Musical Mayhem-A Galactic Sailors Story
Welcome to our second ever, world-famous fanfiction fiasco about the Galactic
Sailors. If you, dearest reader, have ever read "Destiny Waits For No Sailor"
or, even, "Mommy Who is Sailor Earth", you are doing pretty good. Other then
that, you have about a snowball's chance in HELL of understanding this plot but
we love you anyway. Again, this is co-written by myself and the ever wonderful
Christina, who, by the way, is desperately looking for a homecoming date. Guys?
Any takers? Just kidding... (Christina tries to strangle annoying girl at
keyboard) Okay, so, I'll put a little update of what's going on at the beginning
of this story, but, for the most part, you're on your own.
This wonders what may happen if all the Galactic Sailors got into music.
Your Vixens of Fanfictions,
Kate and Christina
Duncan@chicago.avenew.com and LadyBug142@aol.com
P.S.-Katie and Meredith (the drum majors) are real people. I swear it. They go
to our school and everything. We don't own them. Their moms and dads own them.
And our band director probably does, too.
P.P.S.-Lyra and Kristy Klein are NOT the same people. They have some
similarities, but they aren't the same. Unless, of course, Kristy is a Sailor
Scout...
* * * * * * * * * * * *
THE STORY SO FAR:
Six girls, all daughters of the original Sailor Senshi, have been hailed
the six Galactic Sailors.
But evil forces are at work. Several evil beings have appeared, set on
taking over the world. Little is known about the evils, accept for the fact that
they consist of at least a King, a brown robed man, and a green clothed woman.
Led by Princess Reeny, who is the new Sailor of the Moon, the Galactic
Sailors will try to defeat the evil by using their new powers. And that, my
friends, is where the story begins.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Dressed in dark crimson and black, the man laughed evilly.
"I pity those poor little Sailor Girls," he said in a strong voice to the
five minions that stood before him. "For, they do not quite understand what
horrors stand before them.
A young, shapely woman, dressed in a gray shimmering dress that seemed to be of
all fabrics and none, frowned a bit. "My King," she said, stepping out from the
line, "I do not try to undermine your authority, but I am curious to why you
have not set down a definite plan for domination."
Glaring at the woman, the King shook his head. "Ah, Doubt, you grow too
headstrong for your own good." He smiled at her a bit. "Someday, you will
learn."
Standing, he walked toward the giant window of the ship. It looked down upon
Earth, a planet with swirling clouds and colors of blue and green and brown that
no one could reproduce in even the greatest painting.
"We will rule this pitiful little place called Earth... And once we do,
the human race will be no more!" His smile was large as he began to laugh, his
deep voice radiating through the room with a surreal quality.
"No more!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the marble hallways of
Crystal Palace.
"Uh-oh," came a teenage voice.
A pink haired cat heard the noise and sighed. When would that silly
Princess learn? Diana ran towards Reeny's bedroom quickly.
The room was large and mostly marble, with pink and red furniture. Large,
incredible picture windows provided panoramic views of Crystal Tokyo below.
Mirrors lined the two walk-in closets, and a small, round mirror hung above the
desk.
Or, more appropriately, what was left of a round mirror hung above the
desk.
"What did you do this time?" asked the cat, jumping onto the desk chair
and surveying the broken glass which was scattered over a few sheets of paper.
"Reeny, if you were playing ball in the castle again..."
"I was not!" protested the teen, coming out from her bathroom. She carried
an empty pail and a miniature broom. "I was practicing for this tryout that
Phoebe says I should do!"
"A tryout?" asked Diana, trying to read the paper through shards of glass.
"What kind of tryout?"
"An audition for the yearly musical at the Crystal Music Academy. Written
by one of the Three Lights, it's called...uh..." She picked up one of the sheets
of paper, knocking some glass onto the cat. "Sorry, Di. But it's called 'Love
Through the Eons'. I guess there's this one part that's really small but good...
Pheebs said it's 'written for' me."
"A musical?" asked the cat, eyes growing wide.
"Don't you look at my like that!" Reeny lowered her eyes. "I didn't do
anything wrong!"
Diana sighed. Some people just don't learn... "What's the rule?" she
questioned the girl, looking up at her with magenta eyes.
She just turned away and swept some glass into the bucket. The tinkling
sound nearly covered the high-pitched voice as it mumbled something.
"Excuse me?"
"No Moon maiden, as long as the universe exists, should sing." The
Princess kept cleaning up the glass.
"And why not?" asked the Moon cat, shifting her position so that she could
stare into the red eyes of the Princess.
"I forget?" Reeny asked rhetorically.
"No, you don't. Out with it." Diana shuddered. She sounded like her
mother.
"But Diana!" whined Reeny, collapsing onto the floor, in tears. "I really
want to make the musical! Phoebe's a shoe-in for the lead role, and I don't do
anything interesting like the other Galactic Sailors do! It's not fair!" Tears
flowed onto the ground, onto the desk, into the bucket of glass shards, and even
onto the cat.
"Cut it out! Grow up!" Diana nagged as much as she could, but nothing
helped. The Princess still cried like a big baby... She cried like the Queen
would have cried when she was a teen...
"You're acting too much like your mother!" the cat said seriously, looking
innocently at the vaulted ceiling. "This is something that the teen Serena would
have done..."
Reeny stopped abruptly. "You're serious, aren't you?"
The cat nodded in a very adult manner. "Completely."
"Alright, I'll stop." The Princess smoothed her dress and stood slowly.
"Well, you're still acting like your mom," commented the cat, jumping on
the now-safe desk.
"What do you mean?" the Princess asked, sitting on the edge of her bed.
"You're already about ten minutes late for the Scout meeting at the Cherry
Hill Temple."
Princess Reeny let out a string of rather rude words and then ran,
pigtails flying, out the door.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Tara, Lyra and Haley all sat in the small living room. The temple was
nearly deserted at such a late hour on Friday, but that didn't mean the girls
had complete privacy; Tara's parents seemed to be milling dangerously close to
the girls at all times.
"Are we going to do a fire reading?" asked the blond, curly haired girl.
Perched on the arm of a ragged brown couch, she swung her legs absently. "My mom
said that fire readings are really neat things..."
The dark haired Shinto nodded. "We're going to try, but I would much
prefer to have all six of us here."
Haley sighed. "Didn't Phoebe tell you, Tara?" she asked, shifting her
position in the armchair.
"Tell me what?" Tara busily looked through the bookshelf.
The brown haired teen smiled a bit. "She's got a huge audition at the
Crystal Music Academy, and she can't get here."
Tara turned around and looked at the two others. "She's not coming! How am
I supposed to do a proper reading without centered Sailor Power?" Annoyed, she
kicked the shelf.
"I'm sorry Tara," attempted Lyra. Seeing as that didn't help much, she
jumped from her seat and walked over the where her friend was. "What are you
looking for?" she asked, peering at the rows of books.
The Shinto sighed and picked out a brown-leather book. "It's a book on
ancient rituals. I thought it might be helpful."
"Good thought," Haley commented, walking over. "Is there anything about
ancient musical rituals?"
"Why?" asked the younger girls in unison.
The brown haired girl sighed. "I'm about an inch away from flunking out of
the Music Academy."
"You go to the Music Academy?" Lyra was shocked. "How could you be
flunking? You've got to be a great musician to get in there."
"Yeah, Haley," Tara commented, flipping through the book. "And your mother
is one of the greatest concert violinists in the world."
"And she's my mother," Haley responded, aqua eyes growing sad.
Lyra was puzzled. "What does that mean?" she asked, looking at her friend.
"Michelle was the one who founded Crystal Music Academy." She sighed.
"That's how I got in."
"Oh, Haley," began Lyra softly. "If I had known, I would have kept my
mouth..."
The door burst open. "I'm here!" Reeny exclaimed, taking Diana off her
head and placing her one the floor. "We can start now!"
Haley, Lyra, and Tara all bowed as a reflex.
"Don't do that!" the Princess exclaimed, crossing her arms over the pink
T-shirt she wore. "I hate it when people bow!"
The three immediately straightened up and mumbled there apologies.
"And don't apologize!" commanded the pink-haired girl, sighing deeply.
Lyra giggled. "No wonder you're the leader!" she exclaimed, putting her
hands on her hips.
Reeny paled. "I'm the leader?"
"Of course, Reeny," Tara commented, staring at the book. "You're the
daughter of the Queen of Crystal Tokyo. Why wouldn't you be our leader?"
Diana sighed. She knew what was coming.
"But I don't want to be the leader!" The pink-haired girl whined loudly,
falling to her knees. "Being the leader is hard... and scary!" She began crying.
"Get up!" commanded Diana. "You're acting like a big baby!"
"Am not!" cried the Princess.
"Yes, you are." Diana sat in front of the girl and glared at her. "In
fact, you're acting like your mother."
"Again?" Reeny jumped straight up.
"Again. You've got to start acting like an adult," Diana commanded,
gaining a bit of an English accent. She sighed. Like mother, like daughter...
"If Reeny doesn't want to be the leader, one of the rest of us could take
over," suggested Lyra, plopping down on the couch.
Tara shook her head, green eyes rising from the book. "Sailor Moon has
long been the leader of the Sailor Scouts. We cannot go against that kind of
tradition."
Haley shrugged. "I don't see why not. I mean, we're the Galactic Sailors.
We should be able to change precedents like that."
"Precedents like what?" came another voice from the doorway.
Running a hand through her auburn hair, Alice Kino dropped her backpack
next to the couch and smiled. "How late am I?" she asked.
"Late," Tara responded curtly.
Opening her pack, Alice sighed. That Tara... "I brought homemade cookies!"
she announced, pulling out an odd looking bag.
"You put cookies in that?" asked Reeny, scratching her head.
Alice giggled. "Don't mind how it looks. It was my first sewing project of
the year."
"So, you've gotten better?" asked Lyra.
"Nope. I've probably gotten worse." Alice opened the bag. "They're
chocolate pecan peanut butter chip."
Tara intercepted the bag. "Not until after the reading."
"Why not?" asked Reeny, practically drooling over the delectable treats
that awaited her.
Tara crossed her arms. "We need to be completely concentrated on the fire
reading."
"But Tara..." whined Reeny loudly.
"And then," the Shinto girl continued, slamming the book shut, "we can
have green tea and all the cookies we want. Deal?"
"Deal," said Lyra.
"Deal," responded Haley.
"Got it!" Alice smiled.
Reeny sighed, crinkling her nose. "But I want cookies!" she exclaimed.
"Deal?" asked Tara, lowering her eyes.
Diana smiled. For a thirteen-year-old, she was quite convincing.
"Deal."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
She was dressed all and green leather and a braid of severe black hair
hung down her back. Pacing slowly and breathing deeply, she looked around the
empty black chamber.
The Chamber of Spirits. The name sent shivers down her spine. Goosebumps
prickled up her arms.
A rustle of robes from behind her forced her to jump.
"Illness," she scolded, tracing the seven-pointed star symbol on the
floor. It was an inset shimmering golden color, which deeply contrasted the
black marble that surrounded her. "It's very rude to startle me like that."
The man, softly and elegantly, walked around the young woman. "Looking for
something here?"
"Just world domination, Illness," she responded, looking at the jewels at
tipped each of the points. Deepest crimson, a deceptive color of gray, sparkling
ebony, a ruby, an emerald of and impossible shade, a light brown color, and one
which was indescribably silver.
"How do you expect to see world domination?" The pale man brushed a few
brown hairs out of his eyes.
The woman shrugged, fingering her black braid. Pacing a bit, she bit one
of her long fingernails. "Well, do you have a plan or not, Illness? I don't have
time to waste, you know."
The man cackled a bit. "Always thinking of yourself, aren't you?"
She giggled a bit. "Of course, Illness. You know me too well!" Smiling at
Illness, she sighed. "I want to get this over with!"
"Patience, Greed, patience." Illness smiled kindly.
"Patience my leather covered butt!" retorted Greed. "I feel strong
spiritual forces right now..."
Illness sighed. "I don't believe His Majesty expects me to work with
you..." he mumbled softly.
"Huh?" asked the woman.
"Nothing, Greed, nothing." He sighed, closing his eyes. "Spirits, show us
the way to world domination."
Greed laughed. "You go ahead and meditate. I'm going to go practice my
fighting skills." She walked off.
Illness hung his wary head. "Spirits, help me to survive my partnership
with Greed."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Oh great fire, I ask you in the name of Earth to tell us what this new
evil is." Tara closed her eyes and began to meditate.
"Is this the part when you're not supposed to talk?" came a small voice.
Snapping from her meditation, Tara turned to see a little child standing
in the doorway.
"Celeste!" yelped Lyra, jumping to her feet. "What do you think you're
doing here?"
The child, a chipper looking girl of about six with hair the color of
corn, smiled a partially-toothless grin. "I followed you here, Lyra. You have
big kid friends, and I don't, so I wanted to come too!"
"You mean to say that you listened in on our entire conversation?" asked
the curly-haired teen.
Celeste nodded. "What's a 'Galactic Sailor'? And do they get to fight the
evil that black-haired lady mentioned?"
Lyra groaned. Haley, Alice, and Tara all sighed. The Princess smiled.
"Smart kid!" she commented.
The little girl looked at Reeny. "You're the Princess! I think you're the
most prettiest girl in the whole world!"
Reeny smiled at that and vainly ran her fingers through a pigtail. "I like
this rug-rat! Who is she?"
"My little sister." Lyra turned to the rest of the group. "Fourth oldest
at six and a half years old."
Alice's eyes grew wide. "How many siblings do you have, Lyra?"
"I've got seven sisters and brothers!" exclaimed Celeste, sitting down on
the wooden floor as though she owned the temple. "There's Lyra, then Becky, then
Paul, and me. After me are Bobby, and then Sara and Johnny-they're twins-and
then baby Lila!" She counted on her fingers for a moment. "Yep! That's eight."
Reeny's eyes got big. "People actually have that many kids?"
"You don't have any sisters?" asked the little girl.
"Nope," the Princess said.
"Or brothers?"
"None, but my parents want to have a son eventually." Reeny blushed. "I
mean..."
"None of us have brothers or sisters," Tara sighed, trying to draw the
conversation to a fast close.
"Not completely true," Haley responded. "I have Hannah."
"Yeah," commented Tara with a sigh. "And she tried to kill us all."
"Who's Hannah?" asked the young girl. "What's a 'Galactic Sailor'? Do you
fight evil? And why did Hannah try to kill you?"
An idea popped into Lyra's mind. "How would you like some yummy cookies
and milk?"
"Yeah!" Alice chimed in. "I made some cookies. Do you want some?"
"Could I please have some?" asked the little girl.
"Of course! Tara will show you where to go."
Grumbling, the black haired teen took Celeste's hand and led her out of
the room.
"She's really smart," commented Diana.
Lyra shook her head. "Not no way, not no how!" she exclaimed, putting her
hands on her hips. "You are not using my little sister for some Sailor plot!"
"I didn't mean it that way, Lyra," commented the cat, licking a paw
absently. "I was just noting that she's a bright kid."
"Good." Lyra backed down. "Sorry that I got so mad."
"It's okay," commented Diana. "I understand."
Tara, re-entering the room, sighed. "That little chatterbox is eating all
the cookies right now." Tara knelt on her pillow with a sigh.
"Did you save me any?" asked Reeny.
Alice smacked her gently.
"And, I got a phone call from Phoebe." She prepared to meditate.
"What'd she say?" asked Haley softly.
"I guess she did more than made the musical," Tara responded, closing her
eyes.
"She got accepted into Crystal Music Academy."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Mom, Crystal Music Academy is the best music school in the nation! Maybe
the best in the world!" Phoebe slammed the acceptance letter onto the table.
"And I have been trying, for the past five years, to get accepted!"
Amy strummed her fingers on the tabletop. Greg silently sat next to his
wife, looking at his teen daughter with attentive dark brown eyes.
"It's extremely important to me!" exclaimed the teen, running her hand
through the long midnight-blue hair. "I love music! I love to dance! And I don't
want to go to Brighton anymore!" She felt like she was going to cry.
"You're not yet old enough to go to high school, young lady," Amy said
sternly. "And you will not go to the Music Academy... You will go to Brighton."
"No!" yelped the girl. "I'm going to Crystal Music Academy!"
Greg sighed. "Maybe we should listen to Phoebe's arguments more, dearest.
I mean, she really loves the arts and I think that, perhaps, the Music Academy
would be the best thing for her."
Shaking her head of blue hair, Amy sighed. "No. I want her to go to
schools focusing on academics, not arts."
"But the Music Academy has some of the best test scores in the country!"
Phoebe exclaimed, tears welling in her eyes. "And it means a lot to me! And
Haley goes there!"
"Haley?" asked Greg, confused.
"Sailor Comet," commented Amy. "In response to that-I'm sure one of the
other Galactic Sailors will get into the private high school. Reeny, perhaps,
will make it..."
"But I want to go!" cried Phoebe, her tears becoming very real. "I love
dance! I love music! And acting!" She looked at the letter in front of her. "My
entire life, I have dreamed of this moment, Mother. Of the moment when I could
see the acceptance letter in front of me and know that all my goals had been
reached. Do you really want to scatter all of my fantasies to the wind?" Phoebe
looked up with her ice blue eyes. "Being Sailor Phoenix is a very real thing to
you. If I hadn't wanted to become a Sailor, you wouldn't have let me get away
with that. It was my destiny. And now I want something. And you won't let do it.
"This is more than a little girl wanting a new doll, Mom. Crystal Music
Academy is my destiny. You can't stand in the way of destiny."
Amy shook her head, her blue eyes welling up with tears. "I am not passing
any judgement, Phoebe, because I don't think this is destiny at all." She turned
to her husband. "Greg, what do you think?"
This had happened before. He had, many times, saved Amy from Phoebe's
wrath, or had saved Phoebe from her mother's words of fire. But this was
different. This was a choice that would effect all of their lives for a long
while.
"Let's wait and see how Phoebe does in the musical. We can decide then."
His deep voice was strong. "Can you two gals live with that?"
The doctor sighed, and smiled grimly. "I suppose."
All Phoebe could do was nod.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Nothing?" asked Reeny, staring at the flames.
Tara shook her head grimly. "I don't know what I did wrong." Staring at
the floor, she sighed. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Haley smiled. "Reading the fire isn't so important."
"Yeah!" Lyra chimed in, getting up and putting a hand on Tara's shoulder.
"After all, the important thing is that we be the best Sailors that we can."
The Shinto stood slowly, towering above Lyra. "You think so?"
"Yep!" Lyra responded.
A shadow appeared in the doorway. All five girls shrieked and jumped back.
Diana just sighed.
"What's all the commotion?" asked the shadow, stepping forward.
The shadow had a chest length ponytail. And ice blue eyes. And was wearing
a red sweater and khakis.
"You scared us, Phoebe!" Alice panted, a hand on her chest. "Don't do
that!"
The girl blushed. "Sorry guys. I just wanted to come by and ask how the
fire reading went."
"It didn't," Reeny sighed, scooping up the cat. "Tara didn't get a
reading."
Phoebe's eyes grew wide. "Really?"
Tara nodded quietly. "I don't know what I did wrong. Maybe my mother could
attempt the reading."
"You must do it on your own," came an adult voice. Raye, High Priestess of
the Shinto Religion, the Mistress of Mars, and the mother of Sailor Earth,
appeared. "I cannot read in the name of Earth."
"And I cannot in the name of Mars," Tara sighed, looking at the fire
mournfully.
"Hey! Cheer up!" Lyra told her friend. "Everything will be okay!"
"I guess you're right," Tara chimed in.
The motley group walked slowly back to the living room without a word.
After a pause, Phoebe spoke.
"Hey, guys," she said, sticking her hands in her pockets, "I made the lead
in the musical."
A chorus of congratulations came from the other five.
"Well, when I was there, I overheard the man who puts together the
marching band every year. It seems that they need some more people."
The others stopped in their tracks.
"Phoebe?" asked Tara softly. "What are you trying to say?"
The actress blushed deeply. "Well, I kind of signed you guys up for the
marching band."
Groans were heard from miles, as was Alice's voice.
"I play the CELLO, Phoebe! How do you march with a CELLO?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Princess, what instrument are you interested in playing?" Michelle chewed
on the pencil eraser. What a bad habit, she thought to herself. I should quit
sometime.
Reeny shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe flute?" She played with a pink
pigtail. "What do you think I would be good at, Mistress Neptune?"
The aqua-haired woman set her pencil down and flicked on the computer that
Hannah had insisted on installing. "Hold on," Michelle said softly as she
attempted to pull the Princess' file onto the screen. Nothing happened. She
double clicked on the file.
A beep sounded, and Michelle jumped. The computer then began to play
'Tuxedo Mirage' at the top of its mechanical lungs.
"What?" She pulled away from the computer and picked up the phone. Dialing
a number, she smiled at the pink haired Princess. "Sorry about this, Princess. I
don't have the faintest idea of how to work the computer."
