She let out the breath that she did not know that she was holding and closed her eyes. She reached across the balance beam, listening to the silence that engulfed her. She knew she should not be on it since her coach was not there, but she could not resist the temptation of trying. She swung her legs and pushed herself up into a handstand. Once upright, she parted her legs so that they were at 180 degrees before pushing her front leg over and standing on her feet on the beam. Doing a back flip, still with her eyes closed, she reached the end of the beam and took in a deep breath through her nose, exhaling it from her mouth, and she knew what she wanted to do. She took a step forward, not willing to open her eyes since she knew the beam so well that she did not need to. She reached forward and pushed her weight down as she performed a round-off followed by a back flip and then a crawl over before she pushed off for her dismount. She knew that if she pulled it off, she did not have to worry anymore. She felt herself wrap the air around her as she straightened herself, twisting and flipping over at the same time and then, she felt her feet hit the mat after the third twist. She bent down slightly and then straightened herself, letting out another breath she was holding as she knew that she had nailed it. Smiling, she reached up and posed before the dizziness finally took control and she passed out.
"Got you!" she heard a voice whisper before she lost consciousness.
Moaning, she slowly opened her eyes to see a stranger looking down at you.
"Craig said you were determined, but not stupid!" the voice said as she woke up. He reached out and touched her face, sending tingles throughout her body, images flashing through her mind of someone like him, like she knew him from somewhere before.
"Craig is just overprotective of me 'cause I am his star pupil!" she moaned as she slowly began to stand up, realizing it was too fast, she fell back into the arms of the stranger.
"And for good reasons, you have never learnt that dismount, and how could you without any spotters, you know how dangerous that could have been!" she heard the sound of her coach ring through the hall.
"Be thankful that I knew what I was doing and landed it!" she said back.
"No, be thankful that Justin here can run fast enough before you passed out!" he retaliated as he reached down and held out his hand. "One of these days you are going to do something... I can't lose you sis!" he said as she took his hand and she lent on him to stand up. She drank the water from her bottle that he had.
"You want me to win the nationals; the only way is to get it nailed now! They are in a week's time!" she said as she handed back her bottle and went over to the beam.
"Only you would be able to nail something perfectly the first time that only elites could manage after months of training." He grumbled as he went over to her and grabbed her hand before she got on the beam. "Enough, you have to get ready for school, and say thanks to Justin." She looked up at the person whose arms she was just lying in.
"I'm sorry, thank you Justin for catching me, although, there is just a mat behind me so I would not have gotten hurt even if I did fall down." She said as she grabbed her towel and walked out of the hall.
"Not how far you were over that landing." Justin muttered, and Craig nodded as his sister left to get ready.
Cleo was not your average teenager. At the age of 14, she was smart and had a high GPA and IQ that she skipped a grade in high school. Her brother Craig was her coach and everything that she had left, due to their parents dying in a car crash when a drunken driver drove into them. They had enough money since their parents were both famous doctors. She threw her towel onto her bed and took off her training bottoms to go have a shower. Her cat, Shadow was lying on her bed and meowed as she entered the room. She stroked him and then went under the shower. She reached up and touched her face where Justin had touched her, it was still tingling, but she did not understand how that was possible. Hearing a muffled yell from downstairs, she knew that breakfast was ready. She quickly finished her shower, got dressed, grabbed her school books and also her gym stuff and ran downstairs.
"We are going to be late." Craig said as he handed her a bag with her lunch and also a flask and a slice of toast.
"Nah, you are a teacher and if I just get detention, no big!" she said, Craig sighed.
"You have cheerleader tryouts remember. And remember how much talking it took me to convince the head cheerleader to let you try out. She sees you as just a little school girl and she is going to push you, be careful." He said as he kissed her on her forehead. She looked up and her brother and hugged him.
"I will be fine, love you bro. Come on, or we are going to be late!" she said as she grabbed her stuff and they went to the car. She opened the door and saw that Justin was sitting in the back.
"Why are you coming?" she asked.
