Thanks for the review, Guardian Dimension. Here's chapter 1. It's a lot longer than the prologue because I wasn't sure where to break it up. The rest of the chapters will probably be about this long. (Out of curiosity...anybody know why the little squiggly lines I tried to put around the 'o's don't show up?)
o
A group of bleary eyed, high school students waited at a gate in the Los Angeles International Airport. They were all listening for the boarding call for their seven A.M. flight to Tokyo, Japan, where they would stay for a while on a Japanese Club field trip. Some were grumbling and some were snoozing, but a redheaded girl holding a pet carrier was arguing with the man at the flight desk. The girl, managing to stay calm despite the fact that she was totally pissed, was named Terri Brooks.
"Look, sir," said Terri, throwing her thick braid over her shoulder in impatience, "my father paid extra money so my cat could be with me on the plane, so I'm not going to put her with the luggage!"
"I'm sorry, miss, but I need the pet boarding pass or your father will just have to ask for a refund," replied the man.
Terri made herself walk--I will not stomp like a little kid! she thought-- at a normal pace back to her seat. She had to have that pass. Her green eyes narrowed as she sifted through her bag, muttering, "I know I've got it somewhere!" under her breath.
Her cat, Gaea, was frantic. This didn't bother Terri, however. It had happened before: it was almost as if the cat could understand what was going on.
"Don't worry, Gaea," Terri said soothingly. "They won't put you in the luggage compartment if I can help it!" She sat back for a moment, a reflective smile on her face, remembering the day she'd found Gaea.
Terri had been walking home from her bus stop one day when a faint mewing came from the bushes behind her. She was never good at ignoring anything that needed help, so naturally Terri had taken a look. What she found was a calico cat with an emerald pendant on her neck and a strange marking on her head. Stranger than the marking was the calico's coloring. Instead of the typical oranges, blacks, and whites, this cat had blotches of green, dark blue, light blue, and red! Terri was mildly surprised that she herself hadn't already freaked and ran away.
"Here, kitty, kitty," Terri cooed. To her shock, the little stray came to her without hesitation. The poor thing was skin and bones! Terri decided then that she would take it home with her, regardless of its weirdness.
"No qualms there, kitty," Terri said with a soft laugh. "I'm a bit of an oddball myself, so we should get along fine! Now let's see that marking..." She took a closer look at the spot. It was a circle with a cross inside. She took the pendant off the cat and looked at it, too. No sign of the owner. But the same symbol was engraved into the emerald. It hung on a ribbon made of green silk with silver scrolling painted on.
"Interesting," Terri murmured. "The astrological symbol for Earth! Hey, you know what? We're learning about mythology in school, and that mark gives me an idea of what to name you. Gaea, Mother Earth! Sound good, little kitty?" The cat had purred and rubbed against Terri's legs.
"Great!" Terri exclaimed. "Gaea it is, then." She scooped up Gaea and carried her home. She always kept the pendant in he pocket for good luck.
Of course, by the time Terri and Gaea were sitting at the airport Gaea had filled out.
Terri giggled at that thought. "In fact, you're probably over weight!" Gaea mewed loudly. "Shh! I'm only kidding," Terri said hastily.
"Miss Brooks to the gate 65 flight desk, Miss Brooks to the gate 65 flight desk, thank you," a monotonous voice belted over the intercom.
Terri looked at the desk and saw none other than her dad! Her heart leapt. He would have the pass she needed for sure! Terri went to the desk and found that he did have it.
Mr. Brooks laughed. "You left it laying on the counter, sweetie. I figured there might be a problem, so I brought it for you."
"Thanks, Dad!" Terri gave her dad a big hug. "Love you!"
As Mr. Brooks went to leave he said, "Don't forget to write!"
"Of course not!" Terri waved then went back to her seat. "Whew, Gaea! That was so close!" Gaea was a lot more relaxed.
"Boarding call, flight 246 to Tokyo, Japan!" came the intercom voice.
