Cleo sat down at the head of the war room, she did not want to do this but she had no choice. She could feel the darkness surrounding her and it was beginning to suffocate her. Justin, Craig and everyone else begun to fill the seats that were free. Justin sat by her side, Craig at the other and then each senshi with an advisor.
"Thank you all for coming. Please, introduce to me your advisors." Cleo said as she looked at the senshi.
"Your highness, from the planet Mercury, my advisor is called Parsa." Ami said to Cleo. Parsa approached the queen and bowed.
"Your highness, from the planet Venus, my advisor is called Nadir." Minako said to Cleo. Nadir approached the queen and bowed.
"Your highness, from the planet Mars, my advisor is called Orin." Rei said to Cleo. Orin approached the queen and bowed.
"Your highness, from the planet Jupiter, my advisor is called Mochni." Makoto said to Cleo. Mochni approached the queen and bowed.
"Your highness, from the planet Uranus, my advisor is called Abner." Haruka said to Cleo. Abner approached the queen and bowed.
"Your highness, from the planet Neptune, my advisor is called Alekos." Michiru said to Cleo. Alekos approached the queen and bowed. Cleo looked at the advisors who had bowed before her.
"Arise all of you. Please accept a place on my royal council." She said as she went up to each one of them and touched their foreheads, turning their symbols gold. When she approached Alekos, she smiled at him, he smiled back at the queen and she looked at her senshi. "Please return to your places next to your princesses." She said, all of them bowed before her and then returned to their seats. Cleo turned and looked at Justin, sorrow filled her eyes.
"Mina, I am not sure how to say this, so I am just going to tell you. The darkness is approaching and we need to get ready quicker than I anticipated. Mars and Neptune and more than likely Pluto are already aware of this. I was hoping to have more time, but I was wrong." She said as she hung her head. Whispers started to gather in the room as Cleo turned her back to them all and faced the wall.
"Mars, how long do we have?" Justin said, taking command. Rei produced a fireball in her hand and begun fire reading. The group waited while Craig went up to his sister.
"Cleo, how long have you known?" he whispered to her.
"Since the day before my birthday. I thought that we had more time, Craig how could I be so wrong." She whispered to her brother.
"Sis, it is not your fault. You could not expect this so fast, plus you have had a lot on your mind the last few days to even think about it." He whispered back to her as he wrapped his arm protectively around her.
"They are planning to attack Earth, but they are not ready. Nor are they aware of the star kingdom being reborn." Rei said after a while. Justin took in this information.
"Then we need to keep that a secret. Neptune, what does your mirror say?" Justin asked as he walked around the room, leaving Cleo and Craig to talk.
"Silence, they wish to awaken something that we do not want awaken." She said as she looked up at him.
"Speaking riddles Neptune." He said to her.
"Gomen my king, but I can not be more specific at this current time." Michiru explained to Justin, he nodded in understanding.
"My king, if I may. We have an advantage, if they are unaware of the star kingdom and the queen being awaken, we should strike them now while they are unaware." Abner said to them.
"No, we need to keep this hidden. I say we restore the star kingdom, and our princesses go back to fighting on Earth until we know the full extend of their plans. There is no need for pointless killing if Sailor Stardust might be able to save them!" Parsa said and Justin smiled at him.
"In many ways you are like Ami-chan." He said to the advisor, he bowed down. Justin paused and looked out of the windows. "Are there any other suggestions?" he asked, the council remained silent. Justin sighed; he had two options, attack without giving them a chance for redemption or wait to see their plan. Last time it had cost him and the Sailor senshi their lives, okay, be it that Cleo brought them all back but still.
"We wait." A voice said; everyone turned to Cleo who was approaching the table again. "I want to see who they are and give them the chance for forgiveness if needed. I will not kill people unless I have a reason to!" she said. She reached on her chest and took off her brooch. "As Sailor Stardust and queen I can not forgive myself for not allowing them to have the chance." She continued as she waived her hand over the brooch. It opened and all saw the star crystal glowing brighter than ever.
"But your highness… last time…" Minako said to them.
