I wasn't expecting any more reviews...thanks! I'm glad you like it. It's good to know, too, that I'm not being too long winded. :-) Here's chapter 3, if you're still interested. Also, on a reread, I get the feeling I've copied something...did I?

o

Terri craned her neck to see the top of the hotel they were staying at. Thank God for elevators! she thought. Everyone went in and checked in to get their keys.

"Ugh!" said Rachel, another member of the Japanese club, when they finally reached their second floor hotel room. She flopped down on the bed. "The jet lag is going to be awful!"

"You're telling me!" exclaimed Sarah.

"Mm." Yvonne yawned. She went through her purse and pulled out a CD player. Putting on her headphones, Yvonne laid on the other bed. "Good night!"

"Sure is," said Terri. Yvonne Martin, Rachel Murray, and Sarah Palmer were her roommates, and three of the few in her small circle of friends.

Yvonne was slim and tall. She had hazel eyes and shoulder-length black hair. Yvonne was a great person, but she could get moody. One day she'd be really happy, the next down in the dumps. She wasn't on drugs or anything. It was just a part--a weird part, yes--of her personality.

Rachel was the shortest with brown bobbed hair and eyes of an almost reddish color. Her temper was her most prominent feature. Terri wondered how she stayed friends with Rachel so long: anyone could manage to rub her the wrong way without meaning to. But Rachel was awesome. When she cared about something, she was passionate. She even got a little obsessive at times.

Sarah was just Sarah. She had all the characteristics of your stereotypical blonde: blonde hair, blue eyes, and a tendency to be ditsy. But she wasn't a complete airhead. She knew when to be serious. Most of the time.

"What're we going to do now?" asked Rachel.

"We could go scope out some guys," Sarah suggested.

"Are you kidding?" Rachel laughed. "The teacher would have to go with us to interpret, and she'd never let us do that."

"They say love knows no barriers," said Sarah. She sighed dreamily.

"I'm going to sleep," said Terri. Rachel and Sarah looked at her in surprise.

"Our first day here and you two will be sleeping?" asked Sarah incredulously.

"Well, Terri didn't sleep on the way," said Rachel. "I should know. That light you turned on had me pulling the blanket over my head!"

"Sorry," said Terri with a sheepish grin. "I couldn't sleep."

"Don't worry about it." Rachel smiled. "C'mon, Sarah. Let's ask the teacher where we can find some food. That stuff on the airplane sucked!"

"See you two later!" Sarah waved. "We've got our keys, but let us in if we knock, 'okay?"

"Got it," said Terri. She was dying to go to bed. It was so comfortable she fell asleep right away. She didn't even notice when Gaea unlocked the pet carrier of her own accord, somehow opened the door, and went outside. The cat jumped onto the balcony rail and started talking to a blond haired man dressed in yellow…

o

Someone pounding on the door woke Terri and Yvonne up.

"Who's 'at?" asked Yvonne thickly. "And why's it so frigging dark in here?"

"I'll get it." Terri stretched and went to the door. It was Sarah and Rachel. Sarah was winded and Rachel looked ticked off.

"There's a storm coming and the power is out all over the place," griped Rachel. "That's why we couldn't get in. Our keys wouldn't work."

"And we had to take the stairs all the way up!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Oh quit whining," Rachel rebuked. "It was only one flight!"

"Easy for you to say, Miss Track Star!" Sarah muttered.

"It's not my fault you don't exercise!" Rachel argued.

"Hey!" Yvonne shouted. "I'm in no mood for your kindergarten alter egos today, so just can it!"

"Sorry," Sarah and Rachel mumbled. They sat down at the little table.

"No big deal," said Yvonne. "I didn't mean to snap like that. My head just hurts. It does every time we're going to have a big rain…"

"Well there's one on the way, that's for sure," said Terri. She pulled back the blinds. "Look at the lightning! That's why it was so dark in here when we woke up."

Outside the clouds were getting darker by the second. Lighting flashed and thunder cracked constantly. They were definitely in for a downpour.

Just as Terri went back to the bed another knock came. "Housekeeping!"

"Is she crazy or something?" wondered Sarah. "I wouldn't be out there for--"

CRASH!

The outside wall of their room was blown in. "I said housekeeping!" A monster in a green jumpsuit sprang over the rubble with a maniacal "Ha, ha!"

"We've got to get out of here," said Terri.

"No, really?" said Yvonne sarcastically. "C'mon! Let's go through the adjoining-" Suddenly Yvonne's body arched and her eyes bugged out. She wasn't breathing.

"No!" someone shouted. Then Gaea leapt upon the monster's face. Yvonne returned to normal.

"Gaea!" cried Terri. She rushed forward.

"No! Run away!" It had been the cat that spoke! "Run!" Gaea dug her claws further into the monster.

"Gaea?" Terri couldn't move for surprise.

"Come on!" cried Rachel. Rachel and Yvonne dragged Terri into the next room, which surprised their fellow club members in it. "Sorry! Um, you might want to lock that."

They dashed out of the room and went for the nearest stairwell. Running down to the lobby they got outside as quick as they could. There was no sign of the monster anywhere around the gaping hole in the building.

"Gaea…" whispered Terri. "This is just too weird!" Terri heard an odd noise. "What's that?"

Sarah pointed above Terri's head frantically. "Look out!"

"Wha--?" Terri screamed and rolled out of the way just in time. The monster that blew up their room would have flattened her. Her heart was racing. It would explode…Wait. Talk about some serious Déjà vu…

"I will have them this time," said the monster with a villainous smile. "No yellow man around to help, is there?"

