3 – Suspicions Confirmed.
"Arrrgh, I'm sooo nervous! No one I know goes here!" Alexia exclaimed to herself nervously as she stood outside of her new school. She looked down at her uniform to check she looked as neat as she could then with one last deep breath walked in through the gates of the all-girl's school she was to attend. "Now to find my class and get on with it." she said confidently. As she walked down the corridors she could feel the other girls staring at her, which made her feel even more nervous. At long last she reached the room she'd been told to go to, the room where her new classmates would be. She poked her head round the door, and immediately the whole class turned to stare at her.
"H…Hello." she said nervously. "I'm new here, this is room 12, isn't it?"
Rei was stood talking to one of the other girls near the back of the room. At the sound of the new voice she looked up and gasped slightly. The newcomer looked exactly like the girl Mina had described to her just three days ago at the temple. Swiftly she shoved through the crowd which was forming around Alexia and took her hands in hers.
"Hi, you must be Alexia! I'm Rei Hino." she smiled, looking into her pale eyes - a stark contrast to her own.
"Rei? Oh, Mina's friend!!" Alexia declared with joy. "Oh it's nice to meet you at last!"
"And you too, so you're in my class? This is going to be great." just looking at Alexia filled the Martian with happiness and a very good feeling. "I just know we're going to be friends!"
"Me too…" the green haired girl said softly, "I feel like we were friends before we even met…"
"Ditto." Rei whispered back in astonishment. This is unbelievable! I've never felt this close to someone on first meeting! The psychic thought to herself. There is certainly something unusual about her… "Anyway, let me show you to your seat…hey here's a free one, right next to me!" she took her seat and Alexia did the same. "So you live next door to Mina? How are you settling in?"
"Well it's been pretty hard, leaving all my old friends behind and everything, but so far everyone I've met has been great. I'm very fortunate to have moved in next door to someone my age." Rei nodded. "So, I hear you're a priestess at a temple! That sounds fascinating! Where is the temple?"
"It's on Sendai Hill, you can't miss it." she smiled. "Hey why don't you come around this evening? Mina and the others will be there too!"
"Cool! I'd love to."
"Great, what's your last class today? We can meet up outside school and catch the bus together."
"Oooh…lessee…" Alexia pulled out a card which had her timetable printed on it. "Ummm…aha! It's English."
"Okay, well I have a music lesson then, so if we just wait at the top gates then we can go!"
"Oh, I might have to go home first, to let my parents know where I am…"
"Oh you can phone from my house, my grandfather won't mind." Rei said casually. Suddenly their conversation was interrupted by the school bell. "Time to go, what do you have first?"
"Math." Alexia read from her card.
"Me too!" the black-haired psychic said enthusiastically. "C'mon, the teacher's a real pain when it comes to punctuality!" the girls got up, grabbed their bags and left the room.
x x x x x
"Wow, what a beautiful place!" Alexia gasped as she and Rei reached the top step of the Hino Shrine. Her eyes sparkled at the sight in front of her and her new friend smiled.
"Thanks, we try our best to keep it in good order."
"I can tell…" Alexia's voice trailed off as a small, bald old man ran up.
"Reeei! Who is this vision of beauty? Why hello there young lady I'm Rei's grandfather, would you like a job here?" he looked Alexia up and down, and she blushed.
"Grandpaaa…" Rei muttered, looking embarrassed. "Please stop intimidating my friend! Her name's Alexia - she's new to the area."
"Ahhhh! So, Alexia, where are you from? Can I get you a drink, or how about a job?"
"GRANDPA!" Rei screamed, making Alexia jump.
"Okay, okay I'm going! Ungrateful granddaughter…" he mumbled as he walked off, leaving Rei to sweatdrop.
"I'm so sorry about that." she apologised. "He can get rather over-excited."
"I see…"
"Yo Rei, yo Rei's friend, did you have a good day at school?" another male voice, this one younger sounding than Rei's crazy grandfather, piped up. Alexia turned to face a youth, a couple of years older than herself, who had long, shaggy brown hair. He was wearing clothes that made Alexia realise that he must work there and a bright smile on his face.
"Yeah, thanks. This is Alexia Risolto, she just moved to the area, it was her first day at my school today." The black-haired Scout quickly did the introductions. "Alexia, this is Chad, he helps out around here."
"Cool to meet you, Alexia." Chad said, nodding his head. "Sorry I can't hang around and chat to you guys, gotta mend some loose tiles on the roof." With that he wandered off back towards the Rei's home.
