Third Time Around
Prologue
2021 AD
"Mommy! Come see the cute kitty-cat!"
`Oh no, not again!' Luna thought, desperately scanning the park for a route of escape. She had spent the last twenty-one years wallowing in her failures and dodging over-energetic children who wanted to pet her, mangle her, or take her home. She was prepared to run like hell, when a somewhat familiar voice reached her ears.
"What is it Nal?" A green-skinned woman with light blue streaked pink hair came over to the two green skinned purple haired five-year-olds.
Since the alliances with the friendly Other Dimensional Beings, thirteen years earlier, people with unusual skin colors had become common enough not to turn heads, but Luna recognized this woman.
"Luna?" The woman asked, surprised.
"Ann?" Luna asked.
"It talks!" Nal squealed, excitedly.
"Can we keep it?" The other girl asked.
"Teya, Luna is an old friend of mine, not a pet," Ann said.
"Well, someone seems to have selective memory!" Luna exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"Alan and I thought it might be a good idea to send the girls to school, rather than educate them ourselves." Ann explained. "So where are Darien and Serena and the others, I imagine they have rugrats of their own by now." Luna winced and sat down; even after all these years thinking about them was almost as painful as a physical blow.
"They were killed," she hung her head in shame. "Twenty-one years ago."
"Oh, Luna," Ann said, kneeling beside the cat. "I'm so sorry."
"I still have Artemis, at least," Luna said. "He's been a great comfort to me, even if he is annoying."
"Mommy?" Nal whined. "I wanna get some ice cream!"
"Ah, the joys of motherhood," Ann said, getting up and taking her daughters' hands. "Look, if you and Artemis ever need someplace to stay..."
"Thank you, Ann," Luna said. "But that won't be necessary."
"I hope I'll see you and Artemis around," Ann said.
2022 AD
"Sarah!" Mika Tsukino called. "What are you doing in there?"
"Nothing!" Sarah grinned at her reflection in the mirror. Now no one would make fun of her hair anymore!
"Sarah! Unlock this door!"
"Okay!" Sarah put down the scissors and opened the door.
"Good heavens!" Mika exclaimed. "Sarah, what have you done to your hair?"
"I cut it!" Sarah said. "Now no one will call me names anymore!" Mika sighed.
"Come here, Sarah," she said. "I'll even it out for you."
"'Kay!" Sarah obediently stood in front of her mom. "Mom?"
"Yes, Sarah?" Mika asked, looking at the pile of hair that Sarah had left on the floor; oh well, it would grow back.
"Me an' Amanda want to take gymnastics!"
"That's nice," Mika said. "Why?"
"'Cause," Sarah said. "Ruth is gonna take gymnastics; and Luna said we should too."
"I'll think about it," she sighed. Sarah and Amanda kept insisting that they had talking cats. Mika wondered what had possessed her husband to let the girls keep the two cats who had shown up at the front door a month ago, she knew that Sam didn't particularly like cats, and Luna and Artemis weren't even kittens. Still, the girls did seem to love the cats a lot. Well, Sarah and Amanda did at least, Krista was indifferent to them; Krista was indifferent to a lot of things.
2023 AD
Alexander Black wandered along the beach, trying to find the source of the music that had been plaguing him for the past hour. He knew that he'd heard that tune before, but he couldn't remember where; faded images of a young woman in white flitted through his head, he knew that she was very beautiful, but he couldn't remember what her face looked like.
He was so caught up in his reverie that he almost didn't see the sunlight glinting off a piece of gold metal. The music seemed to be coming from that direction, so he went over to it. He bent down and picked up the half-buried Star Locket, it was open and quietly playing the melody that he had been hearing; he shut the locket and the music stopped. It didn't occur to him that there was no way that he could have heard the locket all the way down the beach.
"Alex!" Alex looked up and saw a seven-year-old girl with bluish hair running towards him. "Alex! Whatcha got there?" The girl stopped in front of her older brother and looked up at him cutely. "Can I see?"
"Sure, Jenny." Alex held out the locket for his sister to see.
"Oh! Pretty! Can I have it Alex? Please?" Normally, Alex would have given it to her without a second thought, but for some reason he felt very possessive of the locket.
"No," Alex said. He saw the hurt look on his sister's face. "You can borrow it sometimes though, okay?" Jenny grinned.
"Okay! Let's go show `Zekiel!" Jenny grabbed Alex's hand and dragged him down the beach to show their older half-brother the locket.
