To Be A Lady
Chapter 3
One Week Later
"It's not easy to be a scout."
"You will experience horrible, life-threatening situations."
"Things that would make even the strongest stomachs turn."
"You will be fighting for your life. For the life of your precious princess."
Hotaru coughed delicately. "Um, Haruka-papa, can you just hand out the pens already?" Beside her, Rini smothered a giggle.
King Endymion had instructed the scouts to practice in the basement beneath the palace, which was cavernous and bare. In the construction of the palace, Mina and Luna had worked together to ensure that this place was well-concealed and lined with barriers of magic. The scouts would be able to train without fear of harm or interruption.
Now, the six girls stood in a line before Haruka and Michiru. The outer scouts had arrived that morning, sputtering up to the Crystal Palace on two mopeds, Michiru's hair streaming in the wind like an ocean wave. ("Picked them up in Italy," Haruka said breezily, as Michiru dismounted from the seat behind her. Ever since they had arrived in Crystal Tokyo, they were constantly talking about Italy.)
For a moment, Rini hadn't recognized the owner of the other moped, until Hotaru pulled off the shiny black helmet to reveal her dark violet eyes. Hotaru had quickly explained her own sudden growth spurt, and in the minutes of introduction for the outers and the quartet, she and Rini compared heights (Rini towered over Hotaru), joint pains (minimal, but still there), and hair lengths ("Instead of a haircut, they bought me a moped," Hotaru had grumbled. " And now I look like Mistress 9." But Mina made quick work of the hair soon after, and now Hotaru, with chin-length locks, resembled a slightly taller version of her younger self).
Decades ago, Haruka and Michiru had purchased a house in the same area as Ami. They rarely lived there, due to the nature of their work (and responsibilities to their planets). Likewise, Hotaru had been traveling throughout the solar system as an outer scout, and time passed differently in space.
Many times, Rini had hidden away in that house, hopping on the transit and breaking in like a convict on the run. (Though after Haruka caught her, Rini was given a key.) Rini was happy to know that the empty house, which was once her haven from the prying eyes of the world, would be full once more with friends.
Haruka, who had been pacing up and down the row of girls like a general would pace before an army, paused in her speech at the request of her daughter. Michiru stepped forward, holding four of the henshin wands. She handed one to each of the girls in turn with a smile. "To replace what was lost in the cauldron," she said. She turned to Ceres first, who accepted her pink pen with a small smile and a quiet "thank you." The trapeze artist and leader of the scouts closed a fist around the magical item and sighed.
Pallas tucked her light blue pen into the pocket of her navy blue skirt and folded her hands expectantly behind her back. "This is absolutely thrilling!" she exclaimed.
Juno examined her green pen with ferocious focus. "Are we to have new powers, then, too?" she asked.
The symbol on each pen intrigued Rini. Protectors of the solar asteroids, her scouts did not have a unique planet symbol as the elder senshi did. Instead, each pen contained a symbol that resembled a star, but the shape was left open, unfinished.
Vesta tossed her red pen high in the air, snatching it back again with relish. "Only one way to find out," she answered Juno. "Let's transform."
Rini pulled her own transformation item from her pocket—the heart-shaped brooch. Nestled inside was the Pink Moon Crystal, whose power she felt constantly thrumming within her heart like some might hear a buzzing in their ear.
Next to her, Hotaru pulled out her own purple transformation pen.
Haruka shrugged her shoulders. "Well, then, enough of the talk. Everyone, transform, and let's begin."
"CERES STAR POWER!"
"VESTA STAR POWER!"
"JUNO STAR POWER!"
"PALLAS STAR POWER!"
"SATURN CRYSTAL POWER!"
"NEPTUNE CRYSTAL POWER!"
"URANUS CRYSTAL POWER!"
"PINK MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"
Rini tugged at the pale pink skirt of her uniform. "They feel even shorter when you're tall," she groaned. Sailor Pallas was eyeing the staff in Rini's hand.
Sailor Vesta crossed her gloved arms with a 'hmph'. "How's it you get planet crystals and we don't?"
" You mean 'have'," Michiru corrected.
Sailor Saturn flicked her glaive, and its blade glinted against the fluorescent lights of the basement. "You'll get one, just not yet."