"He seemed nice." Alexia remarked and Rei nodded, her cheeks going slightly red.
"Hey Rei, Alexia!" Mina called to them, and Rei felt relieved that the blonde's appearance had distracted Alexia before she had noticed how she was blushing. Following behind were Lita, Amy, Artemis, Luna and a handsome, dark-haired, blue-eyed youth who Alexia didn't recognise; finally dragging herself up was Serena.
"Rei, have you ever thought about having an escalator installed?" she groaned as she collapsed on the top step.
"No, Serena, and I'm not planning to either." she muttered, folding her arms. "Anyway you need all the exercise you can get with the amount of cake you stuff yourself with…"
"Reeei!" Serena yelled. "You little…"
"Ahem." Lita quickly placed herself between the girls, who were throwing each other dirty looks. "You're worrying our guest."
"You'll have to get used to those two arguing, we certainly have." Amy told Alexia.
"Oh, right, okay, I'll remember that!" Alexia giggled.
"Girls? Aren't you going to introduce me to your new friend?" the youth spoke up.
"Oh!" Serena exclaimed, grabbing hold of his arm. "Darien, this is Alexia Risolto, Mina's new next-door neighbour. Alexia this is Darien Shields, my boyfriend." she blushed slightly, and Alexia bowed.
"Nice to meet you Alexia." he smiled dashingly at her.
"Same here." she grinned back. Wow, he's cute - lucky Serena! she thought to herself, then turned to Rei. "Hey Rei, can I borrow the telephone to call my parents?"
"Sure thing, follow me." Rei took her inside, where she quickly called home and informed her mother she was with Mina and her friends and that she would be back later. As they went back to the others Rei was walking along ahead of her, her long hair swishing against her back, and for some reason this moment caused Alexia to remember her dream.
"Oh, weird!" Alexia exclaimed unexpectedly; stopping and placing her hand on her forehead.
"Sorry?" Rei turned to stare at the girl in confusion; the other girls also looked puzzled.
"For some reason following you reminded me of a dream I had the night before last, that's all." She said. "It was really odd, and really vivid. I was with these other girls, who by the way looked really familiar, in this strange place that looked like a war zone…a blonde girl was leading me and the other 3 girls away from the ruins of this palace when I stopped and said I needed to go back because some people had been left behind…they called me something different, I can't remember what now. Anyway, I ran back and called out the names of the people who we'd left behind – it was Luna, Artemis, Marmalade, who wasn't called that but I don't remember what I called her, plus she had a crescent moon mark on her forehead like Luna and Artemis have, and someone else – oh, it was such a nice name too, whatever was it? – then Marmalade came along and told me that they were all safe – a talking cat, it was so odd! Anyway, we were going to go back when all of a sudden this weird-looking woman, who called me 'princess', attacked us! I shot this light at these strange capsule-things she'd thrown at us from my forehead and said something, which again I can't recall for the life of me. My light and the woman's attack collided and blew up – then there was a really loud explosion and everything went black and I woke up…" suddenly her eyes lit up as she remembered something. "Of course! The name of the other person I went back for was Queen Serenity! Isn't that just the prettiest name you've ever heard?!"
There was a huge reaction.
Rei managed to stop herself before she cried out in surprise. Lita clamped her hand over Serena's mouth before she could squeal; Darien looked away from the group; Mina and Amy's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and Luna and Artemis exchanged a glance, got to their feet and walked away.
"Oh, where are they going?" Alexia remarked.
"I don't know, they're always wandering off by themselves." Mina smiled. "We've got used to it."
"Right, bye Luna, Artemis." she smiled as they turned to look at her. "Wow, it was like they understood me or something!"
"Umm, I have a question, who's Marmalade?" Lita inquired, feeling slightly numb. How could she dream about Queen Serenity? It can't be a coincidence, can it?
"Oh, Marmalade's my kitten! My cousin Trista gave her to me the other day as a gift, she's reeeally unusual - bright orange! My dad said he's never seen anything like her, and ginger cats are usually male!"
"Wow, really? Cool." Serena grinned nervously, her mind still ticking over the fact that a girl who wasn't a Scout had mentioned Queen Serenity - her own mother.
"That dream sounds rather unusual." Amy said in her soft voice.
"It was! Anyway, it was only a dream…although my parents have wondered if I'm psychic before…"
"Really, you mean other things have happened?" Rei inquired, Alexia nodded.
"Yeah, I've had a couple of prophetic dreams before now…nothing for a while now though." she shrugged. "I think they could just be coincidences."
