It's Enough to Make You Wonder...

Author's Ramblings: We're moving right along to Story 17. A quick thank
you to High School, which gives us the wonderful time called Spring Break
to work on Galactic Sailors. And congratulations to Dania, a Galactic Fan,
on the birth of her son!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Previously:

Ken came back, and Alice got mad. Phoebe's Aunt Marie came to live with
her. The kittens got their marks. There was a monster, and Angel Moon
enabled the Scout's power-ups. An evil entity called Kevin was destroyed
during his search for some sort of crystal. And the Evil Queen Ginnie
appeared.

And that, my friends, is where the story begins...
* * * * * * * * * * * *

The cold winter breeze bit her skin as she drew the coat closer to
her body and walked slowly down the sidewalk. She most certainly looked
like some sort of troublemaker to the passerby. Her jeans were a bit
muddy--she'd slipped on an icy patch in the park and wiped out,
splattering herself with mud--and her face was red and streaked with
tears. She'd cried a million tears, it seemed, and yet she still felt like
something awful.
He had never, in fifteen years, bothered to see her. Or talk to her.
Or even care about her. And yet she was his daughter. She didn't
understand.
Tears stung her chestnut eyes. The eyes like his. She wiped them
away and climbed the six rickety wooden steps.
He'd returned, of course, seemingly coming to be a breath of
sunshine to her dark and dreary life. He'd come... Her father had
returned. And then he left again.
She pushed the third button from the top. The buzzer shouted into
the dark night and she slowly turned the doorknob, letting herself into
the building. She climbed the blue carpeted stairs, heading for the fifth
floor.
And now, he expected a warm welcome from the daughter that he'd
neglected. She resisted the urge to laugh. Her words to her mother were
too true for her taste. Who, indeed, did he think he was? He certainly was
no father to her. He had, in fact, done nothing for her since the day she
was born.
Except, of course, break her heart.
The door to apartment 5-C was open, and a short blonde woman stood
slightly outside of it, her arms crossed over her orange robe. Upon seeing
her friend, she smiled sadly. "Oh, Alice," cooed Lyra, rushing up and
drawing the taller girl into her arms. "I wish you'd called before the
monster attack..."
She sighed and shook her head a bit. "I'm sorry, but I needed to...
To think..." She shrugged her shoulders and wiped away the falling tears.
And she followed her friend inside.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

The sun glittered in the sky as she wiped her brow and smiled up at
the warm orb. It was welcomed; the grunt work of scrubbing the long wooden
deck of Cherry Hill Temple was not pleasant, but the sunlight warmed the
freezing winter day and made the labor more pleasant.
"Excuse me... Miss?" Tara glanced up from the over-filled bucket of
soapy water, only to come face-to-face with a tall, thin girl. Her long
blonde hair was pulled high away from her face in a brown barrette, and
she wore a tasteful black knee-length skirt with a green sweater. In fact,
she would have looked very beautiful if it weren't for the extremely upset
expression upon her pale face. "I'm sorry to bother you, Miss," she
apologized, bowing a bit. "But I'm lost and I would like to know how to
get to Crystal Hospital."
The priestess rose slowly, furrowing her brow. The voice and the
face... They were both extremely familiar. "Umm... Yes, of course," she
stammered, smoothing her robes as she slipped her sandals on and led the
stranger toward the steps. "I'll take you down to the street and direct
you from there, if that is acceptable..."
Beaming, the other girl insisted that it was far beyond acceptable.
Then, her gold eyes widened as she did a double take. "Tara Yuuichirou?"
she gasped, staring.
Tara froze. THAT was where she'd recognized the girl--she was the
school's biggest gossip, Rebecca something-or-another. She glanced up at
the sun and gulped nervously, whispering a silent prayer.
No one at Crossroads but the other Scouts knew that she was a
Priestess. Who would understand? Who would even bother understanding how
much her faith meant to her?
It had taken a very long three years to gain their respect. Coming
into a school as a ninth-grader and having no friends... That took a lot
of courage and hope to overcome. But she slowly overcame it, and then she
soared above the shadow that was her loneliness.
But she had a feeling that, in a school where rumor was truth and
gossip traveled as the crow flies... She grimaced and then smiled weakly
at Rebecca. "I thought you looked a bit familiar," she managed, her voice
catching in the back of her throat.
The blonde giggled loudly. "YOU'RE the little temple shrew that the
freshmen were all buzzing about?" She ignored the angry green-eyed glower
and gestured toward the temple. "You live here?"
"Well, yes," admitted the raven-haired beauty, furrowing her brow in
confusion. "But..."
Rebecca's gold eyes flared in mirth. "And you actually believe all
the gobbledy-gook that the professor of history taught us in class?" She
grinned merrily. "Wait until the school hears about this!"
Tara's heart skipped a beat and she reached forward to grab the
taller teen's wrist. "Wait!"
But the other girl had already taken off down the steps of the
temple, suddenly forgetting about her being lost.
Pacing back to the deck, the tempered priestess over-turned her
bucket and let out a loud, enraged scream. The echoes of her voice carried
across the sacred ground and faded into the distance after a few
moments...
Which was time enough for her to fall to her knees and start crying.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Phoebe! Get your butt in here!"
The blue haired girl groaned inwardly and ignored the cry, focusing
on the TV screen. "And one... And two..." She continued her leg-lifts.
Feet stomped. Something crashed to the ground. Someone threw the
door to the living room open.
She paused the tape and turned around slowly, wiping her face with a
towel casually as she glanced at the newcomer. "What now, Marie?"
The silver-haired woman stepped about three feet into the room and
held out a small, slotted plastic trowel and a garbage bag. "Catboxes,"
she commanded, a slight glare in her brown eyes. "Now."
Smiling sweetly, Phoebe shook her head a bit. "I always work out on
Sunday mornings," she told her aunt dryly. "ALWAYS. I'll clean the
catboxes later."
"No." The adult placed the bag and trowel on the couch. "You'll do
it right now. Those poor cats shouldn't have to use those disgusting
things..."
Phoebe sighed. "Half an hour?" Her aunt didn't waver. "PLEASE?"
Sighing, the woman nodded and walked out of the room.
As soon as Marie was out of earshot, the teen smiled.
"Catboxes? Bah!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *

She sat at a large oak desk in her mothers' offices, staring at the
white paper before her. The word 'name' and its sweet little semi-colon
beckoned to her, but could she do it?
Her eyes trailed to the ballpoint pen. Could she actually fill out
the form that would carry her after from this place? She didn't know how
much she wanted to do that.
"Whatcha doing?" questioned a sweet little voice from her side. She
jumped nearly a mile into the air and swept a manila envelope atop the
form quickly, before glancing down into two innocent crimson eyes. Peter
strained to see the top of the desk and stuck out his lower lip. "What's
that you're hiding, Haley?" he inquired sweetly, glancing up at her. "It's
surely not homework, seeing as you're not in school."
The young woman brushed her bangs from her teal eyes and sent the
child a stern glare. "Never mind," she commanded sternly. "Just... Never
mind..."
He pouted, crossing his little arms over his chest. "But it's not
very nice to keep secrets..."
"Peter! There you are!" A head of green hair and bright red eyes
popped in the doorway. "I've been looking all over for you, young man,"
chided Susan, stepping into the room and placing her hands on her hips.
Glancing first at her son and then at Haley, she made a face. "Are you
pestering your cousin?"
Haley shook her head. "Not really, Suse," she lied, leaning back in
the chair. "I was just going over some soccer stuff..."
"Liar," interjected Peter indignantly. "You were NOT going over
soccer stuff and..."
"That's enough out of you." The tall woman seized the boy by the
back of his shirt collar. "Aeris and your father are already at the Gate,
and you're late..."
He made a face and stared up at his mother. "But she's lying!" he
protested, wrinkling his nose. "And I don't WANNA go to the Time Gate!
It's cold and scary..."
The adult just rolled her eyes and led Peter from the room.
Letting out a deep sigh, Haley pushed away the envelope and stared
at the form before her. There was that word again. 'Name.' Who invented
that word? And how did it get so scary so fast?
"You know, you can lie to Peter and even Miss Pluto," put in a
little voice from the desk's edge. "But don't think I don't know the
truth. Because I do."
She glanced across the desk, her gaze meeting two knowing brown
eyes. Her mouth fell open in doubt and shock, and she gulped before
tossing a piece of paper at the chubby kitten. "Buzz off, Galileo."
The cat smiled sweetly. "Now, come on, Haley," he replied casually.
"I just want to know why you're lying to Peter and Miss Pluto." He batted
his eyelashes prettily. "Don't you want to tell the nice kitty your
problem?"
"You're more annoying than your father on a bad day," she spat at
him, voice low. Standing, she removed the sheet from the desk and folded
it in half. "And if you won't leave, then I will..."
"But, Haley..."
"Bye." She strode out the door quickly, not bothering to shut it as
she tromped up the stairs.
Making a face, Galileo jumped off the desk and onto the carpeted
floor. "I wonder what's so bad about Notre Dame," he thought aloud, his
little pink tongue sticking out a bit. "It seems like a good enough school
to me... And why would it promote lying?"
He shrugged and padded his way to the door.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"But, Queen Ginnie..." protested the young man, wrinkling his nose.
"I don't want to end up like Kevin..."
The black garbed woman leaned back in her large throne, adjusting
her crown ever so slightly as she glowered down at her minion. He was the
same age and stature as Kevin, really, but far less interesting. With his
brown hair and eyes, and with his large glasses, he looked more like a
nerd than a minion of evil. At least to her.
But she glowered down at him nonetheless and laid her arms on the
massive marble armrests of her seat. "You DARE to question me?" she
roared.
He shrugged noncommittally and glanced away.
She made a face. "Arthur, PLEASE," she pleaded, the anger in her
brown eyes melting away. "Tina's not even here, so I can beg. I just don't
want to put Seth or Rob in charge this time..." Ginnie shuddered.
"Please?"
"It's not that I don't want to do this, but..." He pressed his lips
together. "Oh, Hell, I just don't want to..."
Nodding, she let and understanding expression cross her face. "Well,
I suppose that's acceptable," she agreed, crossing her arms. "I mean,
when I 'just don't want to' do something, you know what I do?"
Arthur furrowed his brow. "What?"
A bolt of yellow energy flew from an extended finger and picked him
up by his left pant leg. He yelped and clenched his eyes shut as she
raised the beam--and him, too--to touch the ceiling of the great hall.
"I most certainly do not question me!" she shot at him, eyes livid
and intense. "I go and do it, you rotten scum! You piece of rabid horse
manure!"
He whimpered, and she snapped her fingers and watched as he began to
fall the hundred-odd feet to the floor.
"Okay! Okay!" he screamed covering his face as he fell in what
seemed to be slow motion. "Just don't hurt..."
Suddenly, Arthur stopped falling and floated gracefully to the
floor, landing on his feet. Cracking one eye open, he glanced down at
himself to make sure that he was still in one piece. Then, he bowed
deeply. "Thank you, Your Highness. You are truly great." He glanced up at
her apprehensively. "You are magnificent... In fact, You are the most
magnificent evil Queen that I've ever had the pleasure to work for."
She smiled widely and leaned back in the marble throne. "I know..."
she sighed, her voice filled with content. "There's no one as great as..."
She glanced down. "Where the Hell do you think YOU'RE going?"
Arthur, who was slowly slinking toward the doorway on his tiptoes,
suddenly found himself flying backward toward the marble footrest of the
great throne. He managed a pathetic scream before smashing into the giant
chunk of marble. He groaned and stood slowly, brushing off his black
uniform. "I was just...uhh...starting for Earth..." he lied, pale face
slowly becoming reddish. "Isn't that where the Crystal went?"
She picked him up by a bolt of energy and pointed idly to the
ceiling with a finger of her free hand. "Earth," she responded, "is THAT
way."
Screaming, Arthur was quickly propelled toward the black, rough
stone of the chamber's ceiling. "NO!"
And, just seconds before he rammed into it at very near breakneck
speed, a green portal appeared and sucked him in instead.
Ginnie let the energy deplete into nothingness as the portal closed.
"I need to get new minions," she mumbled to herself, shaking her head
slowly as though she were in pain. "Or maybe giant robots... Yeah,
robots..."
* * * * * * * * * * * *