"It worked out in the end and that is all that matters. I trust in each and every one of you to protect and support me in this choice. I will not kill when it is not needed!" she said, her voice raised a bit louder. The council fell quiet, Cleo picked up the brooch and pinned it to her chest again. Justin came to her side. She looked at him and he nodded.
"With your permission Neptune, I would like to have Alekos take care of the reconstruction of the star kingdom, my advisor will return with me to Earth." Michiru nodded and the discussion turned to rebuilding the star kingdom with the help of the other kingdoms.
The sky began to get darker again, signaling night time. The council had just finished discussing how many would stay behind and that they would continue as long as needed.
"People will start returning to the kingdom, we need it ready soon." She said to Alekos as they walked out of the room, he nodded and promised to get everything finished as fast as he could. The newly appointed advisors rejoined the rest of their princess's council as Cleo and the rest of the senshi went outside to the gardens.
"Mina, gomen that I did not tell you before. I just wanted everyone to live normal lives before we had to fight another enemy." She said as she sat down with them.
"Cleo, its fine, we all knows that you had good intentions by not saying something earlier. Now we have a plan and we can get through this together." Haruka said to her, she smiled at the words from her friend.
"I need to pay a visit to Sailor Pluto and get her council. All of you please get a good night's sleep, tomorrow we return to Earth." She said, they all nodded and went back into the throne room to gather their council. Cleo reached around her neck for the key that she wore when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"So, again I will not able to spend the night with you?" a voice whispered in her ear. Cleo turned to Justin.
"Gomen, I need to go and talk to Sailor Pluto, then tomorrow we head back to Earth and resume our lives as best as we can." She said. Justin took her hands in his, taking the key from her grasp.
"Cleo, I need you." He said as he held her close. Cleo sighed as she listened to his heartbeat.
"As I you Justin, but I can not sit back and allow the darkness to consume our kingdoms. I promise once this enemy is gone, we can plan our wedding." She said, Justin smiled at his queen as he bent down and kissed her passionately on the lips, hoping in that one kiss that she would not leave him alone tonight. She pulled away hesitantly, and looked up at him.
"I love you." She whispered in his ear, Justin smiled as she held the key in the sky.
"I call upon you, Sailor Pluto, guardian of time. Grant me safe access so that I can speak to you!" she said, the key glowed a deep red color and the light engulfed Cleo as she vanished.
Sailor Pluto felt the presence of the queen as she approached and bowed down before her.
"Your highness." She said.
"Setsuna-chan, I am here for advice and wisdom, please grant it to me." Cleo said as she bowed before the senshi of time, Setsuna gasped, she never expected a queen to bow down before her.
"Your highness, you do not need to bow before me!" She said as she helped Cleo stand up.
"As you for me Setsuna-chan. And please, Cleo. I am not used to all of these royal titles still." She said as she embraced the Sailor senshi. Setsuna hugged the queen back. Cleo pulled away.
"The darkness is suffocating me; I need your guidance regarding our new enemy. Is there anything that you can give me to help me in our battle?" Setsuna closed her eyes and looked into time to see what she could supply to the queen.
"The lost cousins from the star kingdom return, however they have been engulfed in darkness, turning evil and wanting revenge for those who did not attend to them." Setsuna said as she began to open her eyes. "I am sorry Cleo; the rest is clouded for me to see."
"Will they attempt to return to the star kingdom?" she asked Setsuna shook her head.
"They wish for the planet Earth." She said. Cleo nodded, pausing on what to do.
"Setsuna-chan, can you leave the gate of time when we need you and come to Earth?" Cleo asked.
"That is your choice my queen, but to leave it unguarded would be unwise." She said to the queen who again nodded in agreement. "However, if you need me, just use this and I will be there right away, I promise." She said as she handed Cleo an item that looked like a watch. "This is a new version of your communicators, if you wish it, I can make one for each senshi?" she asked, Cleo nodded.
"Setsuna-chan, when I arrived to my kingdom, it was destroyed. I was at a lost as to what to do, but somehow deep in my heart I knew that when it would be rebuilt, it would be amazing. I wish you could come and see it." Cleo said as she sat down in front of the senshi. The two began to talk, this pleased Setsuna as she was feeling lonely.
Justin paced his bed chamber, waiting for the safe return of Cleo. Shadow had joined the king in his room.
