Chapter 05 - The Beginning of a Legend
All that Grandma McKinnion wanted was a quiet and calm weekend with her granddaughter and her friends. Maybe that was the reason why she was at the kitchen, waiting for the water to boil and for the cookies in the oven. A five-o'clock tea would be perfect, even though it was eleven thirty in the morning.
The old woman prepared the table for Cat, her two friends and the new neighbor. She had heard a car coming by and a boy's voice coming from her background some minutes ago. After hearing a whistle coming from the stove, Grandma McKinnion got the kettle and put it on the table along with fresh hot cookies she had baked that morning. She smiled after looking at the table and walked to the door, ready to call the teenagers for the tea.
"Catherin, dear!", she called, without opening the door. "Tea is ready, call yehr friends!"
"Jesus, NO!" Siren exclaimed, after hearing her grandmother's voice. "What will we do now?!"
"We can turn back to normal, but Amerin is unconscious and can't do the same", said Art, concentrating to change back to his normal clothes.
"Oh well..." Tieko sighed, raising her shoulders and getting a bucket of water. "Forgive me for that, Aindrea, but you will have to wake up the worst way ever. But... someone still has to find your dog, Cat."
"THAT be the easiest part", said Cat, taking a whistle out of her jacket's pocket. "Windy can hear this anywhere he is and come back as fast as he can."
"WINDY?!", exclaimed Arthur and Tieko.
"Why, yes... why are yeh two so surprised?", asked Cat, amazed.
"Isn't 'Windy' a female name?", asked Tieko, throwing water on Amerin's face.
"Sounds as, but that's his nickname. His AKC's name is 'Destiny Wind Runner'", answered Cat, looking at the astonished faces of Arthur and Tieko. "Now what?"
"Err... nothing", said Arthur, kneeling on the ground. "C'mon, Amerin, wake up."
He opened his eyes slowly, surprising Cat and Tieko. His eyes were now golden, not dark blue as before. Just like in the old times, thought Arthur.
"Are you OK?" asked Tieko, dropping the bucket and kneeling beside Amerin.
"I think so... but... what happened?" he asked, looking at his own clothes.
"We'll explain that later", said Cat, patting Windy, which had just arrived at the backyard. "Now turn back to normal before anyone comes 'ere. Me grandmother just called us for tea, want to join us?"
"Uh..." gasped Aindrea, turning back to normal and blushing lightly. "I... I'll be glad to, Catherin."
Tieko blinked to Arthur, who was smiling. His smile was from being happy to be with her; he didn't know why, but all he wanted was to enjoy every single moment with her, for something in his mind told him that that happiness wouldn't last forever.
***
Aleph had fallen asleep on the chair he carried to Kyn's room, so he could stay there more comfortable. Moon Fox smiled when saw that scene and walked back to his room to catch a thick blanket to the one who once was born as a member of the royal family of Mars and now was not only his relative, but his best friend.
Kyn's room was too cold for Aleph, who was protected by Fire as an element. He shivered, stopping only when Moon Fox put the blanket over him.
Trying to ignore the cold, Moon Fox sat on Kyn's bed, looking at her face. Remembering those days when they laughed together at their own driving skills, when they grew old as average teenagers. Days when Sailor Moon and the story of the Silver Millennium were only part of a plot created for a manga and TV show.
"Homesick, Moon Fox? Or just feeling lonely?" asked a young man, whose face was similar to Chronos'. He had straight black hair, cut almost as Moon Fox's, but without the ponytail. He also wore black pants and boots, but his jacket and the stripes of cloth he had as a belt were golden. The symbol of Uranus could be seen on the bracket he wore on the right arm.
"Hello, Seph, Crystal Master", greeted Moon Fox, standing up. "Tired of reading Fate's Memories at the Library?"
"Quite", he said and put his left hand in a small bag he carried on the stripes of cloth. "Here."
Moon Fox opened his hand to get the blue crystal Seph gave him. "An aquamarine. It's her favorite."
"Leave it by her side and come to the main hall", said Seph, leaving Kyn's room. "And bring Aleph too. We need all the Destiny Kishi to make an important decision."
"Geez, don't tell me that we have more problems", said Moon Fox, shaking Aleph's arm.
"As you wish, I won't."
***
Mornington wasn't a big town. The places where everybody used to go were the Game Center and the Coffee Shop that was near of it. For boys like Bradley Cooper and William Hashimoto, both from bigger cities, Mornington was so dull as hell itself. They had been accepted by Fallen College with honor and they wouldn't have to pay for their classes; that was why they were there.