Sailor Juno cracked her knuckles. "When do we get it?"
Sailor Neptune adjusted her hair in the talisman mirror. "It's just part of growing as a team."
Sailor Uranus stepped forward, boots pounding against the hard concrete floor. She knelt before Rini, much to the shock of the princess. "Crown Princess Lady Serenity—Sailor Lady Moon," she declared. "I pledge my loyalty to you and your team."
Sailor Neptune knelt as well, a small smile playing on her glossed lips. "Our power to you, Sailor Lady Moon."
Sailor Saturn clasped Rini's hand with a warm smile. "Me too, Rin."
Sailor Ceres stepped forward, placing a hand lightly on Rini's shoulder. "Let's begin, shall we?"
A harsh wind began to fill the room. Sailor Uranus stepped away, and her eyes began to glow a bright yellow. "Alright then, scouts! Get in position!"
Sailor Lady Moon clutched her staff, nodding to Sailor Ceres beside her. "Here we go."
Twilight had fallen over Crystal Tokyo, and the streets were clear. Eleanor Canopy, a tall woman in tall heels, fumed as she strode down the sidewalk. She clutched a stack of papers in her fist and, pausing at a newsstand, stuffed them into a briefcase. She slammed her change onto the small countertop, yanking a magazine from the stand. Reika Nishimura's face was on the cover, overlaid with a caption that read: Taking Conservation Further: How Synthetic Crystal Power Preserves Our Land.
"She knows nothing! She does nothing!" Eleanor Canopy waved the floppy magazine in the cashier's leathery face. The cashier did not respond. The frenetic woman marched away.
Eleanor Canopy was passionate about her work. Eleanor Canopy was the rainforest's number one advocate. Eleanor Canopy was right, and the world was wrong.
Or, at least, that was what Eleanor Canopy thought.
And if the King of Crystal Tokyo couldn't buck up and use the Golden Crystal, she would have to find another way to get that power. Reika Nishimura was part of a bureaucracy that moved too slow. She had offered a meager budget and a timeline devoid of urgency. The Amazon Jungle Conservation Syndicate (of which Eleanor Canopy was the founder and executive director) required more.
Suddenly Eleanor, absorbed in her magazine and her dark thoughts, collided with a woman in a grey suit, who had been walking in the opposite direction.
"Watch yourself!" Eleanor snarled, lashing out against the injustice in her life. A wide open sidewalk, and this bimbo had plowed straight into her.
The woman smiled without a word. Her smile was vacant, a cold group of teeth. Her eyes appeared flat, glassy. Eleanor shrank back, suddenly unsure.
The woman's head shifted, as though someone were whispering into her ear. She still hadn't uttered a sound, and as Eleanor bent down to retrieve the last of the papers she had dropped in the collision, she couldn't escape the feeling that now was a narrowing window for her only chance to run.
Suddenly the woman's hands lashed out, and caught Eleanor by the throat. Eyes that had once seemed dead now flickered with an unnatural yellow energy. They bored into the spectacled gaze of the dark-haired conservationist.
"Energy….give your energy to Hippolyta…"
The suitcase and the magazine both fell to the ground. The pages of the journal fluttered in the wind, whipping open until Reika Nishimura's face tumbled down the street.
By the lamplight, one might have seen the changing body of the businesswoman, whose suit shredded away as she shifted into a menacing blue creature. One might have seen the wilting shadow of Eleanor Canopy, whose willowy body spasmed, then slumped to the earth.
The woman cradled a golden orb between her hands. Her eyes glowed yellow, and the sky opened, swallowed her whole.
A sinister laugh in the night. A lamplight fluttered, sputtered, sparked—and all was dark.
With a heavy sigh, Dr. Ittou Asanuma fished the keys to his office from a brown leather satchel. He cast a glance down the hall, where a sliver of light emerged from Dr. Stone's door. "At least I'm not the last one tonight," he said to himself. He hitched the manila folder, brimming with midterms, high up under his armpit. The professor pulled the knob shut and turned the key in the lock. "Don't work to hard, Zoy!" he called down the hall. The response was an utterance somewhere between a hum and a grunt, which Asanuma interpreted as the neuroscientist's goodbye.
