All standard disclaimers that I have already used so far with any of the three stories that I now
have on fanfiction.net will apply. For your information, all of the characters that you may not recognize
well enough in this story are original characters of mine, unless otherwise stated, in fact. I may not have
said so clearly enough to you all earlier. But if not, then I'm reminding you that they are most certainly
mine, just the same, and just in case you're wondering here, readers. Supposing, of course, that I
actually created them at all. Cole, for instance, is one of my original characters here, readers. So
please don't steal my original characters from this story or any others, for that matter.
Now without further ado, back to the story. And I hope that you'll all enjoy it, of course.
******************************************************************************
The Inverness Chronicles
Book One
Chapter Three
The rest of the afternoon and night went rather quietly for Robert when he wasn't with his
siblings or his parents for a long enough time here. He spent about an hour or so after supper on
whatever schoolwork he had left to do from earlier that day. And then he told his parents that he'd be
back by 11, at the very latest, if nothing else delayed his return in the meantime. It was already about
8:40 pm or so, local time, but they still let him go out, just the same. He wanted to spend a little time
with another one of his closest friends besides Jason, if at all possible.
So they let him go out for a while. But not before telling him that if he wasn't back by 11:30
without calling first, he'd be in trouble. Supposing that he was then able to call them, of course. He
hugged all his siblings and both parents before leaving. And he told them all that he loved them, just in
case something unexpected happened either to him or to them, before he then left, of course.
He eventually walked toward downtown, and on the way to one of the various sporting goods
stores elsewhere in town, he encountered that friend of his. This friend was about four inches taller and
about twelve pounds heavier than he currently was. And this friend of his was also two years older
than he was, in fact.
This friend of his was walking out of a nearby arcade/restaurant when Robert met him on the
way to the sporting goods store. This friend asked him, "Robert, do you think that Marissa would like
me to take her to the Homecoming Dance in a few weeks?"
"I don't know, Cole. I really don't know. Are you sure that she might not want to go with
anyone else to it? Seeing as you're both not yet going steady here, if I remember things well enough
here."
Cole thought about that for a moment, "Well, it seems to me that Judah Elbornez is also
somewhat interested in her now, from what I've heard about him of late, since this summer."
Robert asked, "Isn't Marissa now a junior, and now two years ahead of you both?"
"Yes, she is, but she still seems quite interested in me to at least some degree, if not completely,
Robert."
"I was heading toward 'S.G. Johnson's Sporting Goods and Cards', Cole. Would you like to
go there with me, right now?"
"I have other plans, for the most part, but I guess that I can still go there for a while."
"Thanks, Cole. Maybe at least one of our other friends will be there as well."
"Perhaps. But I don't expect it, just the same, for some reason."
The two boys then went to the aforementioned sporting goods store for a while. And they both
conversed briefly with the manager and the proprietor as Robert at least looked around the store there,
if he didn't do anything else there as well. Such as buying certain merchandise there, for example.
Robert eventually bought a box of baseball cards and a basketball from the necessary people there in
the store, before he and Cole then left the store behind again, of course.
Cole soon parted from Robert, who then headed back toward his house with his new
purchases, in very short order. Cole wished Robert a good night's sleep, of course, before parting
from him again. On the way back to his house, as he was carrying his purchases in a backpack slung
over one shoulder, two girls suddenly came out of nowhere, in essence, on rollerblades. And they
collided with him as he was getting to the top of a hill between his place and the sporting goods store.
His pack fell almost immediately off his shoulder. And then it slid down to the ground near him, as he
tried to untangle himself from where he'd collided with both girls here.
The girls had somehow managed to sandwich him between them. And to get at least two of
their four legs tangled in with his own two legs to at least some degree, if not to a great degree. The
taller of the two girls was caught considerably under him, while the other was caught on top of him, with
her blades being tangled with the other girl's blades at least partly, if not totally. The one considerably
on top of him was lying largely across his stomach, while the other girl was caught largely across the
middle of his back, in fact.
He soon said, "Girls, I think it would be best if we get ourselves untangled here as soon as
possible."
"I agree," the one on the bottom quite soon said here. "Juniper, if you have to pull out wheels,
go ahead and do so. I don't really want to be under this guy for the rest of the night, if I don't have to
be."
"Won't that bust the blades at least a little, Verana?"
"It's a chance I think we'll have to take here, Juniper. We have to get back home, if at all
possible, by 11 pm, or we might be largely grounded for a while, outside of school. I don't really think
that you want us to get in trouble here, do you, Juniper?"
"No, of course not. Then we couldn't go out, probably, after supper for a while."
"Then break the wheels, or pull them out, if you must. We can always get more. And I have a
feeling that this boy has an 11 pm curfew as well, for some yet-unknown reason."
"Fine, Verana. But I expect you to help pay for new wheels here, if the need arises for us to
have to replace them, then, Verana."
"Fine. Let's just get untangled here, and worry about such things later."
Juniper then reached as much as she could toward where her blades and those of her sister
were now caught with each other. And she was finally able to remove two or so of them before she
had to start breaking them with rocks that she and Verana had just found near them both. She then
hammered as hard as necessary on each of the remaining wheels that she couldn't remove easily
enough from the necessary blades, until they all eventually split well enough for her to remove their
pieces here. There were only three wheels on each blade, which added up to a total of twelve wheels
on all four blades, of course. She'd been able to remove one wheel on each blade without having to
break it with the rocks in question here, in fact. But the other eight wheels on the blades would still
have to be replaced, for all the obvious reasons, eventually, before they could again be used to
rollerblade, quite naturally.
When all the wheels were finally either removed or broken, as needed, Robert then said, "It's
about time. I wasn't expecting you two to come crashing into me like you did here."
"Well, we're sorry that we did, boy. We were trying to get home again rather quickly, for our
work at a local restaurant had run a little long tonight." The taller girl was now speaking.
"The rollerblades?" Robert asked this as Juniper began standing up, so that he could do the
same, eventually. And so that Verana could too, of course.