Terri snatched her bag and the pet carrier. "That's us!" she said brightly to Gaea. She got some askance looks, but frankly she didn't give a care what they thought.
o
Terri boarded the plane and found her window seat. After stowing her bag overhead she put Gaea under the seat in front and looked out the window at the people preparing for their takeoff. Someone filled the seat one over from Terri, but the middle seat was never taken.
Once they took off and the preflight safety video was through Terri flipped on the light to the objections of others. It was early, yes, but Terri was still stewing from that argument. So instead of asking for a pillow, she settled in to read some manga. She would never admit it, but Terri was a diehard Moonie. She liked the anime too, but ever since the series was taken off the air she hadn't been able to find it anywhere. The manga was good, though.
She was reading a part where Tuxedo Mask had come to Sailor Moon's rescue when the young man in the aisle seat asked, "What's that you're reading?"
"Huh? You talking to me?" Terri said. She wasn't used to guys talking to her.
The guy said, "Unless there's someone out there on the wing I don't know of anyone else in your direction."
"Oh! I, uh..." She really didn't want to say it out loud, so she just showed him the cover. "Just a bit of manga."
"Mm." The guy nodded and smiled. "Good choice. I have some friends at home who read those."
Terri gaped at him.
"Oh, I'm from Tokyo," the guy said with a shrug.
Terri was still in shock, but she managed to nod. He went back to his magazine. That gave Terri the chance to get a better look.
The young man must have come to the US often: his English was perfect. He was reading a medical journal of some kind. He was tall and had dark hair that matched his dark eyes. He looked vaguely familiar...When she couldn't place him, Terri went on reading Sailor Moon.
After a couple of pages, it hit her like an anvil out of a Loony Tunes cartoon. The guy looked just like Darien! Terri whipped her gaze from the guy to the page. Yep, he was the spitting image of Darien. How weird was that! And he's reading a medical journal! she thought. Terri was breathing hard with excitement. Calm down, she told herself. Sailor Moon's not real. It's just a coincidence.
Later in the flight the guy spoke to Terri again.
"Hey, I never caught your name," he said.
"I'm Terri," Terri replied. "Terri Brooks."
"Nice to meet you, Terri." He held out his hand and Terri shook it. "I'm Darien."
Terri started so badly she pulled her hand out of Darien's.
"I know, I know," said Darien with a laugh. "Kind of weird, someone actually having that name, isn't it?" Like last time Terri was only able to manage a nod.
Terri looked down at Gaea. The calico looked mildly interested, if a cat can look interested at all. That 'coincidence' bugged the crap out of Terri for a while.
The stewardess came by and gave the passengers drinks. Terri felt drowsy after finishing hers. She was just closing her eyes to doze off when she noticed the stewardess staring peculiarly at her.
"Ah, all these nice emotional cores," the lady mused. "So young. So pure! They've not had time to truly despise anything, and if they have there are other feelings to balance the scale!"
Terri snapped awake. What the heck? The woman was crazy!
"Come everyone, let me have your hearts! My lady will be pleased!" cried the stewardess. She spun around fast, like a top. When she stopped she was a completely different creature. She was dressed in a lime green jumpsuit. Her skin, if you could call the scaly metallic stuff skin, was a pale gray. She had three yellow, pupil-less eyes and wiry black hair that fell to her ankles. Needless to say, Terri was seriously freaked out.
Terri felt her heart beating faster and faster. She thought her chest would explode. All around her shining balls of mist were coming out of people. Their backs were arched in agony, eyes rolling, until the little balls materialized. The monster took a purple vial out of her pocket. When she pulled out the stopper, the mist-balls zoomed into it. The thing cackled madly.
Terri clutched her chest as if that would keep her heart in. "Please God, oh please!" she muttered.
All at once Terri's body relaxed. The monster, utterly confused, was staring at something in the aisle. Terri leaned over to get a better look. It was a silver arrow.