She flipped the page of the newspaper, singing softly along to the
CD player. "Just like a wing...spread your arms wide... Whoa..." Her blue
eyes trailed over the articles as she leaned back in the kitchen chair.
This was the life.
And the life was interrupted by someone turning off her music.
Her face turned from the paper to look at a certain woman with long
silver hair and sparkling walnut eyes. "I was listening to that,"
protested Phoebe in a dry voice, putting the paper down on the table and
rising to stand nearly nose-to-nose with her aunt. "What do YOU want?"
"Catboxes."
The one word answer was not all too effective upon the teen, for she
leaned forward and turned the CD back on. "When I'm done here, Marie," she
said, walking over to her seat and plopping back down. "I always read the
paper."
"Bull, Phoebe," retorted the woman, turning the music back off. "At
eight this morning, you said 'half an hour.' It's now..." She glanced down
at her watch. "It's now two, and you've done nothing!"
She glanced up again and glared at the adult, her ice blue eyes
piercing as she first met Marie's gaze and then trailed to look at the
boombox, whose switch was now idling in the 'off' position. "Later..."
Marie stomped her foot. "LOOK at this place, Phoebe Solaria! LOOK!"
And she did.
The kitchen had managed to retain the outward appearance of a war
zone. In the sink were literal mountains of dishes, with grimy, molding,
and half-eaten food crusting the edges and spilling out onto the counter.
Cabinets were either half-open or completely open, revealing shelves that
could best be described as bare. The fruit bowl was filled with what
seemed to be mashed black banana and gooey rotten apple. Beside that was a
mountain of silverware, some clean and some just downright disgusting,
and--on the other side of the silverware--was a carton of milk which, a
few weeks ago, had been abandoned on the counter. A half-eaten piece of
bread was molding atop the refrigerator, and beside that were two half-
finished lollipops and a can of Pepsi with a 'best before date' from a
year and a half previous. And that was just the half of the mess.
Phoebe looked at the kitchen. She stood up and walked around, noting
things like there were cabinets that needed fixing and that the only bare
spot on the counter was the space her boombox was occupying. Her blue eyes
studied the sink and the counter. They looked over the carton of stinking
milk and the fruit-fly infested bowl of rotten fruit. They examined the
top of the fridge. And then, they glanced back at the silver-haired woman.
"So?"
With a sigh of exasperation, Marie beat the countertop with her
rubber-gloved hand, cringing as she splattered what was either spaghetti
sauce or basil-scented blood onto both herself and her niece. "The whole
HOUSE is like this, Phoebe! You've managed to make a nice little ranch on
the good side of town into a pig sty!" She strode quickly to the front
hall closet, blue-haired teen on her heels, and threw open the door. A
few odd baseballs and tennis shoes rained down upon her, but she ignored
them and extracted a bucket, and then a large red apron and a second pair
of rubber gloves. "This house is getting a make-over, young lady."
Gasping, she quickly backed up for the living room. "Marie, I...
You..." She shook her head. "I don't clean! I'm not into that whole
'cleanliness is next to godliness' thing!" She pointed to the sauce that
had flown onto her white T-shirt. "See? I didn't even think to clean this
off and--whoa!" She slipped on something and landed flat on her butt, face
red with both annoyance and embarrassment.
Marie bent down and plucked a brownish-yellow object off the tile
floor, examining it with a bit of amusement on her otherwise stern face.
"Banana peel," she told Phoebe, dropping it in the bucket.
The teen stood and brushed her bottom off. Hesitantly accepting the
apron, she smiled sheepishly at her aunt. "What was it that you were
saying about cleaning?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *

Alice sighed and shrugged at her friend, brown eyes focusing on her
teacup instead on the other young woman's face. "I don't know why I did
it," she admitted sheepishly. "But I was just SO mad..."
"It makes sense," put in the blonde sympathetically, nodding at her
friend as she spoke. "After all, the man comes out of no where after three
years of abandonment and he seems to expect love from both you and your
mother..."
The auburn-haired girl took a long swig of her drink in silence and
closed her chestnut eyes until they were just slits. "But that's just it,"
she replied pensively. "My mother seems to be happy that he's back,
and..." She wrinkled her nose and shook her head the tiniest bit. "It just
INFURIATES me that my own mother could not tell me that she was inviting
that ass back!"
From his spot behind the bar that separated the kitchen and living
room, Richard smiled gently at the visitor. "But Alice, you've got to
remember that parents rule the household." He dried a plate idly. "They
get to boss you around until you fall in love--then you'll get to tell the
poor sap what to do."
Lyra chuckled at his comment. "How are the dishes coming, sweetie?"
she questioned in a falsetto tone.
"Fine, dear," he returned, a bemused smile on his face.
There was a breath of silence as Alice took in the young man's
words. She licked her lips and smiled slightly. "I'm not going to fall in
love."
They both gaped at her. "What?" The short young woman stared at her
friend like a deer in headlights. "Why not?"
"I don't ever want to let a child be hurt in the way my father hurt
me," she told her companions. "So I just won't ever fall in love."
Richard crossed his arms across his chest and sighed. "Alice, you
can't possibly mean that."
Nodding, she smiled at him. "Don't get me wrong--I'd love to have a
Prince like you or a sweetheart like Haley's Eric, BUT..." She shrugged.
"Guys like you two--guys who won't break your heart--are so few and far
between..."
"Eric devastates Haley once a week," Lyra reminded the other girl.
"He breaks up with her because she's older or because he doesn't feel like
dating or..." She shook her head in disgust. "How is HE a sweetheart?"
She shrugged. "I guess he is because he truly loves Haley," Alice
responded, wrapping a strand of hair around her forefinger. "And because
he will be there for her...someday..." Her smiled widened. "So, I'm not
falling in love."
"You'll miss prom," put in Richard bluntly.
"Ah, forget prom." She stood quickly. "Now, can I use your phone? I
need to call my mom."
* * * * * * * * * * * *