Reeny just smiled.
"Hi, Haley?" Michelle said into the phone. "It's Mom." There was a pause,
and Haley's voice was audibly heard through the receiver. "That's nice... Mm-
hmm... I'm sure Hannah didn't mean it like that..." Hitting some random buttons
on the keyboard while she listened on the phone, Michelle sighed. The computer
was now playing 'Maiden's Policy'.
"Haley," she finally said, "the computer started playing music-loudly-and
I don't know how to stop it. Nothing else works..." She paused and looked to the
keyboard. "Control... Alt... Delete... Close down the music player... Alt,
Shift, D... I don't see an option of disable... Oh, that? Got it." She punched a
button, and the ruckus stopped in its tracks. "Thanks dear... See you at
seven... Do your homework!"
Reeny laughed at the last sentence. "I didn't know that Haley knew so much
about computers," she said, smiling politely.
Michelle shrugged. "She can fool with computers, she can play any sport on
earth, and she knows Current Events like nobody's business." Then, she shrugged,
teal eyes turning sad. "And she can't carry a tune to save her life."
"I think I'd like to play trumpet," the Princess finally said, smiling.
"It sounds like fun."
Michelle looked at the desk calendar, and flipped a few pages in silence.
"I do believe that I have an opening Monday. Could you come in at about six that
evening?"
"Okey-dokey!" Reeny skipped out of the office, waving goodbye merrily.
Michelle smiled as the Princess left. Then, she frowned.
"I hope Hannah and Haley don't kill each other before I can get home," she
sighed, beginning to type on the computer."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"You are nothing but a spoiled rotten, diaper wearing baby who couldn't be
a Sailor Scout if her life depended on it!" Hannah yelled at her sister.
The words stung a bit, but Haley shook them off as a horse would flies.
"At least I didn't try to end the world for my own selfish reasons!" she
retorted, raising her voice.
"Those reasons were not selfish," Hannah bristled. "I was trying to
protect the good of the world."
"Bull shit!" Haley yelled. "There was no logic in your actions!"
"Yes, there was," the dark haired woman responded softly. "You don't even
understand."
"How could I understand?" asked Haley, lowering her voice and looking into
the purple eyes with a thoughtful gaze. "You never told a soul what your
reasoning was."
Hannah just sighed and picked up her books. "You wouldn't understand. No
one would." She retreated towards her room.
"I don't get that kid," the brown haired teen commented, plopping down in
front of the piano. "She goes out of her to pick fights and then runs from
them."
"Sailor Comet, you would not understand," came a calm and adult voice from
behind her.
Haley forced a smile, for, on all the Earth, no sound was as sweet to the
ears. "Auntie Susan!" she exclaimed, whirling around. "Why are you here?"
Then, Haley did a double take. Same woman, different side of her.
Sailor Pluto.
The garnet eyes of the Guardian of Time stared at the girl. It was hard to
believe that Haley, the Sailor Scout of the Comets, was the same little girl who
had once dumped a gallon of white tempera paints throughout the house. It was
hard to think that this was the same girl who had once knocked poor Michelle in
the head with the Deep Aqua Mirror Talisman while going through a closet.
But it was.
"I am here to tell you why Hannah is so sensitive to your words," Pluto
said, sitting down on the couch. An air of comfort enveloped the teen. Though
she was in the form of Sailor Pluto, she was very much Haley's Aunt Susan, the
woman who had been supportive and understanding since day one.
"As a child, Hannah was possessed by an evil entity called Mistress Nine."
The teen blanched. "Shouldn't Mom and Alex tell me about this?" she asked
softly, bracing herself.
Pluto smiled and wiped a hunter green hair from her face. "Do you actually
think they would?" she asked in a slightly sarcastic manner. "They try to keep
both of you hidden from the harsh reality that is the real world, Haley." She
sighed. "And I want to tell you the truth."
"Truth," Haley thought aloud, looking to the woman. "What is the value of
truth in this world?" She stared at the ground. "Truth means I have no real
parents. Truth means that I have no sister. Truth means..." She sighed deeply
and stared at the ground. "Truth means I'm not even good enough to get into the
music academy. I hate the truth."
"You fear the truth," Pluto corrected, focusing on the girl. "Truth brings
us much closer to who we really are. Truth makes us the people we were meant to
be." Smiling a bit, she thoughtfully teased the bow that was on her outfit. "And
that's frightening."
Rolling her eyes, Haley turned her back to her friend and crossed her arms
across her chest. "You're making this all up, Susan," she said gruffly, not
letting herself believe.
Pluto shook her head. "Part of you is dying to ignore me," she said,
looking to the girl with the short brown hair. "But most of you knows I'm
right."
Haley was about to make a comeback, but she felt the woman's eyes
searching her. "Don't talk, Haley. Just listen to me.
"Hannah was once taken over by an evil entity. Mistress Nine. But she was
killed and reborn. Your mothers-Michelle and Alexandra-raised the new Hannah
from infancy, with a bit of help from me."
"So?" asked Haley, turning around slowly. "I knew that Hannah was raised
by Mom and...uh, Alex..."
Pluto shook her head. "But we spoiled Hannah. We waited years and years to
tell her of Mistress Nine, and she got all she wanted. So, needless to say..."
"I was a total killjoy." Enlightenment dawned on Haley's pale face.
Running a hand through her hair, she sighed. "I killed Hannah's perfectly
blissful world." Gasping and putting a hand over her mouth, she swallowed, hard.
"Her innocence had already been shattered by the news of being Mistress Nine,
and the fact I took over her limelight with my parents didn't help, right?"
"Exactly. That's exactly what I was trying to say." Pluto stood slowly and
smoothed her fuku. "I'm glad was understand each other, Haley." She ruffled the
girl's hair. "It's been a while since I've talked to you, one on one."
Aqua eyes growing wide, she looked at her friend with doubt. "That's it?
You tell me all this stuff and then you leave? I don't think so!"
The green haired adult smiled broadly. "I have a duty to fulfill. As do
you." She opened a hand into the air. Her time key appeared in her grasp. "But,
Haley... don't blame your poor sister, alright? It's mostly not her fault."
Pluto was gone.
Just as Pluto left, Michelle walked through the door and set her briefcase
on the floor. As she went to greet her child, she paused and sniffed the air.
"Sailor Pluto was here, wasn't she?" the woman asked, curtly but kindly.
Haley nodded. "She wanted to talk."
Sighing a bit, and then smiling, Michelle put her hands on her hips.
"Pluto never just talks to someone, sweetie," she corrected.
Then, in an out-of-character moment, her smile grew wider and she
shrugged. "By the way," she said, teal eyes sparkling, "the Princess has decided
to play an instrument."
"Really?" Haley was surprised. "What is she playing?"
As visions of Reeny on flute, piano, violin, and harp flooded the girl's
mind, Michelle responded. "Trumpet."
Haley nearly fainted.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Green eyes, deep and soulful, flashed open. A body, in skin-tight green
leather, shuddered.
Rushing over, the brown-robed man otherwise known as Illness rushed over.
"Greed," he said, looking down at her. "Are you alright?"
Suddenly aware that she was laying on the hard, cold ground, she expelled
a great amount of strength to get up.
They were in a hallway. Brown, nondescript tile made up the floor, and the
walls were an off-white color that appeared to be ancient.
Rubbing her temples, Greed looked at the man. Illness was the exact
opposite of attractive-he was plain and prosaic, with brown hair, brown eyes,
brown robes, and brownish skin... Everything brown, brown, brown. But, he could
have a kind heart when he tried, and his sense of duty was strong. "Where are
we?" she asked warily.
Illness extended a hand. "You don't remember?"
"OF COURSE I DON'T!" she snapped. Jumping up on her own, she lowered her
voice to a hoarse whisper. "If I remembered, would I ask?" she hissed, hitting
his upper arm-hard.
Rubbing his bruised arm, Illness shook his head. "The Princess of the
Earth is taking music lessons here."
"Where is here?" she asked impatiently, beginning to wander around.
"Crystal Music Academy," he responded, following her down the hall.
"School of some of the most respected musical prodigies in the country..."
A girl with long, midnight blue hair went bolting down the hall. Past
Illness...
Right into Greed.
"Sorry," she stated, jumping up. She smoothed her crimson-color skirt. "I
didn't mean to run into you." She smiled, obviously embarrassed.
The woman in green jumped up. Her black braid was messy, now, and her
clothing was scuffed and dusty. "You little brat!" she exclaimed, walking
towards the girl.
The teen backed up a bit. Her ice blue eyes were strong, and not the least
bit afraid. It seemed as though the backing up was just to make room for
maneuverability.
Illness grimaced. This girl seemed familiar... A strange energy came
shooting from her. He knew where this was going to lead.
"I said I was sorry, Miss," the girl repeated, sticking on hand in her
pocket. "The name's Phoebe, and I'm awful late for my musical rehearsal. That's
all."
Greed bristled. "Excuses, excuses," she scolded. "I'm late... boo-hoo...
let's pity the little brat." Prancing around, she mocked Phoebe.
"You witch!" she swore, glaring. "Take that back right now!"
Illness put on hand on his companion's shoulder before it got out of hand.
"We have a mission," he hissed, smoothing his robes. "Do you not remember that?"
"Mission, schmission!" Greed retorted, whirling around. She lowered her
eyes. "I want to give that little brat a piece of my mind!"
But, once she turned back to where Phoebe was to be, the girl had gone.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Band! Ten-hut!"
"Go..." muttered Tara, half-heartedly putting the battered clarinet in
front of her. Silently cursing Phoebe-the-do-gooder, she sighed. Marching
band...
Lyra kicked her friend in the back of the leg. "If you do it like that,"
she scolded, "you look like a total goober."
The drum major, a spunky, older teen with short blonde hair, walked over
to Tara and looked straight into the green eyes. "Is that an attention
position?" she asked cheerily, eyes smiling.
"No, miss," she responded, bringing her body into perfect position. Head
up, elbows out, chest forward, back straight, feet at a forty-five degree angle,
clarinet away from her body...
The drum major grinned. "Thanks, Tara!" Skipping back to her little
ladder-podium, she waved.
Lyra smirked. "Isn't Katie a riot?" she asked, smiling.
Sighing, Tara gritted her teeth. "I guess," she responded.
"You hate this, don't you?" The girl was completely serious.
The other turned around. The five-foot tall blonde looked funny with a
sousaphone wrapped around her. Another girl, slightly taller and with shorter
hair, looked at her fellow tuba-player. "Lyra," she whispered, "Katie and
Meredith are going to have a cow!"
Waving a careless hand at the other, the Scout of the North Star smiled.
"You hate it?" she asked quietly.
Tara just nodded at her.
The other tuba player poked Lyra. "Lyra..."
"Shush, Kristy!" retorted the younger girl, turning around. Lowering her
brown eyes, she trying to cross her arms. The motion was impended by the
sousaphone, but she got the idea across. "This is a bit more important than..."
"LYRA!" came a voice. A short girl with chin length light brown ran over.
A whistle hung around her neck.
Blushing deeply, Lyra took her position. "Hi, Meredith," she said sweetly,
staring at the ground.
The drum major sighed. "How many times are you and your friend going to
get into trouble?" the young woman scolded, putting her hands on her hips. "I
don't want to come across as a total jerk, but..."
The black haired clarinetist turned around. "I'm afraid, miss, that this
remains to be all my fault." Her face was grim and serious.
"Well, since you're new, I'll let it go," Meredith sighed, beginning to
walk off. "But please, in the future, try to keep up your positions."
From her spot, Lyra's eyes grew wide. "How do you DO that?" she hissed at
Tara.
"Do what?" asked the Shinto.
"Get her to give in..."
"GUYS!" warned Kristy in a stern voice. "You want to get in trouble or
what?"
Lyra stood at attention position. Tara stared at her music.
From the front of the band, Katie and Meredith's voices rang out in a
startling unison.
"Band...ten-hut!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Diana covered her ears.
Throughout the hallways of Crystal Palace, there was a startling sound.
The sound of a goose dying, perhaps? Or, maybe it was the sound of a
thousand air-raid sirens that were all about half a step off pitch.
No, that wasn't it either...
As Diana walked through the Palace, looking for the source of the sound,
she ran into a familiar face.
Alice Kino, the Sailor Scout of Light.
"What's that racket?" asked the girl, bending over to scoop up the cat.
Diana shrugged. "I have no idea!"
"Maybe Reeny knows?" ventured the auburn-haired teen, patting the cat.
Grimacing, the animal sighed. "Knowing Reeny, she's the source of the
problem."
The two walked towards Reeny's room. The noise got louder.
Closing her eyes, Alice slowly imagined fields of flowers, chocolate, and
other awkwardly serene things that were to help her stop thinking of the blaring
clamor.
And she ran into something.
"Oof!" Jumping up and rubbing her bruised behind, Alice tried to figure
out what she ran into.
There was really nothing or no one around...
Except for a dazed King Endymion lying on the marble floor.
"Your Majesty!" the girl exclaimed, offering a hand. "Are you alright?"
Endymion sat up and rubbed the side of his face. "I don't know which hurts
more-falling onto a marble floor, or hearing this endless sound!" He took her
hand and stood slowly. "But, the true question is, are YOU alright?"
Alice blushed and stared at the ground. King Endymion, though married, was
the most sought-after man in all of Crystal Tokyo. He was cute, kind, loving,
and gentle... The list went on, and on, and on...
"I'm fine, Majesty," she blushed shyly, looking at the ground. Realizing
that he still had her hand, she pulled it shyly away and blushed even more
deeply.
He's absolutely perfect, she thought to herself, staring at her tennis
shoes. I wonder if my father was like him... She smiled at the thought.
And, just as she smiled, the horrible fanfare stopped.
"What WAS that?" asked Alice, peering down the hall cautiously.
"I don't know," Endymion commented, shrugging.
Diana, who was sprawled out on the floor (Alice's fall had discarded her
in such a manner), pulled herself up and groaned. "Ouch," she commented,
stretching. "I'm going to be sore for a week."
"Do you know what that sound was?" asked the teen, picking the cat back
up.
"I only have one idea," Diana said sternly, looking up at the girl and
then at the King. "Reeny."
Suddenly, a head of pink hair appeared at the end of the hallway. Dressed
all in white, Reeny skipped at a brisk pace towards the two humans and her
guardian cat.
And something golden glinted, catching the sunlight which pouring through
the infinite windows.
A trumpet.
Endymion looked at Alice. Alice looked at Diana. Diana stared at the King.
And all three turned slowly to Reeny.
"Hi, guys!" the Princess yelled, quickening her pace. "Did you hear my
wonderful rendition of 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'?" she asked merrily.
All three groaned.
"I have a feeling this is going to be a long week..." commented Diana.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Sometimes, the road looks long, and sometimes... The world seems wrong,
but I know...I know..." Phoebe sang, prancing up and down the stage with
finesse. All of the other actors stared at her. She was amazing.
"I know...I know... All you need is love..." she sang.
Haley, from her seat at the piano, gazed longingly at the stage. The
wonder of stage acting never ceased to amaze her. And Phoebe was a pro.
The other main character, a young man named Thomas, gazed at Phoebe as she
sung her part. He stepped onto stage. "Why does she stay? Why does she stay? She
seems too good for me..." he sung.
Smiling, Haley watched. Thomas was a good actor, but he lacked the
overwhelming stage presence that Phoebe had.
"Haley!" yelled the director from her seat in the back row of the theater.
"What are you doing?"
Snapping to reality, the sixteen-year-old swallowed. "Watching the
musical?" she asked timidly.
The director stood and descended down the stairs and stared into Haley's
aqua eyes. "You had a piano cue a good minute ago, young lady!" she screamed
boldly.
From her spot on stage, Phoebe bristled. "Leave her alone!" she snapped,
walking a few steps forward. "It was just an accident!"
The director lowered her eyes. "You listen to me, Phoebe," she commanded.
"Your daring will get you nowhere in this case. This is between me and your
friend Haley." She crossed her arms. "If you value your role, you'll stay out of
this."
Phoebe grimaced and stepped back. Looking at Haley with sorrow in her ice
blue eyes, she smiled sadly. 'Sorry,' she mouthed, looking at her friend.
Haley shrugged and turned to the stern director. She was an older woman,
probably in her early fifties, with graying hair and darting gray eyes. "I'm
sorry, ma'am," Haley said, blushing. "I was taken in by Phoebe and Tom's
acting."
"If you let it happen again..." The director glared at her, but didn't say
a word. She started up the stairs.
Suddenly, the doors to the auditorium burst open. A woman in skintight
green leather and a man in billowing brown robes walked in.
"You can't come in here!" hollered the director.
The man waved a hand, and ropes tightened themselves around the director.
Duct tape covered her mouth.
"Now then," commanded the woman, flipping her long braid over one
shoulder. "Which one of you is the Princess of the Earth?" she asked sternly,
looking around the room.
Her green eyes came to rest on Phoebe. Phoebe was standing in front of the
cast, hate in her eyes.
"You!" the woman declared, rushing down the stairs. "You again?" She
smiled. "I can get my revenge."
"I think not!" Phoebe commented, placing a hand in her pocket.
Haley felt for the thin strip of leather that circled her neck. She nodded
at Phoebe.
"Three...two...one...bolt for it!" Phoebe and Haley, at the exact same
instant, took off and headed backstage.
While standing in the darkened area that would lead to the dressing rooms,
Phoebe and Haley heard the woman's voice.
"Damn brats!" she swore. "Now we have to find them!"
A man's voice chimed in. "Don't fret, Greed. They'll be ours soon enough."
Haley glanced at Phoebe. "Should we?"
Phoebe shrugged. "Do we have a choice?" She raised her locket high.
"Phoenix Galactic Power... Make Up!"
"Comet Galactic Power... Make Up!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Tara dropped her clarinet.
It fell to the ground with a clatter.
"Are you alright?" asked several of the other band members, flocking
around her.
Nodding meekly, Tara felt for her locket.
The locket was warm.
"Lyra!" she yelled, running across the football field to where the
sousaphones were gathered. "Lyra!"
Lyra, pulling way from the mouthpiece of the giant instrument, looked to
her friend. "Tara?" she asked, taking her instrument off and setting it on the
ground. "Are you alright?"
The Shinto was shaking. "Feel your locket," she commanded, hand clutched
to her own locket.
"Why?"
"JUST DO IT!" Her commanding voice rang through the air.
Sighing, the blonde girl stuck her hand into her shirt and groped for the
round disc.
It was warm, nearly hot.
"Oh my God!" Lyra exclaimed, dropping her music on the ground. "What does
this mean?"
"I feel danger," was all Tara could manage. "Nearby."
The two took off down the field.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Reeny froze. She was sitting on her bed, talking to Alice, and completely
froze.
Alice did the same.
"Did your locket...get...warm?" breathed the Princess.
Hardly moving, the other girl nodded.
Diana, sitting on the desk, looked blankly at them. "Huh?" she asked.
"What does it mean if our lockets get warm?" asked Alice, turning to the
cat.
Diana shrugged. "I don't know." Suddenly, Diana froze, too. "I think
Phoebe and Haley are in major danger."
Reeny and Alice looked at one another. And then, without another word,
they took off for Crystal Music Academy.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Sailor Comet and Sailor Phoenix looked blankly at one another. Sailor
Comet's outfit was orange and silver, while Phoenix's was crimson and dark
orange. They looked like different people.
"How do we fight?" asked Comet.
Phoenix shrugged. "I supposed we go give a speech and then hope the others
show up."
"Is that a good idea?"
Phoenix had already charged out into the open.
Most the cast had run away, and those who hadn't were cowering in random
corners of the set, afraid to so much as blink. The man and woman were standing
in front of the stage, arguing.
"Revenge is not what we're here for, Greed," the man said.
"Do I care? NO!" retorted the woman. "Besides, Illness, you're such a
spoil sport."
Illness mumbled something that sounded like "glory hog".
From her vintage point, Phoenix smirked. "This is too easy," she said
softly to Comet.
"Hey! Evil trash!" she yelled, crossing her arms over the crimson bow.
"What do you two think you're doing here?"
Greed and Illness whirled around to face the young woman. "Who the hell
are you?" asked Greed, smoothing some of her leather in a very seductive manner.
"I am the Sailor-Suited Hero Sailor Phoenix!"
"And I'm Sailor Comet!" the other Scout chimed in.
"On behalf of the Sun..."
"And of all Comets..."
"WE WILL PUNISH YOU!" Both girls struck random poses.
Greed made a face. "Oh, jeez, I'm shaking."
Phoenix bristled. "You should be!"
"I don't know what's scarier," Greed continued, crossing her arms over her
(large) chest, "the Sailor of the Sun having blue hair, or the Sailor of Comets
looking like an awful big wimp."
"I am not a wimp!" Comet yelled.
"You're making me mad..." Phoenix glared at the woman.
Greed chuckled a bit.