The university was a ten-minute walk from his bus stop, and Asanuma was delighted by the fact that his route ran by some old haunts; namely, the arcade—which, for sentimental reasons to be sure, had remained largely unchanged. There had been a period of time, in the 2300's, where historians were preoccupied with preserving the history of the royal family and their senshi.
If only they knew their queen was once a grade-F student with the high score on the Sailor V game, Asanuma thought affectionately.
Farther down the block, the door to Lita's bakery clanged open and shut as a last-minute customer scurried off down the sidewalk, which was largely deserted. Asanuma smiled happily, eager to pop in and visit an old friend. He stepped off the curb and—
"Oh, sorry!"
He collided with a business man in a gray suit and glasses. Papers flew everywhere, a briefcase hit the ground with a thwump. Asanuma picked up the briefcase, handing it back to the man in question, who had yet to budge or speak. The suitcase was suspiciously light.
"Sorry, sir…" Asanuma watched the traffic signal count down 10, 9, 8, 7…
Beneath the sunglasses, the man's eyes began to glow.
6, 5, 4
"Your energy…your memories…"
3, 2, 1
Dr. Asanuma crumpled to the ground, lifeless. His body rested limply on the curb, arm spilling into the gutter.
Papers scattered in the wind.
The door to Flour Petal chimed once more.
"Asanuma!"
Pallas' finger twitched incessantly over the remote.
"Pick one," Juno pleaded. "Just one." She was stretched out on the sleek leather couch, sinking into the brown cushions, while Pallas perched at the very edge of a chair upholstered in china blue.
The TV above the fireplace continued to flicker and click in confused soundbits.
The green-haired scout threw an arm across her eyes with a dramatic sigh. "Nevermind, I'll just sleep."
Pallas finally clicked the TV off, throwing the remote down with disdain. "There's nothing on," she announced. She lifted herself from the chair and settled against a wall, with her back on the floor and her legs flush with the wall in a ballerina stretch. Her toe brushed against the sleek wooden frame of a large painting, knocking it slightly askew.
The room was now upside down in her vision. Pallas craned her neck and watched an upside down Juno rummage through her purse, finally withdrawing the senshi transformation pen. "What are you doing?"
Juno ran a finger along the sleek emerald handle of the wand. "Just looking," she mumbled. A pause, and then, "What did you think about today?"
Pallas studied the white plaster nubs that covered the ceiling. In her mind's eye, she saw her little raindrops leaking away in the face of Deep Submerge. She could still hear the ringing clatter of Juno's nunchucks against the ground, Haruka's voice barking out their tactical errors. She could hear the frustration in Ceres' voice trying to coax her flower petals into full strength.
She wanted to say, no wonder Zirconia stole our minds. No wonder Galaxia took us down so quickly…scratch it, not even Galaxia herself, but one of her obscure non-scout scouts.
"I think…I think it was great! We're getting stronger!" But the damage was done by her hesitation to answer. Pallas winced at Juno's humorless laugh.
"You don't have to act happy in front of family."
"But—"
The scrape of a key in the door interrupted her response. The last traces of sunlight followed Ami into the room before she shut the door firmly behind. "Hello girls," she murmured politely.
Juno waved lazily from the couch.
Pallas could have narrated the scene with closed eyes. The thump was Ami placing her briefcase and lab coat on the antique chair by the door. The cling was Ami hanging her keys on the hook by the door. The scuffle-fwump bmp bmp was Ami removing her shoes and walking down the hall.
"Hi Ami!" Pallas gushed. She playfully extended an arm, grasping the doctor's slender ankle. Ami stared down quizzically at her apprentice scout, who had let her legs split down the wall into an awkward-looking stretch.
"What are you doing?"
"Be glad she's in pants this time," Juno called from the couch. "Last night she did her stretches in a skirt."
"Please, we're all family here," Pallas retorted.
Ami raised an eyebrow, then delicately pulled her foot from Pallas' grip. "Do we like fish for dinner?"
Pallas gave a thumbs up, then rolled away from the wall, hitting the edge of the coffee table, shaking its occupants. Juno snatched up a mug before it could fall to the floor. "I'll make some rice," she said, rising from her rest and carrying the mug into the kitchen.
Ami turned to the other scout. "Can you handle the vegetables?"