The phone rang.
Lita rose from the couch, where she'd been laying, watching the door
idly, hoping--praying, really--that her daughter would come home. Home to
her arms, which were aching to hold her. It had been one night, but it
seemed like a tangible eternity. At least to her. Well, maybe it was
supposed to be that long to a worried mother...
Ring.
She'd sent Ken back to his hotel. He was staying at the nearest
Holiday Inn until he could find an apartment in the area. He'd not move
in. Not with Alice. She'd had her heart broken. All she had ever wanted
was a father, and now--she had none. Because he'd made a mistake.
Ring.
Mistakes were meant to be forgiven, right? Well, perhaps some
weren't. She stared at the phone, thinking. Some mistakes were meant to be
remembered. And felt. Forever.
Ring.
But forever was a long time when you were immortal.
"Hey! This is the Kino residence! You know, the one with Lita and
Alice? Well, leave a message, and we'll get back to you. Hopefully."
How much did it hurt? It hurt more than death to be without that
girl. Even for a second. Maybe, beyond her soul mate, this feeling was
what true love is like.
Beep.
Maybe.
"Hi. Umm... My name's Todd Walker, and I'm in your Bio AP class with
you, Alice. I was...uhh... I was wondering if...maybe...you'd like to go
to prom with me. It's coming up pretty soon... Tickets go on sale in a
month or two and...umm... Call me back?"
Click.
She smiled and sat back down on the couch. So Alice had an admirer.
How...
Ring.
Who could that be? Todd again? Possibly. Maybe Todd wouldn't break
Alice's heart. After all, she'd had her heart broken already. Brutally.
By the father that she'd both had and not had at the same time.
Ring.
She'd been hurt. More than life. More than death. Poor Alice. Even
SHE, one of the Guardians of Earth and the Mistress of Jupiter, hadn't
felt such pain. She'd been hurt, and killed, but this was a different for
little Alice. Alice wasn't Jupiter. She was Aurora Borealis.
Ring.
And there was a difference. It was unabashedly not a large
difference--it was the same blood, the same genes, the same very soul--but
she was young. And not yet battle hardened. And she was easily affected.
Ring.
And that was the difference.
"Hey! This is the Kino residence! You know, the one with Lita and
Alice? Well, leave a message, and we'll get back to you. Hopefully."
But did it really matter? The true answer was that it didn't. Not in
the least. Soul or not, they still had to look out for one another. And
she'd done a shitty job of looking out for her only daughter.
Beep.
"Mom? It's me..."
And Lita reached for the phone.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"I hate Mondays," grumbled Tara, slinking into the classroom and
taking her seat near the front. "Especially ones that could be plagued
with the evils of gossip."
Since the previous day's encounter with Rebecca whatever-her-last-
name-was, she'd been on edge. She'd first snapped at her father when he
was just asking the time, then she'd burnt the pizza that she was re-
heating in the microwave, and she'd done a such a good job of making such
a mess of the deck upon knocking over her bucket that her mother had seen
to it that her after school schedule included chipping the ice off and
washing it once again. And all because one stupid ditz who enjoyed rumors
had to wander up Cherry Hill to get directions.
And Tara was even beginning to doubt THAT story.
"Well, well, well," commented some girl from across the room. "Look
who came to school--the temple shrew."
She bristled and was prepared to make a snide comeback, but pushed
the feeling away. It would not go over well with her mother if she punched
someone. And in homeroom no less. Still...
A boy behind her sniggered. "You going to rid us of evil spirits,
Missy?" He chortled and pointed at her. "Look! It's the 'akuryo taisan'
girl!"
The laughter burned in her ears. What did it take in this school to
be normal? That's what she was, really--a normal girl. Who cared if she
lived in a temple? Who cared if she could exorcise evil? They didn't need
to tease her. She was, after all, a human being. She could feel. And the
feelings inside her were those of despair. And hatred. And fear.
"Akuryo taisan!" yelled someone in a singsong voice. "By the power
of these post-it notes..."
Another student went to the teachers desk and took a sheet of memo
paper from a pad. He threw it across the room. "Look at me! I'm a temple
priest!"
She was not a violent person... She was not a violent person... She
was not... The tears welled in her eyes. They stung as she watched the
others mocking her. Laughing at her. Her heart felt like it was going to
burst.
The boy with the memo-paper--another sixteen-year-old, much like
herself--walked up to her desk and glowered down at her. Dark eyes
glittered with mirth. "Gonna cry, temple girl?"
Goddamnit, she WAS a violent person!
Tara leapt from her desk and watched as the boy reared back. He was
too slow for her, and she caught him by his collar. The others, her
classmates, gathered around and began chanting 'fight!' It didn't matter
to her. She was deaf to the world...
And she didn't realize that she'd hit the boy until he yelped out in
pain and clutched his bleeding nose.
"You broke my nose, temple bitch!" he roared, glaring at her with
hate as tears welled in his eyes.
She wiped tears from her cheeks. She hadn't realized that she'd been
crying. "Do you know how it feels, you little pile of horse shit?" she
shot, anger overruling her despair. He just stared at her. "Well, you
should have some respect, and I just taught you a little bit of it."
She stormed out of the room just as the teacher, a large woman with
beady eyes and unreal green hair, stepped into the room. She took one look
at the scene before her--one boy bleeding from his nose, the others all
gaping after the livid 12th-grader--and caught Tara by the arm. "Where do
you think you're going, Miss Yuuichirou?" she questioned.
Green eyes filled with tears as she stared up at her teacher. "I'm
going to the principal's office," she replied softly. "I just punched
someone."
* * * * * * * * * * * *

She sat alone in front of the mirror. Alone. How many of the days in
her young life had she been alone? Too many. Sure, when her mother had
first found her, she'd been two. And those days were filled with love and
companionship. And then she'd been three... A little less caring. And
four... And now five...
She spent her days alone, now. In her room, adjacent to that of the
Princess and her Prince. Certainly, she was a Princess too. She had to be
a Princess. At least of SOMETHING...
She sniffled weakly and stared at her reflection. Bright gray
eyes... Eyes that saw much and observed more than that. Eyes that
understood. Eyes that wished and hoped and dreamed...
Then, there was that straight red hair. She often wore it up in a
high ponytail, but more oftener, she wore it in a low, loose braid. It
looked good. It looked right. And it made her feel like some sort of
mythical priestess of a whole new religion.
Her face was pale, with high cheekbones and a dainty nose and thin
pink lips. Her mother often said that she'd be beautiful when she grew
up--her large oceans of gray, the smile of her lips, the gentle curves of
her cheeks, and all of that accented by such pretty red hair.
All she saw was a lonesome little girl.
Standing, she brushed off her white dress. There was nothing to do.
Nothing, except...
"Hey, Carina!" she called out to the vaulted marble ceilings and the
tall white walls. "Carina!"
The little ball of black shoot through the room, her face alight and
whiskers seemingly shining with delight. "Yep?"
Giggling, the little five-year-old angel bent down to scratch her
Guardian behind the ears. "Do me a favor, Carina?"
"Ooh!" Her blue eyes lit up. "What! What!"
"Go down to the basement library," requested the child sweetly.
"It's the one that smells real musty. And have the man down there fetch a
book of prophecy and bring it up to me. Okay?"
She looked doubtful, her grin fading. "But, I thought I heard Auntie
Di tell you yesterday to stay out of the prophecies..." Carina trailed
off, still staring upward.
Ambriel grimaced, wrinkling her nose. She HAD been told that the day
before, upon attempting to sneak down to the basement library. She wasn't
supposed to meddle in the prophecies, Diana had warned. Too much of it
involved the Galactic Sailor Scouts. And if she, a little girl, were to
try and change anything in it, then she could accidentally end the
world...
Still, words like that were just to keep her from changing things,
right?
"Well, Diana said I couldn't CHANGE anything in the books, Carina,"
she told the kitten in a confidential tone. "I just want to look, and
there's no harm in looking, right?"
She considered this, and then smiled. "Right!"
"Good kitty. Now go get the book."
The cat obeyed, quickly jetting through the open door and out into
the hallway, her feet echoing as they thumped onto the cool marble. And
Ambriel sat down in a plush chair next to the window and waited.
'Prophecy is messy stuff, Angel Moon,' Diana had warned her, a stern
glare lighting her red eyes. 'It's positively riddled with talk of the
Galactic Sailors, and I really don't want you to worry about it. Or to
change it.' She had shuddered. 'Changing prophecy is like...hmmm... It's
like randomly picking one of the Palace's pillars and knocking it over.
Maybe a little of the Palace will be hurt. Maybe none of it. Or...' She'd
paused and swallowed. Hard. 'Or maybe all of it.'
Ambriel smiled slightly. Words like that... She sighed and glanced
out across Crystal Tokyo. "It's enough to make you wonder..."
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Phoebe!" Orb's golden eyes went wide as he stared at the girl.
"What on Earth are you doing?"
She was kneeling in the mildew- and mold-ridden bathtub, her rubber
gloves, apron, and jeans all covered with various splotches of God-knew-
what. "Cleaning," she told him, spraying some sort of cleaning solution
onto the faucet. "Did you know that these things tarnish to heck if you
don't clean them once a month?"
He glanced at the faucet, cringing upon seeing the sickly greenish-
brown color it had turned. It had been...silver? Gold? Maybe
copper?...when he'd arrived. "You've been cleaning since yesterday!" he
reminded her loudly, his expression still incredulous. "And you're missing
school!"
"Marie called me in," she explained calmly. "She said that I don't
go to school until this house is actually spic-and-span."
The cat snorted. "Like that will ever happen!" he laughed.
She shot him a 'look.' "No one likes a smarty-cat, Orb," she
retorted coolly. "If you don't believe me, go look at the kitchen. I
finished up in there this morning."
Padding out, he mumbled something about bottomless abysses. Phoebe
smiled and brushed a blue hair from her eyes. At least she could have a
calm, peaceful moment of scrubbing...
Five minutes later, Orb returned. His eyes were nearly bugging out,
the expression on his face was indescribable, and he did nothing but
stutter 'oh my God' for another minute or so. Then, he shook his head and
stared up at Phoebe. "Since... Since when have we had a green countertop?"
he stammered, incredulous.
She grinned proudly. "Since my parents moved into this house in
2037," she responded, putting her sponge on the side of the tub. "Why? You
like?"
"Pheebs, I... That is to say..." He just gaped at her some more and
then smiled. "I'm really proud, Phoebe! You and Marie did a great job in
there!"
Shaking her head, the teen's goofy grin widened. "I did that all by
myself," she assure him. "Marie wanted nothing to do with that mess." She
patted him on the head with a grungy glove. "Are you more proud than
before?"
He wrinkled his nose. "Almost."
"Almost?"
Orb grinned. "Because someone has yet to clean the catboxes."
She threw a bar of soap at him.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Here, crystal, crystal, crystal..." He stuck his head in a deep
garbage can and rooted around in the bottom of it. Nothing.
Arthur sighed and hung his head in defeat. How long had he been
searching for that stupid orange crystal that stupid Kevin had stupid
lost? He did a mental count.
A day and a half.
He sighed again. "That's way too long to be away from poor Bubba,"
he thought aloud, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a battered
photograph of a large goldfish. "My poor baby..." He sneered. "I hope that
idiot Seth doesn't overfeed him again... Last time he did, I had to put
Bubba on the Mayo Clinic Diet and he didn't like it one bit."
Fishing around in his other pocket, Arthur pulled out a small green
gem. It sparkled in the bright midday sun, and he smiled slightly at it.
What a nice power it was, to be evil. It gave him authority. And fun. And
it let Bubba, his precious little goldfish, live a perfectly healthy life.
"Go gem!" he hollered, throwing the little marble-sized sphere down
and letting it shatter on the sidewalk. Mothers shielded their children's
eyes. Older people raised their eyebrows and avoided him.
And then, the gem grew slowly, taking another form. Fins sprouted
from its sides. Eyes appeared. It grew to be nearly twenty feet long and
about ten feet tall.
It looked like a goldfish.
Arthur smiled. "There's a lake in Tokyo Park," he told the fish-
monster. "Go and find the Crystal of Illusion for me. It's probably in the
water because... Uh..." He furrowed his brow. "Well, it just is."
"Yesssss..." it hissed, voice a sort of bubbly growl. "Yessss,
masssster."
"Oh, it's great to be me," commented Arthur before slipping the
photo back in his pocket and fading into a bolt of green energy.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"I find it increasingly hard to believe that you punched someone
like that," scolded Raye in a stern yet sympathetic voice, her hands
folded in her lap as she knelt across the table from her daughter. "That
boy may have been a lout, but it's still no reason to hit him."
Tara scuffed her slippers together and stared at the carpeting.
"Well, all things considered, he deserved it..." She could hear her mother
'tisk'-ing with her tongue and glanced up, her bloodshot green eyes
sparking with a little bit of the Hino fire. "You look at me and tell me--
honestly--that you wouldn't have done the exact same thing."
The exotic purple-eyed priestess looked away and focused on her cup
of green tea. She was silent for a long moment and then sighed, her face
sad. "You're right, you know," she commented softly. "I would have hit
him, too." She glanced up at the teen, who now had a slight smile upon her
features. "But that's still no reason to hit the boy, and you're lucky
that all you got was sent home for the day."
The younger of the two priestesses nodded sheepishly and once again
looked at the floor, speechless. No words could describe the emotions she
felt; nothing compared to the hurt, the desperation, and the anger she
felt that was held beneath her calm exterior. Her heart felt as though it
would burst. Her muscles were tight, her nerves frayed... She felt like
wiring, waiting to spark and burn down a house. She felt like the waves,
ready to crash into the rocky shore. She felt like the wind, slowly
growing into a powerful gale.
She felt like a ticking time bomb, aching to explode.
"How do I do it?" she asked softly, gazing at her mother, voice
eerily calm. "How do I suppress the hate I feel?"
Raye smiled slightly and reached out a hand. "I ignored them all,
Tara," she told the girl softly. "I pretended they were not there and
focused on other things--things that held a higher place in my heart. And
I succeeded..." The smile grew. "I think."
The girl reached out and squeezed her mother's hand gently. "I don't
know how strong I am," she admitted timidly, her eyes beginning to tear up
as she once again thought of all the awful things they had said. Making
fun of what she believed in... Not understand human differences... It
seemed that humans had an odd capacity for hate. A capacity that was
inexplicable. And, she wondered... "I know, Mother, that I am not as
strong as you are." She stood slowly, her heart racing and stomach
churning. Her whole body was on edge, her mere essence in pain. But she
smiled in spite of herself. "I will try."
Her mother nodded, and her smile spread quickly across her face.
"Good."
* * * * * * * * * * * *

