CHAPTER THREE: MERCURY RISING
Laura nearly fell off her bed. "You've found another guardian?"
Orion nodded. "Yes. The guardian of Mercury is to be awakened."
"Mercury? And who is the guardian of Mercury?"
"She is a quiet girl, with the powers of premonition and psychic abilities. She wants to be a studious scholar, but is usually somewhat distracted."
"Sounds like me," Laura stated, grimly. "So how come I can't remember all the guardians or their individual powers and other stuff they have?"
Orion smiled. "You have to remember that as a guardian, you have been dormant for seventeen years. The memory will return to you as more of the guardians are discovered."
"I don't know anybody with psychic powers and junk like that…except Genia who has weird feelings. You know, it was really creepy how she had a vision about me being 'rememorized'"
Orion just smiled. "Well, the powers of premonitions and psychic powers were embedded in the spirit of Mars…but during the Invasion of Crystal Tokyo, the Guardian of Mars was under a spell of evil, so for her safety, the powers were given to Mercury, the messenger for the Ring of Power. They were never returned for some reason unknown."
"Then who is the Ring of Power? And why have they fixed things the way they are?"
Orion looked down at the ground. His face was thoughtful. "The Ring of Power is more than you think it to be."
Laura sat up. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, the Ring of Power isn't…an assembly or something. You're thinking in terms of the UPA."
"Huh—"
"The Unified Planetary Assembly. Do you remember that?"
Laura thought hard for a moment. "Yeah, Queen Serenity was telling us about the Neo-Negaverse Peace Treaty; that was the final meeting…"
Orion nodded. "Now, keep thinking. You'll figure out what the Ring of Power is when the guardians are united." The crescent moon on his forehead began to glow and a transformation wand appeared. It was similar to Laura's, except that it was blue and the symbol was different.
"I'll let you personally give the transformation wand to Mercury."
Laura shook her head at Orion. "How the heck am I going to remember who the guardian is?"
"Look for the sign on her forehead…duh."
"Don't 'duh' me, you dumb cat…I have no memory of the guardians and I don't know how these 'awakenings' happen!"
Orion laughed. "I'll see you later."
Maya surveyed the small town of Keene. "I am getting strong vibes of Jupiter's power sources here. Since she is our age, I would expect her to be going to the high school."
Selene folded her arms over her chest. "There is a public school and a private school."
"Let's enroll in the private school. There aren't many kids going there. If Jupiter is not going to Chisholm Trail Academy, then we will transfer to the public school."
Selene nodded and flicked a strand of blond hair out of her eye.
Queen Ironia watched her daughters as they schemed and planned their way into CTA.
"You know, I really am proud of the way Maya is handling this," she remarked to General Akura.
"Yes, Supreme Majesty."
"I must go down closer to watch. This throne is getting on my nerves!" She rose and pointed to the orb she was gazing through.
"Pack my things, Akura. We are going to Earth!"
Laura stared closely at a girl's forehead in the cafeteria. Suddenly, she felt a sharp jab in her side.
"Oof!"
"Are you okay? You've been staring at people all morning!" Genia tilted her sandy blond head to one side. "It's getting kind of creepy!"
"Sorry," Laura ducked. "I'm trying to find something."
"What?"
Mary Hardin and Sean Barron came to sit down at their table, so Laura luckily didn't have to answer.
After school, Laura met Genia outside of school. "Well, let's go to the Keene Diner and eat something before we go study!" Genia pulled on Laura's arm.
While walking down the alley behind Keene Diner, Laura tripped on something. She fell and scraped her knee.
"Oh crap it, that hurt!" She brushed the loose gravel off her skin. While she was picking herself up, Genia turned around.
"Oh my—" Genia's voice trailed off. Her bag dropped to the ground with a loud clump. Her legs became wobbly.
Laura looked up. She caught sight of the demon in front of Genia. It was blue and had funny green striped all over it. Long white fangs came out of her mouth. She pointed her hand at the two girls.