"Phoenix...Heat...Flashing!" From Phoenix's out-stretched hands came some
type of steamy and fiery substance.
"Ouch!" Greed recoiled and glared at the young Scout. "That hurt! You
little spawn!" A sword materialized in her right hand.
"Uh-oh..." Comet stepped back a bit. "I think we made her kind of mad."
"Good!" Phoenix glared at the woman. "You and your friend can leave, you
know."
The woman stuck her nose into the air and swept her braid behind her back.
"Don't you make me laugh! You two are pathetic."
The man, from behind her, held out a hand. Instantly, the stage turned
into nothing more than a swamp of mud.
"Yuck!" commented Comet, trying to pull herself out of the mire. "How did
he do that?"
"I am Illness, sorcerer of the Andromeda Galaxy." He flicked a wrist, and
the mud turned into a watery pit.
The sword that the woman held floated above the two Scouts, then dropped
into the water, and came out again. "And I am Greed, warrior of the Andromeda
Galaxy."
Comet and Phoenix looked at each other. "Andromeda Galaxy?" Comet asked
blankly.
Phoenix was too busy treading water to listen to Comet.
Greed was about to respond, but two adolescent voices echoed from the back
of the theater.
"Stop right there!" yelled the girl with a tan and green Sailor outfit.
"Or we'll get awful mad!" added a girl wearing gold and a pale orange.
Illness and Greed turned around.
"More of them?" asked Greed, green eyes growing wide.
The other two Scouts smiled.
"Sailor Earth!" the green and tan one yelled.
"And Sailor Polaris!" the gold and light orange girl added.
Suddenly, two Scouts dropped down from the catwalks above the theater.
"Sailor Moon!" said the one with a pink, red, and blue outfit.
"Sailor Aurora Borealis!" said the one in lavender and dark blue.
Greed and Illness stared at each other. "Uh..." Greed smiled blankly.
"We're outnumbered..." muttered the man in brown.
Polaris raised a hand high into the air. "Starry Sky..." She brought her
arm away from her body and downward. "SMASH!"
A giant, radiating ball of light fell towards the two strange evils.
They both disappeared in the knick of time.
The director was freed. The stage changed back. The ball vanished.
"Who were they?" asked Polaris, rushing down to the stage, where a dazed
Comet and a smirking Phoenix stood.
"I know just about as much as you two do." Comet responded.
Earth sighed. "Thank the Earth you're alright."
Phoenix smiled.
Moon and Aurora Borealis smiled at their friends. "Well, that was fun."
"Who are you?" Slowly, carefully, the director walked down the steps to
the stage.
Sailor Moon smiled and bowed slightly. "I am Sailor Moon, the Champion of
Justice."
From the back of the theater, a pink cat smiled.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"I don't believe that we almost got our butts kicked by a couple of
sniveling teenagers!" Greed exclaimed, pacing around the room with a dangerous
gleam in her eyes.
The woman in the gray dress smiled. Her hair was a purest white, and her
eyes were both nearly black. "You need to calm down, Greed," she scolded, laying
back in her chair. "His Majesty will take your restlessness as a weakness."
"Shut up!" Greed retorted, lowering her eyes.
A man in a rather nondescript black outfit shook his head. "Doubt, you'll
only upset her more."
The woman muttered something under her breath.
"What's that?" asked the man in black.
"Nothing, Death," responded Doubt in a falsetto tone.
Another man, dressed in red, stood behind Greed. "I think you are all..."
he paused dramatically. "Weak." He spat out the word, as though it was a
horrible sin to say such a thing.
"And since when have you been brave?" asked the shapely Doubt. Reclining
further into her seat, she smiled sweetly. "I'm sorry, Violence, but we all know
who is second in command."
Illness bristled. "But Greed and I are in charge of the mission!" he
retorted, looking at her with hate in his brown eyes.
"Yeah!" Greed chimed in, jumping up. "You're all glory hogs that want our
spotlight!"
The man in the black looked to the ground. "Not all of us want to steal
the spotlight," he blushed, staring at the woman.
"Sorry, Death," Greed blushed, turning to Violence and Doubt. "But YOU
TWO, on the other hand..."
Appearing out of nowhere, the man in the crimson and black sighed. "Stop
bickering."
The four standing people bowed. Doubt nodded to him. All turned silent.
"Who is the second in command?" he asked, crossing his arms and walking to
the center of the group. "Well?"
"Doubt is," condescended Greed, looking at the deep bur-bur carpet.
The woman in gray smiled, smoothing her white hair.
"And who is in charge of this mission?" The man looked to the one in the
red clothing.
Violence sighed. "Illness and Greed are," he responded, biting his lip.
"Exactly." He looked at each of the five once, silver years never
wavering. "We are the Raider Band of the Andromeda Galaxy, come to claim Earth."
He smiled. "Tell me, who is in charge of you all?"
Death looked up, dark eyes sparkling. "You are. You're the King."
The King nodded. "Correct." Pacing up and down the room, he looked to
Greed. "Now, tell me," he began, flipping his silver hair behind his shoulder.
"How do you plan to deal with the Sailor Scouts?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"And I wasn't very good at trumpet." Reeny looked into the blue teacup
with a deep sigh.
Alexandra chuckled from her seat across the room. "I heard a story that
was a bit different," she retorted, sipping her own tea.
The stern, aqua-haired woman who sat with the Princess lowered her eyes.
"Alex..." she warned.
Running a hand through her blonde hair, Alex just chuckled once more.
"Subject dropped." She set her cup on the coffee table and gave Michelle a quick
peck on the cheek. "See you later," she smiled, exiting the small blue house.
Blushing, Reeny turned back to her tea. "Uh..."
Michelle smiled knowingly. "How long have you known us, Princess?" she
asked softly, flipping some aquamarine hair behind her shoulder.
"A long time." The pink haired girl blushed deeper.
"I rest my case." Looking at a few pieces of paper, she bit her lip.
"Well, are you interested in vocal lessons?"
"I'm not aloud to sing..." Reeny commented, eyeing the cookies on the
table.
"How about flute?" Michelle crossed out the first suggestion on the sheet.
Shrugging, Reeny looked at Michelle doubtfully. "Probably not my kind of
instrument," she sighed.
Michelle crossed out another idea. "Violin?"
"No."
"Harp?"
"Nah..."
"Bass! Everybody loves the bass!"
"I don't know... Probably not..."
The list went on, and on, and on...
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Meanwhile, at Crystal Music Academy, five people sat in the theater.
Looking bored.
"Why exactly are we here?" asked a very tired and sarcastic Alice with a
sigh.
Rolling her eyes, Haley sighed. "Because we got attacked here yesterday?"
Tara, who was reading some sort of ancient history book, looked up with a
sigh. "I don't sense any evil spirits, you guys. Why don't we just all go home?"
The girl with the midnight blue hair jumped up and looked at her four
friends. "What are your problems?" she asked angrily. "We are trying to protect
the world and you're all whining about it!"
"Our moms never sat around, Phoebe. We're waiting for evil to claim us
like a flock of sitting ducks." Lyra sighed. "If Greed and Illness DO come back,
then they'll see us transform, and we'll be dead meat."
"Our mission is to be better than our mothers!" Phoebe exclaimed, pacing
nervously. "We have to be better than them! Stronger than them! More powerful,
more daring, more alive..."
"I think this comes down to you and your mother," interrupted Tara softly.
"I don't think that this has anything to do with the destruction of evil."
Looking away from the girl, Phoebe felt Tara's green eyes focus on her.
"Am I right?"
Swallowing hard, Phoebe turned back to her friends-not so much in anger,
but in frustration. "Go home..." she replied softly. "I think I'm going to go
home..." Walking out the theater doors, Phoebe began to cry.
The other Scouts sat in silence until her footfalls were no longer
audible.
"Finally!" exclaimed Haley, diving for her bag.
"I thought she'd never give up!" Alice stood, smiling.
Tara and Lyra looked at each other.
"Guys..." Lyra softly addressed her friends. "I think that Pheebs was
really upset."
Tara nodded, slowly picking up her backpack.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" asked Alice, confused.
Tara sighed. "I think we upset her..."
The four girls looked at the ground in silence.
And the echoes of "Phoebe!" were heard throughout Crystal Music Academy as
four girls tore down the hall after their friend.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Michelle ran a hand through her hair and looked at the list. Thirty ideas
for instruments, and Reeny had shot each and every one down as though they were
spy planes.
"Well, Reeny, what are you good at?" Michelle went over to the stove and
poured herself a fifth cup of tea.
The Princess looked at the now empty plate of cookies and thought-hard.
"I'm a good leader..."
Michelle nodded.
"And I give directions well..."
Sitting back down, Michelle sighed deeply. "And?"
Reeny smiled. "I can boss people around, get things done, and be a very
commanding force."
"Perfect..." Michelle smiled broadly. "You're absolutely perfect..."
Red eyes grew wide. "Huh?"
"Reeny," the woman asked, "would you like to be a drum major?"
"A WHAT?" Reeny's eyes bugged out, and her pink hair nearly stood on end.
"A drum major," Michelle repeated, sipping her tea. "Someone who controls
the marching band."
Reeny considered this silently for a moment.
A wide smile spread across her face.
"Totally Galactic!" was her response.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The theater was empty.
"Just perfect," came a sarcastic female voice. "Whose bright idea was
this, anyway?"
Another voice, this one male, snorted before answering. "It was yours."
"Oh." Greed shook her head slowly. "This just won't do."
Illness, taking the hood down off his head, sighed in exasperation. "And
WHY NOT?" he asked, running a thin hand through his messy brown hair.
She jumped up onto the stage with grace. "Because those Sailor Girls are
supposed to be here!" Greed kicked the back wall of the set with a green boot.
"This isn't fair!" She kicked it harder.
The man in brown looked up from a sheet of paper. He smiled. "I think we
could have a much bigger turn-out if we wait a few days."
Whirling around in a fluid motion, Greed raised an eyebrow. "And why is
that?" Sarcasm hung in the air.
Illness grinned. "Opening night is just two days away."
"Don't you even THINK of cackling!" she warned.
He cackled menacingly.
Groaning, Greed threw a few props at him.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"I conduct this orchestra out of love and dedication."
Alice stared at Michelle. The seemingly young woman with the long,
aquamarine hair, stood in front of thirty teens. In a timeless fashion, she
looked each and every one of her students in the eyes.
"And you will play in that same manner." She picked up a violin. "Irina!
What is this?"
The concertmistress started. She had been paying attention, but she hadn't
the faintest idea what her teacher was talking about. "A violin?" she asked
softly, shrugging.
A voice from the back of the room spoke. "Your lifeblood." It chuckled a
bit. "Your instrument is your lifeblood."
It was then that Alice first noticed the woman at the piano.
"Exactly." The teal haired woman grinned. "Students, it is my pleasure to
introduce my assistant and friend, Alexandra Tenou."
Blonde and tall, Alexandra rose. Though she had been at the Meeting of
Mistresses, Alice now realized that she had never really known who the woman
was. She was thin, strong-looking, and seemed to have an air of considerate
cockiness about her.
"Music." Her voice was deep and strong. "Music can teach you about dozens
of emotions... Many of which are impossible to say in words alone." Staring at
Michelle, she smiled broadly. "Like love, for one."
Michelle blushed deeply and looked the floor. Alexandra blushed too, but
more subtly. "Love..." The teacher said it half-heartedly, as though her mind
had wandered elsewhere.
Chuckling, Alice raised a hand. "Miss Kaiou," she asked, acting
nonchalant, "do we get to play in the musical with all the other musicians?"
Biting her lip, Michelle glanced thoughtfully at Alex. "What do you
think?" she asked, directing the question to the pianist.
Alex shrugged. "If they want to." It was a definite statement.
"If you want to." Opening her score, she took out a tiny baton. "Now, open
your folder and take out 'Moonlight Legend'. We will begin at measure six, with
a solo from Irina..."
Alice wasn't listening. She was grinning.
I'm going to join the musical, she thought to herself.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Phoebe sat on the edge of the stage, her feet dangling. In one hand, she
held a script. In the other, her locket.
"Just great," she muttered sarcastically. "I get my first lead role in a
musical, and some sort of evil union from some virtually unknown galaxy is after
me." Looking at the locket and then the script, the blue haired teen sighed.
"But which do I chose?" Standing, she stood on the set. She kicked at a
discarded prop. "Is my future as an actress more important than my future as a
Scout?"
A voice picked up from behind her. "Or should it matter, Phoebe?"
Leaning on her cello, more out of habit than for support, Alice Kino
shrugged half-heartedly. "Maybe they're equally important. Maybe Sailor Phoenix
is as important as Phoebe."
"What do you mean by that, Alice?" She played with her braid.
Alice set her cello on the floor and then sat down by her friend. "Well,
Phoebe, I think you're trying to make a decision that can't be made." She
smiled. "Sailor Phoenix and Phoebe are the exact same person. Simple as pie. You
can't try to go against your human nature. You're Phoebe. You can't try to go
against your Scout nature. You're Phoenix."
Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me to give up?"
Another familiar voice spoke up. "She's telling you to accept it."
Haley walked down the aisle towards the stage with a smile on her face.
"After all, none of this is your fault, Phoebe."
Phoebe smiled a bit. "Thanks guys." Looking around, her expression turned
puzzled. "Where are the others?"
"I think they are at band." Alice smiled helpfully. "Even Reeny, I think."
Haley grimaced. "She is."
"Why so grim?" Phoebe asked, scratching her head.
The pianist sighed and looked at Phoebe and Alice. "It seems our dear
Princess is now a drum major..."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Band! Halt!" Reeny, pink pigtails flying, ran up to a crooked line and
started fixing it.
Lyra and Tara looked at one another with wide eyes.
"She's good," noted the tuba player.
Tara smiled weakly. "At least she enjoys it," she responded.
"Don't you start!" Lyra stomped a foot. "Tara, this is GOOD for you.
You're getting away from the temple and having some fun doing it, too."
"Fun?" The Shinto swept hair behind her shoulders. "Lyra, you have a sick
sense of fun."
The blonde stuck out her tongue.
"Lyra! Tara!" came a high voice.
Tara grimaced and snapped to attention. Lyra struggled to get her
sousaphone back around her body.
"What do you two think you're doing?" Reeny, in her sweatshirt and jeans,
stalked over. She looked like a different person without her white gown on.
"This is a MARCHING band. NOT a 'let's chit-chat' band!"
"Sorry, Princess." Tara bowed her head.
Reeny's face grew red. "Don't call me Princess!" she ordered sternly.
Tara smirked. Lyra winked at her friend.
Nodding with smile, Reeny walked back to the front of the band. "As I was
saying..."
"Reeny! Tara! Lyra!" came a loud voice. "Guys!"
Alice, Haley, and Phoebe came running towards the band, panting.
Reeny tried to keep the worry off her face as she looked at the trio.
"What's wrong, guys?" she asked, voice wavering a bit with worry.
"Diana...called and..." Wheezing, Alice tried to talk. "One...sec..."
Haley, who was barely winded, sighed. "Diana called, and they need us as
soon as possible."
"Crap." Lyra dismounted her instrument and trotted over.
"Uh-oh..." Tara dropped her clarinet on the ground and joined the others.
Smoothing her pink hair, Reeny sighed. "Am I supposed to just ditch the
band?"
"Are we supposed to just ignore our destinies?" Tara's voice was gruff and
firm. "We may have joined this musical mayhem, but that doesn't stop us from
fulfilling our duties."
"Tara's right!" Phoebe agreed, smiling at the youngest Scout. "We have to
do this! Come on, Reeny!" She took off running.
Reeny sighed and turned to the band. "Band, we're going to cancel early
today. See you all tomorrow." She ran to catch up with the others.
The cheer that went up amongst the band when Reeny said those words was
audible ten miles away.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Diana sat in the kitchen. She was drinking a saucer of milk, and enjoying
the quiet. With Reeny off at band, the Crystal Palace was peacefully empty.
For that reason, Diana choked on her milk when six girls burst into the
kitchen together.
"What are..." Coughing, the cat held out a paw.
"What...are...you...doing...here?" she gasped, trying to breathe with milk
halfway down her windpipe.
"You called a meeting." Haley, hardly breathing heavier than normal while
the other Scouts were nearly doubled over, looked at the cat with her vividly
aqua eyes.
Diana shrugged. "Girls, that was well over an HOUR ago."
Reeny looked daggers at her guardian. "We were at Crystal Music Academy,
stupid. That's nearly five miles away!" She exclaimed, pouring herself a glass
of water with one hand and clutching her side with the other.
Enlightenment dawning on her, Phoebe rubbed her temples. "We can Sailor
Teleport, guys..."
Raising a blonde eyebrow, Lyra looked at Phoebe. "We can Sailor WHAT?" she
asked.
"Teleport," supplied Diana, licking a patch of her pink fur. "You guys
didn't have to run all the way here, you know."
Tara coughed and leaned against the kitchen counter. Closing her eyes, she
sighed. "Why did you call this meeting?" she asked, changing the subject.
Diana blushed. "Dang... I don't remember."
Six pairs of eyes stared at a pink cat.
"What?" she asked innocently. "It's not like you guys went all that out of
your way..."
"Yes we did, Diana." Reeny smiled sweetly. "I abandoned my band."
Lyra chewed her lip. "I left my sousaphone sitting on the cold ground."
"I skipped orchestra," commented Alice.
Phoebe ground her teeth. "I skipped musical practice."
"And I missed the musical practice too," finished Haley.
Everyone looked expectantly at Tara, who was standing, half asleep, on the
outside of the group.
"I don't really care," she commented warily. "It's the lesser of two
evils."
With that, Lyra stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
That woke Tara up.
"What's her problem?" asked Reeny, cocking her head at Tara. "Did I miss
something?"
Alice laughed a bit. "You miss nearly everything, Reen, but I have an odd
feeling that this is not including us."
Diana jumped off the table and stretched. "Okay. Tara, you go find Lyra
and make up. Phoebe, Alice, Reeny, and Haley..." She turned to the older four
girls. "You come with me to the Queen's parlor-we'll figure something out."
The other four filed out, leaving Tara and the guardian cat.
"Good luck, Sailor Earth," said the cat with a smile.
"I'll need it," the girl responded, walking out.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"I don't see why we're doing this your way," spat Greed, floating about
ten feet above the stage.
Illness, who was rigging the backdrop of the play to come crashing down
during the main song, looked up at his companion. "You don't have any ideas that
don't involve hunting down the Sailor Scouts and cutting them into little
pieces." He growled a bit.
Greed turned onto her stomach in midair. "And what's the matter with my
idea, Illness? Yours is totally boring!"
"Because, if that blue-haired actress is the Princess, and you obviously
think that..."
"I never said that, Illness! You assumed that!" interrupted the woman,
sticking her tongue out.
Illness grimaced. "As I was trying to say, Greed, if she IS the Princess,
we can take her out and make it look like an accident."
Greed yawned and turned onto her back. "I don't see why we don't just take
out Neo-Queen Serenity and deal with it all that way."
"Neo-Queen Serenity could beat you up by sticking out a hand." Illness
tightened a rope. "Besides, it's not like the Princess is capable of beating us
up."
"And what are we supposed to do when the Sailor Scouts show up?" she
asked, brushing a bit of dust off her green leather. "Just smile and go away?"
He shrugged. "We can always fight. We almost won last time."
"You have a sick sense of victory, Illness," commented Greed with a sigh.
"We were almost smashed by Sailor Polaris' stupid attack."
"And you got burnt by Sailor Phoenix." Illness choked back a chuckle and
smiled broadly.
"NOT FUNNY!" yelled Greed, pouting. Changing the subject, she stared at
Illness' handiwork. "So, when's opening night?"
"Tomorrow." Illness smiled. "Victory is ours."
"Definitely," Greed chimed in.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Lyra was crying. Sitting alone in the rose garden where she had sat so few
weeks ago, she cried for everything and everyone. It wasn't fair that her
friend-quite possibly her best friend-hated marching band. It was healthy for
her. It was good fun. It helped people to learn...
"Why are you crying?" came a familiar voice.
Lyra looked at Tara with a sob. "Because you hate everything that is dear
to me."
The dark haired girl sat next to her friend. "It isn't easy for me."
"What isn't?" asked an upset Lyra.
"Life. Being a Sailor, being pulled from home-schooling, being at
Crossroads, being in band, having friends..." She sighed deeply. "I've never
really been around people before..."
"SO?" Lyra's voice was slightly angry. "That doesn't give you a right! It
doesn't! It doesn't!" Her sobs grew.
"I don't get it." Tara walked up to a fountain shaped like the Queen and
shrugged, staring deep into the water. "You've never been unhappy for thirty
seconds, until now." Tara bit a lip to keep from crying herself. "I, on the
other hand, have never been much happier. Granted, that isn't saying much..."
That drew her over the edge. One by one, tears dropped into the crystalline
water of the fountain. "We've all got destinies to follow, and I don't think it
is very helpful for us to be upset over something like this..."