The calm of the day was interrupted by a scream.
Lyra Mokoti glanced up from her lunchbox, her entire body suddenly
on edge. Alice Kino hopped to her feet, glancing around nervously. And
there was another scream.
"What is it?" questioned the short blonde girl, standing atop the
bench they'd been sitting on to get a better view of the Crossroads
School's cafeteria. And then, her jaw dropped and her eyes widened.
A giant goldfish had smashed through the far wall of the large room
and was slowly dragging itself through the building, breathing streams of
water as it went.
The taller girl glanced at her friend. "And I thought I was having a
bad week BEFORE now," she grumbled, grabbing her schoolbag. "Come on,
let's get the Hell out of here before the thing hurts somebody."
They both took off down a deserted hallway, neither even considering
to glance behind. The screams continued. The roars of the goldfish grew
louder. The unmistakable sound of breaking glass echoed through the
school.
Once inside an empty classroom, Alice leaned against the wall,
panting, and glanced down at Lyra. "What WAS that?"
"I don't know," admitted the blonde with a shrug. "But it looked
like a giant goldfish."
Silently, the auburn-haired girl drew a small metal disk from her
skirt pocket and glanced down at it, the lavender and midnight blue
shining in the otherwise dark room. Lyra's eyes widened for the second
time in a few minutes.
"Do you really think we have to fight it?" Brown eyes glared at her
from across the room, and she sighed. "Okay, okay," she agreed with a roll
of her eyes. "I just really wanted to live through today. And possibly
tomorrow..."
"In a bad mood?"
"I've got a big essay coming up."
"Oh."
There was a long moment of silence in which the duo stared at one
another wordlessly. Neither moved to raise their lockets. Neither moved to
say the words.
And another scream shook the building.
Alice raised the Locket of Light. "Aurora Borealis Galactic
Power..."
"Polaris Galactic Power..."
"MAKE UP!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"I was extremely...surprised...to get your call, Lita," commented
the tall, slender blonde woman with the stormy eyes. She held open the
door to the music academy's athletic offices as the brunette walked in.
"Needless to say, I cleared my busy afternoon schedule of teaching gym to
meet with you." Alex glanced at the other woman, how was just sitting in a
chair, completely silent and motionless. "Lita?"
With a shake of a head, the bubbly brunette suddenly came alive.
"Sorry, Alex," she apologized with a slight nod of her head. "It's just
that..." She watched warily as her sandy-haired friend plopped down in the
seat behind the desk and poured herself a cup of coffee. "Well, we've been
friends a long time, and so... I was wondering..."
"Coffee?"
"No thank you." Lita pressed her lips together for a brief moment
and glanced around the tiny office in thought. The place was practically
wallpapered with pictures of famous F-1 racers (Alex included) and famous
track stars (Alex included). On the desk were a few of the
more...candid...shots of the young woman--her and Michelle's wedding
picture, a picture of baby Haley with her two parents, a group photo with
both girls, Brian, and Susan's whole family, and an ancient picture of the
ten original Scouts in their civilian forms. She smiled slightly at the
last one and then turned back to her friend, who was busily draining her
mug. "Alex," Lita gulped, her voice nervous. "How can you tell if someone
is a lesbian?"
Clutching a hand to her chest, Alexandra began to choke on her
coffee. A surprised, shocked look filled her eyes as she gawked at the
ponytailed brunette. "Wh... WHAT did you just ask me?"
Lita paled and stared at her folded hands and the purse in her lap.
"I think... I have this inkling my daughter might be..." She looked up at
the other woman timidly. "Alice turned down a prom date today."
A chuckle escaped Alex's pursed lips. "It's a prom date, Lita," she
responded casually. "I went to prom. With a guy. And I am still a
lesbian." She straightened up, flashing a proud smile. "She probably
doesn't like the guy..."
The other shook her head. "That's not it," she told her friend with
a hint of remorse in her voice. "She said that Todd was a complete
sweetheart. Smart, cute, and definitely the type of guy who'd bounce right
back and get himself a date." Her green eyes turned sad, if they were not
sad before. "And she's been acting funny lately..."
Alex rested her chin in her hands and let a grave expression cross
her face. "Well, Lita, if you put it that way..." The horrified pallor
that crossed the younger woman's face was too much for her to bear, and
she laughed aloud, leaning back into her seat. "Come now! You can't
actually expect a girl who, her whole life, has run after guys to suddenly
change her sexuality as a 13th-grader!" Her friend's expression didn't
change. "What?"
"That's just it," responded Lita, pushing her bangs from her eyes.
"Alice has never talked about guys at home." She glanced up at the
ceiling. "Her only friends are a bunch of girls, she seems to have no
interest in dating, and I..." She shrugged. "I don't know what to think,
Alex. Really."
The blonde himmed and hawed for a brief moment, chewing on her lower
lip and keeping her eyebrows furrowed. And, after what seemed to be an
eternity, she shrugged.
"Lita, I don't know if there is a way to tell," she admitted. "I
mean, after you figured out that I WASN'T a guy, it did take you a while
to figure..." A student walked into the office headed for the pencil
sharpener, and Alex pointed to her wedding picture to be discreet. "And
so, I can't say that there's a magic formula, Lita. Because there's not.
You just got to sit down and ask her."
"ASK HER?" roared the brunette, eyes wide. "Are you nuts?" Alexandra
rolled her stormy eyes. "Alice is already pretty steamed at me for
inviting Ken back to Japan. And you expect me to sit down and ask her what
her sexual preference is?"
The student, a limber girl with a mess of black curls, took one look
at the two women and bustled out of the room as fast as she could without
looking like a fool. Alex sighed and shook her head. Lita blushed
noticeably.
When the coast was clear of all students, the brunette practically
jumped to her feet and, brushing off her black twill pants, smiled gentle
at her friend. "Well, thank you anyway, Alex. You were full of..." She
paused, searching for the right word. "Enlightenment."
The blonde stood. "Lita, you can't just run away from what you think
could be a problem. That's what my parents did and..." Her eyes made
contact with something unseen and she trailed of, bowing a bit. "Good day,
Michelle."
Lita whirled around, facing the aqua-haired principal. Her arms were
laden with books and papers, but the confused glances she shot the duo
were unmistakable. "Did I do something wrong?" she questioned nervously.
"Nothing, Michelle," the visitor assured her. "I was just leaving,
in fact. Good day to you."
And she was as good as her word, bustling out of the room like a
gas-powered jet.
The musician furrowed her brow. "Did I say something wrong?" she
asked cautiously, placing the armful of papers on her wife's desk. "Her
face was so odd..."
"She thinks Alice is gay," replied Alex, sinking down into her
chair. "Could you imagine that?"
Michelle furrowed her brow. "Imagine what?" she inquired, sitting on
the edge of the desk. "Alice being gay?"
"No." Running a hand through her sandy hair, she chuckled. "Lita."
The confusion still riddled her mate's face, and she grinned wickedly.
"More specifically," she clarified in an amused tone, "Lita as a
homophobe."
* * * * * * * * * * * *