"He is transferring to your school, he will be a senior and I need someone else to keep an eye on you!" Craig explained as they drove off to school.
Cleo had butterflies all day long; she could not eat lunch and just had her drink from her flask. She was able to pay attention in her lessons, but as she walked through the halls, she bumped into the head cheerleader.
"Watch where you are going brainiac!" she said as she looked up at the girl. She was the perfect person, blonde hair, skinny, going out with the captain of the football team, boys falling all over her. Cleo muttered something and then walked off.
"Don't forget your humiliation later peep-squeak, just 'cause your brother is the head coach here does not mean that you will get onto the squad so easily!" the girl said to her as she walked up and knocked her books out of her hands. People began to crowd around her and laughed. Cleo picked up her books and walked off into the bathroom before crying.
Skipping her free period, she hid there, hoping that the earth would swallow her up. She heard a meow and knew that Shadow was at the window. She went out and opened it to let the cat in. Once down, Shadow purred around his owner's legs.
"Shadow, why do people have to be so mean?" She asked the cat, who meowed in response. A tear fell on Shadow's forehead and a light appeared, as it faded, she could see that a moon crescent had appeared on his forehead. Not taken aback by it, she picked him up and stroked him, examining the crescent that had appeared. "I know that you are always there for me Shadow, I wish you could talk to me."
"But I can Cleo, and I thank you for re-awakening me from my slumber." He said to the girl. She gasped, but before she could ask him something, the bell rang and she grabbed her stuff, it was time for her cheerleading tryout. She ran out with Shadow following her to the sports hall where he sat on the bleachers waiting for her. He saw Justin and Craig walk in, both saw that cat and went up to it.
"How come you always come to the school Shadow?" Craig asked the cat, who meowed in response as they sat down next to him. They looked up as the whole cheerleading squad entered the hall. In the hall, loads of girls had gathered, all wanting to try out for the squad. Justin looked around and his eyes settled on Cleo who was listening to her Ipod.
"She does that to get into her own bubble." Craig whispered to him, and he nodded. He felt like he knew her before, when he caught her, images of a girl flashed into his head, but someone like her, and yet…
The squad went through all of the girls, rejecting all but two, until it was Cleo's turn. She put her Ipod away and walked up to the table and handed her CD to the male cheerleader at the end. She picked up a set of pompoms that were lying around and got into position.
"Hit it!" she said as the music played and she started her routine. Craig had failed to mention to the cheer squad that she was a gymnast, and boy did she make their faces fall! She was by far better than most of the squad there, tumbling and flipping and chanting and shouting her cheers clear. Her dance moves were unreal. After the last round off, back flip and crawl over just like this morning she landed in a perfect splits and the whole sports hall erupted in cheering. The whole cheer squad ran over to her, all except the head cheerleader who sat in her chair, still in shock and jealous of her abilities. Craig walked up to her and bent down "she is better than you imagine. I guess I forgot to mention that my sister is a national competitor?" he said as he walked away, leaving her in shock to go and hug his sister. Cleo was happy, it was one of the first times he had seen his sister happy since the accident. He went up and hugged her.
"So, you did better than I expected peep-squeak." The head cheerleader said as she walked up to the crowd.
"Libby, it may be out of school hours, but that does not mean that I can not put you in detention for being a bully!" Craig warned her.
"I'm sorry sir!" Libby said right away. "So, I guess that it does not matter about my vote, you are in, welcome to the squad." She said as she flicked her hair and walked away.
Cleo could not believe that she had made the squad. She was still hyper when her brother took her home and when she was training she was not able to keep her energy pent up. She was on form; everything was perfect, just the way it should be before her nationals in a week time. She turned and faced her brother who was talking to Justin about something when she realized that Shadow was watching her from the side. She walked up to the cat and sat down next to him. He jumped up onto her lap and she began to stroke him.
"Be careful Cleo, it is only the beginning to the journey, you have to be ready." The cat said to her. Cleo closed her eyes and continued stroking him.