"I am here to fight the guardian of Jupiter!"
Laura rolled slowly out of the alley to another one nearby. She brought her transformation wand out of her coat pocket.
"JUPITER STAR POWER!!!"
In a flash, she had transformed into Sailor Jupiter. She turned around and ran back into the alley.
"Stop right there, you funky-colored thing!" She stopped and scratched her head. "What the heck did I just say?"
The daimon aimed a ball of yellow energy at Genia. "First, I must get rid of this girl in the way!"
She hit Genia with a blast of energy. Genia was thrown back against the alley wall. The beam of energy continued at a steady stream on her and she was held against the wall with the force of it.
Sailor Jupiter ran at the daimon. Genia screamed as the force drained her of her energy. Suddenly, a blue flash came from her forehead. A funny shaped symbol appeared from the flash.
Laura stopped running. "Oh wow! That's the symbol that is on the blue wand!"
She tossed the wand at Genia. "I HAVE FOUND THE GUARDIAN OF MERCURY! RING OF POWER, RETURN THE MEMORY TO HER!"
Genia was lifted up in the air. Dark clouds came overhead and it began to rain. Water came down in sheets. Wind tore through the alley, making a whistling sound. As the water drenched her, Genia had the sensation of a large wave hitting her. She saw flashes of memories in her mind. The episode ended as quickly as it had started.
Genia opened her eyes. She saw Sailor Jupiter fighting the daimon. She hobbled up from the ground where she was lying. She teetered back and forth on wobbly legs. She was completely dry.
"Jupiter!" She shouted.
"JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!!!!" The next blast of energy knocked the daimon away for a moment.
Sailor Jupiter turned to Genia. "Pick up the wand!"
Genia looked down and saw the blue transformation wand. She reached down and scooped it up.
"Now say, 'Mercury Star Power'!"
"Why?"
"Just say it!" Sailor Jupiter turned to face the daimon again.
Genia shook her head. She took the wand and held it tightly in her fist. "Um, MERCURY STAR POWER!"
Suddenly she was swathed in a light blue light. Her beige skirt and white mini-tee were transformed into a short blue sailor suit. A gold tiara with a blue gem appeared on her forehead.
Sailor Mercury stood behind Sailor Jupiter. "I'm here, Jupiter, have no fear!" She laughed.
"MERCURY ICE BUBBLES….FREEZE!"
"JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!"
The daimon was hit with green and blue energy. It was vaporized without a trace.
Sailor Jupiter faced her new teammate. "So…funny story."
Sailor Mercury shook her head again. "I can't believe this! Where's Prince Christian?"
"Well, actually, we are the only two guardians awakened…." Sailor Jupiter leaned over and wiped loose dust from her suede boots.
Sailor Mercury crossed her arms. "What?"
"Yeah."
Sailor Mercury kicked the wall. "How are we supposed to find Prince Christian with only two guardians awakened?"
"Beats me. How about we transform back and talk about this later?" Sailor Jupiter touched her tiara's green gem and the transformation wand appeared in the air next to her. She grabbed it and in a flash of white light, her jeans and green short-sleeved shirt returned.
Sailor Mercury did the same. A moment later they walked out of the alley back in their regular clothes.
Maya walked into Chisholm Trail Academy's office and looked at the registrar. "I am looking for your principal."
"The second door…but who—"
Maya turned around and barged into the room She touched the black upside-down crescent moon on her forehead. The principal's eyes glazed over. He seemed to be in a trance.
"My sister Selene and I are students here. You will not question our motives nor will you investigate our backgrounds. We are merely students that create no problems nor do anything to bring attention to us." She stopped and he slumped over on his desk. Maya made a quick trip around the office and managed to brain wash the registrar, vice-principal and secretary.
Selene was surveying a poster advertising a school event. Maya came out of the office with a smile on her face.