Lyra smiled and ran a hand through her messy and tangled blonde hair.
"Tara, are you trying to apologize to me?"
Tara blushed through her tears. "I'm trying to tell you that you are, by
far, the closest friend I have ever had in my life..."
The blonde smiled. "I can live with that." She got up and wrapped her arms
around Tara. "You're my best friend, too."
Tara hugged her back. "I'm so glad."
"Now," Lyra smiled, making her way to the door, "aren't we missing a Scout
meeting?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"And that's that." Diana smiled. "Thank goodness we got this straightened
out."
"The Raiders of the Andromeda Galaxy? Well, what would they be doing in
the Milky Way?" Phoebe chewed on the eraser of her pencil.
Lyra stared at a star chart. "Hmm...Well, we are one of the few inhabited
galaxies, so, for universal conquest..."
"We're a great place to start," finished Alice with a sigh. "Yippee! Now,
we're stuck fighting some psychos with funny names."
Rolling her eyes, Tara flipped through the book she was reading. "I
believe their names have something to do with their personalities."
Alice stuck out her tongue. "Please, Tara, what kind of half-wit idea is
that?"
"A pretty true one, Al," commented Haley, laying back in her chair. "After
all, Greed is a cocky little brat with no mind for others..."
"And Illness seems awful weak," continued Phoebe.
Diana nodded. "Reeny, what do you think?"
No response.
"Reeny?"
The Princess was curled up on a couch in the parlor, sucking her thumb.
She was completely asleep.
"REENY!" screamed the cat, jumped onto the sleeping Princess' stomach.
"Get up, you lazy girl!"
She instead rolled over. "Just five more minutes, Mom," she mumbled.
The Scouts giggled.
"NOW!" Diana dug her claws into the soft flesh of the Princess' upper arm.
Sitting bolt upright, the Princess knocked Diana off her lap and into the
wall. "Am I late?" she asked nervously.
Groaning, her guardian stood on shaky legs. "Thanks, Reeny..."
"OH MY GOSH!" Reeny exclaimed, jumping up and cradling her little cat.
"Are you alright, Di?"
The cat nodded carefully. "I think so."
Phoebe, glancing at her watch, stood. "I should go. Opening night's
tomorrow."
Diana bristled. "I want you all there. And I want to go."
"How cute!" commented Reeny with a grin. "You like the arts!"
"No, Reeny. You missed the boat on that one." Diana jumped onto the table
which the Scouts were sitting around. "I think that you guys should be there in
case of danger."
"There's not going to be danger!" complained Reeny.
Phoebe didn't look too convinced. "I got attacked during rehearsal the
other day."
Haley nodded. "I think they're looking for the Princess."
"ME?" Reeny's red eyes grew wide. "Why would they?"
"You're expendable. You're young." Tara was completely serious. "And they
have no clue that you're Sailor Moon."
"Oh crap. I never thought of that." Diana paled. "Reeny, you will go as
a...a stage manager." She turned to Phoebe. "Can you pull that off?"
The Scout of the Sun nodded and put out a hand. "In the name of
Phoenix..." she smiled.
Tara smiled and put out a hand. "And in the name of the Earth..."
"And in the name of Comet..." Haley added her hand.
"In the name of Aurora Borealis," chimed in Alice.
"In the name of Polaris." Lyra threw in her hand.
Reeny was the last to respond. She smiled. "In the name of the Moon..."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Tara was the first one to notice that the backdrop of the stage was
wobbling dangerously.
It was opening night of the musical. Phoebe and her co-star, Thomas, were
standing opposite the stage from one another, delivering the set up for the main
theme. She looked more like an angel than a teenage girl.
Everything was going perfectly. Both Haley and Alice were doing great in
the orchestra pit, and Reeny wasn't a half-bad stage manager. To make matters
better, Lyra, Tara, and their families were sitting with the families of the
rest of the Scouts. Even the King and Queen were in attendance.
But then, Tara saw the backdrop wobble.
And Lyra noticed the gleam of green eyes coming from near the ceiling.
"Lyra..." Tara hissed. "The backdrop..."
"I think I see Greed..." she whispered back.
Without words, both girls stood.
The backdrop began to fall.
Straight towards an oblivious Phoebe...
"But look at me and smile now..." she sang, unaware of what was happening.
"PHOEBE!" screamed Tara and Lyra in unison, jumping onto the stage without
a second thought.
And that's when the backdrop came crashing down.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"SHIT!" Haley jumped off the piano bench and ran onto the stage.
There was no sign of Lyra, Tara, or Phoebe.
Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion stood. "OUT!" Endymion screamed at
the top of his lungs. His deep voice radiated throughout the theater. "EVERYONE
OUT!"
The audience obeyed.
On an impulse, Alice jumped up and ran backstage. Haley followed.
And then, Alice dropped to her knees, sobbing.
Not in sorrow, but in joy.
Phoebe, Tara, and Lyra were all safely on the floor, dazed but unhurt.
And Reeny was standing over them.
"Reeny?" asked Haley, eyes wide. "Did you..."
The Princess shrugged. "They needed saving, and you two would have been
more helpful if you were glued to your seats." She smiled. "They don't call me
Sailor Moon for nothing, you know."
Haley smiled.
The trio on the floor all stood. "What happened?" asked Phoebe.
"Greed is here, and Illness too, most likely." Lyra rubbed her cheek,
which had been cut in the accident. "And they cut the backdrop..."
"Reeny saved us," Tara responded, standing on her shaky legs.
Phoebe swallowed. "Time for some action."
"You're telling me!" Reeny pulled out her locket.
The others did, too.
"Moon Galactic Power! Make-Up!"
"Earth Galactic Power! Make-Up!"
"Polaris Galactic Power! Make-Up!"
"Phoenix Galactic Power! Make-Up!"
"Aurora Borealis Galactic Power! Make-Up!"
"Comet Galactic Power! Make-Up!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Greed did a victory dance on the stage. "We got her!" she yelled,
grinning.
"WE?" asked Illness, crossing his arms. "Whose idea was this?"
"Mine!" Greed continued dancing.
Illness shook his head slowly.
And that was when a voice rang through the room.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!"
Greed did just that. "Oh...no..." she groaned.
A young girl with pink meatball-style hair stood on the piano. She, of
course, was wearing a Sailor fuku.
"I am Sailor Moon! I fight for love and justice and the occasional nap! On
behalf of the Moon, I'll will punish you!"
Five other Scouts dropped from the ceiling.
"AND SO WILL WE!" they chorused.
Greed hit herself in her head. Illness sighed.
"Girls, it's such a pity," he said solemnly, shrugging slightly. "Now we
have to destroy you all."
Suddenly, Greed smiled. "I had forgotten about that part!" A green and
sharp-looking sword appeared in her hand. "I suppose, then, that I'll just have
to kill you six Failures."
It was Alice, with her impulsiveness and good intentions, who first
attacked the two strange and evil beings.
"Aurora Borealis..." She threw her arms straight into the air. "SHINING!"
A bright and blinding light erupted from the air, shattering the near-
peace and knocking both the aliens against the back wall of the theater.
"Uh..." Illness was the first to stand and, shaking, he looked at the
Sailor Scouts. "You...you little brats!"
Diana, appearing from behind the broken backdrop, screamed to the Scouts.
"WATCH OUT!"
Of course, it was too late for most of the Sailors. Illness had woven a
rope from...well, something...and had tied up all the Sailors except for Sailor
Moon.
She backed into a corner and began to shake a bit. "Uh...Mister
Illness..." she pleaded, looking up with teary red eyes. "How about we...uh...we
talk about not hurting me?"
The pink cat swallowed hard. "Be strong, Sailor Moon!" she screamed.
And then, a miracle occurred.
Diana did a large backflip and an long rod appeared in midair.
All six Scouts gasped and stared at the object.
Diana smiled. "Finally, I did it..." she said with a grin.
And then, the rod disintegrated.
Moon's eyes grew wider. Not only that, but both Illness and Greed were
getting nearer to where she lay.
"Diana..." Her hiss came through tightly clenched teeth. "You better have
something better than a disintegrating STICK up your sleeve."
Just then, Sailor Comet had an idea. "Hey, Sailor Phoenix," she said,
nudging her blue-haired friend in the ribs, "do you think you could burn up this
thing?" She nodded at the rope.
Phoenix shrugged and pointed one of her hands towards the binding. "Worth
a try... Phoenix Heat Flashing!"
The steaming substance simply warmed up the rope to an unbearable
temperature.
"Smooth move!" hollered Polaris, twisting and turning, trying to get away
from the extremely warm cable.
"Watch it!" Sailor Aurora Borealis squealed as Polaris stomped on her
toes. "Oww!"
Meanwhile, Diana was still trying to produce a weapon for the young Sailor
Moon without much luck. The fruits of her labor were a stick, a lump of coal,
and a rather rusted Moon Scepter.
Sailor Moon stood up and faced Greed and Illness. Smoothing her fuku, she
looked at them with her red eyes.
"You two are Moon Dust!" she yelped.
Greed huffed loudly. "Yeah, right," she commented, looking smug.
Illness waved a hand, and Sailor Moon found herself in the same bind-
literally-as the other Scouts.
Struggling, she glared at them. "This isn't over!" she exclaimed.
Buffing her black nails on her clothing, Greed smirked. "I'm afraid that
it is, Moon Brat." She smiled sweetly and turned her back to the Scouts. "Soon
enough, you six will find yourselves in a world ruled by our king."
The brown-robed man cackled, warranting a stern look from his companion.
"That's right," he said, halting his laugh. "The Raiders of the Andromeda Galaxy
have come! And will stay forever!" He raised his hands high. "FOREVER!"
Suddenly, and without any warning, a purple rose flew through the air and
broke the line that bound five of the six Sailor Scouts.
And a young voice filled the air. "Small Star Shatter!" it exclaimed.
The ceiling rained little shards of twinkling light. It was almost glass.
Two dark figures stood on the piano, where Sailor Moon had first stood.
One was very tall and masculine, and the other was short and slightly chubby.
"What the heck?" Lyra's jaw dropped.
Tara gasped. "I do believe that our destinies cross with that of
others..."
The figures dropped down from the piano top.
"I am the Starlit Prince," the tall one said. It was a young man, probably
in his late teens, with a black tuxedo on. He wore a purple cape and-of course-
the classic ballroom mask.
The other figure stepped forth. "And I am that cute little girl called
Sailor Chibi-Star!" A girl, about six years old, stood next to the Starlit
Prince. She wore a purple and yellow Sailor fuku, and had extremely blonde hair.
The hair was held back with an enormous purple bow.
Greed stared at the two. So did Illness. "I swore that we were only
briefed about six Scouts..." the woman breathed, blushing.
"I was, too." Illness looked at the young man with a thoughtful glance.
"And I've never...EVER...heard of a Starlit Prince."
By this time, the Scouts had recovered and had managed to free Sailor
Moon. They stood together, staring at their saviors.
"The Starlit Prince..." breathed Moon and Aurora in a starling unison.
Sailor Polaris, on the other hand, was looking at Sailor Chibi-Star. She
chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Where have I seen that kid before?"
Just then, Chibi-Star and the Starlit Prince jumped high into the air and
away from the two Raiders.
That meant only one thing...
"GET THEM!" screamed the Starlit Prince, landing with his small companion
on the stage.
Sailors Earth and Comet looked at one another and smiles spread across the
two faces.
"Earthly Thunderstorm...STRIKE!" Thunder, lightening, and pouring rain
came down around Greed.
"Comet Crater... CLOSE!" The floor opened up and threatened to quite
literally swallow Illness.
The two looked at each other.
"You haven't won yet, brats," commented Illness, blinking out of
existence.
Greed waved and smiled sweetly, flashing fangs. "See you later, kiddies!"
She was gone, too.
The six Scouts took inventory.
"Is everyone alright?" asked Phoenix, looking at her friends.
The Starlit Prince, smoothing his cape, was stern. "Your abilities cannot
be put to good use if you get caught in traps, Scouts." He turned his back and
began to walk away from them.
"YEAH!" chimed in Chibi-Star. "You guys should be more careful. Like my
bigger sister would be." She began to follow the Prince.
"Wait!" exclaimed Moon, launching herself in front of the duo. "Who are
you? Where do you come from? Why are you helping us?" Her face was pale and
featureless as she looked at them.
The Prince stared back at her with startling blue eyes. "Sailor Moon," he
spoke sternly, "I cannot tell you that."
Chibi-Star just smiled. "Some other time. Bye-bye!"
They both jumped up into the air and were gone.
"Wow," said Sailor Comet, staring at them. "They sure are really brave,
facing Greed and Illness like they did."
Sailor Aurora Borealis just sighed. "Is that Starlit Prince cute or what?"
she asked, grinning wistfully.
"Or what!" agreed Moon, staring into space.
Rolling her eyes, Sailor Earth shook her head slowly. "My mother warned me
about those two..." she muttered softly.
And then, an almost-white light flared up, nearly blinding the six Scouts.
"I DID IT!" cried Diana from somewhere in the light. "I finally DID it!"
The light died down, and a pink, blue and red rod with hearts and moons on
it fell to the ground next to all the clutter than Diana had managed to make
during her backflipping.
"What's that?" asked Sailor Phoenix, crouching to look at it.
The pink cat beamed with pride. "It's the Galactic Rod. Only the Guardian
of the Neo-Sailor Moon can awaken it and bring it to action."
"Neo-Sailor Moon?" Sailor Earth tugged on a strand of ebony hair. "Do you
mean to say that..."
"The Queen could never have used this Rod," finished the Moon cat with a
smile. "The Galactic Sailors are not lead by Sailor Moon, but by Neo-Sailor
Moon." She looked at the pink haired Scout. "Princess Reeny."
Right then, the doors to the theater opened, and people began to rush in.
"Uh-oh," mumbled Comet with a sigh. "We'd better get out of here before
they start with the photos."
"You're telling me!" exclaimed Diana, running off with the rest of them.
Sailor Moon was the last one to go. Picking up the Galactic Rod, she
smiled a bit and looked out at the crowd. All the people were staring straight
at her, wide-eyed.
"I AM SAILOR MOON!"
And with that, she left.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Sailor Chibi-Star and the Starlit Prince stood on the roof of the school,
watching the Sailor Scouts run off the campus.
"And somewhere, here in Tokyo, they will untransform and become normal
kids again." The Prince shrugged and looked at his young companion. "And
someday, we'll find out who they really are."
The green eyes of the girl looked up at him thoughtfully. "Will I ever
find out who you really are?" she asked hopefully.
He shrugged a bit. "Only time will tell, little one." He jumped to the
nearest rooftop and waved to her. "Until then..."
"Till then..." repeated Chibi-Star, sighing. "Till then, I have to try to
find out who all those Sailors are all by myself. If only my sister could
help..." She smiled to herself. "If only ANY of my sisters could help!"
And with that, Sailor Chibi-Star started towards home.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Where's Phoebe?" asked Alice, working on her sewing project.
Tara, as always, stared into the flickering flames. Her fire reading
skills had improved a bit, and the Scouts were due to attempt another fire
reading.
Lyra, munching on some French fries, shrugged a bit. "I don't know. Didn't
she say that her parents were going to decide about the Academy today?"
Haley's face lit up and her teal eyes danced. "That's right!" she
exclaimed with a large grin. "I totally forgot about that! I wonder what they'll
say..." She trailed off thoughtfully.
Reeny, who was cradling the Galactic Rod and had been since its
appearance, smiled at her friends. "I think she'd be happy even if she didn't
make it."
"I agree, Princess," Tara chimed in quietly.
"DON'T YOU GO CALLING ME PRINCESS!" she exclaimed, raising the Rod over
her head and aiming it for Tara.
Diana sighed. "That's not how you are to use the Galactic Rod, Reeny!" she
scolded.
Then, the door to the room slowly opened, and a very sedate Phoebe walked
in.
Her hair was a mess, her ice blue eyes were sad, and her school uniform
was disheveled.
"Hi, guys," she breathed, looking at her friends.
Haley stood up slowly and smiled sadly. "Oh, Phoebe, I'm so sorry..."
"For what?" Phoebe's frown turned to a grin instantly. Her eyes sparked
alive. "My parents said yes!"
Six cheers went up in unison.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Doubt laughed. Loudly. Greed forced herself to cover her ears.
"But it's not like that!" she protested, pouting. Her green leather was
scuffed, and her black braid was loose and unkempt.
The woman in the gray dress smiled wickedly. "Oh, please. Spare me, kid.
You are so pathetic, it scares me."
"It's not our fault!" protested Illness, nursing a painful ankle. "There
was this other Scout..." Giving up, he leaned back in his chair with a deep
sigh.
Death, putting a protective arm around Greed, glared at Doubt. "Cut it
out, okay? She didn't do anything wrong."
Sneering, the older woman crossed her arms. Her dress instantly changed to
a silver tint. "You'd do anything to protect your little girlfriend."
Suddenly, the Raider King appeared. He looked at the five minions with a
shake of his head.
"I don't care that there was another Scout," he said to Illness, looking
at him with silver eyes. "And I really don't care about that Prince character."
He smiled smugly at Greed. "I did not expect you to win that battle."
Both Illness and Greed looked relieved.
"Sailor Moon has the Galactic Rod."
Violence's red eyes grew wide. "You've got to be kidding, Majesty."
"Do I kid, Violence?" He turned his back to his five underlings and
shrugged. "I want that Rod." He began to walk away, but his last words echoed
through the chamber.
"Or else."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The Galactic Sailors Say!
Tara: Sometimes, people fight with their moms and dads.
(A photo of Phoebe and Amy screaming at one another is flashes onscreen.)
Tara: (with a very wicked grin) But, not all people are even lucky enough to
have both a mom and a dad.
(An unflattering photo of Alice with devil horns flashes onscreen.)
Alice's Voice: (off-screen) Aurora Borealis...SHINING!
(Tara disappears in a flash of light and Chibi-Star appears in her place.)
Chibi-Star: We all have role models.
Starlit Prince: (appearing) Chibi-Star... We have a mission...
Chibi-Star: Aw...shucks...
(Both leave and Phoebe appears)
Phoebe: (smiling) Seriously, though, music is an important part of everyone's
lives. It remains a life-long experience for each and every person on the
planet.
Diana: (appearing) So please, spay and neuter your pets.
Phoebe: WAIT! What script do you have, Diana?
Diana: (blushing) Sorry, I dug this out of DiC's "Sailor Says" file. Sorry.
Phoebe: (loudly) Tara! What script do YOU have?
Tara: (off-screen) It's the one about parents... AH! Alice, watch it!
Phoebe: (sighing) Music is important.
Haley and Michelle: (appearing) (in unison) She's right. Play music.
Reeny: (running across screen) HELP! THE CRYSTAL IS AFTER ME!
Diana: (sighing) (sadly) That kid...
Phoebe: Roll credits...
-All You Need Is Love By Kate Butler-
Look around...
(Tara, sitting next to Queen Serenity, stares up at the night sky)
So many things aren't clear...
(Phoebe looks blankly at a math book)
Don't worry, though...
(Lyra smiles while picking up her tuba)
You know that I'll be there...
(Sailor Pluto and Haley smile knowingly at each other)
A lot of things are so uncertain...
(Alice looks sadly at a clock while the sun sets over Crystal Tokyo)
The future's on its way...
(Reeny holds the Locket of the Moon, smiling)
Look at my crying eyes...
(Luna and Artemis console an upset Diana)
Don't take your love away!
(Hannah sighs, looking at a sleeping Haley)
Sometimes, the road looks long...
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)
But I know, I know, all you know need is love.
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)
Sometimes, you feel weak...
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)
But I know, I know, all you need is love.
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)
Times will change...
(Amy looks out of a window and at Crystal Palace)
People will change, too...
(Endymion looks at Serenity, who is pouring over a book)
But deep inside...
(Lyra hugs her sister [Celeste])
I always will love you...
(Diana falls asleep on Reeny's lap)
I suppose there are questions now...
(Alice and Phoebe stare blankly at one another)
The answers are so far...
(Michelle stands in front of the orchestra, talking)
But look at me and smile now...
(Tara lovingly hugs her father)
I am your guiding star!
(Haley smiles at a studying Hannah)
Sometimes, the road looks long...
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)
But I know, I know, all you know need is love.
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)
Sometimes, you feel weak...
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)
But I know, I know, all you need is love.
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)
I know...
(The Planet Mistresses stand in a circle)
I know...
(The Galactic Sailors stand in a circle)
All you need is love...
(The Mistresses and Sailors all stand together, holding hands, with their eyes
closed)
All you need...is...love...
(A single purple rose sits in a vase)
The End!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Okay, I have a contest! Anyone who wants to create music (like, a tune) for this
song (All You Need is Love) will get a chance to be in a fan fiction by ME! YAY!
If you want to do it for fun, even better! The winner gets to be in a fic!