"Maybe you can explain it to me Shadow, as I have no idea what you are talking about." She said as she put the cat on the floor. "I better find out what is going on with them two." She continued as she walked over to them.
Justin and Craig stopped talking when they saw her approaching. Craig picked his sister up and spun her around, all the time she was laughing and threatening to be sick if he did not put her down. Justin went up to her and touched her on the shoulder.
"Congrats on making the squad." He whispered in her ear making her blush. Craig looked at his sister and friend.
"Justin is staying here with us Cleo; he is going to be living with us. I hope that you don't mind?" he said as he took his sister over to the floor for her workout.
"No, I mean it is not as if we don't have space right? I am sure mom and dad would also do the same." She said as her voice dropped down, she missed her parents and she knew that nothing she could do would bring them back.
"I am sure that they would be extremely proud of you if they saw you now." He said to his sister as she began to allow the tears to fall down her cheeks. He pulled her into a hug and they stood there, Cleo finally letting out all of the emotions of the last few days that she had bottled up. She took in a deep breath and calmed herself as she pushed her brother away and went onto the floor. She closed her eyes as the music began to play this is for you mom and dad she thought to herself as she did her routine, all the time allowing the tears to fall freely from her cheeks.
Justin stood back and watched the interaction take place between brother and sister. He wished that he knew what had happened to his parents. He had lost all of his memories after an accident. Staying with many foster parents, he befriended Craig during his time in the UK, where Craig decided to bring him to the US to offer him a chance at a normal life. He jumped to it, hoping that being away from the UK would stop his pain and strange dreams that had been happening. Then he met Cleo, and he had the feeling that he has met her somewhere before. After getting the images of a girl… no a princess once he caught her before she passed out, he knew that he had to keep his distance from her, at least until he could figure out what everything meant. Watching her perform, he could feel the passion but also the sadness from the moves that she was performing. Not being able to watch any more, he went over to the weights room and decided to work out.
Cleo lay on her bed, darkness surrounding her room. She could not sleep; she did not want to, she had too much on her mind. She grabbed her dressing gown and pulled it on and went onto her balcony. There, she sat down and once again, began to sob. Shadow, upon hearing this went out to her and jumped on her lap.
"Oh Shadow, I miss them so much!" she said as she looked at him.
"Cleo, it is time for you to know, look at me and focus." He said, Cleo did what she was told and a golden beam from his forehead went to hers, showing her images of her past life and friends that she had, and also powers that she knew she had buried deep inside. Once complete, he broke off the beam and on her forehead, a pink moon crescent, just like his appeared.
"Princess, I am so sorry." He said as he jumped down. Cleo took in all of the events, the memories that had brought her back and sobbed harder once again, finally giving in to sleep that she needed.
"Cleo, time to get up. Breakfast is ready." She heard a voice say and felt someone shaking her. Images flashed into her mind and she woke up with a gasp, finding Justin next to her. He looked at her and knew that she had spent the night there and had been crying. Her moon crescent had long faded without her knowing and he looked at her, tears threatening to break again. He stood up and reached out his hand to her.
"Come on princess, it's the weekend and you need to get out!" he said, she gasped at him.
"Princess?" she asked as she reached out for his hand.
"Figure of speech, I mean, isn't every girl a princess?" he said as she stood up and pulled her towards him. Unaware of how close they were, images began flooding into Justin head, he removed his hand from her and walked towards the door.
"Craig is waiting for you. He said something about you needing to get some new gear." Justin said as he walked out of the door. Cleo looked down at Shadow who had slept on her bed.
"I am sorry princess, but the earth is going to need you, sooner than you think. I wish to present you with this." Shadow went under her pillow and pulled out a necklace which had a locket on it. Cleo picked up the locket and opened it. Inside was a pink crystal that glowed at her touch. Cleo could feel the power radiating from it and knew that it was important. She put the necklace on and stroked Shadow.