"Part of the required uniform there, boy. You know our first names, it seems. But we can't
keep on calling you 'boy', if we ever happen to actually see you again eventually. What's your name, if
I may ask you this here?"asked the taller of the two girls.
"Robert Masbogarin. And your last name, girls?"
Juniper said, "Our last name is Cobarelli, Mr. Masbogarin."
"I notice that you're apparently wearing basically an eleventh-grade uniform from IHHS,
Verana."
"Yes, I am. I can't fit into most of the ones that are for girls in seventh to tenth grade at any of
the town's three different high schools, if not all of them. So I had to get a larger uniform to wear at
school here in Inverness. Even though I'm still only a seventh-grader at Crossroads High School, I still
had to do so. And I've had to wear larger clothes than other kids my age for at least a few years,
Robert. Juniper here is also a seventh-grader, but we're fraternal twins to each other, in fact. She's
closer to the average size of most seventh-graders around here, as well, Robert, than I am," said
Verana, as she stood up as well, and began to help him and her sister collect all their things again, as
needed.
"I see. So you go to Crossroads, even though you wear an IHHS uniform at school, Verana."
"I wear such a uniform, even though I don't actually go to IHHS, Robert. Juni here, though,
does wear the usual seventh-grade uniform for Crossroads High School. I'd not mind wearing a
Crossroads uniform if I could. But I'm too large for the ones that most of the other seventh-graders
there are able to wear well enough. On me, a normal enough seventh-grade girl's uniform from
Crossroads would most likely often look rather skimpy, perhaps. At least that's what I think about
such things right now, if I won't always think that way here. And I don't generally want whatever I
might wear to look rather skimpy on me, if it's not necessary for me to wear such clothes at all. So I
generally get larger clothes to wear, so that I have myself covered up just as much as I either want or
need to be covered up at any time in my life."
"I see. I suppose that's rather logical enough here, Verana."
"Well, maybe we'll see you around town again somewhere." This comment was actually from
Juniper, alone, and not from Verana, in fact.
"Perhaps you will, Juniper. Perhaps you will. God willing, of course. But now, I think we'd all
best get to our respective homes before we all get in trouble for being too late with our respective
parents, if you don't mind."
"Agreed. Take care, Robert, and we're sorry for crashing into you just as we did here."
"Thanks. Perhaps we'll meet again, somewhere and sometime, you two."
Then the girls let him leave them behind, as they took off their rollerblades and changed into
different pairs of tennis shoes. This, of course, was for all the obvious reasons here. And not too much
later, then, they were again heading toward their house almost as fast as they'd been doing that when
they'd crashed into Robert as they'd done a little while before.
Little did he know that they were also Sailor Scouts just like Rini and others. He didn't know
Rini and others were actually Sailor Scouts yet, if he ever would, of course. But they were both still
Sailor Scouts, just the same. Specifically, they were the Sailor Scouts called Super Sailor Jupiter
Minor and Sailor Daphne, in fact. Jupiter Minor and Daphne were the daughters of Crystal Sailor
Jupiter and her husband. But Robert didn't yet know that, if he ever would, at the current time.
As Robert, Verana, and Juniper then returned to each of their families' houses, Juniper and
Verana began to converse with each other about him. Verana said, "I think he's going to be interesting
to be around. Granted, I am at least a few inches taller than he is, and probably heavier than he is. But
I think that he's cute, just the same, Juniper."
"Melanie and Rini seem to like him from what I heard earlier today, Verana."
"Is that so? I wonder if they might see him as a possible boyfriend for themselves."
"I really don't know. He doesn't really look like Tuxedo Mask, to me."
"Well, I don't look entirely like Mother, do I, Juniper?"
"No, of course you don't. You might have her hair, at least for the most part, and you may be
a big girl, like she was, but you don't look entirely like her. Not even when she was about our age, in
fact, Verana."
"I have auburn hair, just like she did, and I often wear it in ponytails, too. She did too. My hair
is about the same length. And I like to secure it with at least one barrette or scrunchie, I think. Just like
she did. It may be wavier than hers was when she was about our age, Juniper. But my hair looks
almost like hers did at about the same age that we are now."
"But you're not as interested in cooking as she is, Verana."
"So what? That's just a way that people can better tell us apart from each other. I like to eat,
but I'm not much of a cook compared to Mother. And Mother prefers to wear a lot of green and pink,
whenever possible. I don't. As you should know by now, green isn't actually one of my favorite
colors, Juniper. I like silver and red much more than either of those two colors. Mother and I are quite
different, too, in what we often like to read, in terms of typical reading material. She's more into
romance novels and cooking-related things. I, however, am more for mysteries and science fiction
novels and similar enough stories to either or both of those genres than she is. I'm also not much of a
bargain-hunter, compared to her. I prefer to spend more of my time either painting or sculpting,
whenever possible, when I'm not otherwise occupied, Juniper."
"You mean like Mrs. Morgan?"
"Yes, I do. I believe she really likes to paint, whenever possible. Especially when her friend
Mrs. Skyler is able to sit for her periodically."
"Or anyone else, for that matter?" asked Juniper, as they both got within one block of their
family's current residence in Inverness. It was now only about five minutes before their curfew, and
they realized that, when they both checked their watches.
"Right, Juniper. That's correct."
"We'd better hurry, for I think that Mother is starting to worry that we'll not be there in time to
make our curfew, Verana."
"Because we've sometimes missed it needlessly?"
"Yes. Remember two weeks ago, when we went with Melanie, Melody, and several other girls
to a summer beach party, and many of us found ourselves some boys we just didn't want to leave for a
while? Meaning until midnight, at least?"
"Yes, I do, Juniper. Why do you bring this up here?"
"Because several of us actually stayed out too late then, several of our various parents actually
gave us 11 pm curfews for a while, at least, Verana. Including, of course, our parents, as I'm sure you
very well know by now."