Kate
Welcome to our second ever, world-famous fanfiction fiasco about the Galactic
Sailors. If you, dearest reader, have ever read "Destiny Waits For No Sailor"
or, even, "Mommy Who is Sailor Earth", you are doing pretty good. Other then
that, you have about a snowball's chance in HELL of understanding this plot but
we love you anyway. Again, this is co-written by myself and the ever wonderful
Christina, who, by the way, is desperately looking for a homecoming date. Guys?
Any takers? Just kidding... (Christina tries to strangle annoying girl at
keyboard) Okay, so, I'll put a little update of what's going on at the beginning
of this story, but, for the most part, you're on your own.
This wonders what may happen if all the Galactic Sailors got into music.
Your Vixens of Fanfictions,
Kate and Christina
Duncan@chicago.avenew.com and LadyBug142@aol.com
P.S.-Katie and Meredith (the drum majors) are real people. I swear it. They go
to our school and everything. We don't own them. Their moms and dads own them.
And our band director probably does, too.
P.P.S.-Lyra and Kristy Klein are NOT the same people. They have some
similarities, but they aren't the same. Unless, of course, Kristy is a Sailor
Scout...
* * * * * * * * * * * *
THE STORY SO FAR:
Six girls, all daughters of the original Sailor Senshi, have been hailed
the six Galactic Sailors.
But evil forces are at work. Several evil beings have appeared, set on
taking over the world. Little is known about the evils, accept for the fact that
they consist of at least a King, a brown robed man, and a green clothed woman.
Led by Princess Reeny, who is the new Sailor of the Moon, the Galactic
Sailors will try to defeat the evil by using their new powers. And that, my
friends, is where the story begins.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Dressed in dark crimson and black, the man laughed evilly.
"I pity those poor little Sailor Girls," he said in a strong voice to the
five minions that stood before him. "For, they do not quite understand what
horrors stand before them.
A young, shapely woman, dressed in a gray shimmering dress that seemed to be of
all fabrics and none, frowned a bit. "My King," she said, stepping out from the
line, "I do not try to undermine your authority, but I am curious to why you
have not set down a definite plan for domination."
Glaring at the woman, the King shook his head. "Ah, Doubt, you grow too
headstrong for your own good." He smiled at her a bit. "Someday, you will
learn."
Standing, he walked toward the giant window of the ship. It looked down upon
Earth, a planet with swirling clouds and colors of blue and green and brown that
no one could reproduce in even the greatest painting.
"We will rule this pitiful little place called Earth... And once we do,
the human race will be no more!" His smile was large as he began to laugh, his
deep voice radiating through the room with a surreal quality.
"No more!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the marble hallways of
Crystal Palace.
"Uh-oh," came a teenage voice.
A pink haired cat heard the noise and sighed. When would that silly
Princess learn? Diana ran towards Reeny's bedroom quickly.
The room was large and mostly marble, with pink and red furniture. Large,
incredible picture windows provided panoramic views of Crystal Tokyo below.
Mirrors lined the two walk-in closets, and a small, round mirror hung above the
desk.
Or, more appropriately, what was left of a round mirror hung above the
desk.
"What did you do this time?" asked the cat, jumping onto the desk chair
and surveying the broken glass which was scattered over a few sheets of paper.
"Reeny, if you were playing ball in the castle again..."
"I was not!" protested the teen, coming out from her bathroom. She carried
an empty pail and a miniature broom. "I was practicing for this tryout that
Phoebe says I should do!"
"A tryout?" asked Diana, trying to read the paper through shards of glass.
"What kind of tryout?"
"An audition for the yearly musical at the Crystal Music Academy. Written
by one of the Three Lights, it's called...uh..." She picked up one of the sheets
of paper, knocking some glass onto the cat. "Sorry, Di. But it's called 'Love
Through the Eons'. I guess there's this one part that's really small but good...
Pheebs said it's 'written for' me."
"A musical?" asked the cat, eyes growing wide.
"Don't you look at my like that!" Reeny lowered her eyes. "I didn't do
anything wrong!"
Diana sighed. Some people just don't learn... "What's the rule?" she
questioned the girl, looking up at her with magenta eyes.
She just turned away and swept some glass into the bucket. The tinkling
sound nearly covered the high-pitched voice as it mumbled something.
"Excuse me?"
"No Moon maiden, as long as the universe exists, should sing." The
Princess kept cleaning up the glass.
"And why not?" asked the Moon cat, shifting her position so that she could
stare into the red eyes of the Princess.
"I forget?" Reeny asked rhetorically.
"No, you don't. Out with it." Diana shuddered. She sounded like her
mother.
"But Diana!" whined Reeny, collapsing onto the floor, in tears. "I really
want to make the musical! Phoebe's a shoe-in for the lead role, and I don't do
anything interesting like the other Galactic Sailors do! It's not fair!" Tears
flowed onto the ground, onto the desk, into the bucket of glass shards, and even
onto the cat.
"Cut it out! Grow up!" Diana nagged as much as she could, but nothing
helped. The Princess still cried like a big baby... She cried like the Queen
would have cried when she was a teen...
"You're acting too much like your mother!" the cat said seriously, looking
innocently at the vaulted ceiling. "This is something that the teen Serena would
have done..."
Reeny stopped abruptly. "You're serious, aren't you?"
The cat nodded in a very adult manner. "Completely."
"Alright, I'll stop." The Princess smoothed her dress and stood slowly.
"Well, you're still acting like your mom," commented the cat, jumping on
the now-safe desk.
"What do you mean?" the Princess asked, sitting on the edge of her bed.
"You're already about ten minutes late for the Scout meeting at the Cherry
Hill Temple."
Princess Reeny let out a string of rather rude words and then ran,
pigtails flying, out the door.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Tara, Lyra and Haley all sat in the small living room. The temple was
nearly deserted at such a late hour on Friday, but that didn't mean the girls
had complete privacy; Tara's parents seemed to be milling dangerously close to
the girls at all times.
"Are we going to do a fire reading?" asked the blond, curly haired girl.
Perched on the arm of a ragged brown couch, she swung her legs absently. "My mom
said that fire readings are really neat things..."
The dark haired Shinto nodded. "We're going to try, but I would much
prefer to have all six of us here."
Haley sighed. "Didn't Phoebe tell you, Tara?" she asked, shifting her
position in the armchair.
"Tell me what?" Tara busily looked through the bookshelf.
The brown haired teen smiled a bit. "She's got a huge audition at the
Crystal Music Academy, and she can't get here."
Tara turned around and looked at the two others. "She's not coming! How am
I supposed to do a proper reading without centered Sailor Power?" Annoyed, she
kicked the shelf.
"I'm sorry Tara," attempted Lyra. Seeing as that didn't help much, she
jumped from her seat and walked over the where her friend was. "What are you
looking for?" she asked, peering at the rows of books.
The Shinto sighed and picked out a brown-leather book. "It's a book on
ancient rituals. I thought it might be helpful."
"Good thought," Haley commented, walking over. "Is there anything about
ancient musical rituals?"
"Why?" asked the younger girls in unison.
The brown haired girl sighed. "I'm about an inch away from flunking out of
the Music Academy."
"You go to the Music Academy?" Lyra was shocked. "How could you be
flunking? You've got to be a great musician to get in there."
"Yeah, Haley," Tara commented, flipping through the book. "And your mother
is one of the greatest concert violinists in the world."
"And she's my mother," Haley responded, aqua eyes growing sad.
Lyra was puzzled. "What does that mean?" she asked, looking at her friend.
"Michelle was the one who founded Crystal Music Academy." She sighed.
"That's how I got in."
"Oh, Haley," began Lyra softly. "If I had known, I would have kept my
mouth..."
The door burst open. "I'm here!" Reeny exclaimed, taking Diana off her
head and placing her one the floor. "We can start now!"
Haley, Lyra, and Tara all bowed as a reflex.
"Don't do that!" the Princess exclaimed, crossing her arms over the pink
T-shirt she wore. "I hate it when people bow!"
The three immediately straightened up and mumbled there apologies.
"And don't apologize!" commanded the pink-haired girl, sighing deeply.
Lyra giggled. "No wonder you're the leader!" she exclaimed, putting her
hands on her hips.
Reeny paled. "I'm the leader?"
"Of course, Reeny," Tara commented, staring at the book. "You're the
daughter of the Queen of Crystal Tokyo. Why wouldn't you be our leader?"
Diana sighed. She knew what was coming.
"But I don't want to be the leader!" The pink-haired girl whined loudly,
falling to her knees. "Being the leader is hard... and scary!" She began crying.
"Get up!" commanded Diana. "You're acting like a big baby!"
"Am not!" cried the Princess.
"Yes, you are." Diana sat in front of the girl and glared at her. "In
fact, you're acting like your mother."
"Again?" Reeny jumped straight up.
"Again. You've got to start acting like an adult," Diana commanded,
gaining a bit of an English accent. She sighed. Like mother, like daughter...
"If Reeny doesn't want to be the leader, one of the rest of us could take
over," suggested Lyra, plopping down on the couch.
Tara shook her head, green eyes rising from the book. "Sailor Moon has
long been the leader of the Sailor Scouts. We cannot go against that kind of
tradition."
Haley shrugged. "I don't see why not. I mean, we're the Galactic Sailors.
We should be able to change precedents like that."
"Precedents like what?" came another voice from the doorway.
Running a hand through her auburn hair, Alice Kino dropped her backpack
next to the couch and smiled. "How late am I?" she asked.
"Late," Tara responded curtly.
Opening her pack, Alice sighed. That Tara... "I brought homemade cookies!"
she announced, pulling out an odd looking bag.
"You put cookies in that?" asked Reeny, scratching her head.
Alice giggled. "Don't mind how it looks. It was my first sewing project of
the year."
"So, you've gotten better?" asked Lyra.
"Nope. I've probably gotten worse." Alice opened the bag. "They're
chocolate pecan peanut butter chip."
Tara intercepted the bag. "Not until after the reading."
"Why not?" asked Reeny, practically drooling over the delectable treats
that awaited her.
Tara crossed her arms. "We need to be completely concentrated on the fire
reading."
"But Tara..." whined Reeny loudly.
"And then," the Shinto girl continued, slamming the book shut, "we can
have green tea and all the cookies we want. Deal?"
"Deal," said Lyra.
"Deal," responded Haley.
"Got it!" Alice smiled.
Reeny sighed, crinkling her nose. "But I want cookies!" she exclaimed.
"Deal?" asked Tara, lowering her eyes.
Diana smiled. For a thirteen-year-old, she was quite convincing.
"Deal."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
She was dressed all and green leather and a braid of severe black hair
hung down her back. Pacing slowly and breathing deeply, she looked around the
empty black chamber.
The Chamber of Spirits. The name sent shivers down her spine. Goosebumps
prickled up her arms.
A rustle of robes from behind her forced her to jump.
"Illness," she scolded, tracing the seven-pointed star symbol on the
floor. It was an inset shimmering golden color, which deeply contrasted the
black marble that surrounded her. "It's very rude to startle me like that."
The man, softly and elegantly, walked around the young woman. "Looking for
something here?"
"Just world domination, Illness," she responded, looking at the jewels at
tipped each of the points. Deepest crimson, a deceptive color of gray, sparkling
ebony, a ruby, an emerald of and impossible shade, a light brown color, and one
which was indescribably silver.
"How do you expect to see world domination?" The pale man brushed a few
brown hairs out of his eyes.
The woman shrugged, fingering her black braid. Pacing a bit, she bit one
of her long fingernails. "Well, do you have a plan or not, Illness? I don't have
time to waste, you know."
The man cackled a bit. "Always thinking of yourself, aren't you?"
She giggled a bit. "Of course, Illness. You know me too well!" Smiling at
Illness, she sighed. "I want to get this over with!"
"Patience, Greed, patience." Illness smiled kindly.
"Patience my leather covered butt!" retorted Greed. "I feel strong
spiritual forces right now..."
Illness sighed. "I don't believe His Majesty expects me to work with
you..." he mumbled softly.
"Huh?" asked the woman.
"Nothing, Greed, nothing." He sighed, closing his eyes. "Spirits, show us
the way to world domination."
Greed laughed. "You go ahead and meditate. I'm going to go practice my
fighting skills." She walked off.
Illness hung his wary head. "Spirits, help me to survive my partnership
with Greed."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Oh great fire, I ask you in the name of Earth to tell us what this new
evil is." Tara closed her eyes and began to meditate.
"Is this the part when you're not supposed to talk?" came a small voice.
Snapping from her meditation, Tara turned to see a little child standing
in the doorway.
"Celeste!" yelped Lyra, jumping to her feet. "What do you think you're
doing here?"
The child, a chipper looking girl of about six with hair the color of
corn, smiled a partially-toothless grin. "I followed you here, Lyra. You have
big kid friends, and I don't, so I wanted to come too!"
"You mean to say that you listened in on our entire conversation?" asked
the curly-haired teen.
Celeste nodded. "What's a 'Galactic Sailor'? And do they get to fight the
evil that black-haired lady mentioned?"
Lyra groaned. Haley, Alice, and Tara all sighed. The Princess smiled.
"Smart kid!" she commented.
The little girl looked at Reeny. "You're the Princess! I think you're the
most prettiest girl in the whole world!"
Reeny smiled at that and vainly ran her fingers through a pigtail. "I like
this rug-rat! Who is she?"
"My little sister." Lyra turned to the rest of the group. "Fourth oldest
at six and a half years old."
Alice's eyes grew wide. "How many siblings do you have, Lyra?"
"I've got seven sisters and brothers!" exclaimed Celeste, sitting down on
the wooden floor as though she owned the temple. "There's Lyra, then Becky, then
Paul, and me. After me are Bobby, and then Sara and Johnny-they're twins-and
then baby Lila!" She counted on her fingers for a moment. "Yep! That's eight."
Reeny's eyes got big. "People actually have that many kids?"
"You don't have any sisters?" asked the little girl.
"Nope," the Princess said.
"Or brothers?"
"None, but my parents want to have a son eventually." Reeny blushed. "I
mean..."
"None of us have brothers or sisters," Tara sighed, trying to draw the
conversation to a fast close.
"Not completely true," Haley responded. "I have Hannah."
"Yeah," commented Tara with a sigh. "And she tried to kill us all."
"Who's Hannah?" asked the young girl. "What's a 'Galactic Sailor'? Do you
fight evil? And why did Hannah try to kill you?"
An idea popped into Lyra's mind. "How would you like some yummy cookies
and milk?"
"Yeah!" Alice chimed in. "I made some cookies. Do you want some?"
"Could I please have some?" asked the little girl.
"Of course! Tara will show you where to go."
Grumbling, the black haired teen took Celeste's hand and led her out of
the room.
"She's really smart," commented Diana.
Lyra shook her head. "Not no way, not no how!" she exclaimed, putting her
hands on her hips. "You are not using my little sister for some Sailor plot!"
"I didn't mean it that way, Lyra," commented the cat, licking a paw
absently. "I was just noting that she's a bright kid."
"Good." Lyra backed down. "Sorry that I got so mad."
"It's okay," commented Diana. "I understand."
Tara, re-entering the room, sighed. "That little chatterbox is eating all
the cookies right now." Tara knelt on her pillow with a sigh.
"Did you save me any?" asked Reeny.
Alice smacked her gently.
"And, I got a phone call from Phoebe." She prepared to meditate.
"What'd she say?" asked Haley softly.
"I guess she did more than made the musical," Tara responded, closing her
eyes.
"She got accepted into Crystal Music Academy."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Mom, Crystal Music Academy is the best music school in the nation! Maybe
the best in the world!" Phoebe slammed the acceptance letter onto the table.
"And I have been trying, for the past five years, to get accepted!"
Amy strummed her fingers on the tabletop. Greg silently sat next to his
wife, looking at his teen daughter with attentive dark brown eyes.
"It's extremely important to me!" exclaimed the teen, running her hand
through the long midnight-blue hair. "I love music! I love to dance! And I don't
want to go to Brighton anymore!" She felt like she was going to cry.
"You're not yet old enough to go to high school, young lady," Amy said
sternly. "And you will not go to the Music Academy... You will go to Brighton."
"No!" yelped the girl. "I'm going to Crystal Music Academy!"
Greg sighed. "Maybe we should listen to Phoebe's arguments more, dearest.
I mean, she really loves the arts and I think that, perhaps, the Music Academy
would be the best thing for her."
Shaking her head of blue hair, Amy sighed. "No. I want her to go to
schools focusing on academics, not arts."
"But the Music Academy has some of the best test scores in the country!"
Phoebe exclaimed, tears welling in her eyes. "And it means a lot to me! And
Haley goes there!"
"Haley?" asked Greg, confused.
"Sailor Comet," commented Amy. "In response to that-I'm sure one of the
other Galactic Sailors will get into the private high school. Reeny, perhaps,
will make it..."
"But I want to go!" cried Phoebe, her tears becoming very real. "I love
dance! I love music! And acting!" She looked at the letter in front of her. "My
entire life, I have dreamed of this moment, Mother. Of the moment when I could
see the acceptance letter in front of me and know that all my goals had been
reached. Do you really want to scatter all of my fantasies to the wind?" Phoebe
looked up with her ice blue eyes. "Being Sailor Phoenix is a very real thing to
you. If I hadn't wanted to become a Sailor, you wouldn't have let me get away
with that. It was my destiny. And now I want something. And you won't let do it.
"This is more than a little girl wanting a new doll, Mom. Crystal Music
Academy is my destiny. You can't stand in the way of destiny."
Amy shook her head, her blue eyes welling up with tears. "I am not passing
any judgement, Phoebe, because I don't think this is destiny at all." She turned
to her husband. "Greg, what do you think?"
This had happened before. He had, many times, saved Amy from Phoebe's
wrath, or had saved Phoebe from her mother's words of fire. But this was
different. This was a choice that would effect all of their lives for a long
while.
"Let's wait and see how Phoebe does in the musical. We can decide then."
His deep voice was strong. "Can you two gals live with that?"
The doctor sighed, and smiled grimly. "I suppose."
All Phoebe could do was nod.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Nothing?" asked Reeny, staring at the flames.
Tara shook her head grimly. "I don't know what I did wrong." Staring at
the floor, she sighed. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Haley smiled. "Reading the fire isn't so important."
"Yeah!" Lyra chimed in, getting up and putting a hand on Tara's shoulder.
"After all, the important thing is that we be the best Sailors that we can."
The Shinto stood slowly, towering above Lyra. "You think so?"
"Yep!" Lyra responded.
A shadow appeared in the doorway. All five girls shrieked and jumped back.
Diana just sighed.
"What's all the commotion?" asked the shadow, stepping forward.
The shadow had a chest length ponytail. And ice blue eyes. And was wearing
a red sweater and khakis.
"You scared us, Phoebe!" Alice panted, a hand on her chest. "Don't do
that!"
The girl blushed. "Sorry guys. I just wanted to come by and ask how the
fire reading went."
"It didn't," Reeny sighed, scooping up the cat. "Tara didn't get a
reading."
Phoebe's eyes grew wide. "Really?"
Tara nodded quietly. "I don't know what I did wrong. Maybe my mother could
attempt the reading."
"You must do it on your own," came an adult voice. Raye, High Priestess of
the Shinto Religion, the Mistress of Mars, and the mother of Sailor Earth,
appeared. "I cannot read in the name of Earth."
"And I cannot in the name of Mars," Tara sighed, looking at the fire
mournfully.
"Hey! Cheer up!" Lyra told her friend. "Everything will be okay!"
"I guess you're right," Tara chimed in.
The motley group walked slowly back to the living room without a word.
After a pause, Phoebe spoke.
"Hey, guys," she said, sticking her hands in her pockets, "I made the lead
in the musical."
A chorus of congratulations came from the other five.
"Well, when I was there, I overheard the man who puts together the
marching band every year. It seems that they need some more people."
The others stopped in their tracks.
"Phoebe?" asked Tara softly. "What are you trying to say?"
The actress blushed deeply. "Well, I kind of signed you guys up for the
marching band."
Groans were heard from miles, as was Alice's voice.
"I play the CELLO, Phoebe! How do you march with a CELLO?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Princess, what instrument are you interested in playing?" Michelle chewed
on the pencil eraser. What a bad habit, she thought to herself. I should quit
sometime.
Reeny shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe flute?" She played with a pink
pigtail. "What do you think I would be good at, Mistress Neptune?"
The aqua-haired woman set her pencil down and flicked on the computer that
Hannah had insisted on installing. "Hold on," Michelle said softly as she
attempted to pull the Princess' file onto the screen. Nothing happened. She
double clicked on the file.
A beep sounded, and Michelle jumped. The computer then began to play
'Tuxedo Mirage' at the top of its mechanical lungs.
"What?" She pulled away from the computer and picked up the phone. Dialing
a number, she smiled at the pink haired Princess. "Sorry about this, Princess. I
don't have the faintest idea of how to work the computer."