She skidded to a stop just short of the brick wall. Her entire body
ached from the blast of water and she knew, that in just a short time, the
giant goldfish-monster would have the better half of both of them. And she
feared it.
Across the school courtyard, her brown eyes met Sailor Polaris'.
The poor teen was doubled over, nursing what appeared to be a badly
scraped knee. It looked hopeless. Absolutely hopeless. And she feared it.
She feared being killed by a giant water-spitting fish.
Raising a hand high in the air, Sailor Aurora Borealis closed her
eyes and mentally called upon all the power of the Northern Lights.
"Rain..." She coughed and sunk to her knees. It just hurt too much. The
water streams were strong. TOO strong. And she'd been thrown to the ground
far too many times... Still, she had to try, right? "Rainbow..." She
coughed twice and stood slowly, clutching onto a snowy park bench for
support. She HAD to do this. "Rainbow... Rainbow WAVE!"
A giant rainbow came crashing toward the fish, but he let fly a
beam of freezing water. The colorful light met the water and there was a
mid-air explosion that left neither the fish nor the girls harmed.
"What happened?" questioned Polaris, putting pressure on her gushing
knee. "What was that?"
"I'm too weak, and we're equally matched because of it!" the other
Scout replied as the fish glanced at the two of them, unsure what to take.
"He's so strong... Though God knows why..."
Hobbling on her good leg, the short Scout glared at the fish
suspiciously. "I don't understand," she commented. "That Kevin-monster was
SOO easy..."
The fish threw a shower of water at her and it was all she could do
to dive into a bush and out of the way.
Aurora Borealis coughed. They were just too weak. Still, if she
could just throw one more attack... One insignificant little Rainbow Wave
just to keep it busy... Or even...
She smiled and stood a little taller. "Aurora Borealis... SHINING!"
A bright, painful white light filled the area, blinding all three
inhabitants. She closed her eyes, but she could hear the fish's bubbly
roar echo in her ears as it tried to negotiate without seeing. Her mind
warned her that it wouldn't last long; no attack could when she was so
weak. Still, she could pray...
"Angelic Glow!"
"Starburst Shimmer!"
"Dead Scream!"
The three attacks flew through the air. The fish screamed in agony
and threw up dust as it fell to the ground in pain. The light of Aurora
Borealis' attack cleared quickly, and the sight was obvious...
Standing beside Sailor Polaris were the four Chibi-Scouts. Chibi-
Star supported her sister on one of her shoulders while the Pluto twins
stood back to back with Angel Moon fluttering in the air behind them.
"Need some help?" questioned Sailor Chibi-Star, brushing a long blonde
hair from her sparkling green eyes. "You seemed to..."
"Oooh... My knee..." Looking down at herself, Polaris saw blood
pouring from her wound and streaming down her leg. "I must've hit it one
of the times I got thrown by a stream of water..."
"What happened?" Sailor Moon and Helios rushed onto the scene, side-
by-side and with identical worried pallors upon their faces.
Wordlessly, Angel Moon pointed at the monster accusingly.
Moon rolled her red eyes. "I got out of Classical Poetry to dust a
monster?"
"Dear..." warned Helios sternly, his intense blue eyes watching the
creature as it groaned and stirred a bit.
She sighed. "Right, right," she grumbled, drawing the sword from its
sheath. "Moon... Saber... Illumination!"
The white light glowed throughout the snowy area as the goldfish
turned to dust...
And left a tiny green gem behind.
Walking over to the gem, Peter knelt on the cold ground and plucked
it up, weighing it in his hand. "It's like the other one," he commented
softly. "Except it's green. And it yielded a fish, not an emu."
With a slight, mysterious smile, Sailor Chibi-Pluto glanced at her
twin brother. "Could it, perhaps, belong to the same league of vile
subordinates? And could those aforementioned followers, perhaps, end up
directing us our latest adversary?"
"Very good, Sailor Mini-Pluto," chuckled a deep, rumbling voice.
There was a flash of green light and a young man appeared in midair. His
hair and eyes were a boring, lifeless brown and he wore a rather bland-
looking black wool uniform. "Though I never guessed that you'd pick off
Tina's emu or my goldfish as easily as you did."
The little girl bristled. "The correct pronunciation would be CHIBI-
Pluto!" she shot, shaking a fist at him angrily. "And it does indeed
surprise me that one such as you would dare to appear before his greatest
mortal enemies!"
"Aeris..." hissed the little Master of Time under his breath. "Use
smaller words..."
The young man laughed at her, floating down to the ground to better
look at his enemies. He pushed his large glasses high on his nose and
crossed his arms, brown eyes darting to each of the warriors, and lastly
to the little girl. "Well, CHIBI-Pluto," he mocked with a knowing smile,
"my name is Arthur. And I work for Queen Ginnie."
Helios started and gasped involuntarily. His Princess put her hand
on his shoulder soothingly, but his blue eyes were still as wide as
saucers as the man continued.
"I know that, to you do-gooders, I may seem heartless..." Arthur
shrugged and, as a show of his seeming heartlessness, kicked Chibi-Pluto's
legs out from under her. She yelped and crashed to the snow ground,
landing hard on her rear end. Her colorful eyes glared up at him, but she
remained motionless. "And I may seem like quite the horrible bastard..."
He walked up to Sailor Moon and stared straight into her red eyes, and
then--without any warning--grabbed the wrist her sword hand and twisted it
hard.
She yelled out in pain and dropped the Moon Saber blade-first into
the ground. It stuck as she lowered her eyes. "What the HELL was that
for?" she roared.
Helios bristled and scowled at the man, but did nothing.
"But," continued Arthur, "I'm really a great guy. In fact, I'm the
greatest." He took a step toward Aurora Borealis and locked their gazes,
his lips curved in a gentle smile as he seized her by the chin. "In
fact... I'm the perfect guy..." He closed his eyes and pulled her face
toward his...
And yelled out in pain, gripping his crotch. "You..." He gaped at
the auburn-headed teen.
She scowled and mimicked brushing off her knee. "That was vile," she
sneered with a sickened shake of her head. "But I really can't say I
regretted it."
Straightening, the evil man raised a hand and pointed at her head.
"Dark power of the..."
"Tsunami!" A wave of water came crashing down upon Arthur, knocking
him into a tree and thoroughly soaking him.
"Shining Dawn!" A great ball of red and orange flew high into the
air and, spiraling downward, crashed into Arthur.
"Fiery Crater!" Ramming into the man, a meteor opened a vast pit,
swallowed him into it, and then proceeded to close around his body.
Chibi-Star beamed. "Finally!" she cried, grinning.
Sailors Earth, Phoenix, and Comet ran over to their friends,
grinning wildly. "We didn't see a monster when we got here!" announced
Phoenix, wrapping her arms around Aurora Borealis. "We were sure you guys
were goners and it had escaped."
"Let...go..." pleaded the older teen, trying to weasel out of the
blue-haired-one's death grip. "Can't...breathe..."
Arthur climbed slowly to his feet, limping toward the Scouts slowly.
Seeing this, Sailor Moon pulled her sword from the ground and pointed it
at the only man. "You stay right there, or you're dust," she commanded,
her strong voice carrying through the trees. "Don't think I won't cut your
bad-ass head off."
He smirked and bowed the slightest bit. "You Galactic Sailor Scouts
have proven to be worthy of challenge as great as I." He snapped his
fingers and faded into a flash of green light.
Angel Moon scowled. "He's one tricky bad guy, I'll tell you that,"
she commented, glancing down at Chibi-Pluto before floating over to her
and offering a hand. "You okay?"
"I believe to be as such." The child climbed to her feet without the
aid of the flying Scout and sighed deeply. "But I have an extreme desire
to know who he really is. I do not believe all he says to be true."
Helios sighed and shook his head. "It's true. It's all true. He just
conveniently forgot some parts of the story."
Sailor Moon cocked her head and him and stared, eyes wide. "You know
him, Helios?"
The man shook his head. "No," he admitted with a slight shrug,
turning away from the group. "But I've heard of Queen Ginnie. She's a
ruthless woman, born and raised on some dying star, and will stop at
nothing to take over our home."
"Our..." Sailor Moon blinked her large red eyes in disbelief and
then shook her head, as if to free herself of unnecessary thoughts. "But
why would she want to take over the Earth?"
He turned to her and sighed. "Why would any evil choose to take over
our home?" he questioned gently, touching a hand to her left cheek. "She
is envious of the wonderful place we live." He smiled slightly, but it was
a half-hearted attempted that faded into a dark frown. "Ginnie has the
power of the Crystal of Illusion, a small orange crystal with power
unknown to even the most intelligent scholars in Elysion." He gulped and
licked his lips gently. "No one knows what it does. Not even I, the priest
of that land."
Sailor Earth closed her eyes and took in three deep breaths. "I see
an orange crystal," she told the group softly. "Floating through the
streets of Tokyo, unnoticed by all..."
Chibi-Star's eyes flashed in recognition. "An orange sphere?" she
questioned, staring at the green-and-tan garbed Scout. "Lila saw one
outside the window a couple of nights ago!" Everyone glanced at her in
doubt, but her face was too innocent and sweet to be that of a liar. "She
begged me to look at it and I refused..." She punched the air violently
with a fist. "Drats!"
"You couldn't have known, 'Leste," Sailor Polaris reassured her
sister soothingly, patting the top of her head. "After all, Lila's four,
and children...extrapolate..."
She sighed and looked at the injured Scout, who was still using her
as a support. "Well, I suppose you're right," she admitted with a slight
smile, "but I still feel like a crap about it..."
Sailor Comet cleared her throat. "Speaking of crap..." She pointed
an accusing finger at the drying blood on Polaris' leg. "Maybe we should
have someone look at that?"
Phoenix glanced down at her friend and then jumped backwards,
grimacing. "Eww!" she exclaimed, flailing her arms wildly. "That's SO
gross..."
"It's just a cut," commented Earth, rolling her light green eyes.
"It's not a mortal injury."
She wagged a finger at the group. "That's what you think. Now, come
on!" She pointed toward a large, looming brown building in the distance.
"Crystal Hospital, HO!"
Angel Moon leaned back in the air and giggled. "In our Scout
outfits, no less..."
"Does she know that's the Tokyo Board of Trade?" whispered Peter to
his sister as the group, all dressed in their soldier forms, started off
toward the 'hospital.'
Chibi-Pluto elbowed him in the side. "Do not offend the frightening
Scout," she commanded of him. "She may turn on us next."
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Look at that! It's the temple shrew, and she's shopping at the
grocery store!"
A week passed. A whole week. The battle was nearly forgotten.
"I guess she likes green tea--a whole samurai army couldn't drink
all that!"
But other things were not, noted Tara mentally as she pushed the
shopping cart down the aisle, carefully selecting a box of dry crackers
off the shelf. Some things...
"She's such a dweeb! She's wearing her school uniform at five in the
afternoon! Doesn't she have any other clothes?"
Some things could not be forgotten.
"Probably just those silly temple robes! Becky Janders said she
looked like a total freak in them."
Ahhh, Janders. The girl who ruined her life was Rebecca Janders. She
placed a few cans of tomato soup in the cart. Maybe she'd have to pay the
Janders family a visit.
"Well, I don't blame Becky for saying that. I'm sure she's... Eek!
She's looking this way!"
Tara turned around, lowering her eyes at two brunette girls who
stood at the opposite end of the aisle. They both wore flare-legged blue
jeans and too-big sweatshirts, and their makeup seemed to glow in the
fluorescent lighting of the store. Upon feeling her eyes upon the two of
them, they both smiled shyly and waved. They were no doubt laughing at
her. They were just doing it silently. And they were no doubt thinking
evil things about her. She sighed and shook her head.
She had a fire reading that evening. She had a group of warriors
coming over to the room of the Great Fire. What did it matter that a few
kids--the most immature of the immature 12th-graders--made fun of her? She
had her friends. She had her destiny.
"I wonder what she's thinking..."
"No doubt evil things about us."
"Yeah... You're probably right..."
Placing a box of spaghetti noodles in her cart, Tara wiped away the
few tears that had fallen from her aching green eyes and shoved her way
through the duo, making sure she was out of their hearing range before she
leaned again a shelf and began bawling.
She may have destiny, but she didn't have dignity.
And that hurt even the bravest of souls.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