"Yeah…" the group fell into silence.
x x x x x
"That dream was no accident." Luna muttered as she and her fellow feline companion sat under one of the trees. "You were right, Artemis - everything about her is like Charon, and that glow in her eyes is unmistakable - she's one of us for sure!"
"But what are we going to do?" Artemis sighed.
"I honestly have no idea…because we weren't ever given any charge over Charon and because she thought Charon was dead Serenity only granted us the power to revive the 5 Inner Scouts…" Luna commented. "There's only one person who can revive her powers…"
"Estrella." they said in unison.
"So if Estrella is dead, then there's no chance." Artemis sighed again. "This is a tough one."
"Definitely." Luna murmured. "I don't think we should tell the other Scouts about this - it's far too risky."
"Hello, Luna, Artemis."
The cats froze.
A soft voice had greeted them from above, a soft voice that both of them recognised in a heartbeat. Slowly they raised their heads to look at the boughs of the cherry tree. Stood on the lowest branch was a bright orange kitten, who gazed seriously at them with her large green eyes. Gracefully she leapt off, and landed nimbly on her feet in front of them.
"Could it be…?" Luna gasped, as the newcomer closed her eyes; and in a burst of light the familiar crescent moon symbol appeared on her forehead.
"Estrella!" the older cats got to their feet to circle her.
"Yes, it's me." she reassured them. "You're not hallucinating."
"Where have you been? We thought you were dead!" Luna exclaimed.
"Well, isn't life full of surprises? I was saved by Princess Pluto." she remarked. "As well as, as you've already deduced, Princess Charon."
"So she is Charon?" Luna said, Estrella nodded.
"Of course."
"My word Estrella, you don't look any different but it seems your personality's changed." Artemis spoke up; she looked at him sedately.
"Earth is a tough place. Sometimes you have to change to survive." she said honestly. "I haven't changed that much really, it's just this situation needs a serious attitude rather than a carefree one." this remark stunned the cats even more - the Estrella they knew would never have been so sober!
"So, have you revived her? Surely not, otherwise she wouldn't be speaking so frankly about Serenity and that dream she had." Luna inquired.
"That's right, I haven't." Estrella replied.
"Can I guess that you're Marmalade? Her new kitten?" Artemis asked, and the orange cat looked embarrassed.
"Please, don't call me that." she muttered. "I can't believe Pluto would just stand there and let her give me such an awful name!"
"Pluto? What's she got to do with this?" Luna asked.
"Quite a bit. She's been watching me since we were still in Kyoto. She took me to Alexia's house because she told me it was time to tell her who she really is. She's pretending to be Alexia's cousin, Trista."
"That seems rather strange, what with her being Charon's aunt." Luna mentioned.
"Wait a moment…exactly how long had it been since you first realised who Alexia really was? You said Pluto was watching you while you were still in Kyoto." Artemis cut in, curious. Estrella looked down at the ground, feeling slightly ashamed of herself.
"I've known for about two months, I guess. Before then I couldn't remember anything about the past, apart from I needed to find a girl. Then I saw her one day running home from school and it all came flooding back. The reason why I haven't told her yet is because she hasn't been needed…you have been coping just fine without her. She seemed so happy, I didn't want to turn her life upside down."
"Yet you followed her here?" Luna remarked.
"Yes…because I can't face being away from her, even though it is so difficult." She sighed. "I can no longer avoid telling her now – Pluto has made sure of that. She told me just before taking me to Alexia that something's going to happen soon that involves Charon, and so that's why she needs to be re-awoken."
"Really? Any idea what?"
"Not a clue. So now I'm looking for the right moment. I want to tell her when she's by herself - it'll be easier I think."
"Very well," Luna nodded. "I still can't believe it's you Estrella, it's incredible!" the kitten laughed.
"I'm not surprised about you - as soon as I saw Mina for the first time I knew she was Venus…so tell me, which one of them is the Moon Princess?" The black and white cats looked at one another, then turned to face their comrade.
"Serena."
"Serena? SERENA? Heh…ehe…eheheheheheeheeheeeee!" the kitten rolled onto her back and giggled violently, kicking her legs in the air. "Heeheeheee…good joke! I've been observing her today at her school - what a dunce! And she's so clumsy too!" she rolled onto her stomach, breathless. "Now come on, who is it really?"
"Umm…we weren't joking." Artemis told her. "Serena is the Moon Princess."