Reeny just smiled.
"Hi, Haley?" Michelle said into the phone. "It's Mom." There was a pause,
and Haley's voice was audibly heard through the receiver. "That's nice... Mm-
hmm... I'm sure Hannah didn't mean it like that..." Hitting some random buttons
on the keyboard while she listened on the phone, Michelle sighed. The computer
was now playing 'Maiden's Policy'.
"Haley," she finally said, "the computer started playing music-loudly-and
I don't know how to stop it. Nothing else works..." She paused and looked to the
keyboard. "Control... Alt... Delete... Close down the music player... Alt,
Shift, D... I don't see an option of disable... Oh, that? Got it." She punched a
button, and the ruckus stopped in its tracks. "Thanks dear... See you at
seven... Do your homework!"
Reeny laughed at the last sentence. "I didn't know that Haley knew so much
about computers," she said, smiling politely.
Michelle shrugged. "She can fool with computers, she can play any sport on
earth, and she knows Current Events like nobody's business." Then, she shrugged,
teal eyes turning sad. "And she can't carry a tune to save her life."
"I think I'd like to play trumpet," the Princess finally said, smiling.
"It sounds like fun."
Michelle looked at the desk calendar, and flipped a few pages in silence.
"I do believe that I have an opening Monday. Could you come in at about six that
evening?"
"Okey-dokey!" Reeny skipped out of the office, waving goodbye merrily.
Michelle smiled as the Princess left. Then, she frowned.
"I hope Hannah and Haley don't kill each other before I can get home," she
sighed, beginning to type on the computer."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"You are nothing but a spoiled rotten, diaper wearing baby who couldn't be
a Sailor Scout if her life depended on it!" Hannah yelled at her sister.
The words stung a bit, but Haley shook them off as a horse would flies.
"At least I didn't try to end the world for my own selfish reasons!" she
retorted, raising her voice.
"Those reasons were not selfish," Hannah bristled. "I was trying to
protect the good of the world."
"Bull shit!" Haley yelled. "There was no logic in your actions!"
"Yes, there was," the dark haired woman responded softly. "You don't even
understand."
"How could I understand?" asked Haley, lowering her voice and looking into
the purple eyes with a thoughtful gaze. "You never told a soul what your
reasoning was."
Hannah just sighed and picked up her books. "You wouldn't understand. No
one would." She retreated towards her room.
"I don't get that kid," the brown haired teen commented, plopping down in
front of the piano. "She goes out of her to pick fights and then runs from
them."
"Sailor Comet, you would not understand," came a calm and adult voice from
behind her.
Haley forced a smile, for, on all the Earth, no sound was as sweet to the
ears. "Auntie Susan!" she exclaimed, whirling around. "Why are you here?"
Then, Haley did a double take. Same woman, different side of her.
Sailor Pluto.
The garnet eyes of the Guardian of Time stared at the girl. It was hard to
believe that Haley, the Sailor Scout of the Comets, was the same little girl who
had once dumped a gallon of white tempera paints throughout the house. It was
hard to think that this was the same girl who had once knocked poor Michelle in
the head with the Deep Aqua Mirror Talisman while going through a closet.
But it was.
"I am here to tell you why Hannah is so sensitive to your words," Pluto
said, sitting down on the couch. An air of comfort enveloped the teen. Though
she was in the form of Sailor Pluto, she was very much Haley's Aunt Susan, the
woman who had been supportive and understanding since day one.
"As a child, Hannah was possessed by an evil entity called Mistress Nine."
The teen blanched. "Shouldn't Mom and Alex tell me about this?" she asked
softly, bracing herself.
Pluto smiled and wiped a hunter green hair from her face. "Do you actually
think they would?" she asked in a slightly sarcastic manner. "They try to keep
both of you hidden from the harsh reality that is the real world, Haley." She
sighed. "And I want to tell you the truth."
"Truth," Haley thought aloud, looking to the woman. "What is the value of
truth in this world?" She stared at the ground. "Truth means I have no real
parents. Truth means that I have no sister. Truth means..." She sighed deeply
and stared at the ground. "Truth means I'm not even good enough to get into the
music academy. I hate the truth."
"You fear the truth," Pluto corrected, focusing on the girl. "Truth brings
us much closer to who we really are. Truth makes us the people we were meant to
be." Smiling a bit, she thoughtfully teased the bow that was on her outfit. "And
that's frightening."
Rolling her eyes, Haley turned her back to her friend and crossed her arms
across her chest. "You're making this all up, Susan," she said gruffly, not
letting herself believe.
Pluto shook her head. "Part of you is dying to ignore me," she said,
looking to the girl with the short brown hair. "But most of you knows I'm
right."
Haley was about to make a comeback, but she felt the woman's eyes
searching her. "Don't talk, Haley. Just listen to me.
"Hannah was once taken over by an evil entity. Mistress Nine. But she was
killed and reborn. Your mothers-Michelle and Alexandra-raised the new Hannah
from infancy, with a bit of help from me."
"So?" asked Haley, turning around slowly. "I knew that Hannah was raised
by Mom and...uh, Alex..."
Pluto shook her head. "But we spoiled Hannah. We waited years and years to
tell her of Mistress Nine, and she got all she wanted. So, needless to say..."
"I was a total killjoy." Enlightenment dawned on Haley's pale face.
Running a hand through her hair, she sighed. "I killed Hannah's perfectly
blissful world." Gasping and putting a hand over her mouth, she swallowed, hard.
"Her innocence had already been shattered by the news of being Mistress Nine,
and the fact I took over her limelight with my parents didn't help, right?"
"Exactly. That's exactly what I was trying to say." Pluto stood slowly and
smoothed her fuku. "I'm glad was understand each other, Haley." She ruffled the
girl's hair. "It's been a while since I've talked to you, one on one."
Aqua eyes growing wide, she looked at her friend with doubt. "That's it?
You tell me all this stuff and then you leave? I don't think so!"
The green haired adult smiled broadly. "I have a duty to fulfill. As do
you." She opened a hand into the air. Her time key appeared in her grasp. "But,
Haley... don't blame your poor sister, alright? It's mostly not her fault."
Pluto was gone.
Just as Pluto left, Michelle walked through the door and set her briefcase
on the floor. As she went to greet her child, she paused and sniffed the air.
"Sailor Pluto was here, wasn't she?" the woman asked, curtly but kindly.
Haley nodded. "She wanted to talk."
Sighing a bit, and then smiling, Michelle put her hands on her hips.
"Pluto never just talks to someone, sweetie," she corrected.
Then, in an out-of-character moment, her smile grew wider and she
shrugged. "By the way," she said, teal eyes sparkling, "the Princess has decided
to play an instrument."
"Really?" Haley was surprised. "What is she playing?"
As visions of Reeny on flute, piano, violin, and harp flooded the girl's
mind, Michelle responded. "Trumpet."
Haley nearly fainted.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Green eyes, deep and soulful, flashed open. A body, in skin-tight green
leather, shuddered.
Rushing over, the brown-robed man otherwise known as Illness rushed over.
"Greed," he said, looking down at her. "Are you alright?"
Suddenly aware that she was laying on the hard, cold ground, she expelled
a great amount of strength to get up.
They were in a hallway. Brown, nondescript tile made up the floor, and the
walls were an off-white color that appeared to be ancient.
Rubbing her temples, Greed looked at the man. Illness was the exact
opposite of attractive-he was plain and prosaic, with brown hair, brown eyes,
brown robes, and brownish skin... Everything brown, brown, brown. But, he could
have a kind heart when he tried, and his sense of duty was strong. "Where are
we?" she asked warily.
Illness extended a hand. "You don't remember?"
"OF COURSE I DON'T!" she snapped. Jumping up on her own, she lowered her
voice to a hoarse whisper. "If I remembered, would I ask?" she hissed, hitting
his upper arm-hard.
Rubbing his bruised arm, Illness shook his head. "The Princess of the
Earth is taking music lessons here."
"Where is here?" she asked impatiently, beginning to wander around.
"Crystal Music Academy," he responded, following her down the hall.
"School of some of the most respected musical prodigies in the country..."
A girl with long, midnight blue hair went bolting down the hall. Past
Illness...
Right into Greed.
"Sorry," she stated, jumping up. She smoothed her crimson-color skirt. "I
didn't mean to run into you." She smiled, obviously embarrassed.
The woman in green jumped up. Her black braid was messy, now, and her
clothing was scuffed and dusty. "You little brat!" she exclaimed, walking
towards the girl.
The teen backed up a bit. Her ice blue eyes were strong, and not the least
bit afraid. It seemed as though the backing up was just to make room for
maneuverability.
Illness grimaced. This girl seemed familiar... A strange energy came
shooting from her. He knew where this was going to lead.
"I said I was sorry, Miss," the girl repeated, sticking on hand in her
pocket. "The name's Phoebe, and I'm awful late for my musical rehearsal. That's
all."
Greed bristled. "Excuses, excuses," she scolded. "I'm late... boo-hoo...
let's pity the little brat." Prancing around, she mocked Phoebe.
"You witch!" she swore, glaring. "Take that back right now!"
Illness put on hand on his companion's shoulder before it got out of hand.
"We have a mission," he hissed, smoothing his robes. "Do you not remember that?"
"Mission, schmission!" Greed retorted, whirling around. She lowered her
eyes. "I want to give that little brat a piece of my mind!"
But, once she turned back to where Phoebe was to be, the girl had gone.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Band! Ten-hut!"
"Go..." muttered Tara, half-heartedly putting the battered clarinet in
front of her. Silently cursing Phoebe-the-do-gooder, she sighed. Marching
band...
Lyra kicked her friend in the back of the leg. "If you do it like that,"
she scolded, "you look like a total goober."
The drum major, a spunky, older teen with short blonde hair, walked over
to Tara and looked straight into the green eyes. "Is that an attention
position?" she asked cheerily, eyes smiling.
"No, miss," she responded, bringing her body into perfect position. Head
up, elbows out, chest forward, back straight, feet at a forty-five degree angle,
clarinet away from her body...
The drum major grinned. "Thanks, Tara!" Skipping back to her little
ladder-podium, she waved.
Lyra smirked. "Isn't Katie a riot?" she asked, smiling.
Sighing, Tara gritted her teeth. "I guess," she responded.
"You hate this, don't you?" The girl was completely serious.
The other turned around. The five-foot tall blonde looked funny with a
sousaphone wrapped around her. Another girl, slightly taller and with shorter
hair, looked at her fellow tuba-player. "Lyra," she whispered, "Katie and
Meredith are going to have a cow!"
Waving a careless hand at the other, the Scout of the North Star smiled.
"You hate it?" she asked quietly.
Tara just nodded at her.
The other tuba player poked Lyra. "Lyra..."
"Shush, Kristy!" retorted the younger girl, turning around. Lowering her
brown eyes, she trying to cross her arms. The motion was impended by the
sousaphone, but she got the idea across. "This is a bit more important than..."
"LYRA!" came a voice. A short girl with chin length light brown ran over.
A whistle hung around her neck.
Blushing deeply, Lyra took her position. "Hi, Meredith," she said sweetly,
staring at the ground.
The drum major sighed. "How many times are you and your friend going to
get into trouble?" the young woman scolded, putting her hands on her hips. "I
don't want to come across as a total jerk, but..."
The black haired clarinetist turned around. "I'm afraid, miss, that this
remains to be all my fault." Her face was grim and serious.
"Well, since you're new, I'll let it go," Meredith sighed, beginning to
walk off. "But please, in the future, try to keep up your positions."
From her spot, Lyra's eyes grew wide. "How do you DO that?" she hissed at
Tara.
"Do what?" asked the Shinto.
"Get her to give in..."
"GUYS!" warned Kristy in a stern voice. "You want to get in trouble or
what?"
Lyra stood at attention position. Tara stared at her music.
From the front of the band, Katie and Meredith's voices rang out in a
startling unison.
"Band...ten-hut!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Diana covered her ears.
Throughout the hallways of Crystal Palace, there was a startling sound.
The sound of a goose dying, perhaps? Or, maybe it was the sound of a
thousand air-raid sirens that were all about half a step off pitch.
No, that wasn't it either...
As Diana walked through the Palace, looking for the source of the sound,
she ran into a familiar face.
Alice Kino, the Sailor Scout of Light.
"What's that racket?" asked the girl, bending over to scoop up the cat.
Diana shrugged. "I have no idea!"
"Maybe Reeny knows?" ventured the auburn-haired teen, patting the cat.
Grimacing, the animal sighed. "Knowing Reeny, she's the source of the
problem."
The two walked towards Reeny's room. The noise got louder.
Closing her eyes, Alice slowly imagined fields of flowers, chocolate, and
other awkwardly serene things that were to help her stop thinking of the blaring
clamor.
And she ran into something.
"Oof!" Jumping up and rubbing her bruised behind, Alice tried to figure
out what she ran into.
There was really nothing or no one around...
Except for a dazed King Endymion lying on the marble floor.
"Your Majesty!" the girl exclaimed, offering a hand. "Are you alright?"
Endymion sat up and rubbed the side of his face. "I don't know which hurts
more-falling onto a marble floor, or hearing this endless sound!" He took her
hand and stood slowly. "But, the true question is, are YOU alright?"
Alice blushed and stared at the ground. King Endymion, though married, was
the most sought-after man in all of Crystal Tokyo. He was cute, kind, loving,
and gentle... The list went on, and on, and on...
"I'm fine, Majesty," she blushed shyly, looking at the ground. Realizing
that he still had her hand, she pulled it shyly away and blushed even more
deeply.
He's absolutely perfect, she thought to herself, staring at her tennis
shoes. I wonder if my father was like him... She smiled at the thought.
And, just as she smiled, the horrible fanfare stopped.
"What WAS that?" asked Alice, peering down the hall cautiously.
"I don't know," Endymion commented, shrugging.
Diana, who was sprawled out on the floor (Alice's fall had discarded her
in such a manner), pulled herself up and groaned. "Ouch," she commented,
stretching. "I'm going to be sore for a week."
"Do you know what that sound was?" asked the teen, picking the cat back
up.
"I only have one idea," Diana said sternly, looking up at the girl and
then at the King. "Reeny."
Suddenly, a head of pink hair appeared at the end of the hallway. Dressed
all in white, Reeny skipped at a brisk pace towards the two humans and her
guardian cat.
And something golden glinted, catching the sunlight which pouring through
the infinite windows.
A trumpet.
Endymion looked at Alice. Alice looked at Diana. Diana stared at the King.
And all three turned slowly to Reeny.
"Hi, guys!" the Princess yelled, quickening her pace. "Did you hear my
wonderful rendition of 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'?" she asked merrily.
All three groaned.
"I have a feeling this is going to be a long week..." commented Diana.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Sometimes, the road looks long, and sometimes... The world seems wrong,
but I know...I know..." Phoebe sang, prancing up and down the stage with
finesse. All of the other actors stared at her. She was amazing.
"I know...I know... All you need is love..." she sang.
Haley, from her seat at the piano, gazed longingly at the stage. The
wonder of stage acting never ceased to amaze her. And Phoebe was a pro.
The other main character, a young man named Thomas, gazed at Phoebe as she
sung her part. He stepped onto stage. "Why does she stay? Why does she stay? She
seems too good for me..." he sung.
Smiling, Haley watched. Thomas was a good actor, but he lacked the
overwhelming stage presence that Phoebe had.
"Haley!" yelled the director from her seat in the back row of the theater.
"What are you doing?"
Snapping to reality, the sixteen-year-old swallowed. "Watching the
musical?" she asked timidly.
The director stood and descended down the stairs and stared into Haley's
aqua eyes. "You had a piano cue a good minute ago, young lady!" she screamed
boldly.
From her spot on stage, Phoebe bristled. "Leave her alone!" she snapped,
walking a few steps forward. "It was just an accident!"
The director lowered her eyes. "You listen to me, Phoebe," she commanded.
"Your daring will get you nowhere in this case. This is between me and your
friend Haley." She crossed her arms. "If you value your role, you'll stay out of
this."
Phoebe grimaced and stepped back. Looking at Haley with sorrow in her ice
blue eyes, she smiled sadly. 'Sorry,' she mouthed, looking at her friend.
Haley shrugged and turned to the stern director. She was an older woman,
probably in her early fifties, with graying hair and darting gray eyes. "I'm
sorry, ma'am," Haley said, blushing. "I was taken in by Phoebe and Tom's
acting."
"If you let it happen again..." The director glared at her, but didn't say
a word. She started up the stairs.
Suddenly, the doors to the auditorium burst open. A woman in skintight
green leather and a man in billowing brown robes walked in.
"You can't come in here!" hollered the director.
The man waved a hand, and ropes tightened themselves around the director.
Duct tape covered her mouth.
"Now then," commanded the woman, flipping her long braid over one
shoulder. "Which one of you is the Princess of the Earth?" she asked sternly,
looking around the room.
Her green eyes came to rest on Phoebe. Phoebe was standing in front of the
cast, hate in her eyes.
"You!" the woman declared, rushing down the stairs. "You again?" She
smiled. "I can get my revenge."
"I think not!" Phoebe commented, placing a hand in her pocket.
Haley felt for the thin strip of leather that circled her neck. She nodded
at Phoebe.
"Three...two...one...bolt for it!" Phoebe and Haley, at the exact same
instant, took off and headed backstage.
While standing in the darkened area that would lead to the dressing rooms,
Phoebe and Haley heard the woman's voice.
"Damn brats!" she swore. "Now we have to find them!"
A man's voice chimed in. "Don't fret, Greed. They'll be ours soon enough."
Haley glanced at Phoebe. "Should we?"
Phoebe shrugged. "Do we have a choice?" She raised her locket high.
"Phoenix Galactic Power... Make Up!"
"Comet Galactic Power... Make Up!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Tara dropped her clarinet.
It fell to the ground with a clatter.
"Are you alright?" asked several of the other band members, flocking
around her.
Nodding meekly, Tara felt for her locket.
The locket was warm.
"Lyra!" she yelled, running across the football field to where the
sousaphones were gathered. "Lyra!"
Lyra, pulling way from the mouthpiece of the giant instrument, looked to
her friend. "Tara?" she asked, taking her instrument off and setting it on the
ground. "Are you alright?"
The Shinto was shaking. "Feel your locket," she commanded, hand clutched
to her own locket.
"Why?"
"JUST DO IT!" Her commanding voice rang through the air.
Sighing, the blonde girl stuck her hand into her shirt and groped for the
round disc.
It was warm, nearly hot.
"Oh my God!" Lyra exclaimed, dropping her music on the ground. "What does
this mean?"
"I feel danger," was all Tara could manage. "Nearby."
The two took off down the field.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Reeny froze. She was sitting on her bed, talking to Alice, and completely
froze.
Alice did the same.
"Did your locket...get...warm?" breathed the Princess.
Hardly moving, the other girl nodded.
Diana, sitting on the desk, looked blankly at them. "Huh?" she asked.
"What does it mean if our lockets get warm?" asked Alice, turning to the
cat.
Diana shrugged. "I don't know." Suddenly, Diana froze, too. "I think
Phoebe and Haley are in major danger."
Reeny and Alice looked at one another. And then, without another word,
they took off for Crystal Music Academy.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Sailor Comet and Sailor Phoenix looked blankly at one another. Sailor
Comet's outfit was orange and silver, while Phoenix's was crimson and dark
orange. They looked like different people.
"How do we fight?" asked Comet.
Phoenix shrugged. "I supposed we go give a speech and then hope the others
show up."
"Is that a good idea?"
Phoenix had already charged out into the open.
Most the cast had run away, and those who hadn't were cowering in random
corners of the set, afraid to so much as blink. The man and woman were standing
in front of the stage, arguing.
"Revenge is not what we're here for, Greed," the man said.
"Do I care? NO!" retorted the woman. "Besides, Illness, you're such a
spoil sport."
Illness mumbled something that sounded like "glory hog".
From her vintage point, Phoenix smirked. "This is too easy," she said
softly to Comet.
"Hey! Evil trash!" she yelled, crossing her arms over the crimson bow.
"What do you two think you're doing here?"
Greed and Illness whirled around to face the young woman. "Who the hell
are you?" asked Greed, smoothing some of her leather in a very seductive manner.
"I am the Sailor-Suited Hero Sailor Phoenix!"
"And I'm Sailor Comet!" the other Scout chimed in.
"On behalf of the Sun..."
"And of all Comets..."
"WE WILL PUNISH YOU!" Both girls struck random poses.
Greed made a face. "Oh, jeez, I'm shaking."
Phoenix bristled. "You should be!"
"I don't know what's scarier," Greed continued, crossing her arms over her
(large) chest, "the Sailor of the Sun having blue hair, or the Sailor of Comets
looking like an awful big wimp."
"I am not a wimp!" Comet yelled.
"You're making me mad..." Phoenix glared at the woman.
Greed chuckled a bit.