"She is fine with Sailor Pluto, please do not worry and go to sleep!" the cat said as he watched the king pace up and down once again. "And anyway, she may stay with the senshi since she knows how lonely she is. Justin, give her one night please." Shadow said as he walked towards the king, Justin let out a loud sigh and nodded. The Luna cat let out a breath of relieve as he reappeared in pajamas and went to bed, the cat curling up at his feet.
Cleo enjoyed spending time with the senshi of time and she could tell that she really enjoyed the company. Cleo looked at Setsuna as she smiled to the queen after telling her a story about her mom. The senshi stood up and helped the queen to her feet.
"The sun has risen on your kingdom. Today you return to Earth, back to being Cleo and no longer queen." She said as she looked at the girl.
"I start college in a few months, I doubt my life is going to be anything but normal!" she said as she hugged the senshi once more. "I will come back Setsuna that I promise you." She said as they pulled apart.
"I know you will, remember if you need me, please contact me and I am there in a heartbeat for you." She said; Cleo smiled at her one last time as Setsuna cast the spell to return her to her kingdom. Once Cleo felt the ground beneath her feet, she realized she was outside the shields of the castle. She looked at the Earth and smiled, soon she would be back there, resuming her life, without a "your highness" to follow her around. She crossed the barrier, unknown to her, this caused Justin to wake up and run out of his bed chamber to see her. Cleo sat down at the fountain. It was not that she hated her kingdom, the opposite she loved it, but she was not used to people bowing down to her, asking her if she needed anything, she could do things herself. She heard footsteps as she turned to see Justin walking towards her.
"Spending all night with the senshi of time, you will have no rest will you?" he said as she walked up to him. He swept her off her feet and she laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He took her to her bed chambers just as the door from Craig's room opened.
"Don't even think about it you two!" he said as the second Luna cat followed him. Justin turned and saw her brother, this caused Cleo to giggle. "We need to get ready for going back to Earth now don't we?" he said as Cleo looked at him. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt as he was the day he arrived here. Cleo reached for her brooch.
"Just a few chosen words bro and I am good to go!" she said as she looked at Justin. "But you do not want to power down in your pajamas now do you Justin?" she said as she giggled again. Justin let out a sigh and went to his room to get changed. Cleo shooed her brother out and she began to find her clothes from Earth to change into.
The senshi were given last minute advice to their advisors as Cleo approached the group with the Luna cats, Justin and Craig with her. Alekos approached the queen. She smiled at him.
"If you need me, please us the communication ball in the throne room, only you can use it. If you need to talk to the other advisors, again, those with the golden sign are allowed to use them, the communication balls are aware of this. Just say the name of the senshi member or planet you wish to talk to and the ball will do the rest." She explained. Alekos bowed at the queen as she joined her group. The advisors backed away and the Sailor senshi moved away from the castle in order to teleport outside of the shield. They teleported and found themselves in Craig and Cleo's back yard. After powering down, they all said goodbye and Cleo went up to bed, collapsing and giving into the sleep she badly needed.
The days and months flew by, and it was soon time for Cleo to be going to college. No matter how much Cleo was looking forward to be together with all of the Sailor senshi and the outer senshi being near by, she did not want to leave her brother. She sighed as she thought about how to solve it. She heard the cat flap move as Shadow joined her on the bed.
"So far the enemy has not appeared; Alekos says that the star kingdom is coming along fine and that people have begun to return. You go off to college in a few days, so something else must be bothering you." The cat said as it sat down.
"Shadow, I leave my brother, my advisor to my council all alone. How can I call him if I need him without the use of a phone?" she said as she turned on her side to look at the cat.
"Give him a communication watch. I am sure that Setsuna-chan would not mind making an extra one like she did for the senshi and Justin." The cat said, Cleo smiled as she picked the cat up and twirled around the room with him in her arms.
"Cleo I am going to be sick!" the cat said as Cleo giggled. She stopped and put the cat on the bed that swayed side to side before falling face first on the cover. Cleo flipped her watch up and pressed the deep red crystal set into it.
"Setsuna-chan, I need to ask a favor." Cleo said
"Anything Cleo-chan, what do you need?" she heard the senshi of time's voice ask.
