. Yes, June had ghost powers; powers she had been born with before she had to be made a robot.
~~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~
"Thanks again Summer for offering to watch over June." Stella Centurion was talking to none other than Princess Summer Sun of Equestria, the daughter of Princess Celestia and Citrus Sun, a pegasus stallion with an orange coat and a yellow mane.
Stella and Summer had been friends since they were fillies, together, along with Princess Stella Minor, daughter of Princess Luna and Winter Sky, a unicorn stallion with a light gray coat and pale, navy mane; Princess Skyla, daughter of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor; Xania, daughter of Nyx and Nightwatch, a batpony stallion with a navy coat and lavender mane; and Princess Larva, a failed changeling experiment whom was adopted by Queen Chrysalis for her evil purposes; were the bearers of The New Elements of Harmony. That story can be saved for a different flashback.
"No problem! June had fun with Stellem over there." Summer Sun jerked her head in the direction of Stella Minor. Spread on the floor around her were multiple books and star charts. Stella Minor, given the nickname Stellem years ago, waved and got up to have a chat with Stella, leaving June alone with the books and star charts, which was a HUGE mistake.
June was an Alicorn and half ghost like her mother, and had been trying for months to fly, taking every opportunity she could to try and fly. Each time with no luck, and it just so happened that the window was open and they were on the twentieth story of the castle. She was awfully brave for her age. June snuck over to the window and stood on the rail, took a deep breath, and jumped.
Stella looked over at where June was a few minutes ago and saw she wasn't there anymore. Breaking away from Stella Minor's conversation, she walked to the center of the room, looking around frantically for June. A scream erupted from outside the window, and Stella's eyes grew the size of softballs.
Flying over to the window, she looked down to see her darling child falling, flailing her wings.
"JUNE! NOO!" Stella flew down toward June and tried using her magic to stop June's fall, but she was inches from the ground and was moving at high speed. The jerk from her mother's magic snapped her neck and almost killed her.
Landing with a loud THUNK she ran over to June. Her breaths her small and struggled. June looked at her mother and whispered, "I'm so sorry," before becoming limp and losing all breath.
"June, JUNE! WAKE UP! JUUNNE!" Stella brought June closer to her and started to cry. She knew there was nothing she could do, and she would be in Heaven, which was unreachable to her. Only through prayer could Stella reach her daughter now.
Zooming down to Stella, Summer Sun and Stella Minor galloped over to her. Two gasps could be heard and sobbing immediately following.
"Oh my Celestia. I'm so sorry. I should have closed the window. I shouldn't have left her," Stella Minor sobbed.
"No sister, this wasn't your fault any more than it was mine or Stella's. We couldn't have known that she was this brave," Summer said gripping tighter to her cousin. She rarely called her sister.
For the longest time, the three just sat there, huddled and crying. Stella finally stopped and got up, kissed June, and flew up to the balcony which she had jumped from. Walking over to the portal, she whispered, "You guys are such great friends. I'm glad to have some like you,"* and walked through the portal, setting June on the couch with her.
Stella got up and found June's favorite picture: an old and faded picture of her grandmother, Carly Loon with her friends Danny Fenton, Sam Manson, and Ashley Lumbart, along with June's grandfather, Tucker Foley and Great Aunt Carissa Loon. She set the picture on the end table and grabbed a family picture.
They had been at the beach, playing in the sand. Setting that picture down, she began to sob, crying herself to sleep next to June.
~~~~~~~The next week~~~~~~~
Stella was sitting on the couch, watching TV with her husband, Jeff, also known as Golden Centurion (he was born in Equestria), when an astonishing article was discussed on the news: a famous scientist in Japan had recreated his son, who was killed snooping around during one of his other experiments, as a robot.
It looked just like a real boy, though he had a slightly metallic look to him. Stella and Jeff looked at each other once and immediately got up to get their suitcases. They were going to Japan.
The scientist, Dr. Tenma, had been e-mailed regarding the issue and had invited the couple to come to Japan. He requested some of the child's clothes, and anything that could have some bit of her genetic code.
The plane tickets had been bought and Stella was finishing her packing preparations and looked over at the two pictures at the end table. Tucking them neatly into her carry-on bag, the two left for the airport.
On arriving in Metro City, Japan, the couple were met by two men and a robot, Dr. Tenma, and Dr.O'Shay. The robot was following them.
Dr. Tenma asked the couple something which were quickly translated by his assistant.
"Are you Mr. and Mrs. Centurion?" The robot translated in perfect English.
"Yes we are, thank you for coming to pick us up. Shall we go now, or is there something you would like us to do first?" Stella said, being careful to talk slowly and use simple words. The translator translated and replied, "Mr. Tenma says we can go now if you like."
"We would like that very much," Jeff replied as they headed for the baggage claim.