"Let's go to the Game Center", said Bradley, tossing a pillow on William. "I need to get out of here."
"You must be kidding", said William, yawning. "There hasn't been anything new there for months!"
"It's worth a while", he continued. "I need to walk a bit."
"OK... Hey, Martin! Kenneth! We're going to the Game Center! You two wanna join us?"
Martin sighed in relief and just mumbled a 'no, thank you', while he continued typing on his notebook. Kenneth raised an eyebrow and left the couch where he had been for the last hours, thinking of what had happened. A walk would help put his mind in order and he had to know better the town.
"Seems a good opportunity to take a walk", said Kenneth, placing his wallet in his pocket.
After the three left the dormitory, Martin turned off his notebook and walked to the kitchen, which still looked like a war zone.
"Looks like I'll have to take care of this mess..." he said, kneeling down and picking up some knives and forks.
Suddenly, a very strong whirlwind appeared in the middle of the kitchen, surprising Martin. He wanted to call for help, but the strong smell of ether made him sleep quickly. His body was lifted from the floor and disappeared in the middle of the whirlwind. A small piece of paper was left where Martin had been picking up some knives.
Something on Daniel's mind called his attention and he ran downstairs quickly, being followed by Rick. A cold chill ran down their spines when they saw the paper on the floor.
"Why can't we have a nice and quiet weekend?" sighed Rick, kneeling down to get the paper.
"Maybe because God or someone up there doesn't like us", said Daniel, joking. "What is that?"
"A note for the Planet Guardians", answered Rick, walking around the hall while reading the paper. "A ransom note. Kazeko has one of our friends, the Chinese one, she says, and wants to meet the Guardians at the gym at 10 p.m..."
"Martin!" exclaimed Daniel. "We have to find Kenneth and Cat right now!"
"Let's go after Kenneth. We don't know where is the house of Cat's grandmother. Just don't let Bradley and William know, OK?"
"No problem", said Daniel, wearing his jacket with the symbol of Fallen College. "Now it's midday. We have 10 hours to find them and to decide what we'll do."
"Countdown has already begun..."
***
"I hope everything is good for all of yeh", said Grandma McKinnion, serving tea to Aindrea and ignoring Cat's glare of 'we-want-to-talk-alone-got-it'.
"You didn't have to worry, Mrs. McKinnion", said Tieko, getting a cookie from the tray.
"Catherin doesn't have many friends", continued Grandma McKinnion, while a small black cloud with thunder and lightning started to crackle over Cat's head, making Arthur gasp in the middle of a sip of tea. "So I'm always happy when she brings you here."
"Gasp! Cough!" coughed Arthur, covering his mouth with a napkin. "We do appreciate your effort, Mrs. McKinnion, but... unfortunately, we have to do some chores now."
Grandma McKinnion's face became sad as she wished they could stay more. "So soon?" and Cat almost sighed in relief. "Well, if you have to go, please take some of these to yehr friends."
*Brother, this woman sure is fast!* thought Arthur, when she handled a small box to Tieko, taking it out of someplace. "Why don't you come with us, Aindrea? You can use the afternoon to see how the town is and to know more people."
"I'll just change my sweater to a dry one and I'll be right with you", he answered, taking the towel out of his shoulder.
"Thanks for everything, grandmother", Cat kissed her goodbye. "I'll be back next week or when yeh call me, OK?"
"Bring your friends along with you", said Grandma, waving goodbye.
***
Not all the Destiny Kishi were at the Main Hall of Pluto's Palace by Chronos' request. By the Silver Table stood Moon Fox, Aleph, Firebird, Seph and Chronos - Moon, Mars, Venus, Uranus and Pluto. There weren't many Guardians of Time, as Sailor Pluto had written their rules so that a new team of Destiny Kishi would only be created when the previous one no longer existed.
"Why did you call us for an emergency meeting, Chronos?" asked Firebird.
"We've got bigger problems than I thought", answered Chronos, with a worried statement on his face. "And I believe I discovered why Art's essence never found peace during these decades."
"Focus the mirror and narrow the image", ordered Seph to the voice control panel and the mirror of Tieko's Timeline became bigger.
"I can tell that I'm partially responsible for that", continued Chronos, pointing at the screen. "If I hadn't send Kyn's essence to Tieko Aikawa's body, she would be safe, here with us. I've put her life in danger."