"Can you build me an extra communication watch for Justin, I head off for college in a few days and I don't want him to be alone." She said.
"Of course, I will have it ready for you in a few hours. See you later!" Setsuna said; Cleo smiled as she closed her watch.
"Cleo it's time for training!" Craig shouted. Cleo giggled as she grabbed her training bag and ran downstairs. Craig watched his sister run past him still giggling. "It is times like this I am glad that she has no senshi powers beyond her normal form!" he said as the cat came down the stairs and nodded in agreement.
The day had come for Cleo to leave the house. Justin had come and packed all her stuff in his car, meaning that the senshi had not visited her this time. Cleo was standing on her doorstep as her brother approached her.
"Anyone would think that you are leaving forever." He said as he wrapped his arm around his sister.
"Craig, I am going to be away from home, and I am not sure if I am going to make it through this with the new enemy playing with us and…" Cleo could not finish the sentence as tears began to fill her eyes making her not able to speak. Craig hugged his sister, she had never been apart from her brother for long periods of time and she was scared.
"Cleo, I am always a phone call away." He said; she looked up at him.
"It is not enough, what if I need you, need to tell you something important." She said and Craig hugged her closer knowing what she meant. She reached into her pocket and took out a long thin box. She handed it to her brother who opened it. "This is a communication watch. All of the senshi have one, as does Justin. All you do is press the stone that represents the person you wish to speak to. Mine is pink, Justin is gold, and well you can guess the rest of the senshi." She said as he looked at his sister and hugged her tighter. "Am gonna miss you bro, I don't know what I am going to do without my brother, coach, advisor and supporter." She said as she pulled away. She walked to the car and went into the passenger seat, turning to look at her brother one last time as Justin started the engine and drove off.
Justin pulled up in front of the apartment block where the senshi lived, and what would also become Minako and Cleo's new home. Cleo looked at the elegance of the building.
"You girls have the top floor. I have an apartment on the floor below in case you need me." Justin said as they went in. "Minako-chan came last week and has already picked her room, leaving you the last one. Don't worry; they are not small, far from it! And I have already made sure you have all the furniture you need in there. I hope that you like it?" he said as they went in the lift up to the top floor. Cleo looked worried, she was not sure about living with the senshi together. "Oh, and Michiru-chan and Haruka-chan have an apartment next to me so we are all together if you need any of us. They also have an extra room in case Setsuna-chan comes and visits us." he explained as the lift door opened. He picked up the suitcases as Cleo held onto Shadow like her life depended on it. Justin reached into his pocket and pulled out the key to the apartment and opened the door. Cleo put Shadow down as he went off to find Sunspot. She looked up as she walked into a large living room. There was an open kitchen which divided the living room with a breakfast bar. She saw several doors, and assumed that all of the senshi were out since it was so quiet. Justin went into one of the rooms and put her suitcases down. Cleo followed him and saw that she had a big room with her own balcony. She opened the extra door and saw a bathroom.
"You share that with your neighboring room mate, I believe that it is Minako-chan." he said as she looked around. Justin had brought her a double bed which already had purple bedding on it. She had a big desk which had plenty of space for her apple notebook. There was an empty bookshelf and also a big wardrobe. She opened it and saw something hanging there. She gasped as she looked at the dress she saw hanging there and matching pair of shoes on the floor.
"I thought that we will all go out for dinner tonight." he said as he came up from behind wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck. Cleo smiled as she pulled the dress out.
"Justin, this is amazing!" she said, it was a sunset red color and the dress reached her floor, however a slit up one side meaning that leg can be shown. It had spaghetti straps and an open back. She looked back at Justin as she lay it on the bed. She kissed him on the lips to say thank you.
"Cleo-chan, are you here?" a voice said. Cleo pulled away to see Ami coming into the apartment with food bags. Cleo went up and took away the bags so that she could see her.
"I see that you have seen your room. We helped Justin pick out the furniture just in case... well you know men." she said as she started to put food away. There was so much space in the kitchen it was unreal. Justin came out of the room as the other senshi began to come in. He tapped Cleo on the shoulder.