Pallas nodded. "We're out, though. I'll run to the corner and get some now." She pulled her purse from the chair and yanked open the door. "Oh!"
Lita, sweaty and breathless, stood on their porch, one arm poised to knock. The other arm was wrapped around the limp body of a slim young man. The Jupiter princess collapsed against the door frame, and Pallas lifted the other side of the man, drawing them both into the house. Juno peeked into the room, eyes narrowed, then disappeared into the kitchen once more.
"He just—went down—I felt it happen—"
"Asanuma!" Ami darted over as they laid his body on the couch. "What happened?" she demanded.
Lita collapsed into a chair. "I don't know. But you were closest…I panicked." Juno returned with two cups of water, one for Lita and one for the man, just in case.
"Who is he?" Juno asked, studying the lanky arms and sand-colored hair. She reached out a hand to touch his wrist gently, just once, before pulling it away.
Lita watched her hand. "He's like a brother to me."
Pallas set a medical bag next to Ami, whose eyes were closed as she tried to locate a pulse. "Faint, but there. Breathing is shallow, but steady." The doctor rummaged through the bag. She pulled a thermometer, a flashlight, and began the practiced motions of a physician in a check-up.
"I don't think this is a typical collapse case," Lita said. "I felt…a unique energy signature just before I found him. A dark energy signature," she clarified. Her eyes grew distant. "Something we haven't seen in…"
"Almost nine hundred and fifty years," Ami finished grimly. She turned to Pallas. "Your training couldn't have started at a better time."
Pallas locked eyes with Juno. Beneath the green-haired girl's tough, no nonsense exterior, there was the barest flicker of fear, as sharp and fine as a wire. And her own heart, as she studied the pale countenance of Lita's friend, was an anxious staccato.
The fire flickered, casting odd shadows against the wooden paneled walls of the room. All was dark but for the stark white of Raye's shirt against the brightness of the flames. Sparks popped, and flecks of blue danced near the coals. All was still.
Raye's hands, palm to palm, were pressed against her lips. Her eyes were shut, her face blank. The only noise was the small and steady tick tick tick of her wristwatch.
Suddenly the sliding door lurched open, with a crash that elicited a deadly shriek from the priestess.
"What the—"
"I'm late I'm late I'm late I'm late!" Vesta, red hair flowing down her back, yanked on a navy button-down as she ran, barefoot, through the meditation room. "Where THE HELL is my bookbag?!" She quickly bundled her crimson locks into a sloppy ponytail as she scoured each cabinet on the far wall. "Where is it? Where is it? Oh, f—" Her last word was cut off as she bounded out the door, back down the hallway to her room.
Raye sighed, eyeing the flames with disdain. "You couldn't have warned me?" she muttered to the hearth. The priestess readjusted her robes and stood, walking calmly down the hall to the kitchen. Chad, in an apron, was casually flipping an omelet, whistling to himself.
"Have you seen Vesta's bookbag?" Raye asked, filling a teapot with water.
"It's on the roof," Chad answered, pride evident. "And I hung her weird hair cuffs in the trees."
Raye rolled her eyes as she cut on the stovetop, then selected a mug and teabag from the cabinet. "Of all days, you pick her first day of high school?"
Chad bristled. "Were you not there when she put glitter in my shampoo?"
"Honestly, Chad, you're 956 years old."
"Well, I stopped aging at 28."
Raye poured her tea, chuckling despite herself. "That's still too old for such games."
The Crystal Age had failed to arrive soon enough to preserve the life of her grandfather. But Chad was among the first ones to be granted an extended lifespan. Raye became the high priest of the shrine, and Chad elected to remain as a part of the staff (why, though, Raye couldn't be sure).
The animosity and disdain she felt for Chad had waned into the same affection that she carried for Darien—a brotherly love, which was somehow simultaneously platonic and fiercely loyal. She had not berated Chad in centuries.
For the past week, however, Vesta had taken up the role of Resident Chad Antagonizer, with an unparalleled zeal.
And unlike with Raye, Chad aggressively met the feisty redhead blow for blow.
Raye didn't really care to stop the drama. It made life interesting (after a millennium of peace, interesting was a welcome break in the routine).