"Whaaat?" Estrella exclaimed rather loudly. "What is the world coming to?" she shook her head. "So she I guess is the famous Sailor Moon? And let me work out the rest…Amy is Mercury, Lita is Jupiter and Rei is Mars?"
"Correct answer." Luna smiled. "So what do you want us to do to help you?"
"Nothing," came the response. "I want you say nothing about this to the other Scouts, if they ask I'm just an ordinary cat - that's why I'm hiding my symbol from Alexia, it would be too much of a problem if she linked us then told them; the less they know the better for now. I need to be the one to tell Alexia of her destiny, no one else." she turned away. "I'm going to head back to Alexia's house. I'll see you both again soon."
"Yes, 'bye Estrella." Luna said as she watched the kitten trot off. "Well I never, who would've thought this would happen so suddenly?"
"Yeah, if we thought the re-appearance of one Scout was enough…"
"At least this one's going to be on our side."
"I guess so. Anyway, let's go back to the others." the white cat got to his feet, and Luna swiftly followed lead. She couldn't help but feel slightly excited by the news that there was a 7th Scout. She lifted her brown eyes to look over at the girls then stopped in her tracks.
"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed. Artemis stopped to turn at look at her.
"What is it Luna?"
"Look at them…" she murmured with astonishment in her voice. He turned back to gaze upon the Scouts and their companion, and his eyes also widened in amazement.
The girls were sat in an orderly fashion - Serena sat opposite the rest, who were sat in a neat line. Closest to the cats was Lita, next to her Mina, Rei, Alexia then Amy. There was a distinct gap between the last two girls.
"It's just like back on the Moon…" Luna whispered. "They always sat like that when they were talking…"
"And there's even a gap - where Universe would've sat between Charon and Mercury." the other cat added, Luna nodded, a sad look in her eyes.
"Yes, I see."
x x x x x
When Alexia got home later all she wanted to do was go upstairs and relax. Humming to herself happily she closed her bedroom door behind her, switched on her radio and looked around as she leant against her desk. Cupid trilled to her from his and Rosa's cage and she smiled.
"Hello sweetie, are you pleased to see me today?" she asked him. He tilted his head to one side and his beady black eyes sparkled. "I hope you've had as good a day as I have." Alexia smiled. "My new school's wonderful, and I made another new friend! Her name's Rei, and she lives in a temple! Ooh she's got two birds too - two big ravens called Deimos and Phobos. I think you'd be scared of them though." she giggled, then looked towards her bed. Curled up on a cushion at the foot of the bed was Estrella, seemingly fast asleep.
"Oh, hello, Marmalade." she went to sit down next to her, stroking the soft fur on her back. "I wonder if you've had an exciting day?" she looked at the kitten's peaceful face. "I'm so lucky to have such a fantastic new pet. Trista really is observant - I've never told her I wanted a cat before…" she got back to her feet, and the cat's green eyes opened slightly to watch Alexia look out of the window. "Oh well, you and I are going to have a great time together, Marmie. You just wait and see." Estrella shuddered at the sound of that name. "I'm going to introduce you to Mina and the others really soon." she turned back. "Oh, you're awake, Marmie! Oooh that reminds me, I really ought to get you a collar with your name on so that if you get lost people will know you belong to me!"
That was enough for the kitten.
Just being called that name was a little over too much - but having a collar? I'm not some dumb, ordinary house cat! She thought pretentiously, And a collar with MARMALADE written on it? Give me a break! She got to her feet as Alexia continued, facing the window again.
"Oh and we'll get you a sweet little food bowl with your name painted on it…oh I want everyone to know you're mine! Then when you're walking down the street people can say 'Oh look there goes Alexia's cat, Marmalade!"
"That. Is. Not. My. Name." came the stiff response. The girl straightened up, her pale eyes wide with surprise. Cautiously she turned her head to look over her shoulder, Estrella was on her feet on the bed, breathing rather deeply.
"E…Excuse me?" she managed to squeak.
"I said, that isn't my name." the cat repeated. "My name is Estrella."
"You…you can…talk?" Alexia gingerly crept to the edge of the bed and knelt down.
"Yes, I can." Estrella sat down. "Alexia, I've been watching you for a while now, and there's something you really ought to know…"
"What's that?" the girl asked, her heart fluttering in her chest like a wild bird trapped in a cage.
"That you, Alexia Risolto, are a very special young lady indeed." the kitten said seriously, yet with a slight hint of excitement. "You are a Champion of Justice. You are Sailor Charon."