"Am gonna get the rest of the stuff from the car okay?" he said, she nodded and he kissed her on the cheek as he went outside. The other sailor senshi began to gather in the living room chatting to Cleo about the college and how close it was and also everything else. Justin finished brining up all of her stuff and grabbed a bottle of water.
"Guys, I am off, remember dinner tonight!" he said to them all.
"Bye Justin-chan!" they said as they continued their conversations.
Dinner was eventful; all of the Sailor senshi were there including the two outer senshi. Cleo began to settle into life with the senshi and soon, college started. Justin showed her around campus and helped her register. Cleo looked at her schedule and saw that it was pretty light considering her lessons. She sighed; she was here on a cheerleading scholarship, meaning she had to make the squad. She also had gymnastics training too so that she did not lose her flexibility. Justin looked at her schedule.
"Not bad, but then add your studying, and also training and the time flies. Good thing you don't need a part time job to pay your way through." he said, she smiled. They walked through campus as she went up to the cheerleader booth that was taking sign ups and signed the form. Before she left, a girl called her name. Cleo turned around and looked back at the booth.
"Hey, you are like the one who won nationals at a young age right?" the cheerleader asked her, Cleo nodded. "Oh my god and now you are here at college, you must be super smart or something!" she said, Cleo blushed.
"Yeah, something like that." she said as Justin came up to her. He put his arm around Cleo.
"My name is Kimmie, I am like the head cheerleader." she said as she came closer to Cleo. She held out her hand and Cleo shook it. "I so look forward to your tryout. See you tomorrow!" she said. Cleo nodded as her and Justin walked off.
"Look, you are making friends already!" he said as they went into the cafe where Ami was reading a book. Cleo sat down next to Ami as Justin got them coffee and cake. He joined the pair and they continued talking about studying.
"Please if I ever become so peppy from cheerleading kill me I don't care who takes the star crystal but please do not let me get that peppy!" Cleo said to Justin as she remembered her encounter with Kimmie.
"Sorry, but you are nearly already there, plus you peppy is not so bad!" he said as he drunk his coffee. "Any chance the tryouts are open?" he said as he looked at her.
"I hope not, as if I don't have enough on my plate already!" she said as she played with her cake. "I'm not hungry. I'm going to the bookstore and then heading home." She said as she stood up and picked up her knapsack. Justin stood up to go with her, but Ami put her arm out and stopped him, not once looking up from her book.
"You stay, she needs some time alone." Ami said as she continued reading.
"You're not an Empath too are you?" he asked as he sat back down sighing.
"No, but her voice said enough for me to know that." Ami said, Justin looked at the princess of the water planet and sighed again, taking his book out of his knapsack, he began to read.
Cleo walked into the biggest bookstore that she had ever seen. She walked over to the politics section and picked out the books for her classes as well as a few extra for reading. She then went to the astrology section and looked at the solar system history books. She thought that if she was going to rule the star kingdom for the rest of her life, she would make use of her study time here on Earth. She picked up the books also on her reading list plus a few extra. She was about to leave when a thin book caught her eye. She picked it up and read the title "The story of the Star Kingdom." She flipped through a few pages and saw a picture of the star kingdom on the moon. She put it on her pile and went to pay.
"Excuse me, do I know you?" a voice said behind her, Cleo turned and looked at the boy who had spoken to her.
"Doubt it, I just started." She said as she looked at his books and saw that he was also taking astrology.
"You look somewhat familiar…" the boy said as Cleo turned back to the cashier and handed her the books. Cleo felt the boy's eyes starring in the back of her back.
"Look, unless it is in a previous life, please stop starring at me." She said as she handed over the money for her books and picked up the bags and walked out. The boy looked at her still as she left the bookstore and walked home.
Cleo threw the bag of books on her bed as she then collapsed on it. She looked up at the ceiling and let out a large sigh.
"Is this how my people recognize me, they just stare at me all the time?" she said as she heard Sunspot coming towards her.