"When you are in trouble, say moon stardust power and the transformation will begin. Go ahead; give it a try if you want." Shadow explained. Cleo nodded as she stood up
"Moon stardust power!" she said as the pink light engulfed her, her clothes disappearing and being replaced with a white leotard and a purple skirt with pink hemming. Pink short gloves covered her hands along with pink boots on her feet. Her moon crescent appeared and was replaced with a tiara which had a pink stone settled in it. Her long brown hair braided itself into two ponytails and fell down her shoulders and she opened her eyes and looked down at her new outfit.
"Welcome Sailor Stardust." Shadow said as Cleo looked in the mirror. "I am sorry to wake you from your slumber earlier than intended by your mother, but there will be a time that we need you. You must find the other sailor scouts so that you can triumph over the evil that is approaching. I know that you can feel it too." Shadow explained. Cleo closed her eyes, and she saw it, the darkness approaching, just like before.
"Cleo, we need to go now!" she heard her brother shout. She ran into the bathroom and ran the water as he entered the bedroom.
"Am ready in a second Craig, will see you in the car!" she said as she looked at Shadow. She heard her brother leave the room.
"I can not go out as Sailor Stardust Shadow!" she said as she washed her face.
"Just say power down and you will return to normal." he said, she nodded and repeated the words, and noticed that she was back in her pajamas. She quickly grabbed her clothes, got changed and ran out to the car where they were waiting for her. She jumped into the car and Craig drove off.
"Where are we going?" Cleo asked her brother. Justin looked at her briefly before looking back out of the window.
"Sports shop, you need some new clothes. I swear you are going through stuff so fast it is unreal!" Craig said as he looked back at her sister. He looked down and saw her wearing a necklace. "Nice, where did you get that" he said as he returned to looking at the road.
"I found it in one of mum's jewelry boxes." she said absentminded. Craig shrugged and went back to finding a parking space. Cleo sighed and looked out of the window. Once they were parked, Cleo jumped out of the car and went into the mall. She saw one of her friends sitting down at the fountain. Cleo smiled and went up to her.
"Ami, hi how are you?" Cleo said as her friend looked up from her book.
"Cleo, congratulations on making the squad. I hope that this does not eat into your study time?" she said as she stood up to hug her best friend. Ami had blue hair and was a book worm and also a genius. She went to a different school than Cleo, but the two still made time for each other every Sunday.
"No way Ami, you know that studying comes first, then nationals and then the cheer squad, although don't let them hear that!" she said to her friend as she sat down.
"Where is your brother?" she asked.
"Just coming, he said I need some new sports clothes, as if I do not have enough already!" Cleo said as she saw her brother and waved at him to show where she was. Craig nodded and turned to Justin. Cleo turned back to her friend and they continued chatting until they came over.
"Justin, Ami, Ami, Justin." Cleo said as she stood up. "Now, we are off, see you tomorrow Ami!" Cleo said as she went off.
They went to the sport shop and got what Craig thought she needed and then made their way to the food court to grab some food. Cleo saw another one of her friends walking past.
"Rei! Hiya, come and join us!" Cleo shouted before she went up to her friend.
"No can do Cleo, got to go, see you tomorrow for movie night!" she shouted as she ran off. Cleo stopped in her tracks and her face fell. She turned around and went back to the table where her brother and Justin were waiting. Craig put his hand around her sister.
"Don't worry Cleo, you are doing just fine, you know how Rei is anyway." he said, she just nodded and played with her food before pushing it away.
"I'm not hungry, can we go home please. I have loads of homework to do." she said. Craig nodded and Justin looked at her, worried, feeling sad for her.
A loud crash and then screaming could be heard. She turned and saw a monster attacking Ami.
"No!" she screamed. She knew what she had to do. She ran and back flipped to the monster kicking it and allowing Ami to get free.
"Run, go to my brother!" she said as she saw Shadow running towards her. She knew what she had to do. She ran into the shelter of a shop and grasped her locket "Moon stardust power!" Cleo shouted as her transformation began to take place. Once she felt the ground beneath her feet again, she ran outside to the monster.
