Chapter 6: Pasts

"Past failures are guideposts to success."
-Unknown source

When Lyra came to, she was lying on the floor of the summer house, but something seemed different. Sitting around her were the other four. Beatrice and Andromeda were both gone.

"What just happened?" Cygnus asked, rubbing her forehead.

"I'm not sure, but something isn't right," Lupus said, standing up. She went over the door and pushed it open.

"Whoa. Okay. This is messed up."

Gathering around the tallest senshi, the others had to agree. After all, it was a little weird to see Theia's garden, only not her garden as it was so different, at night, glowing in a rainbow of colors, with her house replaced by an apparent castle. And the stars were different, too. And where was the Moon?

But before they could wonder on the subject much, they could hear a clear voice, calling "Princesses of the stars..."

A figure appeared from around a corner. She was clothed in a gown that shimmered in rainbow colors. Flaxen hair tumbled around her feet. The lady stopped in front of them. She had the posture of a queen.

"Lyra. Auriga. Cygnus. Lupus. Welcome home," the woman said, spreading her arms wide.

"Home...?" Eumelia said, softly. She could feel a stirring in her chest, a pull towards this woman.

She smiled softly. "You are on Vega, in the constellation Lyra. Granted, it isn't the home of the other three...but this was where you would often commiserate. And what better place to learn of your past then here?"

Lyra was excited at that. "Then you're going to tell us the truth?"

"Yes," the woman said. She motioned towards a table, tucked away among the trees. "It's a long story. Please, sit."

When they had done so, the queen started. "All four of you had a past life, in which you were sailor senshi—the same senshi you are now. You were also princesses of your constellations...Princesses Lyra, Auriga, Cygnus, and Lupus. But there was a fifth...the constellation Andromeda. These five constellations were joined in a treaty. All of them would protect each other."

"But things started to fall apart. The Silver Millennium, the most powerful entity in the galaxy at the time, fell, and your kingdoms did as well. All four of you perished in the destruction."

"These deaths were slow to be reported to Andromeda, who led the coalition. And by the time they did, it was too late. Princess Andromeda had died. You know the myth. It's too terrible to go into here."

The lady spoke so smoothly and calmly, you wouldn't have been able to tell she was delivering news that completely destroyed everything her audience had ever thought about their lives.

"And...who are you?" Aella asked, staring at her hands.

"That is not important. But it is time for you to realize...you must save Andromeda. She does not know why you could not help. And you have to discover your own powers, the stronger powers within you."

The woman smiled. "You will return one day...you will come into your own as queens. But as for now, it is getting late. You must return to your families."

And with that, the world around them dissolved.


The rest of the summer passed with an eerie quietness. Monster attacks were sporadic and far apart. It could be seen as a good thing, but it also made the girl apprehensive. Was Andromeda preparing for a very large attack?

They met often at the summer house, discussing the past they had learned about, and also the very strange absence of a certain little friend.

The rest of summer passed in a blaze of heat, and the junior year of high school started on August 26 for everyone but Theia, who started August 29, a fact she relished.

On her first day, Eumelia was running to science class when she ran straight into a girl who was running the opposite way. There was a yell, a clattering sound as they both dropped their books, and they fell to the ground.

"Ouch..." Eumelia hissed, rubbing her ankle. It had twisted under her as she fell.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" said the girl who'd run into her. She had orange-tinted hair, tied into half a ponytail.

"Yeah, I think I'm fine..." Eumelia said, standing. She put weight on her ankle, and grimaced. "That's gonna bruise. I'm sorry I ran into you," she continued, looking at the girl. She had the beginning of a thought flit into her mind before it was gone.

"I'm Aegle Chrysanthe," said the girl, extending a hand.

"Eumelia Ianthe. Oh, we have similar names!"

Aegle giggled. "Yeah. Hey, do you know the way to Darland's Physics class?"

"Oh, you have Mr. Darland for Physics now? I do too. He's this way."