"Explain that clearly and DON'T take too much time for that!" shouted Moon Fox, angrily.
"Easy there, Moon Fox", said Aleph. "Chronos is the actual Guardian of Time and our leader. And... he's saying he's guilty, when would we ever think we'd hear something like that? Nor Sailor Pluto nor any former Guardian would do that."
"You're right. I think I'm just too nervous, sorry."
"Don't worry about that, I would do the same", answered Chronos, taking a deep breath. "If I hadn't given permission to Arthur Crossroads use the Time Key, Art's essence would just go to another Timeline and begin his journey again. But I sent the main essence of the only woman he loved in his life... and that called HER attention."
"HER attention?" gasped Firebird. "You mean that Neko..."
"Yes. I called the woman whose heart he broke. Neko of Marine, the former Neptune Destiny Kishi is back."
"But she was expelled from the team", said Moon Fox, remembering when he took her Silver Pen from her soul. "How could she be able to rewrite time without it?"
"The Neptune Silver Pen disappeared from the palace years ago", said Seph, in a low voice. "We didn't tell you that because we had just finished with a terrible battle and not everyone would react in a good way..."
"That means that we will have to do something to stop Neko right now", said Aleph. "Before she creates a Space-Dimension Gate."
"Too late", sighed Moon Fox, collapsing on a chair. "This explains why no extra-dimensional creature could be found before Kazeko appeared. She already did it, Aleph."
Moon Fox's face was of fear. For the first time in many decades, he didn't know what to do and he knew that his friends had the same feeling. When Chronos stood up, everyone hoped he had a good idea to deal with that problem.
"I've decided to awake the Inner Senshi of that Timeline", he said, while a deep silence took over the hall. "Hey, that won't be a BIG problem... why are you with THAT face?"
"We're going to mess up MORE lives?" asked Firebird, sighing.
"We won't", said Seph, remembering a sentence that Arthur had said that morning. "Because they already exist, but as Sailor Scouts. We'll just make things faster."
"And create a way of taking them to America, am I right?" said Aleph.
"OK, guys, we have a LOT of work to do..." said Moon Fox, with his Silver Pen on his hands.
All that Grandma McKinnion wanted was a quiet and calm weekend with her granddaughter and her friends. Maybe that was the reason why she was at the kitchen, waiting for the water to boil and for the cookies in the oven. A five-o'clock tea would be perfect, even though it was eleven thirty in the morning.
The old woman prepared the table for Cat, her two friends and the new neighbor. She had heard a car coming by and a boy's voice coming from her background some minutes ago. After hearing a whistle coming from the stove, Grandma McKinnion got the kettle and put it on the table along with fresh hot cookies she had baked that morning. She smiled after looking at the table and walked to the door, ready to call the teenagers for the tea.
"Catherin, dear!", she called, without opening the door. "Tea is ready, call yehr friends!"
"Jesus, NO!" Siren exclaimed, after hearing her grandmother's voice. "What will we do now?!"
"We can turn back to normal, but Amerin is unconscious and can't do the same", said Art, concentrating to change back to his normal clothes.
"Oh well..." Tieko sighed, raising her shoulders and getting a bucket of water. "Forgive me for that, Aindrea, but you will have to wake up the worst way ever. But... someone still has to find your dog, Cat."
"THAT be the easiest part", said Cat, taking a whistle out of her jacket's pocket. "Windy can hear this anywhere he is and come back as fast as he can."
"WINDY?!", exclaimed Arthur and Tieko.
"Why, yes... why are yeh two so surprised?", asked Cat, amazed.
"Isn't 'Windy' a female name?", asked Tieko, throwing water on Amerin's face.
"Sounds as, but that's his nickname. His AKC's name is 'Destiny Wind Runner'", answered Cat, looking at the astonished faces of Arthur and Tieko. "Now what?"
"Err... nothing", said Arthur, kneeling on the ground. "C'mon, Amerin, wake up."
He opened his eyes slowly, surprising Cat and Tieko. His eyes were now golden, not dark blue as before. Just like in the old times, thought Arthur.
"Are you OK?" asked Tieko, dropping the bucket and kneeling beside Amerin.
"I think so... but... what happened?" he asked, looking at his own clothes.
"We'll explain that later", said Cat, patting Windy, which had just arrived at the backyard. "Now turn back to normal before anyone comes 'ere. Me grandmother just called us for tea, want to join us?"