The two of them then arrived at their family's front door about a minute later, and about a
minute before their curfew would arrive. Juniper then opened the front door. And then they both
entered their house in very short order before it was too late for them to do so here, and still make their
curfew.
When they entered, they went straight to their family's kitchen area, once the smells of baking
reached both their noses here. And they found their mother, the former Lita McKinley there, making
some cookies for Dr. Thurston's next birthday, which would be in about a week, in fact. They set their
things on the counter or counters nearest the doorway that they'd just come through. And then their
mother asked, "How was your evening, girls?"
Juniper answered, "Fine, except for the fact that we crashed into a boy while rollerblading, and
I had to break most of the wheels on our blades, to free ourselves well enough, after we did so."
"Tell me about this boy, and about the accidental crashing into him, and what happened among
the three of you then." Lita said this in a commanding tone, in fact.
So the twins then told her all about the incident just as she'd wanted them to do so here. After
a while, Lita said, "He seems like a nice guy. Do you think you might actually be interested in him
romantically someday, girls?"
Both girls said, "It's too early to tell, Mother," in their respective turns, after Lita asked each of
them one at a time, at least once more, so that they'd know that she was speaking to each of them in
turn. But first, they said, "We don't really know."
"How much do you think he'll be around you both in the future?"
"Unknown, Mother. But for some reason, I think that we might see him every so often,
whenever we're not in school. I don't know how, of course, but I still think that, just the same." These
comments were from Verana, in fact.
"Mrs. Keyes had a feeling about him as well, girls. Don't chase him, if you can avoid it. Or he
might be in serious danger in the future. Besides, I don't think that he's going to fall for you anyway, for
some yet-unknown reason. I think he'll fall for someone else entirely. Who exactly, none of us know
yet, if we ever will. Except for maybe Crystal Sailor Pluto and her daughters, I think, for all the obvious
reasons, girls."
"How come they get to handle the duties of the Gates of Time?"
"Because that's what they're supposed to often do as Scouts, you two."
"But Pluto's named after some god of the Dead in some ancient mythology that I can't think of
at the moment, Mother," said Verana.
"Yes, but for some reason, instead of often having the powers of destruction and rebirth that the
Sailor Scouts from Saturn often do have, they normally only have the powers relating well enough to the
space-time continuum, Verana. Saturn was the god of time in some mythology, as were his
counterparts in other mythologies, but the Scouts from his world often control the powers that deal with
destruction and rebirth, for some yet-unknown reason."
"Why do we often have the powers of Jupiter, then?" asked Juniper, as she began reaching for
some cookies that'd already been made here.
"You have them through me, Juniper. Don't touch the cookies here, girls. They're for Dr.
Thurston's next birthday party, in fact. You see, girls, I was around during the Silver Millennium, in
actual reality, before Mrs. Shields and the rest of us were sent into the future by her mother Queen
Serenity."
"But that doesn't explain why we often have the powers of Jupiter at our disposal as Scouts,"
said Juniper.
"Girls, I was from Jupiter, in actual reality, when it was still habitable for its numerous
inhabitants. I had certain powers from the time that Queen Serenity made me a Scout as part of Mrs.
Shields' own royal Court. My mother, before she retired from the Scout business, had several of the
powers that I eventually gained by the end of the Silver Millennium. And she inherited them from her
mother, and so on back through time, until just before Jupiter actually did join the Moon Kingdom
officially. The first Sailor Scout from Jupiter was initiated just prior to Jupiter's joining of the Moon
Kingdom. And I was the last native Sailor Scout from Jupiter who bore the name of Sailor Jupiter. As
I always will be, at least until we finally restore Jupiter to its previous state of existence, if at all possible.
You will succeed me as Crystal Sailor Jupiter, when my time here in this time period is over, if you
survive me, Verana."
"And what of me, Mom?" asked Juniper.
"You will become Super Sailor Jupiter Minor, when she does, if you both survive me, Juniper.
Rini will later become Crystal Sailor Moon, if she survives Mrs. Shields in this particular time period.
Mercury Minor will become Crystal Sailor Mercury, and so on down the line, if you girls all succeed us
as Crystal Sailor Scouts, as needed. Your younger sisters or female cousins will become the new
Minors or take on other identities as required, if and when that happens to you and to us, of course."
"When do you expect Crystal Tokyo to be founded, Mother?" asked Verana.
"Sometime in the future. Raye seems to think that there will be a future battle in Tokyo where
the Tokyo that we're at least a little familiar with will be largely, if not totally, destroyed by someone or
something that hasn't yet shown here on Earth, most likely."
"And what do the rest of you think about this?" asked Juniper.
"Well, if it happens, then I hope that those of us who are from that part of our world are quite
safe from any permanent harm in our various canisters or globes. For I expect that those of us who are
there will be in canisters or globes, as needed, for a certain length of time, until we either are reborn or
wake up in them in the future. Meaning, of course, the 30th Century AD, if not even later than that
here, Juniper."
"Why do you mention globes and canisters here, Mother?" asked Verana.
"Because when we were sent forward through time, we were placed in them as needed, when
Queen Serenity sent us to Earth from the Moon more than one thousand years ago."
"Why would we be in the Tokyo Zone, instead of just the Rio De Janeiro Zone, of Earth,
Mother?" asked Verana, moments later, as 11:15 pm came and went at the current time.
"Because, before the time of the end, at least eight copies, if not more than eight copies, of all
our respective DNA's were taken, if I remember correctly enough here, girls. And they were
eventually placed with the necessary globes and canisters that would hold us while we were being
transferred to the Earth from the Moon. And during our periods of temporary dormancy, as well. I
know that at least two other versions of me are running around this world protecting other Zones of it,
in fact. And that at least five of me are protecting various Zones on at least one other Earth, from at
least one other timeline or dimension, too, Verana. Crystal Sailor Pluto tells us periodically about other
Earths as needed. And then we tell you, whenever the need arises for us to do so. But you've still not
come with us on any of our missions to those other Earths, just the same, girls."
"Because we're not old enough?"