Eumelia led Aegle to the class, and they ran inside just as the bell rang.

"I don't think you can call that 'saved by the bell', Eumelia whispered as she sat at one of the black tables. Aegle took the seat next to her.

"Yeah," Aegle whispered back. She took the two syllabus packets that were handed to her, and gave one to Eumelia.

The two whispered amiably throughout the rest of their class. And it was no surprise that, by the end of August, they were good friends, and they shared two of the same classes—Physics, and Algebra 2.

In early September, Eumelia was standing outside the lunchroom with Aegle, chatting as they waited for the bell, when a handsome guy with tousled black hair walked past. Aegle stopped mid-sentence, and stared as he strolled past.

"...Aegle? Woohoo, Earth to Aegle?" Eumelia said, waving a hand in front of her friend's face.

She jumped out of her reverie, startled. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was just watching that guy. Who is he?"

"Him? Oh, that's Perseus...I don't remember his last name, actually. Anyways, I had him in my Geometry class last year. He's a nice guy if you get to know him, but pretty untouchable otherwise."


It was the beginning of October when things fell apart.

One chilly Monday morning, Eumelia was buzzing into the mouthpiece of her mellophone as she headed out to the field for marching band practice. The buzzing helped warm up the instrument, which was always good. She was also going over the various assignments she'd been given last week, wondering if she'd gotten them all done, or if she would be stuck turning them in late again.

It was with some shock when she felt someone walk right into her side. She dropped her mellophone from the impact. She grabbed it and straightened up, expecting a sorry, but not hearing one.

It was with even more shock that Eumelia saw Aegle walking away, smirking.

"Hey!" Eumelia shouted, running over. "What's the matter? Why did you walk into me?"

Aegle stopped walking. "Don't you realize? Don't you realize who I am, Eumelia?" she said, her voice deadly soft.

Then, all of a sudden, it rushed into Eumelia's mind. "You...you're Sailor Andromeda!"

"Straight on," Aegle responded, voice still low.

Then, quick as a viper, she turned around struck Eumelia across the face.

"You deserved that, you know. You don't understand me. And that woman...she has no idea, at all, of what I wish."

Aegle stood over Eumelia, her breath quick. "It's time to stop playing, Sailor Lyra. The real battle starts now."

Eumelia shot to her feet. "Okay then. Lyra Constellation Power, Make-up!"

But Andromeda was too quick. She transformed as well.

"Andromeda Chained Power, Make-up!"

It was like two opposite powers grating on each other. Eumelia had never experienced pain while transforming, but she did now. So as soon as she could, Lyra darted off, running down the driveway around the back of the school, while the other few people outside pointed and stared, and the band director reached for his cellphone.

I have to lose her, Lyra thought as she ran. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw Andromeda gaining on her, but she also saw that the door to the shop backstage was open. It was a perfect opportunity. If the prop cage was open too, then she could hide easily. Lyra knew the place like the back of her hand.

Spinning around, Lyra ran as fast as she could. Andromeda was surprised by the move, but she recovered quickly.

Faster. Faster. Gotta call the others...

Lyra summoned her locket and called for Aella.

"Aella! It's Andromeda, she's attacking me! Get the others over here!" Lyra shouted at her friend, who nodded.

Lyra dodged into the shop. It was dark—obviously, someone had neglected to close the door after musical set construction the night before—so it was harder to get around.

Nearly tripping over a plank of wood on the ground, Lyra could see that the door to the prop cage (more like room) was open. She scurried up the stairs to the second level and hid behind a hanging dust cloth, listening to Andromeda curse as she tried to find her way around in the dark.

But just then, Lyra heard the voices of her friends shouting their attacks below. There was a scream, a terrible silence.

However, when Lyra looked around the edge of the curtain, she only saw Cygnus, Auriga, and Lupus, looking horribly confused.

"She just disappeared," Auriga finally said.