Pulling her blue coat closer around her, Reeny glanced warily at her
Prince. He was wearing his normal garb--a slightly silver tunic-like shirt
with a pair of pants of the same color--but something about him... She
furrowed her brow and remembered his words.
'She's a ruthless woman, born and raised on some dying star, and
will stop at nothing to take over our home.'
Her red eyes glanced at him, the wary gaze slowly turning to
adoration.
'...our home.'
"Helios?" she asked, scooting closer to the young man while sending
Ambriel an apprehensive glance. The little redheaded girl was a good
thirty feet ahead of the duo, skipping merrily down the sidewalk in the
cheery Tokyo dusk. Reeny smiled gently at the child. She was a blessing.
He glanced down at her, smiled, and took her hand. "Yes, Maiden?" he
questioned softly, his blue eyes soft and gentle as they studied her face.
"What's wrong? You look so sad..."
She licked her lips gently and took a deep breath. "Last Monday...at
the battle..."
Raising a eyebrow, Helios' gaze turned doubtful. "Are you still
worried about Arthur, my dearest Princess?"
With a shake of her head, she stopped in her tracks, and he stopped
as well. "Why did you call the Earth 'our' home?"
"Because, my dearest Maiden, it is our home." He smiled and chuckled
as a confused expression crossed her lovely face and her eyebrows shot
into the air. "The truth is that I want to stay here. Forever." He placed
his free hand on her shoulder. "Princess Serena, I love your planet more
than life. It has flowers and birds, and..."
"But Elysion has those things!" she quickly protested, her eyes
turning sad.
He shook his head. "And the Earth has my Princess." He leaned
forward and laid a gentle kiss on her pink lips. "I could never leave the
place that made me happiest... And, besides, I must fight alongside the
Galactic Sailor Scouts to make the world a better place..."
"Mama!" called a little voice from about fifty feet ahead of them.
"Helios-papa!"
They both turned to see Ambriel jumping up and down at the street
corner, flailing her arms madly. "If you don't hurry up," she announced,
"we're going to be late and Tara's going to throw US in the fire!"
Helios chuckled and wrapped his arm around Reeny's waist. She in
turn smiled up at him, her eyes shining with what could challenge the
glow of a thousand stars.
"Coming, Ambry," replied the Princess of the Earth, started to walk
again. "Coming."
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"So, we heard that your monster didn't go over too well," commented
a tall blonde man with silver-rimmed glasses, who sat in a plush armchair
with a large calico cat on his lap. "What happened?"
Another man, with brown hair, brown eyes, and glasses, patted the
side of a large golden retriever. "Rob, you must be an IDIOT to not know
that the Sailor Scouts beat his stupid fish."
Arthur bristled and clenched his fists to his sides. "My fish-
monsters aren't stupid!" he shot angrily, collapsing in a couch astride a
large fish tank. "Those Scouts are tough as nails! They'll do the same to
your dog, Seth..."
The brunette cupped his hands over the floppy ears of his pet.
"...and to your cat, Rob..."
"Like even," sneered the cat, rolling over in the blonde's lap.
"Arthur, be a dear and toss me my catnip mouse."
He stamped a foot on the ground. "You don't believe me now, Dolly!"
he shot at the cat, lobbing the requested toy at her. "But Tina's emu and
the Queen's frog will get it to! It's not safe!" Pressing a hand to the
side of the fish tank, he stared at the large goldfish and sighed. "Isn't
that right, little Bubba..."
Rob rolled his eyes and dangled the mouse for the large cat. "Gods,
he's doing it again..."
"Stop!" commanded Seth sternly, crossing his arms across his chest.
"It's a freaking goldfish!"
The dog barked loudly.
"My itty-bitty-little fishy-wishy..."
Suddenly, there was a flash of yellow and a dark form appeared, her
body covered in black velvet and her bright brown eyes shining. She
glanced around the room idly and then plopped down on the couch beside
Arthur. "So," she drawled, her gaze focused on him, "how did your Crystal
search for the week go?"
He looked away and focused on the dark blue carpeting of the room,
folding his hand nervously in his lap. "Well, it started pretty good..."
The other two men snickered and received a nasty glare each.
"And it ended pretty good..."
Evil Queen Ginnie smiled slightly. "Well, if it ended pretty good
and started pretty good, that could only mean one thing." All three men
looked at her, and even the haughty cat cracked an eyelid to see the look
on the woman's face. It was stone cold, her eyes half closed, as though
she had fallen into some deep trance. "You really screwed up in the
middle, didn't you?"
"Yeah..." admitted Arthur weakly, scoffing his feet together. "Them
Sailor Scouts..."
"Ah, I see," she commented, leaning back into the black leather
couch and stretching her long limbs. "It's the Sailor Scouts' faults that
you can't find the Crystal."
Furrowing his brow, Seth glanced at the Queen. "Couldn't it be
Kevin's fault, though?" he asked softly, cocking his head to one side.
"He's the idiot who lost it."
Suddenly animated, Ginnie pounded one fist on the arm of the couch.
"I don't care whose fault it is!" she yelled, standing quickly and glaring
at her followers. "I don't care who you blame it on, but I want that
crystal!" She snapped her fingers and three yellow beams of light
appeared, each grabbing a throat of one of the young men. "Just do it!
You hear me, Arthur? Seth? Rob?" Her brown eyes glittered with hate. "That
crystal will be returned to this very room! And soon!" She disappeared,
and the energy went with her.
For a long moment, the only sounds were that of three young men, all
collapsed on the floor, gasping desperately for breath. They all glanced
nervously at one another, unsure what to say as their lungs burned with
the touch of cool, sweet air. As their breathing grew less labored, the
silence became suffocating. No one spoke.
At that point, the cat called Dolly hopped off the chair and
sashayed over to the blonde man, rubbing her side against his ankles.
"I'm hungry, Rob," she cooed, red eyes big and innocent. She batted her
eyelashes. "How about some Meow Mix for me and a cup of coffee for you?"
The duo disappeared in a flash of red light.
"And he complains about the fish," muttered Arthur, brushing himself
off as he stood.
Seth raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps you should go search for the
crystal, Arthur," he suggested as he brushed a strand of brown hair from
his eyes. "You don't want Ginnie any madder at you."
He sighed. "I suppose you're right," he admitted with a shrug. "Take
good care of Bubba, will you?"
The other rolled his brown eyes but did nod in agreement.
And Arthur snapped, and there was a burst of green light. And he was
gone.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

She knelt before the Great Fire, garbed in her red-and-tan temple
robes. Her hands were folded, with forefingers out and touching her nose
ever-so-slightly. She looked to be concentrating on something or someone
unseen, and--even with her green eyes locked shut--she looked to be
glaring.
In a half circle were eleven destined warriors, ranging from the age
of three to the unknown age of an immortal priest. And thus they sat, eyes
closed as the others were, clenching their hands to those of the ones
beside them.
Destiny had, for a long time, been a fickle thing for the warriors.
They had, after all, a lot to fight for. And they had a lot of hope to
focus toward beating the enemy. But, when it came down to it, the relics
were what mattered.
And they were there as well. In front of each of the soldiers was
some sort of relic, whether it be a locket, a transformation stick, a Time
Key, or a rose.
"Now, concentrate," commanded the priestess, her brows furrowed.
"Concentrate on the enemy. Concentrate on your relic. Concentrate on the
Crystal of Illusion...
"Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen! Show us what we
must see! In the name of the Earth!"
The fire flared, and each and every one of them saw, inside their
very own eyelids, the exact same thing.