"Uh..." gasped Aindrea, turning back to normal and blushing lightly. "I... I'll be glad to, Catherin."
Tieko blinked to Arthur, who was smiling. His smile was from being happy to be with her; he didn't know why, but all he wanted was to enjoy every single moment with her, for something in his mind told him that that happiness wouldn't last forever.
***
Aleph had fallen asleep on the chair he carried to Kyn's room, so he could stay there more comfortable. Moon Fox smiled when saw that scene and walked back to his room to catch a thick blanket to the one who once was born as a member of the royal family of Mars and now was not only his relative, but his best friend.
Kyn's room was too cold for Aleph, who was protected by Fire as an element. He shivered, stopping only when Moon Fox put the blanket over him.
Trying to ignore the cold, Moon Fox sat on Kyn's bed, looking at her face. Remembering those days when they laughed together at their own driving skills, when they grew old as average teenagers. Days when Sailor Moon and the story of the Silver Millennium were only part of a plot created for a manga and TV show.
"Homesick, Moon Fox? Or just feeling lonely?" asked a young man, whose face was similar to Chronos'. He had straight black hair, cut almost as Moon Fox's, but without the ponytail. He also wore black pants and boots, but his jacket and the stripes of cloth he had as a belt were golden. The symbol of Uranus could be seen on the bracket he wore on the right arm.
"Hello, Seph, Crystal Master", greeted Moon Fox, standing up. "Tired of reading Fate's Memories at the Library?"
"Quite", he said and put his left hand in a small bag he carried on the stripes of cloth. "Here."
Moon Fox opened his hand to get the blue crystal Seph gave him. "An aquamarine. It's her favorite."
"Leave it by her side and come to the main hall", said Seph, leaving Kyn's room. "And bring Aleph too. We need all the Destiny Kishi to make an important decision."
"Geez, don't tell me that we have more problems", said Moon Fox, shaking Aleph's arm.
"As you wish, I won't."
***
Mornington wasn't a big town. The places where everybody used to go were the Game Center and the Coffee Shop that was near of it. For boys like Bradley Cooper and William Hashimoto, both from bigger cities, Mornington was so dull as hell itself. They had been accepted by Fallen College with honor and they wouldn't have to pay for their classes; that was why they were there.
"Let's go to the Game Center", said Bradley, tossing a pillow on William. "I need to get out of here."
"You must be kidding", said William, yawning. "There hasn't been anything new there for months!"
"It's worth a while", he continued. "I need to walk a bit."
"OK... Hey, Martin! Kenneth! We're going to the Game Center! You two wanna join us?"
Martin sighed in relief and just mumbled a 'no, thank you', while he continued typing on his notebook. Kenneth raised an eyebrow and left the couch where he had been for the last hours, thinking of what had happened. A walk would help put his mind in order and he had to know better the town.
"Seems a good opportunity to take a walk", said Kenneth, placing his wallet in his pocket.
After the three left the dormitory, Martin turned off his notebook and walked to the kitchen, which still looked like a war zone.
"Looks like I'll have to take care of this mess..." he said, kneeling down and picking up some knives and forks.
Suddenly, a very strong whirlwind appeared in the middle of the kitchen, surprising Martin. He wanted to call for help, but the strong smell of ether made him sleep quickly. His body was lifted from the floor and disappeared in the middle of the whirlwind. A small piece of paper was left where Martin had been picking up some knives.
Something on Daniel's mind called his attention and he ran downstairs quickly, being followed by Rick. A cold chill ran down their spines when they saw the paper on the floor.
"Why can't we have a nice and quiet weekend?" sighed Rick, kneeling down to get the paper.
"Maybe because God or someone up there doesn't like us", said Daniel, joking. "What is that?"
"A note for the Planet Guardians", answered Rick, walking around the hall while reading the paper. "A ransom note. Kazeko has one of our friends, the Chinese one, she says, and wants to meet the Guardians at the gym at 10 p.m..."
"Martin!" exclaimed Daniel. "We have to find Kenneth and Cat right now!"
"Let's go after Kenneth. We don't know where is the house of Cat's grandmother. Just don't let Bradley and William know, OK?"
"No problem", said Daniel, wearing his jacket with the symbol of Fallen College. "Now it's midday. We have 10 hours to find them and to decide what we'll do."
"Countdown has already begun..."
