"So, are you living here now, or are you still on the
foreign exchange?" asked Lita.
"Uh. . .still on
foreign exchange," Minako lied.
"Cool. . .Hey! Watch
it, punk!" yelled Lita as someone skateboarded past them.
"You almost hit us!"
Minako took a deep breath. "The
air is so fresh here."
"Compared to Japan, yes.
Compared to the country side, no." She jabbed her thumb into
the air behind them. "You know, that white cat has been
following us for the longest time. Is he yours?" asked
Lita.
"Huh?" Minako turned around. "Artemis! I
told you to stay in the apartment!"
Lita giggled. "Well,
you go right and I go straight. Ja ne, Minako-san!"
"Ja
ne, Lita-san!"
Artemis hopped onto Minako's shoulder and
made sure Lita was out of earshot, then said, "I got some
strong vibes from her."
"I sensed something about her
this morning. Could she be Sailor Jupiter?"
"Or the
Princess. Either way, keep your eye on her."
"Yes,
King Artemis." Minako saluted him. "Whatever you
say."
Artemis rolled his eyes. "Kami-sama."
Lita
grabbed some Jell-O from her refrigerator, plopped on the couch,
and turned on the six o'clock news.
"Tonight's top story:
Just who is she?" asked the TV as it showed a girl wearing a
school-girl's uniform firing beams out of her fingers. "She
calls herself The Champion of Justice."
In the background,
Lita heard the girl yell out, "Codename: Sailor V! I am the
Pretty Sailor-suited Soldier of Justice, Sailor Venus!"
"But
just what does this Champion of Justice do?" asked the
reporter.
"Gee. Let me guess," mumbled Lita under her
breath.
Sailor V appeared on the screen. "Well, I'm here
to protect the people of this planet, find the last of my
soldiers, and then protect my princess."
"Oh, and who
is this princess?" asked the reporter.
"For safety
reasons, I can't say," answered Sailor V.
Lita leaned
forward so she could see the screen better. That girl, she
thought. She looks familiar.
"Hey!
Jupiter!"
Sailor Jupiter turned to find the leader of the
Sailor Guardians, Sailor Venus, running towards her.
"We
are going to be late! Come on!"
Lita gasped. "What was that?" she asked out loud. It didn't matter; no one was there to hear her.
"Jupiter."
Her head snapped back. "Who's there?"
"Jupiter. Help me be free again."
Great. Now I'm hearing things. Lita threw her spoon in the sink, then went to bed. Maybe I just need more sleep.
A girl with her hair in a meatball style and a long with
dress stood in the mist. Her dress blew in the wind. She
whispered, "Please, Jupiter. Free me."
Lita blinked
her eyes a few times. "Who are you?"
"Find your
leader. Then free me."
"My leader?" asked Lita.
"Who is that? Who are you?"
"I am
Serenity."
"Serenity, who is my leader?" asked
Lita, who really was not thrilled at the fact she was going to
have to follow a complete stranger soon.
"I have told you
too much," whispered Serenity. "Please free me,
Jupiter."
"Wait! Where are you going? Come back. .
."
Lita sat straight up in her bed. "That's
the third time this week. At least now I know who I'm talking to.
But why won't she tell me more; wouldn't that help me?" She
looked at the clock. It was four in the morning.
As she lay
back down, her thoughts turned to Sailor V. Over the months, Lita
had become a fan of hers, and now Sailor V was in her town! But
Lita started thinking how weird it was that Sailor V showed up the
same day Minako did and how they look alike. "It's possible
that Minako could be Sailor V. I mean, she might want to real life
without fans all around her. I would." Yawning, Lita rolled
over and fell back asleep.
"Lita-san!"
"Minako-san! How are you
today?"
"Okay. You?"
"Fine. Hey, um. .
." Should I ask her? Lita wondered.
Minako looked
at Lita. "Is something wrong?"
Lita quickly smiled.
"Nothing! Um. . .Did you hear? Sailor V is here!"
Minako
quickly acted surprised. "Wow! I didn't know. I spent the
entire night unpacking and I didn't get to watch the news. Do you
think it will be on tonight?"
"Only if Sailor V shows
up again." Lita thought about. "Of course, nothing
happens in this town. They might dwell upon it."
"Then
let's give them something to talk about!" A youma appeared.
Lita had the sudden urge to fight. Unable to control herself,
she ran to the youma and started to attack.
"Lita-san!"
The
youma grabbed Lita around the waist with one of its tentacles and
raised her above its head. "Energy Drain!" it
yelled.
Lita screamed as she started to lose her energy.
"Moon
Power! Transform!" yelled Minako. "Codename: Sailor V! I
am the Pretty Sailor-Suited Soldier of Justice! Sailor Venus!"
The
youma blasted Sailor V.
"Crescent Shower!. . .Crescent
Super Beam!"
The youma just laughed and kept attacking
her.
"Rolling Screw Sailor V Punch! Crescent Beam! . .
.OUCH! Crescent Boomerang!" Sailor V screamed as she was
picked up by the monster.
Lita managed to kick the youma in the
jaw. Surprised, the youma dropped both of them. Lita was able to
land on her own two feet, but Sailor V was thrown to the ground,
breaking her compact!
"MINAKO-CHAN!" yelled Artemis
as she was surrounded by ribbons.
This can't be happening,
thought Sailor V as she became Minako again. She moaned in
pain.
"Minako-san!" Lita jogged over to Minako. "Are
you okay?"
"Yeah."
"You sure?"
Minako
looked at her friend. "Don't you care? I'm Sailor V!"
"You
could be that Serenity in my dreams for all I know! I'm getting
you out of here!"
"Wait! Did you say 'Serenity'?"
asked Minako.
"Yeah, but we. . ."
"What did
she call you?" asked Artemis.
"Jupiter. OH MY GOD!
THAT CAT TALKED! How. . .?"
"Never mind!"
Artemis did a back flip and produced two henshion sticks. One was
orange at the end and had the symbol of Venus, while the other one
was green at the end and had a four.
He gave Minako the orange
tipped one. "Yell out 'Venus Power Make Up!'" He gave
Lita the green tipped one. "Yell out 'Jupiter Power Make
Up!'"
"Come on, Lita! We need to save the day!"
Minako said.
"Are you sure you're okay?" asked
Lita.
"Venus Power Make Up!"
"Jupiter Power
Make Up!"
"Hey! Youma! I am Sailor Venus, Leader of
the Sailor Senshi! With Sailor Jupiter by my side, we will punish
you!"