"Yes, Juni. Granted, you're Sailor Scouts, but so far, you're still not experienced enough,
except for maybe Rini, to do so here. Rini, for all the obvious reasons, is. And she has to be, at least
most of the time, if not all of it."
"Just because she's the heir to Crystal Tokyo's throne?"
"Yes, V.V., that's true." Verana's middle name was Vivian, and her most common nickname
was V.V., in fact. But most people outside her circle of close friends, Scouts, and/or family would call
her Verana instead. Or Miss Cobarelli the Older, as the case might then be, if she and Juniper were in
the same basic place. Like the same class at school, for instance.
As for Juniper, she was often called Juni or Junie Bug, for one of her hobbies was collecting
insects she found at various times in her life. Junie Bug referred mainly to her interest in insects and
similar things. While Juni was a shortened version of her name that her parents, siblings, and her closest
friends would at least sometimes call her, whenever possible, in their lives. Like a former Sailor
Daphne, she also had auburn or red hair. But unlike that Sailor Daphne, she didn't often wear her
mostly waist-length hair down all the way down. Instead, she often wore it in braids and/or meatball-
like buns on her head. At least whenever she wasn't in her own Sailor Scout state of being at a
particular time in her life, that was often the case for her. Her meatball-like buns of hair weren't
necessarily like those of the original Sailor Moon or her daughter, but they were often still at least
somewhat similar, just the same. Also Juniper was a reasonably good gardener and quilter, whenever
the chance for her to do either of those things actually presented itself to her in her own life.
Eventually, after at least a bit more conversation between Lita and two of her five daughters,
three of which were also Scouts, or possibly might be eventually, Juniper and Verana eventually retired
for the rest of the night, of course. And they both did so, just as their father walked into the kitchen
from a nearby den. Verana said "Good night" to him first, so Juniper waved as well to him, and they
went to their room almost immediately afterward.
Lita said, "Ken, I'm glad they made their curfew tonight."
"I didn't hear them come in."
"They were quieter than usual tonight. They crashed into a boy. And I have this strange feeling
that at least one of them might be at least a little bit interested in him, if not both of them, eventually."
"When did they crash him?"
"Tonight, as they were heading home from Melanie's place or from Stephanie's place, I
believe."
"But you're not sure exactly where they were before they crashed the boy tonight?"
"They weren't very clear about such things tonight before then, I think. Though I could be very
wrong about that, of course, here. Are Celeste, Sebastian, Thora, Aaron, and Charles asleep now, in
their respective beds?"
"Yes, they are. The boy twins are sleeping in their cribs right now, and the other three are in
their own beds as well. I don't expect Aaron and Charles to need another feeding for at least another
few hours, if not longer than that."
Lita and Ken Cobarelli had seven children, of which Aaron and Charles were the most recent.
That was because they'd been born about a year or so before, in fact. Verana was the older of the two
girl twins, while Juniper was the younger of them. Celeste was born about two years after Verana and
Juniper were. Sebastian was about five years younger than Celeste, plus or minus a few weeks, at
most, either way. Thora was about two years or so younger than Sebastian was, as well. Aaron was
the older of the two boy twins, while Charles was the younger. As of the current time, Lita and Ken
were not planning to have any more kids for at least another year or two.
Ken's Lita McKinley Cobarelli was now about three months from her 36th birthday, and she'd
been married to Ken for about fourteen or fifteen years, since she was about 21 or so years of age.
She'd married him not long after she got her associate's degree in culinary arts from a nearby cooking
school. And while he was still in school elsewhere in the same province of their nation. He served a
few years in their nation's armed forces after high school, while she got a chain of her restaurants up
and running well enough in various places all over the world. And after he got out, he became a martial
arts teacher at a school that he and his wife eventually started to train Scouts at periodically, whenever
the need arose for them to do so here. That school of theirs was a popular place for the Scouts and
their friends to train at, whenever possible. But it was mainly operated for the benefit of the Scouts, for
all the obvious reasons, of course. Or at least the currently-known Scouts, if not any other yet-to-be-
revealed Scouts as well. Lita was the chief teacher, and he was her assistant teacher, at their martial
arts school they'd founded after he'd left the military for a civilian career as a martial arts teacher, at
least, if nothing else as well. Their school was called "The Chrysanthemum Thunder School", and they
taught many different kinds of martial arts that they'd picked up before in their lives.
The two of them conversed very quietly with each other in the kitchen for a while, as Lita also
let him have a piece of some walnut-covered pecan pie she'd made earlier that day. And even some
chicken legs, for that matter, as well. Eventually, Ken said, "I'm going to bed now. I hope that you
won't be long in doing the same, darling."
"We'll see. If I can finish what I've been working on for a while soon enough, I think I can be
in our bedroom by midnight easily enough."
"I think I'd like that very much."
"But know this, Kenny, I'm not really in the mood for romance right now."
"Fair enough, Lita. I'd like to be able to get up by 7:30 tomorrow morning. For I'll most likely
need to be at the airport by 11 tomorrow morning for my flight to Gemaria, if I remember things well
enough here. There's that tournament in Gemaria that I was going to compete in, as you know. And I
need to be there in time to make my noon flight from this Zone to there, of course."
"I hope you win your brown belt-level Karate tournament, then, sweetheart."
"So do I, Cookie."
******************************************************************************
Another battle will take place during Chapter Four, as well, which will involve several Scouts
and several more of my original characters. Both who are Scouts and who aren't actually Scouts
either. When that chapter comes, I will let you know which characters are from my original series
work, and which are from my fan fiction stories that I may or may not have already put up here, for the
obvious reasons. Chapters Five and Six will bring several characters more into the main storyline, if at
all possible. More significant action will happen later than those two chapters, as necessary. Until then,
you'll just have to see what's coming up soon enough. But I promise you at least a few more crossover
elements will be added to the story as well within the next few chapters, at most, readers. So please
read, review, and enjoy, if at all possible. Until later, then, this is "The Universal Storyteller" signing off
here. Happy reading, and God bless, and all that, of course, readers! Over and out!
have on fanfiction.net will apply. For your information, all of the characters that you may not recognize
well enough in this story are original characters of mine, unless otherwise stated, in fact. I may not have
said so clearly enough to you all earlier. But if not, then I'm reminding you that they are most certainly
mine, just the same, and just in case you're wondering here, readers. Supposing, of course, that I
actually created them at all. Cole, for instance, is one of my original characters here, readers. So
please don't steal my original characters from this story or any others, for that matter.