"It's fixed. We're in.
Laura nearly fell off her bed. "You've found another guardian?"
Orion nodded. "Yes. The guardian of Mercury is to be awakened."
"Mercury? And who is the guardian of Mercury?"
"She is a quiet girl, with the powers of premonition and psychic abilities. She wants to be a studious scholar, but is usually somewhat distracted."
"Sounds like me," Laura stated, grimly. "So how come I can't remember all the guardians or their individual powers and other stuff they have?"
Orion smiled. "You have to remember that as a guardian, you have been dormant for seventeen years. The memory will return to you as more of the guardians are discovered."
"I don't know anybody with psychic powers and junk like that…except Genia who has weird feelings. You know, it was really creepy how she had a vision about me being 'rememorized'"
Orion just smiled. "Well, the powers of premonitions and psychic powers were embedded in the spirit of Mars…but during the Invasion of Crystal Tokyo, the Guardian of Mars was under a spell of evil, so for her safety, the powers were given to Mercury, the messenger for the Ring of Power. They were never returned for some reason unknown."
"Then who is the Ring of Power? And why have they fixed things the way they are?"
Orion looked down at the ground. His face was thoughtful. "The Ring of Power is more than you think it to be."
Laura sat up. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, the Ring of Power isn't…an assembly or something. You're thinking in terms of the UPA."
"Huh—"
"The Unified Planetary Assembly. Do you remember that?"
Laura thought hard for a moment. "Yeah, Queen Serenity was telling us about the Neo-Negaverse Peace Treaty; that was the final meeting…"
Orion nodded. "Now, keep thinking. You'll figure out what the Ring of Power is when the guardians are united." The crescent moon on his forehead began to glow and a transformation wand appeared. It was similar to Laura's, except that it was blue and the symbol was different.
"I'll let you personally give the transformation wand to Mercury."
Laura shook her head at Orion. "How the heck am I going to remember who the guardian is?"
"Look for the sign on her forehead…duh."
"Don't 'duh' me, you dumb cat…I have no memory of the guardians and I don't know how these 'awakenings' happen!"
Orion laughed. "I'll see you later."
Maya surveyed the small town of Keene. "I am getting strong vibes of Jupiter's power sources here. Since she is our age, I would expect her to be going to the high school."
Selene folded her arms over her chest. "There is a public school and a private school."
"Let's enroll in the private school. There aren't many kids going there. If Jupiter is not going to Chisholm Trail Academy, then we will transfer to the public school."
Selene nodded and flicked a strand of blond hair out of her eye.
Queen Ironia watched her daughters as they schemed and planned their way into CTA.
"You know, I really am proud of the way Maya is handling this," she remarked to General Akura.
"Yes, Supreme Majesty."
"I must go down closer to watch. This throne is getting on my nerves!" She rose and pointed to the orb she was gazing through.
"Pack my things, Akura. We are going to Earth!"
Laura stared closely at a girl's forehead in the cafeteria. Suddenly, she felt a sharp jab in her side.
"Oof!"
"Are you okay? You've been staring at people all morning!" Genia tilted her sandy blond head to one side. "It's getting kind of creepy!"
"Sorry," Laura ducked. "I'm trying to find something."
"What?"
Mary Hardin and Sean Barron came to sit down at their table, so Laura luckily didn't have to answer.
After school, Laura met Genia outside of school. "Well, let's go to the Keene Diner and eat something before we go study!" Genia pulled on Laura's arm.
While walking down the alley behind Keene Diner, Laura tripped on something. She fell and scraped her knee.
"Oh crap it, that hurt!" She brushed the loose gravel off her skin. While she was picking herself up, Genia turned around.
"Oh my—" Genia's voice trailed off. Her bag dropped to the ground with a loud clump. Her legs became wobbly.
Laura looked up. She caught sight of the demon in front of Genia. It was blue and had funny green striped all over it. Long white fangs came out of her mouth. She pointed her hand at the two girls.