It was dark. The only light came from a great glowing orange orb that
seemed to be at the horizon. Alit by this orb was a young woman, her dark
brown hair piled atop her head. She wore a large crown with a gaping hole
at the brow. And she was yelling.

The picture gave way to the streets of Tokyo, where a young man with brown
hair was walking alone. Suddenly, he threw down a green gem, which
shattered on the sidewalk and, from the fragments, grew into a giant fish.
The fish started flopping down the middle of the street, breathing
lightning as the first had shot water.

Suddenly, a girl appeared. She was dressed all in gold, and her face was
hidden by darkness. Next to her was a young man in a tuxedo and a crimson
cape, his face hidden as hers was. They were accompanied by a woman in a
red-and-black fuku and another woman in a white gown. Their faces were
also obscured, but there was the unmistakable glimmer of a silver moon
behind the one in white.

Another image. This one showed a young woman in silver from the back, her
blonde curls whipping in the wind as she yelled out to someone. There was
the sound of metal ripping through flesh, and she collapsed to her knees,
throwing herself atop some fallen warrior.

The vision shifted. The warrior was Sailor Moon, her sword still clenched
in her right hand as she stared, lifeless, up at her murderer.

And the black-garbed woman laughed.

"Whoa!" Phoebe's eyes popped open, only to see that the Great Fire
was now only a pile of embers, and that the sunset outside the room had
long since given way to a starlit sky. "What the heck was all that?"
Gulping, the Shinto priestess bowed her head and said a silent
prayer. What exactly had that vision been... Surely...
Aeris stood quickly, gripping her tiny transformation wand in one
hand. The rest of the warriors were also up and about, their eyes open and
trying to observe the room, which was primarily unchanged. She smiled. At
least the vision could be changed before it was made reality.
And then, she felt the unmistakable urgency that meant there was
danger. "Sailor Scouts and other warriors, I feel that we are in a urgent
state of peril!" Her eyes were wide as she rushed to the center of the
room, standing directly behind Tara and in front of the others. "That
imagery of the young man and his enormous fish-like creature was not
solely an illusion, but an actual..."
Peter, who had followed her to the center of the room, cupped a hand
over her mouth. "Monster," he informed them dryly. "On its way down Main
Street, no less."
The others all glanced at one another, and then at Tara. The raven-
haired Shinto knelt prone on her pillow in front of the dying embers,
staring blankly as the last weak plume of smoke slowly rose to the air.
Slowly, shakily, she rose and wiped tears from her eyes. Her friends were
in danger. She smiled slightly and turned toward them. "Sailor Polaris,
can you fight?"
Tapping a finger against the thick white bandages that were wrapped
around her left knee, Lyra beamed. "I think I can," she commented, bending
her leg slowly and then straightening it. Tears welled in her light brown
eyes, no doubt a sign of the pain she was inflicting upon herself, but she
didn't let them fall. "See?" she asked, voice a bit weak. "I'm fine."
"Star..." warned Richard warily, nervously running a hand through
his hair. She shot him a stern glance and he sighed, shaking his head.
Tara turned to Celeste. "What about the Chibi-Scouts?" she
questioned quickly. "Are you up to fighting?"
The blonde child glanced at her three cohorts and nodded, a slight
smile on her face. "I think so," she responded, glancing at each of the
others as they nodded in turn. "Of course, we--the destined children--were
born ready."
Alice rolled her eyes and picked her locket up. "Are we ready?"
"Are we willing?" questioned the brunette softly, holding the Locket
of the Comets close to her heart. "After seeing what we did see--the death
of Sailor Moon..."
Helios coughed at the mention of the vision, his already white face
turning an unfathomable pallor of white. There was a sort of fearful
sadness in his beautiful blue eyes, a certain spark to his mystery that
expressed a depression that no mortal could ever understand.
But the pink-haired woman laughed, one hand on her stomach and the
other gently touching Helios' shoulder. "Visions can be CHANGED," she
smiled, glancing around at her friends. "We can prevent my death..." Her
voice cracked, and fear--real, rational, painful fear--sparked in her red
eyes, along with tears. She blinked them away. "And, even if I must die,
at least I will have done it in the name of all that's good..."
"Reeny..." Phoebe stepped slowly forward, but the Princess ignored
her and instead grabbed her locket, raising it high.
"Moon Galactic Power..."
The others all looked at one another, unsure what to say. Then,
there was the unmistakable flash of light as five lockets and three
transformation wands were raised high into the air.
"Earth Galactic Power..."
"Polaris Galactic Power..."
"Phoenix Galactic Power..."
"Aurora Borealis Galactic Power..."
"Comet Galactic Power..."
"Small Star Galactic Power..."
"Angel Moon Galactic Power..."
"Pluto Galactic Power..."
"MAKE UP!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Hello?" She brushed her bangs from her big blue eyes as the cold
winter wind swirled around her. Her eyes saw nothing except the boring
gray-brown pavement of Venus Street and the snow-covered dying grass of
her front yard.
Something soft and warm brushed up against her ankles, and she
resisted the urge to scream. She glanced down, only to see the head of a
little silver kitten peaking out from under her skirt. A golden star
sparkled on the cat's forehead, and green eyes shone up at her.
And the Mistress of Venus smiled gently.
"Hi-ya, Miss Venus!" chirped Cassiopeia, her voice almost drowned
out by her own purring. "Is Celeste home?"
The woman crouched down and scratched the little cat behind her
ears. "As a matter of fact, none of the kids are home right now," Mina
told her with a sigh. "Celeste is at the Scout Meeting, and the others are
out with their dad."
"Aw, shucks," put in the little cat, sitting on her haunches. "I
thought that maybe the Chibi-Scouts weren't going to the meeting... After
all, when Rich and Lyra left, they didn't seem..." She paused, glancing at
the blonde. Mina had turned a ghostly color of white and had suddenly
grabbed onto the wall, as though she was going to tumble over if she
weren't careful enough. "Did I say something wrong?"
Blue eyes blinked and focused on the cat. "Are you staying with
Richard and Lyra?" she asked softly, swallowing.
Cassiopeia nodded cheerily. "Yep! They're real good to me, too! I
like to sleep in Lyra's room cause she doesn't toss too much when she
sleeps!" Her face suddenly scrunched up into a disgusted scowl. "But
Richard does. He kicks A LOT..."
The kitten continued on with her charming anecdotes about her life
with the young couple, but her stories never managed to penetrate Mina's
ears. She let herself slowly sink completely down to the floor, hugging
her knees to her chest.
She knew that they were in danger. They were destined warriors,
protectors of the world and defenders of justice. They would carry both
themselves and one another across the plains of despair and deliver the
world into the promised land of peace with just a wave of their hands.
They had proven that their love could withstand all obstacles. Even death.
But how were they to survive alone? Without the protective wing of a
Mistress held over their heads?
Or perhaps, it was just that. The Scouts, after all, were heading
back into battle. She knew that from Celeste's behaviors and actions of
the last few days. They were fighting an enemy, and they would not let the
Mistresses get in the way of their being on their own. It was the way of
the Sailor Scouts.
But Lyra wasn't ready, was she? Her heart wasn't brave... Her hands
still shook when she fought... She was no hero, yet.
Mina sighed, her eyes welling up with tears. She had lost her
daughter to destiny. How could she have done that? She'd been blind to her
child's eternal love, and...
Her only connection to the young woman was this happy-go-lucky
silver kitten. And Celeste. Perhaps...
A slight smile touched her pale lips and she glanced down at the
kitten, wiping away the tears that had slowly fallen. "Cassiopeia?"
The little cat froze. She'd been halfway through some frivolous
sentence when the woman spoke up. "Yes, Miss Venus?"
"Could you...perhaps...watch Lyra and Richard for me?" she asked
gently, running her hand down the cat's back. "And tell me, once a week,
how they're doing?"
Glancing up, Cassiopeia choked on her one-word answer. The sky-blue
eyes that stared down at her were glittering with unshed tears, and the
smile on pale pink lips was so very hopeful... She reached forward a paw
and touched it to one of the Mistress' hands gently. She tried to say her
first answer, but the word 'no' caught in her chest, somehow. Right next
to her heart.
She nodded. "Sure, Miss Venus," she smiled, rubbing her head against
the warm, peach hand that laid on the tile floor. "I'm a Guardian, right?
And, since I can't guard Chibi-Star cause her brother's allergic, I've
gotta guard somebody, right?" Her green eyes smiled up at the woman.
"Yes..." Mina pet the cat, her smile gentle and sad. "That's right."
* * * * * * * * * * * *