"Think again, Talorius."

Out of nowhere a silver arrow whizzed to pierce the ground. The monster started looking around wildly.

A man in a golden suit emerged from thin air. He was holding a sword. "Care to dance?" he asked. Talorius roared and pulled a sword from somewhere in her jumpsuit. Then the battle commenced. Thrust, parry, dodge. Parry, dodge, thrust. It was a deadly dance.

A warm something rubbed against Terri's leg. It was Gaea. "Gaea! I was so worried!" Terri picked the cat up and held her at eye level. Was that hesitation in Gaea's eyes? In a cat's eyes?

"Gaea!" cried the man in yellow. He sidestepped a lunge from Talorius. "The right time to tell them is long past! If you don't tell them now so they can fight, they may not live for you to have the chance!"

"What's he talking about?" Terri asked Gaea. "Don't look at me like that. We all heard you speak back there."

"Well, I--oh, put me down, Terri," said Gaea. "I need you all to look into my eyes. I can show you better than I could explain." Yvonne, Rachel, Sarah, and Terri all did as Gaea asked.

Terri felt her entire body go rigid. She strained her eyes to see the others and saw that their eyes were glowing. If she had a mirror Terri would have seen the same thing happening to her own eyes. The emerald pendant came out of Terri's pocket and hovered in front of her, shimmering with an inner radiance. It beckoned her to reach for it. Three different colors besides the green shone in the depths of the gem: light blue, dark blue, and red.

Terri gave in. She touched the jewel. The moment she did, those three lights came out of it, literally. The light blue one stopped in front of Sarah, the dark blue in front of Yvonne, and the red in front of Rachel. Without knowing how she knew it, Terri knew that each had formed a new crystal: Sarah's would have three wisps on it; Yvonne's, three wavy lines; and Rachel's, a flame.

Another thing Terri knew without understanding why or how was a certain phrase that she ought to say now that she was touching that glowing emerald. "Earth Elemental Power, Make Up!" She heard the others do the same.

"Air Elemental Power, Make Up!" cried Sarah.

Yvonne came next. "Water Elemental Power, Make Up!"

Rachel shouted, "Fire Elemental Power, Make Up!"

Colored lights blanketed the grounds for a few moments. When they disappeared, all four girls wore costumes straight out of a Sailor Moon cartoon.

Terri was in mostly green; Sarah was in light blue, Yvonne in dark, and Rachel in red. This is too amazing! Terri thought. It was every Moonie's wildest dream come true: to one day find out it's all real; that she was a Sailor Scout; to be saved by a cute guy in a cool suit. She fingered her hair. The one thick braid had become three separate ones. Terri was looking at the broach in the middle of her bow when Gaea's voice brought her back to the present.

"This is no time to admire yourself! And you're supposed to be the leader!" the cat said. Me? thought Terri. "Terri, you are Sailor Earth; Sarah, you're Sailor Wind; Yvonne, Sailor Water; and Rachel, Sailor Fire. Together you are the Elemental Senshi. You--"

It was Gaea's turn for a wake up call. "This isn't history class!" yelled the man still battling Talorius. "Attack her!"

"Fiery Blaze of Rage!" Fire looked to the hidden sun and a fireball formed before her. She picked it up and whirled it around, wildfire enshrouding her momentarily. The fire sped toward the monster.

The smell of burning flesh defiled the air. "Ow, ow, ow! It burns, it burns!" Talorius ran around trying to put herself out.

"My turn!" Wind spun quickly until a tornado formed. She jumped out of it and tied it to a blue chain. "Spiraling Cyclone Destroy!" Wind let go of the chain.

"AUGH! My lady, help!" Talorius was caught up in the whirlwind.

"Swirling Tidal Wave Engulf!" A massive wave came up from no visible source and crashed down on Talorius. Water looked at Earth. "Finish her off!"

Earth smiled. "Right! Uh." What is it, anyway? Oh yeah! "Seeds of Life…" Earth reached both hands to the ground and pulled glowing green seeds from somewhere. They circled her for a few seconds before collecting in her hands. She raised her hands into the air. "…Disperse!" Earth threw them at Talorius.

The seeds grew at once, binding Talorius. "No! I cannot be beaten!" the monster cried. With a last, "My lady, help me!" Talorius was no more. The vines hid her face and broke apart to reveal a pile of ash. The ash vanished in a twinkling of light.

"Whoa," said Fire. They all gawked, in a daze, at the place where Talorius had been.

The man in yellow, completely forgotten, came up and clapped a hand on Earth's shoulders. "Well done. All of you."

Earth turned around and when their eyes met she could suddenly recall what happened on the airplane. As they continued looking at each other Earth started remembering things she'd never done, never dreamed of. It was like a past that wasn't hers was invading her mind. There was something familiar about him. More than just from the plane; she knew it went much deeper and farther back than that. She looked away and the flood stopped. But the rest was still there. "What's going on?" she asked.

He smiled sadly. "You don't remember me yet."

"I do remember you," said Earth. "But--What is it?"

"Drat!" exclaimed Phoebus. "I have to go now. Sailor Earth, don't be afraid of your past self. Please. Just let your memories return. Don't fear them." He brushed her face gently and disappeared.

"Gaea, who are we? I mean, I know who we are, but who were we before?" said Sailor Earth.

"This isn't exactly the best time or place to discuss that," Gaea replied.

"Forget who we are," Sailor Water said sharply. "Who are they?"