Chad slid his omelet from the pan onto the nearby plate and turned to the refrigerator. The kitchen door slammed open and Vesta burst onto the scene, red eyes flaring. She clutched the strap of her grey backback in one fist as she sprinted into the kitchen, grabbing the plate with the omelet.
"You steal my backpack, I steal your breakfast!"
Then, without warning, Vesta vaulted herself, catlike, out through the kitchen window (which, thank Ares, thought Raye, was wide open). She clattered down the porch steps, holding the plate above her head like a waitress. Framed by the windowpane, Vesta sprinted to the gate of the shrine and disappeared around its edge, leaving a trail of dust in her wake.
Chad stared after her, in shock, then slumped against the fridge. "I never win," he moaned into his hands.
Raye settled into a chair with her tea, leafing through a Sailor Moon manga (which contained laughable inaccuracies). "I've said it before and I'll say it again," she murmured. "Some things never change."
Rini tapped her fingers against her thigh nervously, a random rhythm meant to calm her nerves. The crosswalk changed, and she shuffled forward. She was enveloped by the throngs of students that were drowsily making their way to Crystal Academy/Juuban Campus. They gave Rini curious looks (perhaps off-put by the pink hair, or her status as Crown Princess), and so she trailed behind, reluctant to make introductions (which Juno and Pallas were currently doing, and doing well).
Just before the highest peaks of the Crystal Palace were out of sight, Rini turned back around, sighing as she watched the morning sun scatter against the surface of her home.
She turned back towards the mob of students, watching as Juno and Pallas chatted happily with the others, not even noticing that she lagged behind. Rini sighed.
Suddenly, her backpack began to jostle. Rini yelped, yanking the pink straps from her back and tossing the pack to the ground. She drew a hand to her chest, where a heart-shaped brooch rested carefully in the center of a bow.
The pack lurched and rippled until Diana poked her head out, meowing ruefully. "Sorry I scared you, Rini!"
Rini pinched her nose, ponytails swaying as she shook her head. "Oh, Diana," she groaned. "I can't take a cat to school!"
Diana frowned, whiskers drooping. "But Mama always went to school."
Rini picked up her cat and her backpack. "Bunny didn't ever think about sanitation codes, classmates with allergies, or specific school rules that were probably written later, with those two in mind. But I do." She stared hard into Diana's yellow eyes. "No pets."
Diana licked Rini's cheek affectionately, then dropped to the ground. "I'll go to Flour Petal, then."
Rini's stomach grumbled at the thought of Lita's bakery flower shop. "Once school ends, I won't be far behind."
Suddenly, Diana's eyes landed on a distant point behind Rini's back. "Princess!"
Rini turned, following the cat's gaze down the sidewalk.
The other students were long gone down the street, but in the midst of black suits and pencil skirts, Rini spied a flash of orange…and the metallic clink of beads filled her senses.
The girl, who had been darting through the crowds, paused. Slowly she turned, and though she was on the other end of the block, Rini felt as though no barriers were blocking them from seeing one another.
Diana coiled her body, emitting a low growl.
As though time had ceased, as though nobody else was on the sidewalk—the air grew heavy with the energy that Rini felt from this mysterious girl.
She had skin as dark and smooth as a coffee bean. Her hair, black and dense, was coiled in bright blue thread, woven with orange feathers, red beads. She was dressed in a brown leather vest with shorts. A satchel slung across her back. In the strap pocket rested a slingshot.
She reeked of star power.
Black eyes met red ones.
"Diana," Rini breathed, heart pounding, "This energy is just like—"
The girl ran.
As though awoken from a trance, Rini snapped to attention and, yanking up her backpack, took up the chase. She ran to the edge of the block, pushing through businessmen and other students to where the girl had turned a corner.
She caught sight of orange feathers in the street, and Rini dashed in front of a taxi, eliciting an angry honk. Diana hopped up on a wall, a gray streak beside Rini. "Turn here!" the cat yelled, ignoring the shocked faces of passersby. Rini squeezed between a crowd of shoppers, kicking angrily at their baggage. She emerged onto the streets of a shopping district. Diana, back on the ground, wheeled around as Rini did, both of them desperate for a lead.
There was no trace of the girl to be seen.
Diana wheezed behind her. Rini lifted the cat sympathetically, casting one final glance down the road. Sparks in her chest. There was something so…nostalgic, so familiar. Her heart was thrumming …it just hummed with the knowledge of…something…she hugged Diana a little bit tighter. "Who was it?" she murmured.