Now without further ado, back to the story. And I hope that you'll all enjoy it, of course.
******************************************************************************
The Inverness Chronicles
Book One
Chapter Three
The rest of the afternoon and night went rather quietly for Robert when he wasn't with his
siblings or his parents for a long enough time here. He spent about an hour or so after supper on
whatever schoolwork he had left to do from earlier that day. And then he told his parents that he'd be
back by 11, at the very latest, if nothing else delayed his return in the meantime. It was already about
8:40 pm or so, local time, but they still let him go out, just the same. He wanted to spend a little time
with another one of his closest friends besides Jason, if at all possible.
So they let him go out for a while. But not before telling him that if he wasn't back by 11:30
without calling first, he'd be in trouble. Supposing that he was then able to call them, of course. He
hugged all his siblings and both parents before leaving. And he told them all that he loved them, just in
case something unexpected happened either to him or to them, before he then left, of course.
He eventually walked toward downtown, and on the way to one of the various sporting goods
stores elsewhere in town, he encountered that friend of his. This friend was about four inches taller and
about twelve pounds heavier than he currently was. And this friend of his was also two years older
than he was, in fact.
This friend of his was walking out of a nearby arcade/restaurant when Robert met him on the
way to the sporting goods store. This friend asked him, "Robert, do you think that Marissa would like
me to take her to the Homecoming Dance in a few weeks?"
"I don't know, Cole. I really don't know. Are you sure that she might not want to go with
anyone else to it? Seeing as you're both not yet going steady here, if I remember things well enough
here."
Cole thought about that for a moment, "Well, it seems to me that Judah Elbornez is also
somewhat interested in her now, from what I've heard about him of late, since this summer."
Robert asked, "Isn't Marissa now a junior, and now two years ahead of you both?"
"Yes, she is, but she still seems quite interested in me to at least some degree, if not completely,
Robert."
"I was heading toward 'S.G. Johnson's Sporting Goods and Cards', Cole. Would you like to
go there with me, right now?"
"I have other plans, for the most part, but I guess that I can still go there for a while."
"Thanks, Cole. Maybe at least one of our other friends will be there as well."
"Perhaps. But I don't expect it, just the same, for some reason."
The two boys then went to the aforementioned sporting goods store for a while. And they both
conversed briefly with the manager and the proprietor as Robert at least looked around the store there,
if he didn't do anything else there as well. Such as buying certain merchandise there, for example.
Robert eventually bought a box of baseball cards and a basketball from the necessary people there in
the store, before he and Cole then left the store behind again, of course.
Cole soon parted from Robert, who then headed back toward his house with his new
purchases, in very short order. Cole wished Robert a good night's sleep, of course, before parting
from him again. On the way back to his house, as he was carrying his purchases in a backpack slung
over one shoulder, two girls suddenly came out of nowhere, in essence, on rollerblades. And they
collided with him as he was getting to the top of a hill between his place and the sporting goods store.
His pack fell almost immediately off his shoulder. And then it slid down to the ground near him, as he
tried to untangle himself from where he'd collided with both girls here.
The girls had somehow managed to sandwich him between them. And to get at least two of
their four legs tangled in with his own two legs to at least some degree, if not to a great degree. The
taller of the two girls was caught considerably under him, while the other was caught on top of him, with
her blades being tangled with the other girl's blades at least partly, if not totally. The one considerably
on top of him was lying largely across his stomach, while the other girl was caught largely across the
middle of his back, in fact.
He soon said, "Girls, I think it would be best if we get ourselves untangled here as soon as
possible."
"I agree," the one on the bottom quite soon said here. "Juniper, if you have to pull out wheels,
go ahead and do so. I don't really want to be under this guy for the rest of the night, if I don't have to
be."
"Won't that bust the blades at least a little, Verana?"
"It's a chance I think we'll have to take here, Juniper. We have to get back home, if at all
possible, by 11 pm, or we might be largely grounded for a while, outside of school. I don't really think
that you want us to get in trouble here, do you, Juniper?"
"No, of course not. Then we couldn't go out, probably, after supper for a while."
"Then break the wheels, or pull them out, if you must. We can always get more. And I have a
feeling that this boy has an 11 pm curfew as well, for some yet-unknown reason."
"Fine, Verana. But I expect you to help pay for new wheels here, if the need arises for us to
have to replace them, then, Verana."
"Fine. Let's just get untangled here, and worry about such things later."
Juniper then reached as much as she could toward where her blades and those of her sister
were now caught with each other. And she was finally able to remove two or so of them before she
had to start breaking them with rocks that she and Verana had just found near them both. She then
hammered as hard as necessary on each of the remaining wheels that she couldn't remove easily
enough from the necessary blades, until they all eventually split well enough for her to remove their
pieces here. There were only three wheels on each blade, which added up to a total of twelve wheels
on all four blades, of course. She'd been able to remove one wheel on each blade without having to
break it with the rocks in question here, in fact. But the other eight wheels on the blades would still
have to be replaced, for all the obvious reasons, eventually, before they could again be used to
rollerblade, quite naturally.
When all the wheels were finally either removed or broken, as needed, Robert then said, "It's
about time. I wasn't expecting you two to come crashing into me like you did here."
"Well, we're sorry that we did, boy. We were trying to get home again rather quickly, for our
work at a local restaurant had run a little long tonight." The taller girl was now speaking.
"The rollerblades?" Robert asked this as Juniper began standing up, so that he could do the
same, eventually. And so that Verana could too, of course.