They found their bags without hassle and went to the parking lot to see a limo parked on the sidewalk. A man opened the door and gestured to the couple to get in. With a shocked expression on their faces, they looked to Dr. Tenma who nodded to the limo and got in.
"You are not accustomed to limos, correct?" The translator said, relaying Dr. Tenma's words.
"No, usually carriages," Stella said and immediately covered her mouth, looking over to her husband. They usually spent most of their time in Equestria and were more accustomed to that way of speaking.
The translator gave them a weird, but not disrespectful look, and translated. Dr. Tenma looked at the translator and had a mini conversation with him and dismissed it as a translation error.
They arrived to the laboratory in about ten minutes and entered the elevator to the lab. There was a ding and they walked into the hall. Dr. Tenma swiped his card in the slot to the lab and they walked in. Sitting in a chair at the end of the room was Tobio, more commonly known as Toby or Astro Boy. He looked up from his book and, setting the book on the desk next to him, walked over to them.
"Hi, I'm Toby," He said in perfect English, holding out his hand. Stella and Jeff stood there in shock.
"You have heard the story, correct?"
"So you're the famous Toby Tenma," Stella said, shaking his hand.
"Famous?"
"Ya, you've been all over the news in America." Stella replied with a smile.
"Shall we get started?" the translator said. Dr. Tenma walked over to the couple with two headpieces. Each looked like state-of-the-art glasses that hooked into your ears.
"Put them on," Toby said, gesturing to the headpieces.
"They're translators."
Stella and Jeff each took one and put them on.
"Can you understand me now?" Dr. Tenma said. To the couple, it sounded as if he had learned to speak perfect English in just a few minutes, but it was only the translators.
"Yes," Stella said, but was shocked to hear something else come out of her mouth. The glasses didn't just translate what was heard, they translated what was spoken as well. Dr. Tenma chuckled a little and brought them over to some chairs.
"So, tell me. What was your daughter, June, like?" Dr. Tenma said with genuine concern plastered all over his face.
"Well, she was pretty brave, a ball of energy even though she was nine, and had just about a million jokes and tricks up her sleeve," Stella said, looking down at her knees.
"Would it be too much to ask how she died?" Dr. Tenma asked. Jeff put his arm around Stella and nodded. Looking Tenma straight in the eye, she asked, "Can you keep a secret?"
Looking surprised, Tenma nodded and gestured for the translator and Toby to leave the room. Without argument, they did as they were told and headed to the door.
"We… we kind of… half live in another universe. My father created a portal to another world and… I met Jeff and a lot of friends. I was born and raised half of my life there," Stella said, desperately holding back tears.
"I lived there my entire life until I met Stella," Jeff started.
"My real name is Golden Centurion. I lived in a, believe it or not, magical land called Equestria. There are no humans there, the dominant species are ponies: pegasi, unicorns, earth ponies, which are normal ponies, and alicorns: ponies with both a horn and wings. Alicorns are extremely rare and Stella here is one. So was June." Stella regained her composure and continued.
"My friend, Princess Summer Sun of Equestria and her cousin, Princess Stella Minor of Equestria were watching over June while my husband and I were at work in this universe," Stella said, regaining her regal way if talking.
"I went to their castle to pick up June and engaged in a conversation with the two princesses, leaving June by herself. She had been trying to fly ever since she was little, and she went over to the window, which was open, and jumped. I tried to catch her. I did, but she was too close the ground and her neck snapped at the sudden stop. There was nothing I could do," Stella said, holding back more tears. As crazy as it sounded to Tenma, he believed their story and said he was sorry.
"Are there any more questions sir?" Jeff asked, his arm still around Stella.
"No, we may begin. Did you bring a picture of her and a sample of something with her genetic code?" Tenma said getting up and letting Toby in. The translator was sent away.
"Here is her tiara. I was careful to make sure there was still some hair in it." Stella pulled June's tiara from her bag. At the end of the tiara was a clip with several strands of June's hair.
Toby gave it a weird look but understood that it was none of his business to know why June had a tiara like that.
"Thank you. And her picture?" Tenma said. Stella pulled out one of June's school pictures and another one. In this one, she was standing on a roof, but this didn't look like the same girl in the other picture. This one had white hair and bright green eyes.
Tenma took the two pictures and looked back at Stella. She whispered something in his ear. His eyes grew wide as he looked at the pictures again. Not only was this girl a princess, but she was half ghost too.
Tenma handed the pictures and the tiara to Dr. O'Shay, who had been in the room the entire time, and told him why there were two pictures.
"But that's impossible! How can someone be half dead and half alive?" At this moment, O'Shay and Tenma looked at Stella and Jeff. This time letting Toby stay in the room after making sure he could keep secrets, Stella told them the story about Carly and eventually showed them that she could do the same thing. Standing away from the group a little bit, she transformed.