Diana's brow furrowed. "I don't know, Lady."
A clock rang out, a symphony of bells over the traffic noise. Rini swore. Diana leapt from her arms and said, "Go, princess, I'll see you this afternoon."
Rini nodded, and then began to sprint back in the direction she came.
Late on the first day.
Papa was going to kill her.
King Endymion glided down the halls of the Crystal Palace, every step punctuated by the sharp rap of his scepter against the floors. He turned, glancing over his shoulder, then continued down the dark column-lined corridor of the south wing. At the end of the path was a stone wall. Yet, as the King approached, silver outlines traced the intricate carvings of two large wooden doors. The portal materialized, and the King, with little effort, pushed the doors open by their bronze handles.
"Sailor Pluto."
Sailor Pluto turned, hair shifting against her back in waves of dark green. Her garnet eyes widened, and she knelt low, bowing her head, resting her temple against the scepter.
The King saluted, and the guardian of time stood once more.
"How can I help you, King?" she asked, voice soft.
Endymion cleared his throat, and the sound echoed through the gray mists of time. "I need a way to access Elysian. I wondered if you might have a key."
To his surprise, Sailor Pluto began to laugh. Then, realizing her audience, she looked away, biting a lip and staring at a distant point in the mist.
The King shuddered, remembering his trip through the dimensional storms all too well.
"Like father, like daughter."
The King's eyes, confused, shot back to Sailor Pluto.
"Small Lady came earlier this week with the same question. And I had to give her the same answer." Pluto's lips twisted into a half smile. "Despite still possessing the key to my old Subaru, I do not have a key to Elysian."
The King slowly absorbed this new information—not just the lack of a key, but also the wishes of his daughter.
"She wants to go to Elysian?"
Pluto nodded. "She said she would return to the past once a week to do my laundry and clean my house, if I showed her the way. She brought me tea and cookies."
Endymion sighed. "Of course she did."
"People go to great lengths for the ones they love." Pluto tilted her head towards him, ever so slightly. "You of all must know."
Endymion hmmed in agreement, and then there was a long silence. The fog churned around them, and the King swore he could hear ocean waves.
"If you don't mind, King," Pluto began haltingly, "why can't you go there on your own? Is the Golden Crystal not powerful enough to transport you? Is the crystal…?" She trailed off, uncertain how to finish.
Endymion sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Don't you already know?" he asked, stalling.
"I try not to investigate events beyond what I am required to manipulate," Pluto answered coolly. "Knowledge is not always power."
Endymion nodded, crossing his arms. The two of them stood, arms crossed with scepters nestled into their elbows, mirror postures in the dimensional fog.
"The Golden Crystal has been unresponsive, ever since my 'death' in the past," the King explained wearily. "When Galaxia stole Darien's star seed in the airport—something that was not originally in the timeline—the light of my Golden Crystal dimmed, in this time." He extended his scepter towards Pluto, who confirmed the unusual dullness of the jewel within its setting. "I haven't been able to summon the generals from their stones," he continued. "I haven't heard or felt anything from Helios, despite our bonded souls. And," his voice grew shaky, and he had to pause, "the voice of the Earth is disappearing." His face was grave. "And my people have begun to notice it, question it." The scowling face of Eleanor Canopy flew through his mind, and the King grimaced.
Pluto had begun gathering some of the fog about her, pulling up images from the past of that fateful day, studying the way Darien crumbled, studying the star seed in Galaxia's bony hands. Scenes of the battles, almost like a fast-forwarding movie, played before the two of them, and her fingers flew over the fog for several tense minutes until, finally, her actions ceased.
Sailor Pluto drew in a breath, and quickly removed a key from her belt. She clasped it in her hand and turned to the King.
"When a planet guardian dies," she began, "their star seeds return to the galaxy cauldron, in most cases. But," she drew up an image of Rini and her scouts, descending from the sky into battle on Galaxia's planet, "if those guardians have children, their powers are passed down. My father, Chronos, passed his powers down to me," she added.