"Part of the required uniform there, boy. You know our first names, it seems. But we can't
keep on calling you 'boy', if we ever happen to actually see you again eventually. What's your name, if
I may ask you this here?"asked the taller of the two girls.
"Robert Masbogarin. And your last name, girls?"
Juniper said, "Our last name is Cobarelli, Mr. Masbogarin."
"I notice that you're apparently wearing basically an eleventh-grade uniform from IHHS,
Verana."
"Yes, I am. I can't fit into most of the ones that are for girls in seventh to tenth grade at any of
the town's three different high schools, if not all of them. So I had to get a larger uniform to wear at
school here in Inverness. Even though I'm still only a seventh-grader at Crossroads High School, I still
had to do so. And I've had to wear larger clothes than other kids my age for at least a few years,
Robert. Juniper here is also a seventh-grader, but we're fraternal twins to each other, in fact. She's
closer to the average size of most seventh-graders around here, as well, Robert, than I am," said
Verana, as she stood up as well, and began to help him and her sister collect all their things again, as
needed.
"I see. So you go to Crossroads, even though you wear an IHHS uniform at school, Verana."
"I wear such a uniform, even though I don't actually go to IHHS, Robert. Juni here, though,
does wear the usual seventh-grade uniform for Crossroads High School. I'd not mind wearing a
Crossroads uniform if I could. But I'm too large for the ones that most of the other seventh-graders
there are able to wear well enough. On me, a normal enough seventh-grade girl's uniform from
Crossroads would most likely often look rather skimpy, perhaps. At least that's what I think about
such things right now, if I won't always think that way here. And I don't generally want whatever I
might wear to look rather skimpy on me, if it's not necessary for me to wear such clothes at all. So I
generally get larger clothes to wear, so that I have myself covered up just as much as I either want or
need to be covered up at any time in my life."
"I see. I suppose that's rather logical enough here, Verana."
"Well, maybe we'll see you around town again somewhere." This comment was actually from
Juniper, alone, and not from Verana, in fact.
"Perhaps you will, Juniper. Perhaps you will. God willing, of course. But now, I think we'd all
best get to our respective homes before we all get in trouble for being too late with our respective
parents, if you don't mind."
"Agreed. Take care, Robert, and we're sorry for crashing into you just as we did here."
"Thanks. Perhaps we'll meet again, somewhere and sometime, you two."
Then the girls let him leave them behind, as they took off their rollerblades and changed into
different pairs of tennis shoes. This, of course, was for all the obvious reasons here. And not too much
later, then, they were again heading toward their house almost as fast as they'd been doing that when
they'd crashed into Robert as they'd done a little while before.
Little did he know that they were also Sailor Scouts just like Rini and others. He didn't know
Rini and others were actually Sailor Scouts yet, if he ever would, of course. But they were both still
Sailor Scouts, just the same. Specifically, they were the Sailor Scouts called Super Sailor Jupiter
Minor and Sailor Daphne, in fact. Jupiter Minor and Daphne were the daughters of Crystal Sailor
Jupiter and her husband. But Robert didn't yet know that, if he ever would, at the current time.
As Robert, Verana, and Juniper then returned to each of their families' houses, Juniper and
Verana began to converse with each other about him. Verana said, "I think he's going to be interesting
to be around. Granted, I am at least a few inches taller than he is, and probably heavier than he is. But
I think that he's cute, just the same, Juniper."
"Melanie and Rini seem to like him from what I heard earlier today, Verana."
"Is that so? I wonder if they might see him as a possible boyfriend for themselves."
"I really don't know. He doesn't really look like Tuxedo Mask, to me."
"Well, I don't look entirely like Mother, do I, Juniper?"
"No, of course you don't. You might have her hair, at least for the most part, and you may be
a big girl, like she was, but you don't look entirely like her. Not even when she was about our age, in
fact, Verana."
"I have auburn hair, just like she did, and I often wear it in ponytails, too. She did too. My hair
is about the same length. And I like to secure it with at least one barrette or scrunchie, I think. Just like
she did. It may be wavier than hers was when she was about our age, Juniper. But my hair looks
almost like hers did at about the same age that we are now."
"But you're not as interested in cooking as she is, Verana."
"So what? That's just a way that people can better tell us apart from each other. I like to eat,
but I'm not much of a cook compared to Mother. And Mother prefers to wear a lot of green and pink,
whenever possible. I don't. As you should know by now, green isn't actually one of my favorite
colors, Juniper. I like silver and red much more than either of those two colors. Mother and I are quite
different, too, in what we often like to read, in terms of typical reading material. She's more into
romance novels and cooking-related things. I, however, am more for mysteries and science fiction
novels and similar enough stories to either or both of those genres than she is. I'm also not much of a
bargain-hunter, compared to her. I prefer to spend more of my time either painting or sculpting,
whenever possible, when I'm not otherwise occupied, Juniper."
"You mean like Mrs. Morgan?"
"Yes, I do. I believe she really likes to paint, whenever possible. Especially when her friend
Mrs. Skyler is able to sit for her periodically."
"Or anyone else, for that matter?" asked Juniper, as they both got within one block of their
family's current residence in Inverness. It was now only about five minutes before their curfew, and
they realized that, when they both checked their watches.
"Right, Juniper. That's correct."
"We'd better hurry, for I think that Mother is starting to worry that we'll not be there in time to
make our curfew, Verana."
"Because we've sometimes missed it needlessly?"
"Yes. Remember two weeks ago, when we went with Melanie, Melody, and several other girls
to a summer beach party, and many of us found ourselves some boys we just didn't want to leave for a
while? Meaning until midnight, at least?"
"Yes, I do, Juniper. Why do you bring this up here?"
"Because several of us actually stayed out too late then, several of our various parents actually
gave us 11 pm curfews for a while, at least, Verana. Including, of course, our parents, as I'm sure you
very well know by now."
The two of them then arrived at their family's front door about a minute later, and about a
minute before their curfew would arrive. Juniper then opened the front door. And then they both
entered their house in very short order before it was too late for them to do so here, and still make their
curfew.