Her blond hair turned white, leaving a lightning shaped streak of yellow behind. Her aqua tank top and lavender skirt changing into a black turtleneck jumpsuit with yellow sleeves and white gloves with yellow wristbands. She had a yellow belt and knee-length white boots with the same yellow band around her ankles. She opened her eyes and they had turned from a pale aqua to a bright yellow.
"My parents never found out how it happened and neither have we," Stella said, reverting back to human.
"Ok then, let's get started," Dr. O'Shay said putting the two pictures in a scanner and one of June's hairs in a cylindrical tube.
Looking to side of the room, there was a table with a robot, but only the wires and mechanics, nothing else, yet.
"Is this going to be June?" Jeff asked in astonishment.
"In a few minutes it will," Dr. Tenma said. The machine started scanning June's hair and billions of memories flooded around the table. A highly concentrated beam shot from the center of them all at the head of the robot.
"Her memories are uploaded into it now," Tenma said, smiling at the couple. Stella's face lit up and tears of joy streamed down her face.
"Stand back." A beam spread across the table at June and coated her metal frame in what looked like her finally.
"Um, what about her legs? Why does she only have jeans?" Jeff asked.
"I noticed while looking at the pictures that June wore her jeans so that they covered her shoes. I had to conceal the rockets somehow. That's why Toby has those red boots. They're a part of him, they'll never come off," Tenma said.
"But don't worry. She won't have to wear them forever. The tiles on her legs can change color and, if need be, turn invisible Watch this." All at once, her "skin" broke up into tiles and turned upside-down. The beam reappeared and covered her again, this time making her look like her alter-ego, Shadow Moon. Because of how her jeans flared, the bottom of her legs were rather large, so there was a strip down the side of her leg where it started to flare that would look more like feet when illuminated.
He stepped toward June and opened a compartment on her stomach. There was a place to hold a spherical object no bigger than a quarter.
"At first I was going to have Toby give her some of his energy, but given the circumstances, you'll have to use some of your energy," Tenma said to Stella.
"Tell me what I am to do," Stella said, transforming again.
"Is there any way for you to use you energy to power her?" Tenma said.
"I think I could, but I would need something to contain it," Stella said. She held out her hand and it started to glow yellow. A ball small enough to fit in the hole started forming. Using her other hand, she blasted at the ball with her ecto-energy. She turned the ball intangible and made it solid just as the ecto energy reached her hand. She winced and jerked her hand, dropping the ball, but before it could hit the ground, she used her magic to catch it (She still had ties to her magic in other dimensions).
"She handed the ball to Dr. Tenma, who was still startled by the sudden blast. He placed the ball into the compartment and sealed it. Then a contraption from the ceiling hovered over the table. Several cables shot down from it and hooked onto June, pulling her up.
"I'm not sure how this machine will react to the energy you put in her, so we might be in danger. The machine nearly exploded when I did this to Toby. Do you think you could keep us safe?" Tenma asked Stella with determination.
"Of course. Tis my duty. Stay close and if the thing explodes, I'll turn us intangible," Stella said walking to the other side of the table with the others.
The machine started up and the compartment where the sphere was located started to glow a bright green. Bolts of that same electricity shot from it through the cables and to the machines. Stella duplicated herself and flew up to the cables while still staying a safe distance as the other stayed with the others.
The machine started to fall apart and the cables started to break lose from June. Flying underneath her, Stella held out her arms to catch her. A bolt of energy shot her back into the floor and everything went dead. She held her head and looked up to see June falling. Flying over to her, she caught her, but the weight of the robot pushed her to the floor and her knees almost buckled. The contraption from the ceiling collapsed and fell to the floor, shattering the table below and spreading debris everywhere. When the debris finally settled, Stella's clone became tangible again and joined with the other.
She stood there with her daughter in her arms, but nothing happened. She set her down on the floor, got on her knees and started to cry when June's fingers started to move.
Her arm followed suit and she lifted her head, scanning the area. Her eyes were an eerie, bright green. She blinked and the glow faded a little.
"Uggh wa happen?" June sat up, rubbing her head as if she had just woken up. She looked back up at the group of people around her.
"Uuuh Momgyyyaahhh I mean Stellar Moon? What are you doing here? Who are these people?" June said trying to get to her feet she stumbled a bit and fell.
"What the-" she looked at her feet. They were much wider than she was accustomed to and there were these green lights on the side of them.
"What did you do to me?!" June said slowly getting back up.
"Relax, June. Without them, you wouldn't be here right now," Stella said. She bent down and braced her daughter as tears of joy trickled down her cheek.
"What did I miss?" June asked, looking at the others in front of her for answers. Toby just stood there, staring, then June saw him. And the cliché "love at first sight" thing actually started between the two.
"Uuh hi."
~~~~~~~End of flashback~~~~~~~
*She is not trying to be sarcastically mean here. She means what she says.
Well, there you have it. I kind of mixed the Astro boy things with the movie and the 2003 TV show series. This has been DProcks2001, because he really does!