"When you died the first time, your Golden Crystal dimmed because it was no longer supposed to exist. Yet Galaxia preserved your life for her purposes. But—the second time, when you fell into the cauldron," (the King grimaced at the image that Pluto now summoned of him falling backwards into the abyss), "Sailor Cosmos blessed Rini with full scout powers. I believe these events coincided in a way that means Rini unintentionally has your Golden Crystal power dwelling within her soul, rather than in yours."
The key turned in Pluto's grasp, flipping within a cage of her slim fingers.
"But Bunny healed everyone. After the battle, I used my Golden Crystal several times for Crystal Tokyo." Endymion could not hide his confusion.
Pluto waved a hand and let the mist that played the past dissolve. "It's difficult, King, but…I'll try." She ran a hand past her ear, patting at the chignon bun. "Galaxia was not in the timeline, in our timeline, until the disturbances called Rini to the past. Her actions in that past affect our present because she is a part of this time. In one timepath, your Golden Crystal may have continued to shine following the events of Dead Moon. The presence of Galaxia, however, has changed the timepath, and the effects of this change are only now being seen in our present. Though the memories are now from 900 years ago, the effects are as recent as Rini's departure from Crystal Tokyo."
The King laughed. "I'll pretend to follow that explanation if you promise to never repeat it. Medical school was a breeze compared to time-space issues."
Pluto smiled, all small and gentle teeth. Then she held out the key to the King. "This is not a key to Elysian, but it may bring you one step closer."
The King frowned, taking the key. "What do you mean?"
"I believe, as your Golden Crystal power manifests itself in Rini, she may be able to act as a conduit to Elysian. The key is an anchor for the pathway." Pluto tapped her fingers against the scepter. "You can still use psychometry, right?"
"Just barely…as I said, the generals—"
"Oh," Pluto waved a hand, "That's just because they're not in the stones anymore, King. If you use power with Rini, I'm sure that you'll reach Helios."
"Okay, I'll try…" the King began to walk away then, suddenly, whirled back around. "Wait, what? Kunzite and—they're—"
Pluto nodded, amused. "The generals are unawakened, but reborn."
"How?"
"You fell into the abyss, correct? Their star seeds were reborn, as guardians of Earth. The jewels became empty shells."
"…Where are they?" His voice was soft, low, and hoarse.
"You'll find them, King, in time."
The King sighed at her answer, knowing the conversation to be finished. "You've given me a lot to think about. As always." He turned to depart. "Thank you, Setsuna."
The guardian of time bowed low, one hand fisted over her heart. "It has been good to see you…" She watched his figure disappear as the door closed. "…Endymion."
Rini burst through the door to the classroom just as Aunt Naru (ahem, Mrs. Gurio) was calling roll. She was in the classroom long enough to see Ceres sitting primly in the front row, looking fresh and sensible in her perfectly pressed uniform; to see that Pallas, behind Ceres, was doodling; to see Juno already passing a note from the back of the room down the line to her sisters; to see a crop of unfamiliar faces that made her stomach twist…and, hiding behind Juno's hair—Hotaru. She had taken a different route to school than Rini this morning.
Rini's relief at the sight of Hotaru was palpable, and the princess started forward to claim the empty seat beside her friend.
"Like mother like daughter, I see," Nar—Mrs. Gurio—said, not without kindness. "Small Lady, you must stand in the hallway. School rules."
Rini's shoulders slumped. "Even on the first day?"
"Even on Day 1." The redhead nodded crisply. And, with a louder, didactic tone, "I demand one hundred percent from the start!" She cast an apologetic eye in Rini's direction.
The princess turned and walked lethargically out the door, closing it behind her. She leaned against the wall and allowed herself to slide down to the ground with a groan. The school nurse, pushing a creaky cart of medical supplies down the hall, cast a sympathetic glance in Rini's direction, and the pink-haired girl smiled back wanely.
Rini opened her bookbag and withdrew a sketchpad and pencil. A rough picture began to take form, and the muffled voices of teachers began to fade away. The soothing scratch of pencil sounded like a soft accompaniment to the large branches that were scratching against the hallway window. So Rini decided to turn the lines on her page into that tree.
We're dying, maiden.
The pencil clattered to the ground and rolled down the hallway. Rini, pale, looked around. Nobody was there, and yet she heard the voices again, so strong. She pinched her face.
"…I'm not dreaming."