"Phoenix...Heat...Flashing!" From Phoenix's out-stretched hands came some
type of steamy and fiery substance.
"Ouch!" Greed recoiled and glared at the young Scout. "That hurt! You
little spawn!" A sword materialized in her right hand.
"Uh-oh..." Comet stepped back a bit. "I think we made her kind of mad."
"Good!" Phoenix glared at the woman. "You and your friend can leave, you
know."
The woman stuck her nose into the air and swept her braid behind her back.
"Don't you make me laugh! You two are pathetic."
The man, from behind her, held out a hand. Instantly, the stage turned
into nothing more than a swamp of mud.
"Yuck!" commented Comet, trying to pull herself out of the mire. "How did
he do that?"
"I am Illness, sorcerer of the Andromeda Galaxy." He flicked a wrist, and
the mud turned into a watery pit.
The sword that the woman held floated above the two Scouts, then dropped
into the water, and came out again. "And I am Greed, warrior of the Andromeda
Galaxy."
Comet and Phoenix looked at each other. "Andromeda Galaxy?" Comet asked
blankly.
Phoenix was too busy treading water to listen to Comet.
Greed was about to respond, but two adolescent voices echoed from the back
of the theater.
"Stop right there!" yelled the girl with a tan and green Sailor outfit.
"Or we'll get awful mad!" added a girl wearing gold and a pale orange.
Illness and Greed turned around.
"More of them?" asked Greed, green eyes growing wide.
The other two Scouts smiled.
"Sailor Earth!" the green and tan one yelled.
"And Sailor Polaris!" the gold and light orange girl added.
Suddenly, two Scouts dropped down from the catwalks above the theater.
"Sailor Moon!" said the one with a pink, red, and blue outfit.
"Sailor Aurora Borealis!" said the one in lavender and dark blue.
Greed and Illness stared at each other. "Uh..." Greed smiled blankly.
"We're outnumbered..." muttered the man in brown.
Polaris raised a hand high into the air. "Starry Sky..." She brought her
arm away from her body and downward. "SMASH!"
A giant, radiating ball of light fell towards the two strange evils.
They both disappeared in the knick of time.
The director was freed. The stage changed back. The ball vanished.
"Who were they?" asked Polaris, rushing down to the stage, where a dazed
Comet and a smirking Phoenix stood.
"I know just about as much as you two do." Comet responded.
Earth sighed. "Thank the Earth you're alright."
Phoenix smiled.
Moon and Aurora Borealis smiled at their friends. "Well, that was fun."
"Who are you?" Slowly, carefully, the director walked down the steps to
the stage.
Sailor Moon smiled and bowed slightly. "I am Sailor Moon, the Champion of
Justice."
From the back of the theater, a pink cat smiled.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"I don't believe that we almost got our butts kicked by a couple of
sniveling teenagers!" Greed exclaimed, pacing around the room with a dangerous
gleam in her eyes.
The woman in the gray dress smiled. Her hair was a purest white, and her
eyes were both nearly black. "You need to calm down, Greed," she scolded, laying
back in her chair. "His Majesty will take your restlessness as a weakness."
"Shut up!" Greed retorted, lowering her eyes.
A man in a rather nondescript black outfit shook his head. "Doubt, you'll
only upset her more."
The woman muttered something under her breath.
"What's that?" asked the man in black.
"Nothing, Death," responded Doubt in a falsetto tone.
Another man, dressed in red, stood behind Greed. "I think you are all..."
he paused dramatically. "Weak." He spat out the word, as though it was a
horrible sin to say such a thing.
"And since when have you been brave?" asked the shapely Doubt. Reclining
further into her seat, she smiled sweetly. "I'm sorry, Violence, but we all know
who is second in command."
Illness bristled. "But Greed and I are in charge of the mission!" he
retorted, looking at her with hate in his brown eyes.
"Yeah!" Greed chimed in, jumping up. "You're all glory hogs that want our
spotlight!"
The man in the black looked to the ground. "Not all of us want to steal
the spotlight," he blushed, staring at the woman.
"Sorry, Death," Greed blushed, turning to Violence and Doubt. "But YOU
TWO, on the other hand..."
Appearing out of nowhere, the man in the crimson and black sighed. "Stop
bickering."
The four standing people bowed. Doubt nodded to him. All turned silent.
"Who is the second in command?" he asked, crossing his arms and walking to
the center of the group. "Well?"
"Doubt is," condescended Greed, looking at the deep bur-bur carpet.
The woman in gray smiled, smoothing her white hair.
"And who is in charge of this mission?" The man looked to the one in the
red clothing.
Violence sighed. "Illness and Greed are," he responded, biting his lip.
"Exactly." He looked at each of the five once, silver years never
wavering. "We are the Raider Band of the Andromeda Galaxy, come to claim Earth."
He smiled. "Tell me, who is in charge of you all?"
Death looked up, dark eyes sparkling. "You are. You're the King."
The King nodded. "Correct." Pacing up and down the room, he looked to
Greed. "Now, tell me," he began, flipping his silver hair behind his shoulder.
"How do you plan to deal with the Sailor Scouts?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"And I wasn't very good at trumpet." Reeny looked into the blue teacup
with a deep sigh.
Alexandra chuckled from her seat across the room. "I heard a story that
was a bit different," she retorted, sipping her own tea.
The stern, aqua-haired woman who sat with the Princess lowered her eyes.
"Alex..." she warned.
Running a hand through her blonde hair, Alex just chuckled once more.
"Subject dropped." She set her cup on the coffee table and gave Michelle a quick
peck on the cheek. "See you later," she smiled, exiting the small blue house.
Blushing, Reeny turned back to her tea. "Uh..."
Michelle smiled knowingly. "How long have you known us, Princess?" she
asked softly, flipping some aquamarine hair behind her shoulder.
"A long time." The pink haired girl blushed deeper.
"I rest my case." Looking at a few pieces of paper, she bit her lip.
"Well, are you interested in vocal lessons?"
"I'm not aloud to sing..." Reeny commented, eyeing the cookies on the
table.
"How about flute?" Michelle crossed out the first suggestion on the sheet.
Shrugging, Reeny looked at Michelle doubtfully. "Probably not my kind of
instrument," she sighed.
Michelle crossed out another idea. "Violin?"
"No."
"Harp?"
"Nah..."
"Bass! Everybody loves the bass!"
"I don't know... Probably not..."
The list went on, and on, and on...
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Meanwhile, at Crystal Music Academy, five people sat in the theater.
Looking bored.
"Why exactly are we here?" asked a very tired and sarcastic Alice with a
sigh.
Rolling her eyes, Haley sighed. "Because we got attacked here yesterday?"
Tara, who was reading some sort of ancient history book, looked up with a
sigh. "I don't sense any evil spirits, you guys. Why don't we just all go home?"
The girl with the midnight blue hair jumped up and looked at her four
friends. "What are your problems?" she asked angrily. "We are trying to protect
the world and you're all whining about it!"
"Our moms never sat around, Phoebe. We're waiting for evil to claim us
like a flock of sitting ducks." Lyra sighed. "If Greed and Illness DO come back,
then they'll see us transform, and we'll be dead meat."
"Our mission is to be better than our mothers!" Phoebe exclaimed, pacing
nervously. "We have to be better than them! Stronger than them! More powerful,
more daring, more alive..."
"I think this comes down to you and your mother," interrupted Tara softly.
"I don't think that this has anything to do with the destruction of evil."
Looking away from the girl, Phoebe felt Tara's green eyes focus on her.
"Am I right?"
Swallowing hard, Phoebe turned back to her friends-not so much in anger,
but in frustration. "Go home..." she replied softly. "I think I'm going to go
home..." Walking out the theater doors, Phoebe began to cry.
The other Scouts sat in silence until her footfalls were no longer
audible.
"Finally!" exclaimed Haley, diving for her bag.
"I thought she'd never give up!" Alice stood, smiling.
Tara and Lyra looked at each other.
"Guys..." Lyra softly addressed her friends. "I think that Pheebs was
really upset."
Tara nodded, slowly picking up her backpack.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" asked Alice, confused.
Tara sighed. "I think we upset her..."
The four girls looked at the ground in silence.
And the echoes of "Phoebe!" were heard throughout Crystal Music Academy as
four girls tore down the hall after their friend.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Michelle ran a hand through her hair and looked at the list. Thirty ideas
for instruments, and Reeny had shot each and every one down as though they were
spy planes.
"Well, Reeny, what are you good at?" Michelle went over to the stove and
poured herself a fifth cup of tea.
The Princess looked at the now empty plate of cookies and thought-hard.
"I'm a good leader..."
Michelle nodded.
"And I give directions well..."
Sitting back down, Michelle sighed deeply. "And?"
Reeny smiled. "I can boss people around, get things done, and be a very
commanding force."
"Perfect..." Michelle smiled broadly. "You're absolutely perfect..."
Red eyes grew wide. "Huh?"
"Reeny," the woman asked, "would you like to be a drum major?"
"A WHAT?" Reeny's eyes bugged out, and her pink hair nearly stood on end.
"A drum major," Michelle repeated, sipping her tea. "Someone who controls
the marching band."
Reeny considered this silently for a moment.
A wide smile spread across her face.
"Totally Galactic!" was her response.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The theater was empty.
"Just perfect," came a sarcastic female voice. "Whose bright idea was
this, anyway?"
Another voice, this one male, snorted before answering. "It was yours."
"Oh." Greed shook her head slowly. "This just won't do."
Illness, taking the hood down off his head, sighed in exasperation. "And
WHY NOT?" he asked, running a thin hand through his messy brown hair.
She jumped up onto the stage with grace. "Because those Sailor Girls are
supposed to be here!" Greed kicked the back wall of the set with a green boot.
"This isn't fair!" She kicked it harder.
The man in brown looked up from a sheet of paper. He smiled. "I think we
could have a much bigger turn-out if we wait a few days."
Whirling around in a fluid motion, Greed raised an eyebrow. "And why is
that?" Sarcasm hung in the air.
Illness grinned. "Opening night is just two days away."
"Don't you even THINK of cackling!" she warned.
He cackled menacingly.
Groaning, Greed threw a few props at him.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"I conduct this orchestra out of love and dedication."
Alice stared at Michelle. The seemingly young woman with the long,
aquamarine hair, stood in front of thirty teens. In a timeless fashion, she
looked each and every one of her students in the eyes.
"And you will play in that same manner." She picked up a violin. "Irina!
What is this?"
The concertmistress started. She had been paying attention, but she hadn't
the faintest idea what her teacher was talking about. "A violin?" she asked
softly, shrugging.
A voice from the back of the room spoke. "Your lifeblood." It chuckled a
bit. "Your instrument is your lifeblood."
It was then that Alice first noticed the woman at the piano.
"Exactly." The teal haired woman grinned. "Students, it is my pleasure to
introduce my assistant and friend, Alexandra Tenou."
Blonde and tall, Alexandra rose. Though she had been at the Meeting of
Mistresses, Alice now realized that she had never really known who the woman
was. She was thin, strong-looking, and seemed to have an air of considerate
cockiness about her.
"Music." Her voice was deep and strong. "Music can teach you about dozens
of emotions... Many of which are impossible to say in words alone." Staring at
Michelle, she smiled broadly. "Like love, for one."
Michelle blushed deeply and looked the floor. Alexandra blushed too, but
more subtly. "Love..." The teacher said it half-heartedly, as though her mind
had wandered elsewhere.
Chuckling, Alice raised a hand. "Miss Kaiou," she asked, acting
nonchalant, "do we get to play in the musical with all the other musicians?"
Biting her lip, Michelle glanced thoughtfully at Alex. "What do you
think?" she asked, directing the question to the pianist.
Alex shrugged. "If they want to." It was a definite statement.
"If you want to." Opening her score, she took out a tiny baton. "Now, open
your folder and take out 'Moonlight Legend'. We will begin at measure six, with
a solo from Irina..."
Alice wasn't listening. She was grinning.
I'm going to join the musical, she thought to herself.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Phoebe sat on the edge of the stage, her feet dangling. In one hand, she
held a script. In the other, her locket.
"Just great," she muttered sarcastically. "I get my first lead role in a
musical, and some sort of evil union from some virtually unknown galaxy is after
me." Looking at the locket and then the script, the blue haired teen sighed.
"But which do I chose?" Standing, she stood on the set. She kicked at a
discarded prop. "Is my future as an actress more important than my future as a
Scout?"
A voice picked up from behind her. "Or should it matter, Phoebe?"
Leaning on her cello, more out of habit than for support, Alice Kino
shrugged half-heartedly. "Maybe they're equally important. Maybe Sailor Phoenix
is as important as Phoebe."
"What do you mean by that, Alice?" She played with her braid.
Alice set her cello on the floor and then sat down by her friend. "Well,
Phoebe, I think you're trying to make a decision that can't be made." She
smiled. "Sailor Phoenix and Phoebe are the exact same person. Simple as pie. You
can't try to go against your human nature. You're Phoebe. You can't try to go
against your Scout nature. You're Phoenix."
Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me to give up?"
Another familiar voice spoke up. "She's telling you to accept it."
Haley walked down the aisle towards the stage with a smile on her face.
"After all, none of this is your fault, Phoebe."
Phoebe smiled a bit. "Thanks guys." Looking around, her expression turned
puzzled. "Where are the others?"
"I think they are at band." Alice smiled helpfully. "Even Reeny, I think."
Haley grimaced. "She is."
"Why so grim?" Phoebe asked, scratching her head.
The pianist sighed and looked at Phoebe and Alice. "It seems our dear
Princess is now a drum major..."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Band! Halt!" Reeny, pink pigtails flying, ran up to a crooked line and
started fixing it.
Lyra and Tara looked at one another with wide eyes.
"She's good," noted the tuba player.
Tara smiled weakly. "At least she enjoys it," she responded.
"Don't you start!" Lyra stomped a foot. "Tara, this is GOOD for you.
You're getting away from the temple and having some fun doing it, too."
"Fun?" The Shinto swept hair behind her shoulders. "Lyra, you have a sick
sense of fun."
The blonde stuck out her tongue.
"Lyra! Tara!" came a high voice.
Tara grimaced and snapped to attention. Lyra struggled to get her
sousaphone back around her body.
"What do you two think you're doing?" Reeny, in her sweatshirt and jeans,
stalked over. She looked like a different person without her white gown on.
"This is a MARCHING band. NOT a 'let's chit-chat' band!"
"Sorry, Princess." Tara bowed her head.
Reeny's face grew red. "Don't call me Princess!" she ordered sternly.
Tara smirked. Lyra winked at her friend.
Nodding with smile, Reeny walked back to the front of the band. "As I was
saying..."
"Reeny! Tara! Lyra!" came a loud voice. "Guys!"
Alice, Haley, and Phoebe came running towards the band, panting.
Reeny tried to keep the worry off her face as she looked at the trio.
"What's wrong, guys?" she asked, voice wavering a bit with worry.
"Diana...called and..." Wheezing, Alice tried to talk. "One...sec..."
Haley, who was barely winded, sighed. "Diana called, and they need us as
soon as possible."
"Crap." Lyra dismounted her instrument and trotted over.
"Uh-oh..." Tara dropped her clarinet on the ground and joined the others.
Smoothing her pink hair, Reeny sighed. "Am I supposed to just ditch the
band?"
"Are we supposed to just ignore our destinies?" Tara's voice was gruff and
firm. "We may have joined this musical mayhem, but that doesn't stop us from
fulfilling our duties."
"Tara's right!" Phoebe agreed, smiling at the youngest Scout. "We have to
do this! Come on, Reeny!" She took off running.
Reeny sighed and turned to the band. "Band, we're going to cancel early
today. See you all tomorrow." She ran to catch up with the others.
The cheer that went up amongst the band when Reeny said those words was
audible ten miles away.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Diana sat in the kitchen. She was drinking a saucer of milk, and enjoying
the quiet. With Reeny off at band, the Crystal Palace was peacefully empty.
For that reason, Diana choked on her milk when six girls burst into the
kitchen together.
"What are..." Coughing, the cat held out a paw.
"What...are...you...doing...here?" she gasped, trying to breathe with milk
halfway down her windpipe.
"You called a meeting." Haley, hardly breathing heavier than normal while
the other Scouts were nearly doubled over, looked at the cat with her vividly
aqua eyes.
Diana shrugged. "Girls, that was well over an HOUR ago."
Reeny looked daggers at her guardian. "We were at Crystal Music Academy,
stupid. That's nearly five miles away!" She exclaimed, pouring herself a glass
of water with one hand and clutching her side with the other.
Enlightenment dawning on her, Phoebe rubbed her temples. "We can Sailor
Teleport, guys..."
Raising a blonde eyebrow, Lyra looked at Phoebe. "We can Sailor WHAT?" she
asked.
"Teleport," supplied Diana, licking a patch of her pink fur. "You guys
didn't have to run all the way here, you know."
Tara coughed and leaned against the kitchen counter. Closing her eyes, she
sighed. "Why did you call this meeting?" she asked, changing the subject.
Diana blushed. "Dang... I don't remember."
Six pairs of eyes stared at a pink cat.
"What?" she asked innocently. "It's not like you guys went all that out of
your way..."
"Yes we did, Diana." Reeny smiled sweetly. "I abandoned my band."
Lyra chewed her lip. "I left my sousaphone sitting on the cold ground."
"I skipped orchestra," commented Alice.
Phoebe ground her teeth. "I skipped musical practice."
"And I missed the musical practice too," finished Haley.
Everyone looked expectantly at Tara, who was standing, half asleep, on the
outside of the group.
"I don't really care," she commented warily. "It's the lesser of two
evils."
With that, Lyra stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
That woke Tara up.
"What's her problem?" asked Reeny, cocking her head at Tara. "Did I miss
something?"
Alice laughed a bit. "You miss nearly everything, Reen, but I have an odd
feeling that this is not including us."
Diana jumped off the table and stretched. "Okay. Tara, you go find Lyra
and make up. Phoebe, Alice, Reeny, and Haley..." She turned to the older four
girls. "You come with me to the Queen's parlor-we'll figure something out."
The other four filed out, leaving Tara and the guardian cat.
"Good luck, Sailor Earth," said the cat with a smile.
"I'll need it," the girl responded, walking out.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"I don't see why we're doing this your way," spat Greed, floating about
ten feet above the stage.
Illness, who was rigging the backdrop of the play to come crashing down
during the main song, looked up at his companion. "You don't have any ideas that
don't involve hunting down the Sailor Scouts and cutting them into little
pieces." He growled a bit.
Greed turned onto her stomach in midair. "And what's the matter with my
idea, Illness? Yours is totally boring!"
"Because, if that blue-haired actress is the Princess, and you obviously
think that..."
"I never said that, Illness! You assumed that!" interrupted the woman,
sticking her tongue out.
Illness grimaced. "As I was trying to say, Greed, if she IS the Princess,
we can take her out and make it look like an accident."
Greed yawned and turned onto her back. "I don't see why we don't just take
out Neo-Queen Serenity and deal with it all that way."
"Neo-Queen Serenity could beat you up by sticking out a hand." Illness
tightened a rope. "Besides, it's not like the Princess is capable of beating us
up."
"And what are we supposed to do when the Sailor Scouts show up?" she
asked, brushing a bit of dust off her green leather. "Just smile and go away?"
He shrugged. "We can always fight. We almost won last time."
"You have a sick sense of victory, Illness," commented Greed with a sigh.
"We were almost smashed by Sailor Polaris' stupid attack."
"And you got burnt by Sailor Phoenix." Illness choked back a chuckle and
smiled broadly.
"NOT FUNNY!" yelled Greed, pouting. Changing the subject, she stared at
Illness' handiwork. "So, when's opening night?"
"Tomorrow." Illness smiled. "Victory is ours."
"Definitely," Greed chimed in.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Lyra was crying. Sitting alone in the rose garden where she had sat so few
weeks ago, she cried for everything and everyone. It wasn't fair that her
friend-quite possibly her best friend-hated marching band. It was healthy for
her. It was good fun. It helped people to learn...
"Why are you crying?" came a familiar voice.
Lyra looked at Tara with a sob. "Because you hate everything that is dear
to me."
The dark haired girl sat next to her friend. "It isn't easy for me."
"What isn't?" asked an upset Lyra.
"Life. Being a Sailor, being pulled from home-schooling, being at
Crossroads, being in band, having friends..." She sighed deeply. "I've never
really been around people before..."
"SO?" Lyra's voice was slightly angry. "That doesn't give you a right! It
doesn't! It doesn't!" Her sobs grew.
"I don't get it." Tara walked up to a fountain shaped like the Queen and
shrugged, staring deep into the water. "You've never been unhappy for thirty
seconds, until now." Tara bit a lip to keep from crying herself. "I, on the
other hand, have never been much happier. Granted, that isn't saying much..."
That drew her over the edge. One by one, tears dropped into the crystalline
water of the fountain. "We've all got destinies to follow, and I don't think it
is very helpful for us to be upset over something like this..."