Helios dove into Sailor Moon and threw them both clear of a blot of
lightning. They landed in a heap across the street, both gasping for
breath and glancing nervously around the single block of Main Street they
were fighting on.
Sailor Scouts were scattered here and there, some unconscious and
others just dazed. Sailor Polaris and the Starlit Prince stood back to
back on the far side of the monster, throwing purple roses and streams of
stardust respectively at it. The attacks did little more than slow the
fish, and even that didn't help the peril of the others. The Chibi-Scouts
had tried their hardest, only to find themselves being, one after another,
thrown into one of the many buildings surrounding them.
"Nothing helps!" screamed Sailor Moon, climbing slowly to her feet
and pushing one of her pigtails out from in front of her eyes. She drew
her sword slowly, raising it high into the air. "It's obvious what I have
to do!"
Her prince grabbed her by the shoulder and pointed to the fish.
"You can't run headlong into it with your sword," he pointed out, voice
nervous. "It would be suicide."
She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "But if I die now, I don't
die later," she told him with a chuckle. His eyes widened and he turned a
ghostly shade of white. "Just kidding, Helios," she assured him, pulling
herself free of his grip. "Trust me."
"I always have," he whispered, voice far off. "I always will."
Sailor Moon touched a hand to his and then turned away, holding the
sword out in front of her. "Okay, fish food breath!" she screamed at the
monster. "You've done far enough, and you're going to pay dearly for what
you've done! In the name of the Moon, you're dead meat!"
With a desperate, twisted battle cry, she took off running, raising
the sword above her head. She leapt deftly into the air, avoiding a stream
of electricity that shot toward her.
And she plunged the Moon Saber into the fish's back.
There was a sickening echo of cracking bone as the fish screamed out
in pain, falling to the ground and trashing wildly. Sailor Moon pulled the
sword from his body and jumped away, once again raising the saber above
her head. "Moon..."
A bolt of lightning flashed, knocking her against a street lamp.
"Sailor Moon!" screamed Helios, dashing after her. The fish sent a
stream of lightning toward him, but he avoided it and pointed a finger at
the creature. "By the power of Elysion!"
The fish froze in mid-attack.
"What the..." Sailor Polaris and the Starlit Prince circled the fish
slowly, eyes wide as they studied his orange-yellow scales and his vile,
hateful green eyes. They joined the group of Scouts, who were slowly
regaining their strength and stood, gaping, at the motionless monster.
Sailor Earth coughed and brushed some dust from her fuku. "It seems
that Helios froze it," she told the others, rubbing her temples. "I
remember coming to and hearing the word 'Elysion.'"
"Then he's one strong Prince," put in Phoenix casually, throwing a
rock at the creature and watching as it bounced off him and rolled down
the street, away from the Scouts.
"Yeah," agreed Comet and Aurora Borealis in a stunned unison.
From her spot at the lamppost's foot, Sailor Moon groaned and opened
her red eyes. "What... What happened..."
Chuckling, her prince lifted her gently to her feet and brushed a
few loose pink strands of hair from her face. "A bolt of electricity
broad-sided you," he explained softly enveloping the young woman with his
arms and hugging her to his chest. "And you looked like you would surely
die..."
She smiled slightly and looked him in the eye, her face alight. "You
worry too much, my Prince," she giggled, kissing him on the cheek. "You
said you trusted me..."
"Sailor Moon!" chorused a group of voices. She pulled away from the
young man just in time to see the giant goldfish break free of Helios'
spell. It roared in agony, and her eyes trailed down to the bloodied
sword.
What must be done...
A bolt of lightning flashed suddenly, and she drew in a sharp
breath. The fish was aiming for the congregation of Scouts! Earth,
Polaris, Phoenix, Aurora Borealis, Comet, and the Starlit Prince... All
doomed...
"Angelic Glow!"
There was a flash of overpowering silver light, which hit and
pressed against the beam of electricity from the fish. The two powers were
nearly matched, pushing against one another with all heart and soul as the
others watched, awestruck.
On the sidewalk, very near Sailor Moon and her Prince was Angel
Moon, the butts of her hands pressed together as the silver erupted from
the palms. "Sailor Moon!" she called loudly. "Do it now!"
The blade of the sword sparkled in the moonlight as the pink-haired
heroine raised the weapon above her head. "Moon... Saber... Illumination!"
There was a flash, and a humming sound. And the fish changed into a
pile of dust and a tiny green gem.
Peter limped slowly over to the gem, using his Time Key as a crutch.
"Another..."
Sailor Phoenix flipped a blue braid behind her shoulder and stomped
the ground with one of her ballet slippers. "The longer this goes on, the
less I understand!" she roared in frustration.
Chuckling, Angel Moon and Chibi-Star walked over to join the group
while Chibi-Pluto went to discuss the gem with her brother. "I think we
all need a good night's sleep..." commented the red-haired angel with a
yawn and a stretch of her long arms. "I'm sleepy..."
"It's only..." The Starlit Prince gazed at his watch and pushed his
mask up on his nose, jaw dropping open. "Oh my. It's far past midnight..."
Sailor Moon wrinkled her nose and gripped Angel Moon's hand. "And on
a school night, no less!" She glowered at the little girl. "You should be
in bed, not fighting evil."
"But I don't GO to school," protested the child, trying to wretch
her hand free of the death grip on it. "And, besides, I was the one who
saved your butt!"
Helios just shook his head and followed the duo down the street.
The rest of the group glanced at one another, unsure what to say.
And then, footsteps echoed on the pavement.
"Sailor Earth!" called Polaris, taking a wary step on her bad leg.
"Where are you going?"
The raven-haired girl turned slowly around, glancing softly at her
friend. "I need to go...think..." she sighed and shrugged her shoulders.
"I've had a rough week..."
Chibi-Star grinned and waved cheerily. "Don't let it get to you,
Tara!" she called after the downtrodden Scout. "Someone does understand!"
She froze for a moment, thinking of the child's words. Surely...
Surely, she didn't know what was going on.
Sighing again, Sailor Earth continued down the street, her tears
glistening in the moonlight.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

She looked at herself in the mirror.
Her room was filled with the soft silver glow of the beautiful gray
orb that hung in the heavens. Of course, she could care less about the
beauty of the world or the mystery of the moon. Because her heart ached
inside.
"Celeste was wrong," she told herself stubbornly, glancing down at
the pair of blue-handled scissors in her hand. "No one understands how it
feels to be so alone."
Her eyes met the glowing green ones of her reflection. The silken
blackish-purple strands of hair sparkled in the pale light. Her high
cheek bones and dainty nose seemed to be laughed at by that beautiful,
exotic, mystical hair.
She sighed and glanced one last time at the scissors. All this...
Done because of what they said? Was all this change needed just to be
normal?
"Yes," she answered herself aloud, placing her fingers in the
appropriate holes of the scissors and drawing an inch-wide section of
hair in front of her face. It tumbled gently into her lap and she knew
that, had she not been sitting, that it would have fallen all the way to
her knees.
She took a deep breath and opened the scissors. She picked them up
put them at about the level of her ears...
The raven-colored hair, so long a symbol of her mother's family,
shone in the moonlight as it tumbled gently to the floor.
* * * * * * * * * * *

Galactic Sailors Say!

Reeny: (entering with whole group sans Tara) People can say really,
really, REALLY lousy things.

(Clips of the kids at school teasing Tara mercilessly)

Alice: (sad smile) People can also jump to conclusions because of one
little action.

(Clip of Lita asking Alex something and Alex choking on her coffee)

Lyra: (sigh) Or, people are up to no good...

(Clip of Mina talking to Cassiopeia)

Phoebe: (grin) Or, they make you CLEAN.

(Clip of Marie splattering herself and her niece with that nasty sauce)

Haley: (scolding) But never, EVER, hit them!

(Clip of Tara slugging the boy)

Reeny: (same) They most likely don't deserve it. And, even if they DO, you
shouldn't hurt them!

(Clip of Phoebe chucking the bar of soap at Orb)

Phoebe: (pause) Unless, of course, they're evil scum.

(Clip of the three attacks bowling over Arthur and Sailor Moon threatening
him with the Saber)

Alice: (rolling eyes) Phoebe...

Reeny: Sailor Moon says...

All: See ya!

-I Know-
Look around...
(Ambriel stares down at Tokyo from the top tower of Crystal Palace)
So many things aren't clear...
(Aeris and Peter stand before the Gate of Time with terrified expressions)
Don't worry, though...
(Haley smiles and turns a page in her book)
You know that I'll be there...
(Orion and Orb chase after the kittens)
A lot of things are so uncertain...
(Tara, near tears, bites her lip)
The future's on its way...
(Michelle holds Delaney, an amazed smile on her face)
Look into my crying eyes...
(Reeny wipes tears off her cheeks while Serenity watches nervously)
Don't take your love away!
(Alice slams the door in her father's face)

Sometimes, the road looks long...
(Lyra looks up at the North Star)
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...
(Phoebe hugs her mother around the waist)
But I know, I know, all you need is love.
(The six Galactic Sailors hold up their lockets)

Sometimes, you feel weak...
(Richard grabs onto the wrist of a falling Celeste)
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...
(Terrence shakes his head as Sailor Pluto walks through the Gate of Time)
But I know, I know, all you need is love.
(Ambriel, Celeste, and Aeris all hold up their transformation pens)

Times will change...
(Tara, robes flying, chases Joshua around the courtyard)
People will change, too...
(Haley plays with her now-long hair)
But deep inside...
(Helios takes Reeny's hands in his)
I always will love you...
(Richard bends down to kiss Lyra)
I suppose there are questions now...
(Peter tugs on Terrence's pant leg)
The answers are so far...
(Alice and Phoebe dive for a floating sphere and miss)
But look at me and smile now...
(Hannah and Brian both smile as Alex takes Delaney into her arms)
I am your guiding star!
(Lyra and Richard stare at Celeste and Peter, who are watching the sunset)

Sometimes, the road looks long...
(Lyra looks up at the North Star)
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...
(Phoebe hugs her mother around the waist)
But I know, I know, all you need is love.
(The six Galactic Sailors hold up their lockets)

Sometimes, you feel weak...
(Richard grabs onto the wrist of a falling Celeste)
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...
(Terrence shakes his head as Sailor Pluto walks through the Gate of Time)
But I know, I know, all you need is love.
(Ambriel, Celeste, and Aeris all hold up their transformation pens)

I know...
(Chibi-Pluto, the Angel Moon, and Chibi-Star stand together)
I know...
(The Galactic Sailors stand together)
All you need is love...
(All nine girls stand together)
All you need...is...love...
(The Prince and Princess of the Stars kiss)
* * * * * * * * * * * *

Two things:

1.) For those of you who didn't catch it, Alice is NOT a lesbian. However,
Lita does not know about her vow to never fall in love. And she probably
wouldn't be too happy about that, anyway.

2.) For those of you who don't know, Sailor Moon S and Super S are going
to be dubbed! As a fan of the dub, I must say that this is the best news
I've heard in weeks! And, I'd like to request no 'you're a dub fan?'
flames, because your reply will read (and I quote):
"So what, freak? I don't mind the dub. I like English. Subtitles hurt my
head. I can't read them for long periods of time because my vision's
going. So there."

Have a nice night!

--KB--