Around noon, Celeste and Rini finally woke up.
"Morning, everyone," said Rini as she headed out to the bathroom. When she came back, Celeste was already dressed.
"Morning. Can we not do that again at that hour?" she asked, as she dashed for the bathroom. Rini slipped into her outfit of the day.
"Morning, girls," Diana replied, "Unfortunately, the enemy doesn't take requests. They attack when they feel like it."
The two girls groaned.
"That sucks," was Celeste's reply.
"You're telling me?" Rini asked.
"Breakfast, waffles and sausage! I'm leaving it on the table because I need to leave!" yelled Rini's mother. The two girls needed no further prodding and dashed down the stairs. They came to a screeching halt in the living room. On the TV, the noon news was playing.
"Last night, the famous Pantheon Temple was attacked by a mysterious creature. No one was killed. Only two people were injured. We now go live to Jennifer who's at the temple."
"Mark, I'm standing here with the temple priestess, Seraphina, and her assistant, Darissa. Seraphina, I understand you were one of the injured last night. Is this correct?"
"Yes, that would be correct."
"Do you recall what happened?"
"Not really. All I remember is bumping into something that definitely wasn't human. At first I thought it was one of the students on the retreat playing a trick on me. But when it picked me up with its tentacles, I realized I was wrong. The last thing I remember is getting thrown up against the wall."
"Darissa, you were also present last night. Could you tell us what happened?"
"I was out for a walk when I heard a scream come from the main temple. I ran over to find this thing holding Seraphina. I gave it a kick and it through me against the wall. I remember coming to later. Seraphina had been tossed on top of me and there were two others in the room. They looked like the old Sailor Senshi from the legends."
"Oh shit," commented Celeste.
"Diana, we have a problem," Rini yelled.
Diana came bounding down the stairs just in time to catch the end of the segment. As the station went to a commercial break, she sighed.
"Might want to grab some breakfast girls. The damage is already done, so there's no use trying to rush to prevent it. For now, let's see what they say."
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"How bad's the damage?" Rini asked as she flicked off the TV. The station had just finished playing its special report on the sightings pf what could be sailor senshi as well as a look-back at the senshi of old.
"Uh, the damage to my stomach may be disastrous if we don't eat soon," Celeste piped up. "I never knew a special report could run for 8 hours."
"Yeah, dinner would be a good idea," Khons replied as he entered the house for the first time all day.
"Good gods, Khons! Next time make some noise as you come in!" Diana shrieked as the three girls jumped.
"Sorry bout that. I didn't mean to scare anyone. I was prowling around town for a damage estimate."
"Let's find something to eat. And we can discuss this over dinner. Anyone want anything in particular?" asked Celeste.
"It's up to you dears. We cats aren't picky," replied Diana.
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"How bad is the damage?" Celeste inquired.
"Hard to tell. A lot of people believe that it was a couple of gangs that got into a fight at the temple and that one group was girls dressed like senshi. At the same time, lots of others believe the senshi are back to protect the Earth," Khons reported.
"Great, where does that put us now?" Rini questioned, beating Celeste to it.
"I'm not exactly sure. You can't be recognized individually, but you can be recognized as senshi. The problem at the moment lies in the fact that you two are the only two awakened. Until the others are called forth, the team is not complete," Diana paused.
Khons continued, "Now more than ever the survival of Crystal Tokyo and the Earth depend on the Sailor Senshi. If things do not precede right, Crystal Tokyo will never exist and humankind would be doomed to suffer at the hands of the Dark family."
"But that doesn't explain why us being spotted is a problem," Rini pointed out.
"You're right it doesn't," Khons agreed. "If you recall, if any one of you should choose not to accept this destiny, then the power of those awakened will become dormant. And the awakened will lose all memories of this time. Unfortunately, no one will lose the memory of the existence of the senshi."
"I get it!" Rini announced. "If we were to become dormant, the people would look for us, getting their hopes up only to be shot down, right?
"Something like that," Diana replied. "Now our job it to find the other potential senshi and awaken them. And we must do it soon."
"How?" the girls asked in unison.
"We're tracking possible senshi by biosignatures. So far all we've come up with is a moving biosignature. It started in New Mexico, but we have no idea where it's heading and who it is," Khons supplied
"Who or what it is," corrected Diana.
"You mean there could be a monster on the loose?" asked Celeste.
"Potentially," Diana replied, " but there's nothing we can do about it until it comes this way. At least for now."
"And right now, there's nothing else that can be done. So you guys can run off if you want," added Khons.
"Movie?" asked Celeste.
"Works for me," was Rini's reply.
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Aisheeya Deon got off the bus and started walking around to stretch her legs. Consulting the bus routes, she noted that she had a couple more transfers before she arrived in Pinebrook. She sighed, knowing that meant many more hours on a bus, which wasn't something she was looking forward to. She had been on a bus since she left New Mexico a couple days ago.
Folding the map, she looked for a pay phone.
"Miswell, call and let them know where I am," she muttered.