Suddenly the hallway door, a few yards away, crashed open, and Vesta sprinted through. Her feet clacked against the tile floor. She stopped short when she noticed Rini sitting on the ground outside. Vesta looked at the classroom door, almost placing a hand on the doorknob, then sighed, tossing her backpack to the floor beside Rini. She flopped down next to her pink-haired friend with a nod.
"Yo." Vesta then proceeded to pull out an assortment of bronze accessories from her backpack. She gradually pulled together her hair, piece by piece, into an intricate ponytail. "So, we're late." The first metal cuff snapped into place with a dull click. "Chad threw this"—she jerked a thumb to her backpack, "onto the roof of the shrine. The roof!" She wrapped another piece of hair. "On the first day of school." A hairband, as though to punctuate the words, snapped into place at the nape of her neck.
Rini chuckled. "We'll think of a counter attack in detention."
"Dye his hair."
"Cut holes in the crotch of all his pants."
"Post an ad with his number on it."
"Move everything out of his room and rebuild it, but outside of the shrine."
Vesta was laughing now too. "Who knew? Princess loves a prank."
Rini nodded emphatically. "Of course I do! What, you thought I wouldn't?"
Vesta shrugged. "We do a lot of fun in our family, my sisters and I. Even Ceres, I promise she does. For awhile, we've been worried that we'd be protecting a stiff, proper princess."
"Trust me," Rini replied, "I am nobody's definition of a princess." She leaned back against the wall, suddenly quiet. The tree rustled against the windowpane, and in Rini's head danced the darker shadows of mistakes she made—secrets kept, trusts broken, or silver crystals stolen.
Vesta, watching the ruby eyes fall, gently elbowed her slender shoulder. "Well, then we're a perfect match. Because I'm nobody's definition of a guardian." She sighed. "I barely manage to cover my own ass most days." Then Vesta pulled out her phone and began playing the recently released Kaitou Ace video game. She motioned towards Rini. "This is always the trickiest level."
Rini leaned in to watch as a small pixel man with cherub features jumped and ran and shot playing cards at purple monsters, as Vesta swiped her fingers across the screen. "Careful, or it'll be taken away," Rini cautioned.
"Yeah, well, I'm chummy with the Crown Princess of Crystal Tokyo, so I bet she'll be able to get it back for me if I can't."
Rini smiled, slow and soft. She relaxed against the wall and closed her eyes, intending to catch just one more wink. In the companionable silence that followed, Rini could almost feel the elusive click that changed strangers into friends.
The sound of shattering glass and suddenly a shriek filled the hallway.
Vesta dropped her phone and stood, yanking Rini up to her feet as well. The two girls glanced at one another for a millisecond before both took off running in the direction of the scream, just as the doors to several classrooms were opening.
A small coalition of teachers and students bounded after Rini and Vesta, but the two girls arrived first at the source of the noise: the nurse's office.
Rini halted in the doorway and the sight chilled her bones.
A menacing creature, yellow-eyed, gaunt, and covered with leathery blue skin, towered over the limp body of the school nurse. Instead of hair, her scalp was covered in snakes. A single fang hung over her bottom lip. In her hand was a golden orb, pulsating with energy.
Aunt Naru (screw it, she was family before she was teacher) fainted straightaway, falling against Ceres and Hotaru.
"Hey!" Vesta shouted, advancing. "What do you think you've done?" She reached out her hand, as though to transform, but Rini pulled it back down.
"We're exposed!" she hissed.
"So what?" Vesta shot back. Juno appeared at her side, nodding.
"Gotta fight."
But Pallas popped up beside Rini, shaking a head at her sisters.
"We can't, not here," said the blue-haired girl.
But ultimately, it didn't matter. The creature let out a tremendous yawp, then burst through the roof of the school, disappearing into the sky like a bolt of lightning.
The fire alarm sounded, and the scouts, who were poised for argument, deflated.
Rini bent down, gathering the school nurse in her arms. Juno knelt beside her and took up the other side of the woman's limp body.
Everybody filed out of the school, pouring onto the sidewalks and under the playground trees in a nervous chatter.
And with every step, with every heartbeat, the words rang louder in Rini's ears…
We're dying, Maiden.
Help us.
We're dying.
8 Acres East