When they entered, they went straight to their family's kitchen area, once the smells of baking
reached both their noses here. And they found their mother, the former Lita McKinley there, making
some cookies for Dr. Thurston's next birthday, which would be in about a week, in fact. They set their
things on the counter or counters nearest the doorway that they'd just come through. And then their
mother asked, "How was your evening, girls?"
Juniper answered, "Fine, except for the fact that we crashed into a boy while rollerblading, and
I had to break most of the wheels on our blades, to free ourselves well enough, after we did so."
"Tell me about this boy, and about the accidental crashing into him, and what happened among
the three of you then." Lita said this in a commanding tone, in fact.
So the twins then told her all about the incident just as she'd wanted them to do so here. After
a while, Lita said, "He seems like a nice guy. Do you think you might actually be interested in him
romantically someday, girls?"
Both girls said, "It's too early to tell, Mother," in their respective turns, after Lita asked each of
them one at a time, at least once more, so that they'd know that she was speaking to each of them in
turn. But first, they said, "We don't really know."
"How much do you think he'll be around you both in the future?"
"Unknown, Mother. But for some reason, I think that we might see him every so often,
whenever we're not in school. I don't know how, of course, but I still think that, just the same." These
comments were from Verana, in fact.
"Mrs. Keyes had a feeling about him as well, girls. Don't chase him, if you can avoid it. Or he
might be in serious danger in the future. Besides, I don't think that he's going to fall for you anyway, for
some yet-unknown reason. I think he'll fall for someone else entirely. Who exactly, none of us know
yet, if we ever will. Except for maybe Crystal Sailor Pluto and her daughters, I think, for all the obvious
reasons, girls."
"How come they get to handle the duties of the Gates of Time?"
"Because that's what they're supposed to often do as Scouts, you two."
"But Pluto's named after some god of the Dead in some ancient mythology that I can't think of
at the moment, Mother," said Verana.
"Yes, but for some reason, instead of often having the powers of destruction and rebirth that the
Sailor Scouts from Saturn often do have, they normally only have the powers relating well enough to the
space-time continuum, Verana. Saturn was the god of time in some mythology, as were his
counterparts in other mythologies, but the Scouts from his world often control the powers that deal with
destruction and rebirth, for some yet-unknown reason."
"Why do we often have the powers of Jupiter, then?" asked Juniper, as she began reaching for
some cookies that'd already been made here.
"You have them through me, Juniper. Don't touch the cookies here, girls. They're for Dr.
Thurston's next birthday party, in fact. You see, girls, I was around during the Silver Millennium, in
actual reality, before Mrs. Shields and the rest of us were sent into the future by her mother Queen
Serenity."
"But that doesn't explain why we often have the powers of Jupiter at our disposal as Scouts,"
said Juniper.
"Girls, I was from Jupiter, in actual reality, when it was still habitable for its numerous
inhabitants. I had certain powers from the time that Queen Serenity made me a Scout as part of Mrs.
Shields' own royal Court. My mother, before she retired from the Scout business, had several of the
powers that I eventually gained by the end of the Silver Millennium. And she inherited them from her
mother, and so on back through time, until just before Jupiter actually did join the Moon Kingdom
officially. The first Sailor Scout from Jupiter was initiated just prior to Jupiter's joining of the Moon
Kingdom. And I was the last native Sailor Scout from Jupiter who bore the name of Sailor Jupiter. As
I always will be, at least until we finally restore Jupiter to its previous state of existence, if at all possible.
You will succeed me as Crystal Sailor Jupiter, when my time here in this time period is over, if you
survive me, Verana."
"And what of me, Mom?" asked Juniper.
"You will become Super Sailor Jupiter Minor, when she does, if you both survive me, Juniper.
Rini will later become Crystal Sailor Moon, if she survives Mrs. Shields in this particular time period.
Mercury Minor will become Crystal Sailor Mercury, and so on down the line, if you girls all succeed us
as Crystal Sailor Scouts, as needed. Your younger sisters or female cousins will become the new
Minors or take on other identities as required, if and when that happens to you and to us, of course."
"When do you expect Crystal Tokyo to be founded, Mother?" asked Verana.
"Sometime in the future. Raye seems to think that there will be a future battle in Tokyo where
the Tokyo that we're at least a little familiar with will be largely, if not totally, destroyed by someone or
something that hasn't yet shown here on Earth, most likely."
"And what do the rest of you think about this?" asked Juniper.
"Well, if it happens, then I hope that those of us who are from that part of our world are quite
safe from any permanent harm in our various canisters or globes. For I expect that those of us who are
there will be in canisters or globes, as needed, for a certain length of time, until we either are reborn or
wake up in them in the future. Meaning, of course, the 30th Century AD, if not even later than that
here, Juniper."
"Why do you mention globes and canisters here, Mother?" asked Verana.
"Because when we were sent forward through time, we were placed in them as needed, when
Queen Serenity sent us to Earth from the Moon more than one thousand years ago."
"Why would we be in the Tokyo Zone, instead of just the Rio De Janeiro Zone, of Earth,
Mother?" asked Verana, moments later, as 11:15 pm came and went at the current time.
"Because, before the time of the end, at least eight copies, if not more than eight copies, of all
our respective DNA's were taken, if I remember correctly enough here, girls. And they were
eventually placed with the necessary globes and canisters that would hold us while we were being
transferred to the Earth from the Moon. And during our periods of temporary dormancy, as well. I
know that at least two other versions of me are running around this world protecting other Zones of it,
in fact. And that at least five of me are protecting various Zones on at least one other Earth, from at
least one other timeline or dimension, too, Verana. Crystal Sailor Pluto tells us periodically about other
Earths as needed. And then we tell you, whenever the need arises for us to do so. But you've still not
come with us on any of our missions to those other Earths, just the same, girls."
"Because we're not old enough?"