"I am here to fight the guardian of Jupiter!"
Laura rolled slowly out of the alley to another one nearby. She brought her transformation wand out of her coat pocket.
"JUPITER STAR POWER!!!"
In a flash, she had transformed into Sailor Jupiter. She turned around and ran back into the alley.
"Stop right there, you funky-colored thing!" She stopped and scratched her head. "What the heck did I just say?"
The daimon aimed a ball of yellow energy at Genia. "First, I must get rid of this girl in the way!"
She hit Genia with a blast of energy. Genia was thrown back against the alley wall. The beam of energy continued at a steady stream on her and she was held against the wall with the force of it.
Sailor Jupiter ran at the daimon. Genia screamed as the force drained her of her energy. Suddenly, a blue flash came from her forehead. A funny shaped symbol appeared from the flash.
Laura stopped running. "Oh wow! That's the symbol that is on the blue wand!"
She tossed the wand at Genia. "I HAVE FOUND THE GUARDIAN OF MERCURY! RING OF POWER, RETURN THE MEMORY TO HER!"
Genia was lifted up in the air. Dark clouds came overhead and it began to rain. Water came down in sheets. Wind tore through the alley, making a whistling sound. As the water drenched her, Genia had the sensation of a large wave hitting her. She saw flashes of memories in her mind. The episode ended as quickly as it had started.
Genia opened her eyes. She saw Sailor Jupiter fighting the daimon. She hobbled up from the ground where she was lying. She teetered back and forth on wobbly legs. She was completely dry.
"Jupiter!" She shouted.
"JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!!!!" The next blast of energy knocked the daimon away for a moment.
Sailor Jupiter turned to Genia. "Pick up the wand!"
Genia looked down and saw the blue transformation wand. She reached down and scooped it up.
"Now say, 'Mercury Star Power'!"
"Why?"
"Just say it!" Sailor Jupiter turned to face the daimon again.
Genia shook her head. She took the wand and held it tightly in her fist. "Um, MERCURY STAR POWER!"
Suddenly she was swathed in a light blue light. Her beige skirt and white mini-tee were transformed into a short blue sailor suit. A gold tiara with a blue gem appeared on her forehead.
Sailor Mercury stood behind Sailor Jupiter. "I'm here, Jupiter, have no fear!" She laughed.
"MERCURY ICE BUBBLES….FREEZE!"
"JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!"
The daimon was hit with green and blue energy. It was vaporized without a trace.
Sailor Jupiter faced her new teammate. "So…funny story."
Sailor Mercury shook her head again. "I can't believe this! Where's Prince Christian?"
"Well, actually, we are the only two guardians awakened…." Sailor Jupiter leaned over and wiped loose dust from her suede boots.
Sailor Mercury crossed her arms. "What?"
"Yeah."
Sailor Mercury kicked the wall. "How are we supposed to find Prince Christian with only two guardians awakened?"
"Beats me. How about we transform back and talk about this later?" Sailor Jupiter touched her tiara's green gem and the transformation wand appeared in the air next to her. She grabbed it and in a flash of white light, her jeans and green short-sleeved shirt returned.
Sailor Mercury did the same. A moment later they walked out of the alley back in their regular clothes.
Maya walked into Chisholm Trail Academy's office and looked at the registrar. "I am looking for your principal."
"The second door…but who—"
Maya turned around and barged into the room She touched the black upside-down crescent moon on her forehead. The principal's eyes glazed over. He seemed to be in a trance.
"My sister Selene and I are students here. You will not question our motives nor will you investigate our backgrounds. We are merely students that create no problems nor do anything to bring attention to us." She stopped and he slumped over on his desk. Maya made a quick trip around the office and managed to brain wash the registrar, vice-principal and secretary.
Selene was surveying a poster advertising a school event. Maya came out of the office with a smile on her face.
"It's fixed. We're in.