Prologue
2021 AD
"Mommy! Come see the cute kitty-cat!"
`Oh no, not again!' Luna thought, desperately scanning the park for a route of escape. She had spent the last twenty-one years wallowing in her failures and dodging over-energetic children who wanted to pet her, mangle her, or take her home. She was prepared to run like hell, when a somewhat familiar voice reached her ears.
"What is it Nal?" A green-skinned woman with light blue streaked pink hair came over to the two green skinned purple haired five-year-olds.
Since the alliances with the friendly Other Dimensional Beings, thirteen years earlier, people with unusual skin colors had become common enough not to turn heads, but Luna recognized this woman.
"Luna?" The woman asked, surprised.
"Ann?" Luna asked.
"It talks!" Nal squealed, excitedly.
"Can we keep it?" The other girl asked.
"Teya, Luna is an old friend of mine, not a pet," Ann said.
"Well, someone seems to have selective memory!" Luna exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"Alan and I thought it might be a good idea to send the girls to school, rather than educate them ourselves." Ann explained. "So where are Darien and Serena and the others, I imagine they have rugrats of their own by now." Luna winced and sat down; even after all these years thinking about them was almost as painful as a physical blow.
"They were killed," she hung her head in shame. "Twenty-one years ago."
"Oh, Luna," Ann said, kneeling beside the cat. "I'm so sorry."
"I still have Artemis, at least," Luna said. "He's been a great comfort to me, even if he is annoying."
"Mommy?" Nal whined. "I wanna get some ice cream!"
"Ah, the joys of motherhood," Ann said, getting up and taking her daughters' hands. "Look, if you and Artemis ever need someplace to stay..."
"Thank you, Ann," Luna said. "But that won't be necessary."
"I hope I'll see you and Artemis around," Ann said.
2022 AD
"Sarah!" Mika Tsukino called. "What are you doing in there?"
"Nothing!" Sarah grinned at her reflection in the mirror. Now no one would make fun of her hair anymore!
"Sarah! Unlock this door!"
"Okay!" Sarah put down the scissors and opened the door.
"Good heavens!" Mika exclaimed. "Sarah, what have you done to your hair?"
"I cut it!" Sarah said. "Now no one will call me names anymore!" Mika sighed.
"Come here, Sarah," she said. "I'll even it out for you."
"'Kay!" Sarah obediently stood in front of her mom. "Mom?"
"Yes, Sarah?" Mika asked, looking at the pile of hair that Sarah had left on the floor; oh well, it would grow back.
"Me an' Amanda want to take gymnastics!"
"That's nice," Mika said. "Why?"
"'Cause," Sarah said. "Ruth is gonna take gymnastics; and Luna said we should too."
"I'll think about it," she sighed. Sarah and Amanda kept insisting that they had talking cats. Mika wondered what had possessed her husband to let the girls keep the two cats who had shown up at the front door a month ago, she knew that Sam didn't particularly like cats, and Luna and Artemis weren't even kittens. Still, the girls did seem to love the cats a lot. Well, Sarah and Amanda did at least, Krista was indifferent to them; Krista was indifferent to a lot of things.
2023 AD
Alexander Black wandered along the beach, trying to find the source of the music that had been plaguing him for the past hour. He knew that he'd heard that tune before, but he couldn't remember where; faded images of a young woman in white flitted through his head, he knew that she was very beautiful, but he couldn't remember what her face looked like.
He was so caught up in his reverie that he almost didn't see the sunlight glinting off a piece of gold metal. The music seemed to be coming from that direction, so he went over to it. He bent down and picked up the half-buried Star Locket, it was open and quietly playing the melody that he had been hearing; he shut the locket and the music stopped. It didn't occur to him that there was no way that he could have heard the locket all the way down the beach.
"Alex!" Alex looked up and saw a seven-year-old girl with bluish hair running towards him. "Alex! Whatcha got there?" The girl stopped in front of her older brother and looked up at him cutely. "Can I see?"
"Sure, Jenny." Alex held out the locket for his sister to see.
"Oh! Pretty! Can I have it Alex? Please?" Normally, Alex would have given it to her without a second thought, but for some reason he felt very possessive of the locket.
"No," Alex said. He saw the hurt look on his sister's face. "You can borrow it sometimes though, okay?" Jenny grinned.
"Okay! Let's go show `Zekiel!" Jenny grabbed Alex's hand and dragged him down the beach to show their older half-brother the locket.