"I am not sure. Maybe people who belong to your kingdom, however suppress the memories since they enjoy their lives on Earth…" the cat said and she sat beside her on the bed. "But remember, Alekos already said that people have begun to come back so maybe not." The cat continued. Cleo let out a sigh. "Anyway, there are five people in this apartment and not one of you have bothered to feed us this morning!" the cat said as it jumped on Cleo's stomach. "And I am hungry!" the cat continued. Cleo giggled as she picked the cat up and went to get her some food. She filled up their two bowels with dry food and then checked their water machine to make sure there was enough water and that it was clean before heading back to her room and unpacking her books. She made a bigger copy of her schedule and put it on her pin board as she picked up a book about politics and begun reading it in preparation for her first lesson in two days time.
In space two people looked over the Earth.
"So, this is the planet which is drawing our comet to it." The male said. He smiled as a female approached his side. She leaned on the male as she looked at the planet below them.
"I am sure that we can get enough energy here to survive." She said as the male nodded in agreement. He put his arm around the girl and kissed her on the lips. Once they parted, they laughed, knowing that they had found home.
Cleo woke up in a sweat and was breathing heavily, stopping herself from screaming so that she didn't wake up anyone else. She looked at her clock and saw she had two hours before she had to wake up. She saw no point in returning to sleep so went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before sitting on the sofa, looking out at the town below. It was the same nightmare she had been having since her 16th birthday, however now it was stronger and more vivid. She opened the balcony door from the living room and walked out into the crisp air. She walked up to the barrier and let tears fall down her cheeks. She reached out to her watch and pressed the deep red gem.
"Cleo-chan, what's wrong?" Setsuna asked as she heard the sobs coming from the girl.
"Setsuna-chan, my nightmares are getting worse. The gem isn't helping." She said as she let the tears flow more freely.
"Cleo-chan, sometimes we have to face these nightmares head on." She said and Cleo shook her head.
"I can't, I'm too weak to do that." She said; she heard Setsuna let out a sigh.
"In the past few months, I have watched you from my place here at the gates of time; I can tell you that you have grown into an amazing woman. You accepted your role as princess despite your fears and worries and now have also done the same as queen. There are always going to be times when we will be tried to prove that we are worthy of the positions that we hold and we will always take that test and pass it. I have no doubt my queen that this will be one of those tests for you." Setsuna said to Cleo who had crouched down against the wall to talk to the senshi of time. Cleo began to sob.
"My queen, do not cry; you have to be strong, if not for yourself than for the rest of the senshi." She said, Cleo wiped away her tears and nodded.
"Arigato Setsuna-chan. I feel better." She said.
"If you need me Cleo-chan, I am always there for you." She said as the communication between the two ended.
Cleo went into her room and changed into her training gear. They may not be near the beach as at home, but there was a river that she wanted to jog along. She picked up her iPod and zipped up her jacket, pocketing her keys and left the apartment. Shadow briefly looked up from his bed in Cleo's room and saw the queen leave. Shadow snuck into Minako's room and went up to Sunspot, who was already awake.
"Shadow, what's wrong?" she asked.
"Cleo is having nightmares again." He said and the cat nodded.
"I thought I heard someone on the balcony talking." She said, confirming Shadow's suspicion. "We should talk to her." She continued, again Shadow nodded.
Cleo stretched before she picked up speed and before she knew it, she was running along the river, enjoying the wind in her face and her music playing as loud as she could handle it, hoping that it would drown out the images of her nightmare. She felt someone ran past her, she looked up as the boy from the bookstore began to slow down and run beside Cleo. She pulled out one of her earphones so she could hear what he was saying.
"Didn't know you were a sports freak?" he said to her.
"Oh, you mean you could not tell from my body?" she said as they continued running.
"Girls that look like that do not normally mean that they take sport seriously." He said as they continued. Cleo rolled her eyes.
"And you think you know everything?" she said, as she turned to glance at him. He was well built and had brown hair; something that she thought suited him. His blue eyes clashed with his hair and he had a tan, which she could tell.
"So, does the sports freak have a name?" he asked.
"Cleo." She said.
"Nice to finally get your name Cleo, mine is Tariq." He said as he held out his hand, Cleo took it and they briefly shook. "Are you sure we haven't met before?" he asked, Cleo laughed.
"Unless you read gymnastic magazines I am pretty sure you have no idea who I am!" she said to him as he slowed down and Cleo sped up.