"What gives?" the monster snarled. "Why aren't the rest of the hearts going in?"
"Because I stopped them," a voice said simply.
"How? No one can thwart Talorius!" screamed the monster.
The voice laughed. "Well, I just did." A man materialized a little behind the monster. The lights in the plane turned up brighter than normal when he appeared. He had hair that seemed golden and wore a suit and cloak of similar hue. The suit reminded Terri of Tuxedo Mask again.
"Who are you?" Talorius asked contemptuously.
"I?" said the stranger. He bent to pick up the arrow and twirled it absently. "Who I am is none of your concern."
"Your heart is so pure," Talorius said sweetly. "Why don't you give it to me?" She reached for the strange man.
He grabbed her arm. "Sorry, but I rather like living."
Talorius shrieked. "Let go, let go! That light! It hurts!"
The man in yellow snatched the vial from Talorius and released her.
"Give it back!" Talorius cried.
"Not in this lifetime," said the stranger. He nocked an arrow in his silver bow. "Now get off this planet!"
Talorius obviously hadn't been prepared for a fight. She licked her lips, eyes darting to and fro. "You haven't seen the last of me!" with that sentence she disappeared in a whirlwind.
The man opened the vial to let out all the hearts. "Better if they don't remember this," he whispered. He threw the silver arrow into the air. It twirled, slowly at first then faster. Rays of golden light shot out from it, enveloping the plane. When it stopped he plucked it from the air. He held it out to Darien.
"Aren't you going to wipe my memory too?" Darien asked.
"No, Endymion, you must bring this to Luna and Artemis and tell the Sailor Scouts of this new danger," answered the stranger. "I'm not certain who the leader of this assault is, but their target is people's hearts. Not the souls, but the emotional cores."
I knew it! Terri thought. Oh, my God! It's all real!
The man turned his piercing blue-eyed gaze to Terri and smiled. "Maybe, someday, a time will come when you can know about things like this. But for now, you must remain ignorant like everyone else." He reached over and touched Terri's forehead. Terri could have sworn she heard a slight gasp.
"Tell everyone to keep a sharp watch," was the last thing Terri heard before she blacked out.
o
"What the--?" Terri murmured. She bolted upright and looked around. "Where's the--"
"That must have been some dream you were having!" said Darien.
"Huh? A--a dream?" asked Terri groggily. It had been so real... "I guess I've been reading too much manga."
o
At the airport in Tokyo Terri got her stuff and Gaea and headed straight for the baggage claim. When she got there, Darien was there already and was standing with a group of people. A girl there had blonde hair done up Sailor Moon-style. Terri snickered. And I thought I was a Moonie!
They're all speaking English! Terri thought. Wonder why...She continued searching for her suitcases.
"It's good to have you back for a visit," Terri heard the blonde say.
"It's good to be back, Serena," replied Darien.
Terri jerked her head in that direction. Okay, now that was way too creepy. Out of the corner of her eye, Terri saw her suitcase pass by. "Crap!" she muttered.
Terri pushed her way through the crowd. "Excuse me, pardon me..." What's the use? she thought. They don't understand a word I'm saying anyway. The suitcase would be at the end of the belt any second! She ran around everyone and shoved in between some people with a hasty "Sorry!" and grabbed the bag. That was a close one!
"Hey!" said a woman behind her.
Terri turned to apologize but ended up just moving her mouth. The scowling woman looked just like Haruka!
Terri looked around and discovered that she could name a look-alike for almost every Sailor Moon character! Raye, Amy, Michiru...and they were all with Serena and Darien.
"Watch where you're going!" the Haruka-look-alike said.
"I am so sorry, but if you'll excuse me--" Terri got up and brushed herself off--"I have to go hook up with the rest of my club." Under her breath she added, "Way too many coincidences for one day."
o
(Terri Borrks & her father, Gaea, and the man in yellow are my own creations.)