Lyra smiled and ran a hand through her messy and tangled blonde hair.
"Tara, are you trying to apologize to me?"
Tara blushed through her tears. "I'm trying to tell you that you are, by
far, the closest friend I have ever had in my life..."
The blonde smiled. "I can live with that." She got up and wrapped her arms
around Tara. "You're my best friend, too."
Tara hugged her back. "I'm so glad."
"Now," Lyra smiled, making her way to the door, "aren't we missing a Scout
meeting?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"And that's that." Diana smiled. "Thank goodness we got this straightened
out."
"The Raiders of the Andromeda Galaxy? Well, what would they be doing in
the Milky Way?" Phoebe chewed on the eraser of her pencil.
Lyra stared at a star chart. "Hmm...Well, we are one of the few inhabited
galaxies, so, for universal conquest..."
"We're a great place to start," finished Alice with a sigh. "Yippee! Now,
we're stuck fighting some psychos with funny names."
Rolling her eyes, Tara flipped through the book she was reading. "I
believe their names have something to do with their personalities."
Alice stuck out her tongue. "Please, Tara, what kind of half-wit idea is
that?"
"A pretty true one, Al," commented Haley, laying back in her chair. "After
all, Greed is a cocky little brat with no mind for others..."
"And Illness seems awful weak," continued Phoebe.
Diana nodded. "Reeny, what do you think?"
No response.
"Reeny?"
The Princess was curled up on a couch in the parlor, sucking her thumb.
She was completely asleep.
"REENY!" screamed the cat, jumped onto the sleeping Princess' stomach.
"Get up, you lazy girl!"
She instead rolled over. "Just five more minutes, Mom," she mumbled.
The Scouts giggled.
"NOW!" Diana dug her claws into the soft flesh of the Princess' upper arm.
Sitting bolt upright, the Princess knocked Diana off her lap and into the
wall. "Am I late?" she asked nervously.
Groaning, her guardian stood on shaky legs. "Thanks, Reeny..."
"OH MY GOSH!" Reeny exclaimed, jumping up and cradling her little cat.
"Are you alright, Di?"
The cat nodded carefully. "I think so."
Phoebe, glancing at her watch, stood. "I should go. Opening night's
tomorrow."
Diana bristled. "I want you all there. And I want to go."
"How cute!" commented Reeny with a grin. "You like the arts!"
"No, Reeny. You missed the boat on that one." Diana jumped onto the table
which the Scouts were sitting around. "I think that you guys should be there in
case of danger."
"There's not going to be danger!" complained Reeny.
Phoebe didn't look too convinced. "I got attacked during rehearsal the
other day."
Haley nodded. "I think they're looking for the Princess."
"ME?" Reeny's red eyes grew wide. "Why would they?"
"You're expendable. You're young." Tara was completely serious. "And they
have no clue that you're Sailor Moon."
"Oh crap. I never thought of that." Diana paled. "Reeny, you will go as
a...a stage manager." She turned to Phoebe. "Can you pull that off?"
The Scout of the Sun nodded and put out a hand. "In the name of
Phoenix..." she smiled.
Tara smiled and put out a hand. "And in the name of the Earth..."
"And in the name of Comet..." Haley added her hand.
"In the name of Aurora Borealis," chimed in Alice.
"In the name of Polaris." Lyra threw in her hand.
Reeny was the last to respond. She smiled. "In the name of the Moon..."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Tara was the first one to notice that the backdrop of the stage was
wobbling dangerously.
It was opening night of the musical. Phoebe and her co-star, Thomas, were
standing opposite the stage from one another, delivering the set up for the main
theme. She looked more like an angel than a teenage girl.
Everything was going perfectly. Both Haley and Alice were doing great in
the orchestra pit, and Reeny wasn't a half-bad stage manager. To make matters
better, Lyra, Tara, and their families were sitting with the families of the
rest of the Scouts. Even the King and Queen were in attendance.
But then, Tara saw the backdrop wobble.
And Lyra noticed the gleam of green eyes coming from near the ceiling.
"Lyra..." Tara hissed. "The backdrop..."
"I think I see Greed..." she whispered back.
Without words, both girls stood.
The backdrop began to fall.
Straight towards an oblivious Phoebe...
"But look at me and smile now..." she sang, unaware of what was happening.
"PHOEBE!" screamed Tara and Lyra in unison, jumping onto the stage without
a second thought.
And that's when the backdrop came crashing down.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"SHIT!" Haley jumped off the piano bench and ran onto the stage.
There was no sign of Lyra, Tara, or Phoebe.
Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion stood. "OUT!" Endymion screamed at
the top of his lungs. His deep voice radiated throughout the theater. "EVERYONE
OUT!"
The audience obeyed.
On an impulse, Alice jumped up and ran backstage. Haley followed.
And then, Alice dropped to her knees, sobbing.
Not in sorrow, but in joy.
Phoebe, Tara, and Lyra were all safely on the floor, dazed but unhurt.
And Reeny was standing over them.
"Reeny?" asked Haley, eyes wide. "Did you..."
The Princess shrugged. "They needed saving, and you two would have been
more helpful if you were glued to your seats." She smiled. "They don't call me
Sailor Moon for nothing, you know."
Haley smiled.
The trio on the floor all stood. "What happened?" asked Phoebe.
"Greed is here, and Illness too, most likely." Lyra rubbed her cheek,
which had been cut in the accident. "And they cut the backdrop..."
"Reeny saved us," Tara responded, standing on her shaky legs.
Phoebe swallowed. "Time for some action."
"You're telling me!" Reeny pulled out her locket.
The others did, too.
"Moon Galactic Power! Make-Up!"
"Earth Galactic Power! Make-Up!"
"Polaris Galactic Power! Make-Up!"
"Phoenix Galactic Power! Make-Up!"
"Aurora Borealis Galactic Power! Make-Up!"
"Comet Galactic Power! Make-Up!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Greed did a victory dance on the stage. "We got her!" she yelled,
grinning.
"WE?" asked Illness, crossing his arms. "Whose idea was this?"
"Mine!" Greed continued dancing.
Illness shook his head slowly.
And that was when a voice rang through the room.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!"
Greed did just that. "Oh...no..." she groaned.
A young girl with pink meatball-style hair stood on the piano. She, of
course, was wearing a Sailor fuku.
"I am Sailor Moon! I fight for love and justice and the occasional nap! On
behalf of the Moon, I'll will punish you!"
Five other Scouts dropped from the ceiling.
"AND SO WILL WE!" they chorused.
Greed hit herself in her head. Illness sighed.
"Girls, it's such a pity," he said solemnly, shrugging slightly. "Now we
have to destroy you all."
Suddenly, Greed smiled. "I had forgotten about that part!" A green and
sharp-looking sword appeared in her hand. "I suppose, then, that I'll just have
to kill you six Failures."
It was Alice, with her impulsiveness and good intentions, who first
attacked the two strange and evil beings.
"Aurora Borealis..." She threw her arms straight into the air. "SHINING!"
A bright and blinding light erupted from the air, shattering the near-
peace and knocking both the aliens against the back wall of the theater.
"Uh..." Illness was the first to stand and, shaking, he looked at the
Sailor Scouts. "You...you little brats!"
Diana, appearing from behind the broken backdrop, screamed to the Scouts.
"WATCH OUT!"
Of course, it was too late for most of the Sailors. Illness had woven a
rope from...well, something...and had tied up all the Sailors except for Sailor
Moon.
She backed into a corner and began to shake a bit. "Uh...Mister
Illness..." she pleaded, looking up with teary red eyes. "How about we...uh...we
talk about not hurting me?"
The pink cat swallowed hard. "Be strong, Sailor Moon!" she screamed.
And then, a miracle occurred.
Diana did a large backflip and an long rod appeared in midair.
All six Scouts gasped and stared at the object.
Diana smiled. "Finally, I did it..." she said with a grin.
And then, the rod disintegrated.
Moon's eyes grew wider. Not only that, but both Illness and Greed were
getting nearer to where she lay.
"Diana..." Her hiss came through tightly clenched teeth. "You better have
something better than a disintegrating STICK up your sleeve."
Just then, Sailor Comet had an idea. "Hey, Sailor Phoenix," she said,
nudging her blue-haired friend in the ribs, "do you think you could burn up this
thing?" She nodded at the rope.
Phoenix shrugged and pointed one of her hands towards the binding. "Worth
a try... Phoenix Heat Flashing!"
The steaming substance simply warmed up the rope to an unbearable
temperature.
"Smooth move!" hollered Polaris, twisting and turning, trying to get away
from the extremely warm cable.
"Watch it!" Sailor Aurora Borealis squealed as Polaris stomped on her
toes. "Oww!"
Meanwhile, Diana was still trying to produce a weapon for the young Sailor
Moon without much luck. The fruits of her labor were a stick, a lump of coal,
and a rather rusted Moon Scepter.
Sailor Moon stood up and faced Greed and Illness. Smoothing her fuku, she
looked at them with her red eyes.
"You two are Moon Dust!" she yelped.
Greed huffed loudly. "Yeah, right," she commented, looking smug.
Illness waved a hand, and Sailor Moon found herself in the same bind-
literally-as the other Scouts.
Struggling, she glared at them. "This isn't over!" she exclaimed.
Buffing her black nails on her clothing, Greed smirked. "I'm afraid that
it is, Moon Brat." She smiled sweetly and turned her back to the Scouts. "Soon
enough, you six will find yourselves in a world ruled by our king."
The brown-robed man cackled, warranting a stern look from his companion.
"That's right," he said, halting his laugh. "The Raiders of the Andromeda Galaxy
have come! And will stay forever!" He raised his hands high. "FOREVER!"
Suddenly, and without any warning, a purple rose flew through the air and
broke the line that bound five of the six Sailor Scouts.
And a young voice filled the air. "Small Star Shatter!" it exclaimed.
The ceiling rained little shards of twinkling light. It was almost glass.
Two dark figures stood on the piano, where Sailor Moon had first stood.
One was very tall and masculine, and the other was short and slightly chubby.
"What the heck?" Lyra's jaw dropped.
Tara gasped. "I do believe that our destinies cross with that of
others..."
The figures dropped down from the piano top.
"I am the Starlit Prince," the tall one said. It was a young man, probably
in his late teens, with a black tuxedo on. He wore a purple cape and-of course-
the classic ballroom mask.
The other figure stepped forth. "And I am that cute little girl called
Sailor Chibi-Star!" A girl, about six years old, stood next to the Starlit
Prince. She wore a purple and yellow Sailor fuku, and had extremely blonde hair.
The hair was held back with an enormous purple bow.
Greed stared at the two. So did Illness. "I swore that we were only
briefed about six Scouts..." the woman breathed, blushing.
"I was, too." Illness looked at the young man with a thoughtful glance.
"And I've never...EVER...heard of a Starlit Prince."
By this time, the Scouts had recovered and had managed to free Sailor
Moon. They stood together, staring at their saviors.
"The Starlit Prince..." breathed Moon and Aurora in a starling unison.
Sailor Polaris, on the other hand, was looking at Sailor Chibi-Star. She
chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Where have I seen that kid before?"
Just then, Chibi-Star and the Starlit Prince jumped high into the air and
away from the two Raiders.
That meant only one thing...
"GET THEM!" screamed the Starlit Prince, landing with his small companion
on the stage.
Sailors Earth and Comet looked at one another and smiles spread across the
two faces.
"Earthly Thunderstorm...STRIKE!" Thunder, lightening, and pouring rain
came down around Greed.
"Comet Crater... CLOSE!" The floor opened up and threatened to quite
literally swallow Illness.
The two looked at each other.
"You haven't won yet, brats," commented Illness, blinking out of
existence.
Greed waved and smiled sweetly, flashing fangs. "See you later, kiddies!"
She was gone, too.
The six Scouts took inventory.
"Is everyone alright?" asked Phoenix, looking at her friends.
The Starlit Prince, smoothing his cape, was stern. "Your abilities cannot
be put to good use if you get caught in traps, Scouts." He turned his back and
began to walk away from them.
"YEAH!" chimed in Chibi-Star. "You guys should be more careful. Like my
bigger sister would be." She began to follow the Prince.
"Wait!" exclaimed Moon, launching herself in front of the duo. "Who are
you? Where do you come from? Why are you helping us?" Her face was pale and
featureless as she looked at them.
The Prince stared back at her with startling blue eyes. "Sailor Moon," he
spoke sternly, "I cannot tell you that."
Chibi-Star just smiled. "Some other time. Bye-bye!"
They both jumped up into the air and were gone.
"Wow," said Sailor Comet, staring at them. "They sure are really brave,
facing Greed and Illness like they did."
Sailor Aurora Borealis just sighed. "Is that Starlit Prince cute or what?"
she asked, grinning wistfully.
"Or what!" agreed Moon, staring into space.
Rolling her eyes, Sailor Earth shook her head slowly. "My mother warned me
about those two..." she muttered softly.
And then, an almost-white light flared up, nearly blinding the six Scouts.
"I DID IT!" cried Diana from somewhere in the light. "I finally DID it!"
The light died down, and a pink, blue and red rod with hearts and moons on
it fell to the ground next to all the clutter than Diana had managed to make
during her backflipping.
"What's that?" asked Sailor Phoenix, crouching to look at it.
The pink cat beamed with pride. "It's the Galactic Rod. Only the Guardian
of the Neo-Sailor Moon can awaken it and bring it to action."
"Neo-Sailor Moon?" Sailor Earth tugged on a strand of ebony hair. "Do you
mean to say that..."
"The Queen could never have used this Rod," finished the Moon cat with a
smile. "The Galactic Sailors are not lead by Sailor Moon, but by Neo-Sailor
Moon." She looked at the pink haired Scout. "Princess Reeny."
Right then, the doors to the theater opened, and people began to rush in.
"Uh-oh," mumbled Comet with a sigh. "We'd better get out of here before
they start with the photos."
"You're telling me!" exclaimed Diana, running off with the rest of them.
Sailor Moon was the last one to go. Picking up the Galactic Rod, she
smiled a bit and looked out at the crowd. All the people were staring straight
at her, wide-eyed.
"I AM SAILOR MOON!"
And with that, she left.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Sailor Chibi-Star and the Starlit Prince stood on the roof of the school,
watching the Sailor Scouts run off the campus.
"And somewhere, here in Tokyo, they will untransform and become normal
kids again." The Prince shrugged and looked at his young companion. "And
someday, we'll find out who they really are."
The green eyes of the girl looked up at him thoughtfully. "Will I ever
find out who you really are?" she asked hopefully.
He shrugged a bit. "Only time will tell, little one." He jumped to the
nearest rooftop and waved to her. "Until then..."
"Till then..." repeated Chibi-Star, sighing. "Till then, I have to try to
find out who all those Sailors are all by myself. If only my sister could
help..." She smiled to herself. "If only ANY of my sisters could help!"
And with that, Sailor Chibi-Star started towards home.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Where's Phoebe?" asked Alice, working on her sewing project.
Tara, as always, stared into the flickering flames. Her fire reading
skills had improved a bit, and the Scouts were due to attempt another fire
reading.
Lyra, munching on some French fries, shrugged a bit. "I don't know. Didn't
she say that her parents were going to decide about the Academy today?"
Haley's face lit up and her teal eyes danced. "That's right!" she
exclaimed with a large grin. "I totally forgot about that! I wonder what they'll
say..." She trailed off thoughtfully.
Reeny, who was cradling the Galactic Rod and had been since its
appearance, smiled at her friends. "I think she'd be happy even if she didn't
make it."
"I agree, Princess," Tara chimed in quietly.
"DON'T YOU GO CALLING ME PRINCESS!" she exclaimed, raising the Rod over
her head and aiming it for Tara.
Diana sighed. "That's not how you are to use the Galactic Rod, Reeny!" she
scolded.
Then, the door to the room slowly opened, and a very sedate Phoebe walked
in.
Her hair was a mess, her ice blue eyes were sad, and her school uniform
was disheveled.
"Hi, guys," she breathed, looking at her friends.
Haley stood up slowly and smiled sadly. "Oh, Phoebe, I'm so sorry..."
"For what?" Phoebe's frown turned to a grin instantly. Her eyes sparked
alive. "My parents said yes!"
Six cheers went up in unison.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Doubt laughed. Loudly. Greed forced herself to cover her ears.
"But it's not like that!" she protested, pouting. Her green leather was
scuffed, and her black braid was loose and unkempt.
The woman in the gray dress smiled wickedly. "Oh, please. Spare me, kid.
You are so pathetic, it scares me."
"It's not our fault!" protested Illness, nursing a painful ankle. "There
was this other Scout..." Giving up, he leaned back in his chair with a deep
sigh.
Death, putting a protective arm around Greed, glared at Doubt. "Cut it
out, okay? She didn't do anything wrong."
Sneering, the older woman crossed her arms. Her dress instantly changed to
a silver tint. "You'd do anything to protect your little girlfriend."
Suddenly, the Raider King appeared. He looked at the five minions with a
shake of his head.
"I don't care that there was another Scout," he said to Illness, looking
at him with silver eyes. "And I really don't care about that Prince character."
He smiled smugly at Greed. "I did not expect you to win that battle."
Both Illness and Greed looked relieved.
"Sailor Moon has the Galactic Rod."
Violence's red eyes grew wide. "You've got to be kidding, Majesty."
"Do I kid, Violence?" He turned his back to his five underlings and
shrugged. "I want that Rod." He began to walk away, but his last words echoed
through the chamber.
"Or else."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The Galactic Sailors Say!
Tara: Sometimes, people fight with their moms and dads.
(A photo of Phoebe and Amy screaming at one another is flashes onscreen.)
Tara: (with a very wicked grin) But, not all people are even lucky enough to
have both a mom and a dad.
(An unflattering photo of Alice with devil horns flashes onscreen.)
Alice's Voice: (off-screen) Aurora Borealis...SHINING!
(Tara disappears in a flash of light and Chibi-Star appears in her place.)
Chibi-Star: We all have role models.
Starlit Prince: (appearing) Chibi-Star... We have a mission...
Chibi-Star: Aw...shucks...
(Both leave and Phoebe appears)
Phoebe: (smiling) Seriously, though, music is an important part of everyone's
lives. It remains a life-long experience for each and every person on the
planet.
Diana: (appearing) So please, spay and neuter your pets.
Phoebe: WAIT! What script do you have, Diana?
Diana: (blushing) Sorry, I dug this out of DiC's "Sailor Says" file. Sorry.
Phoebe: (loudly) Tara! What script do YOU have?
Tara: (off-screen) It's the one about parents... AH! Alice, watch it!
Phoebe: (sighing) Music is important.
Haley and Michelle: (appearing) (in unison) She's right. Play music.
Reeny: (running across screen) HELP! THE CRYSTAL IS AFTER ME!
Diana: (sighing) (sadly) That kid...
Phoebe: Roll credits...
-All You Need Is Love By Kate Butler-
Look around...
(Tara, sitting next to Queen Serenity, stares up at the night sky)
So many things aren't clear...
(Phoebe looks blankly at a math book)
Don't worry, though...
(Lyra smiles while picking up her tuba)
You know that I'll be there...
(Sailor Pluto and Haley smile knowingly at each other)
A lot of things are so uncertain...
(Alice looks sadly at a clock while the sun sets over Crystal Tokyo)
The future's on its way...
(Reeny holds the Locket of the Moon, smiling)
Look at my crying eyes...
(Luna and Artemis console an upset Diana)
Don't take your love away!
(Hannah sighs, looking at a sleeping Haley)
Sometimes, the road looks long...
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)
But I know, I know, all you know need is love.
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)
Sometimes, you feel weak...
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)
But I know, I know, all you need is love.
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)
Times will change...
(Amy looks out of a window and at Crystal Palace)
People will change, too...
(Endymion looks at Serenity, who is pouring over a book)
But deep inside...
(Lyra hugs her sister [Celeste])
I always will love you...
(Diana falls asleep on Reeny's lap)
I suppose there are questions now...
(Alice and Phoebe stare blankly at one another)
The answers are so far...
(Michelle stands in front of the orchestra, talking)
But look at me and smile now...
(Tara lovingly hugs her father)
I am your guiding star!
(Haley smiles at a studying Hannah)
Sometimes, the road looks long...
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)
But I know, I know, all you know need is love.
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)
Sometimes, you feel weak...
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)
But I know, I know, all you need is love.
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)
I know...
(The Planet Mistresses stand in a circle)
I know...
(The Galactic Sailors stand in a circle)
All you need is love...
(The Mistresses and Sailors all stand together, holding hands, with their eyes
closed)
All you need...is...love...
(A single purple rose sits in a vase)
The End!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Okay, I have a contest! Anyone who wants to create music (like, a tune) for this
song (All You Need is Love) will get a chance to be in a fan fiction by ME! YAY!
If you want to do it for fun, even better! The winner gets to be in a fic!
Kate