"No, but I am sure am going to find out." He muttered to himself as he stopped and watched Cleo speed off.
Cleo returned to the apartment, refreshed from her run as she went into her room and threw her iPod on the bed and went into the bathroom. She knew that Minako would not be up to later due to her lessons, so she dived into the shower, allowing the hot water to hit her body as she began to wash her hair and clean herself. Once she was finished, she went into her room and got changed into a pair of jeans and a purple top which had a white bunny on it, reveling her stomach. She threw some training gear in her knapsack along with a few books, grabbed a jacket and went into the kitchen. She looked on the sofa and saw Ami reading a book as well as munching on a slice of toast.
"You are up early." Ami said as she looked up to see Cleo.
"Couldn't sleep, went out for a run." Cleo said as she picked up some bottles of water, putting two into her knapsack and then grabbed a few rice cakes from the cupboard and the honey. She put her food on a plate and sat down next to Ami.
"You have not sleeping well for a while have you?" Ami said as she put her book down and looked at her friend, Cleo shook her head.
"I guess it is just being away from home, you know have to get used to the new surroundings." She said as she poured honey on her rice cakes and began to eat them. Ami knew that this was not the case, but she let the subject drop, she knew that if she wanted to talk about it, she would do that. Cleo looked at her friend and smiled letting out a little giggle, Ami smiled back and returned to her book. Cleo stood up and put the plate in the kitchen before grabbing her knapsack.
"I have cheerleading tryouts and am going to see if I can find the head coach regarding gymnastics. I will be home later." She said to her friend, Ami looked up and nodded.
"Call me if you need someone to talk to." The princess of the water planet said, Cleo looked at her friend as her eyes filled once again with tears, she nodded as she went out of the apartment.
Cleo went into the sports hall that Justin had shown her the day before. She was sure that she was going to get lost in this place. She was looking at the notice board as she felt someone come up to her.
"So, the sports freak re-appears. Twice in one day, I must be lucky!" she rolled her eyes as she turned to look at Tariq.
"Are you following me?" she asked as she placed her hand on her hip.
"Please, I have better things to do with my time!" he said as he let out a little blush. He had indeed seen her from his friend's dorm room and followed her here. Cleo rolled her eyes once again. "So, what brings you here?" he asked.
"Cheerleader tryouts and I was looking for the head coach." She said as she walked away from the notice board, Tariq following her. His gaze landed on her transformation brooch.
"Well, the head coach should be here in a few minutes and cheerleading tryouts are not for an hour, so if I may take you for a coffee?" he asked, she shook her head.
"I am sorry, I…" she began to say.
"No, I didn't mean it like that, you know, one freshman to another to just chat." He said, stopping her from completing the sentence. She giggled.
"I can't drink caffeine before I work out, but maybe some other time." She said as she saw the head coach walk into his office. Cleo walked, but Tariq still followed her.
"Is that a promise?" he said, she stopped in her tracks, he was being persistent and that was annoying her. She turned and smiled at him before nodding. He smiled back and finally left her alone. Cleo knocked on the door to the head coach and went in to talk to him.
"Excuse me; I'm sorry for disturbing you sir." She said as she sat down on the chair opposite his table.
"No problem, what can I do for you this morning?" he asked.
"Well, I was wondering if I could use the gymnastic equipment for about an hour before my cheerleading tryouts." She said; the coach looked at her.
"What is your name?" he asked her.
"Oh, I'm sorry, how rude of me, it's Cleo Cooper sir." She said.
"The young national champion? Yes, your brother rung to speak to me, I know him well Craig, tell him Terry said hi when you next speak to him. Of course you can use the equipment; I would prefer you to have a spotter when training on the more unsafe equipment, if you promise me you will take care of that, the gym is all yours." He said and she smiled.
"Thank you so much sir." She said as she stood up.
"Please, call me coach. Oh, if you need any coaching while you are here, here is a list of the gymnastic classes, you are more than welcome to join any of them at you leisure." He said as he handed her a piece of paper.
"Thanks coach!" she said as she smiled and went out of the office and into the gym.