***
"I hope everything is good for all of yeh", said Grandma McKinnion, serving tea to Aindrea and ignoring Cat's glare of 'we-want-to-talk-alone-got-it'.
"You didn't have to worry, Mrs. McKinnion", said Tieko, getting a cookie from the tray.
"Catherin doesn't have many friends", continued Grandma McKinnion, while a small black cloud with thunder and lightning started to crackle over Cat's head, making Arthur gasp in the middle of a sip of tea. "So I'm always happy when she brings you here."
"Gasp! Cough!" coughed Arthur, covering his mouth with a napkin. "We do appreciate your effort, Mrs. McKinnion, but... unfortunately, we have to do some chores now."
Grandma McKinnion's face became sad as she wished they could stay more. "So soon?" and Cat almost sighed in relief. "Well, if you have to go, please take some of these to yehr friends."
*Brother, this woman sure is fast!* thought Arthur, when she handled a small box to Tieko, taking it out of someplace. "Why don't you come with us, Aindrea? You can use the afternoon to see how the town is and to know more people."
"I'll just change my sweater to a dry one and I'll be right with you", he answered, taking the towel out of his shoulder.
"Thanks for everything, grandmother", Cat kissed her goodbye. "I'll be back next week or when yeh call me, OK?"
"Bring your friends along with you", said Grandma, waving goodbye.
***
Not all the Destiny Kishi were at the Main Hall of Pluto's Palace by Chronos' request. By the Silver Table stood Moon Fox, Aleph, Firebird, Seph and Chronos - Moon, Mars, Venus, Uranus and Pluto. There weren't many Guardians of Time, as Sailor Pluto had written their rules so that a new team of Destiny Kishi would only be created when the previous one no longer existed.
"Why did you call us for an emergency meeting, Chronos?" asked Firebird.
"We've got bigger problems than I thought", answered Chronos, with a worried statement on his face. "And I believe I discovered why Art's essence never found peace during these decades."
"Focus the mirror and narrow the image", ordered Seph to the voice control panel and the mirror of Tieko's Timeline became bigger.
"I can tell that I'm partially responsible for that", continued Chronos, pointing at the screen. "If I hadn't send Kyn's essence to Tieko Aikawa's body, she would be safe, here with us. I've put her life in danger."
"Explain that clearly and DON'T take too much time for that!" shouted Moon Fox, angrily.
"Easy there, Moon Fox", said Aleph. "Chronos is the actual Guardian of Time and our leader. And... he's saying he's guilty, when would we ever think we'd hear something like that? Nor Sailor Pluto nor any former Guardian would do that."
"You're right. I think I'm just too nervous, sorry."
"Don't worry about that, I would do the same", answered Chronos, taking a deep breath. "If I hadn't given permission to Arthur Crossroads use the Time Key, Art's essence would just go to another Timeline and begin his journey again. But I sent the main essence of the only woman he loved in his life... and that called HER attention."
"HER attention?" gasped Firebird. "You mean that Neko..."
"Yes. I called the woman whose heart he broke. Neko of Marine, the former Neptune Destiny Kishi is back."
"But she was expelled from the team", said Moon Fox, remembering when he took her Silver Pen from her soul. "How could she be able to rewrite time without it?"
"The Neptune Silver Pen disappeared from the palace years ago", said Seph, in a low voice. "We didn't tell you that because we had just finished with a terrible battle and not everyone would react in a good way..."
"That means that we will have to do something to stop Neko right now", said Aleph. "Before she creates a Space-Dimension Gate."
"Too late", sighed Moon Fox, collapsing on a chair. "This explains why no extra-dimensional creature could be found before Kazeko appeared. She already did it, Aleph."
Moon Fox's face was of fear. For the first time in many decades, he didn't know what to do and he knew that his friends had the same feeling. When Chronos stood up, everyone hoped he had a good idea to deal with that problem.
"I've decided to awake the Inner Senshi of that Timeline", he said, while a deep silence took over the hall. "Hey, that won't be a BIG problem... why are you with THAT face?"
"We're going to mess up MORE lives?" asked Firebird, sighing.
"We won't", said Seph, remembering a sentence that Arthur had said that morning. "Because they already exist, but as Sailor Scouts. We'll just make things faster."
"And create a way of taking them to America, am I right?" said Aleph.
"OK, guys, we have a LOT of work to do..." said Moon Fox, with his Silver Pen on his hands.