"Yes, Juni. Granted, you're Sailor Scouts, but so far, you're still not experienced enough,
except for maybe Rini, to do so here. Rini, for all the obvious reasons, is. And she has to be, at least
most of the time, if not all of it."
"Just because she's the heir to Crystal Tokyo's throne?"
"Yes, V.V., that's true." Verana's middle name was Vivian, and her most common nickname
was V.V., in fact. But most people outside her circle of close friends, Scouts, and/or family would call
her Verana instead. Or Miss Cobarelli the Older, as the case might then be, if she and Juniper were in
the same basic place. Like the same class at school, for instance.
As for Juniper, she was often called Juni or Junie Bug, for one of her hobbies was collecting
insects she found at various times in her life. Junie Bug referred mainly to her interest in insects and
similar things. While Juni was a shortened version of her name that her parents, siblings, and her closest
friends would at least sometimes call her, whenever possible, in their lives. Like a former Sailor
Daphne, she also had auburn or red hair. But unlike that Sailor Daphne, she didn't often wear her
mostly waist-length hair down all the way down. Instead, she often wore it in braids and/or meatball-
like buns on her head. At least whenever she wasn't in her own Sailor Scout state of being at a
particular time in her life, that was often the case for her. Her meatball-like buns of hair weren't
necessarily like those of the original Sailor Moon or her daughter, but they were often still at least
somewhat similar, just the same. Also Juniper was a reasonably good gardener and quilter, whenever
the chance for her to do either of those things actually presented itself to her in her own life.
Eventually, after at least a bit more conversation between Lita and two of her five daughters,
three of which were also Scouts, or possibly might be eventually, Juniper and Verana eventually retired
for the rest of the night, of course. And they both did so, just as their father walked into the kitchen
from a nearby den. Verana said "Good night" to him first, so Juniper waved as well to him, and they
went to their room almost immediately afterward.
Lita said, "Ken, I'm glad they made their curfew tonight."
"I didn't hear them come in."
"They were quieter than usual tonight. They crashed into a boy. And I have this strange feeling
that at least one of them might be at least a little bit interested in him, if not both of them, eventually."
"When did they crash him?"
"Tonight, as they were heading home from Melanie's place or from Stephanie's place, I
believe."
"But you're not sure exactly where they were before they crashed the boy tonight?"
"They weren't very clear about such things tonight before then, I think. Though I could be very
wrong about that, of course, here. Are Celeste, Sebastian, Thora, Aaron, and Charles asleep now, in
their respective beds?"
"Yes, they are. The boy twins are sleeping in their cribs right now, and the other three are in
their own beds as well. I don't expect Aaron and Charles to need another feeding for at least another
few hours, if not longer than that."
Lita and Ken Cobarelli had seven children, of which Aaron and Charles were the most recent.
That was because they'd been born about a year or so before, in fact. Verana was the older of the two
girl twins, while Juniper was the younger of them. Celeste was born about two years after Verana and
Juniper were. Sebastian was about five years younger than Celeste, plus or minus a few weeks, at
most, either way. Thora was about two years or so younger than Sebastian was, as well. Aaron was
the older of the two boy twins, while Charles was the younger. As of the current time, Lita and Ken
were not planning to have any more kids for at least another year or two.
Ken's Lita McKinley Cobarelli was now about three months from her 36th birthday, and she'd
been married to Ken for about fourteen or fifteen years, since she was about 21 or so years of age.
She'd married him not long after she got her associate's degree in culinary arts from a nearby cooking
school. And while he was still in school elsewhere in the same province of their nation. He served a
few years in their nation's armed forces after high school, while she got a chain of her restaurants up
and running well enough in various places all over the world. And after he got out, he became a martial
arts teacher at a school that he and his wife eventually started to train Scouts at periodically, whenever
the need arose for them to do so here. That school of theirs was a popular place for the Scouts and
their friends to train at, whenever possible. But it was mainly operated for the benefit of the Scouts, for
all the obvious reasons, of course. Or at least the currently-known Scouts, if not any other yet-to-be-
revealed Scouts as well. Lita was the chief teacher, and he was her assistant teacher, at their martial
arts school they'd founded after he'd left the military for a civilian career as a martial arts teacher, at
least, if nothing else as well. Their school was called "The Chrysanthemum Thunder School", and they
taught many different kinds of martial arts that they'd picked up before in their lives.
The two of them conversed very quietly with each other in the kitchen for a while, as Lita also
let him have a piece of some walnut-covered pecan pie she'd made earlier that day. And even some
chicken legs, for that matter, as well. Eventually, Ken said, "I'm going to bed now. I hope that you
won't be long in doing the same, darling."
"We'll see. If I can finish what I've been working on for a while soon enough, I think I can be
in our bedroom by midnight easily enough."
"I think I'd like that very much."
"But know this, Kenny, I'm not really in the mood for romance right now."
"Fair enough, Lita. I'd like to be able to get up by 7:30 tomorrow morning. For I'll most likely
need to be at the airport by 11 tomorrow morning for my flight to Gemaria, if I remember things well
enough here. There's that tournament in Gemaria that I was going to compete in, as you know. And I
need to be there in time to make my noon flight from this Zone to there, of course."
"I hope you win your brown belt-level Karate tournament, then, sweetheart."
"So do I, Cookie."
******************************************************************************
Another battle will take place during Chapter Four, as well, which will involve several Scouts
and several more of my original characters. Both who are Scouts and who aren't actually Scouts
either. When that chapter comes, I will let you know which characters are from my original series
work, and which are from my fan fiction stories that I may or may not have already put up here, for the
obvious reasons. Chapters Five and Six will bring several characters more into the main storyline, if at
all possible. More significant action will happen later than those two chapters, as necessary. Until then,
you'll just have to see what's coming up soon enough. But I promise you at least a few more crossover
elements will be added to the story as well within the next few chapters, at most, readers. So please
read, review, and enjoy, if at all possible. Until later, then, this is "The Universal Storyteller" signing off
here. Happy reading, and God bless, and all that, of course, readers! Over and out!