"Hey you. Spoiling everyone's day out is not the way to go! Awaking me from my slumber has left me moody. I am Sailor Stardust and in the name of the stars, I will show you justice." She said as she paused. The monster looked at her and laughed. Cleo looked at the monster and heard Ami shouting and running towards her.
"What have you done with my friend you fiend!" she said, Cleo knew then that she was looking for her, but something on her forehead made her gasp. A symbol appeared, just like the zodiac star sign for the planet Mercury. She reached her hand down and a staff appeared, with a pink star settling on the top.
"Your friend is safe, please, go and let me finish this fiend." she said gently to Ami. The girl nodded briefly before running off. Cleo looked back at the monster who was reaching out to grab her. Cleo back flipped out of the way as the monster began to swipe and hit a shop instead. Cleo looked at Shadow.
"Use your staff!" he said, she nodded and closed her eyes.
Starlight surrounded her and she felt warm and safe. Turning her staff around, she knew what she had to do. Standing with her legs apart, she looked at the monster.
"Star cosmic power ignite!" she said as the stars turned into dust and went around the monster. The monster started screaming and was destroyed by the stardust. Cleo fell, tired from the battle. Ami ran up to the sailor scout who had just saved her. Cleo collapsed in her arms.
"Sailor Mercury." she whispered as she passed out. Ami looked at her in shock and confused. Craig came running up to them both and took the scout from Ami's embrace. He took her to the fountain and splashed some water in her face. Cleo woke up, and before saying anything, noticed that she was still in her scout form.
"Who are you?" Craig asked.
"A fighter for justice. Thank you." Cleo said, as she stood up and vanished. Justin looked on at the sailor scout, having the feeling that he knew her from somewhere before.
Cleo powered down and ran out of the shop she had hidden in to return to normal.
"Ami is sailor Mercury." Shadow said, Cleo nodded. "Then you must give her this." he said as he jumped and a blue pen appeared at her feet with the planet zodiac sign on top of it. "She will join us in the battle." he said. Cleo nodded and ran off to her brother and friend who were waiting for her.
"Cleo, there you are; thank god you are safe!" Craig said as he ran up to her and hugged her before checking her over.
"I am fine Craig, god stop smothering me!" Cleo said as she pulled away and headed to Ami. "Are you okay Ami-chan?" she said, she gasped as she put her hand over her mouth, she did not know where that came from.
"I am fine Cleo, come on let us go and get something to drink." The girl said as she held her arm out for her friend. Cleo put her arm into hers and the girls walked off, with the boys following.
"If you two want to come, you are not sitting with us; we need to plan our day tomorrow." Cleo said as she turned and faced her brother. Craig stuck out his tongue and he and Justin sat 5 tables behind them, just so that they were always in sight. Shadow joined his owner on her lap and meowed.
"Ami, I have to give you something." Cleo said as the girls sat down with their drinks. She reached into her pocket and took out the pen.
"Time to awaken; Sailor Mercury." Shadow said as a beam of light went from his crescent to Ami's head. Ami gasped as the information of who she was, was absorbed. Cleo made sure that no-one could see what was happening, but she need not worry as time had stood still around them. Once Shadow was finished, everyone started moving again and Ami was taking in deep breaths.
"You are the sailor scout who saved me." Ami said as she looked at Cleo, then Shadow and then at the pen. Cleo nodded to confirm what Ami had said. "And I am one of the sailor scouts too?" she asked, Shadow nodded.
"There are three more scouts that we need to find." He said as he looked at the girls. "I hope that the attack today was just a one off occurrence." He continued. Both girls nodded and continued drinking their drinks.
In space, a dark figure was watching a "re-run" of the battle. A wicked laugh filled the air as the monster was destroyed by the sailor scout.
"So, the scouts have begun to be woken up. They must know that something is coming." The voice said from the darkness. Another shadow appeared to the mirror and bowed down.
"What is your bidding?" the figure asked the mirror.
"Stop her from awakening the rest of the scouts. With them at her side, there is no knowing what they will be able to do." The voice commanded. The shadow before the mirror bowed and walked away, all the time planning on how the sailor scout could be stopped.