It was empty, which was what she expected. She went into the changing room and got changed, taking her knapsack with her, she put it in the corner as she begun to stretch. Once she was done, she chalked up her hands and walked to the floor as she began to do a series of tumbles. As she landed her last tumble, she let out her breath and heard clapping behind her. She turned to see Makoto coming behind her.
"I see your tumbling hasn't changed." She said as she came up to her. "But how about your defense skills?" The girl said as she moved to take a punch at Cleo who back flipped out of the way. They continued sparring for at least 15 minutes until Cleo blocked Makoto's punch and pulled her arm behind her back, pushing her down to the ground, the girl smiled as Cleo let go. Both bowed before each other and then hugged.
"It is great to finally have you here with us Cleo." She said and Cleo smiled. "Now get out of here before your tryout begins in the other hall." The girl said. Cleo nodded as she grabbed her knapsack and ran out of the hall, waving to Makoto as she left. Shadow stepped out of his hiding place and looked at Makoto.
"You are right, something is bothering her." She said as she bent down and picked the cat up, both of them leaving the hall.
Cleo sat in the hall, the cheerleading squad was sat at a table in front of the hall and there were several girls and boys waiting like her. Cleo saw Kimmie who smiled at her; Cleo smiled back as she plugged herself into her iPod and waited for her turn. She watched as one by one the people left the hall, leaving Cleo and one other boy left. Knowing she was before him, she took off her iPod and stood before the squad.
"Cleo right, well we will just give you a few things to do and then you can go." Kimmie said; Cleo nodded in understanding as Kimmie called out several moves, got her to repeat cheers and so on. Once Cleo had done the last cheer, Kimmie smiled.
"Before you go Cleo, the squad here knows about your gymnastic ability, but they do not believe that such a young person would be able to pull off such high standards. If you don't mind, please show them your last set of flips that you did in your national's floor routine, or any difficulty you want." She said; Cleo nodded as she walked back away from the table a fair distance.
"I bet you she doesn't land it." The co-captain said to Kimmie, Kimmie did not like her co-captain she waived her hand at her for silence. Cleo took in a deep breath as she performed her new difficult set of flips, including a double somersault at the end. Once she landed the last move, she turned to the table and nodded.
"Thank you, that is all." Kimmie said as she looked at her co-captain's face fall as well as several from the squad. Cleo picked up her bag and left the hall, knowing that she had not only given her best, but stun several of the cheer squad. She sighed, knowing that she had made some enemies there now.
She sat down on the floor outside of the sports hall and let the sun warm her body. She closed her eyes, trying to digest the last few days. A shadow stood in front of her blocking the sun.
"Rude much?" she said without opening her eyes.
"Nope." The voice said back, Cleo smiled as she recognized Justin's voice. She opened her eyes and saw he had a moon lily for her. She took the flower and with her other hand, he helped her stand up. She sighed as she leaned into his chest and felt safe at last.
"Having fun?" he asked as he picked up her knapsack and the two walked away.
"Oh you know me, making friends by the minute!" she said sarcastically, Justin looked at her, knowing that something happened, and Cleo went into full blow by blow account of her cheerleading tryout.
"Come on, that is not your fault if she asked you to do that, I mean you are one of the best!" he said as they walked to a café near their house. Cleo saw Michiru and Haruka at a table and waved at them, they waved back and signaled at them to join them. Cleo and Justin went over and sat down next to them.
"Being made to do something because of my ability should not mean that I make the squad for that reason." She said as she continued their discussion, Michiru and Haruka looked at each other confused.
"Yes, but you will make the squad due to other reasons than you gymnastic abilities." Justin retorted.
"And yet, it still does not make sense why I should prove my ability to them." She said as she slouched in her seat. Haruka finally caught on what they were talking about.
"Reading that there is a person who is not only younger but better than you do not make people believe that it is true. You are also going to face this in your classes." Haruka said to Cleo. She looked at the outer senshi and sighed.
"Yeah, I guess that you are right." She said as she reached down and touched her transformation brooch. She grabbed a book out of her bag and began to read, Justin sighed as he went to get them something to drink. Before he left the table, Cleo reached out her arm and grabbed him. He bent down to her level and she kissed him on the cheek.
"Thank you, for everything." She said to him, Justin smiled back. "Oh, and no caffeine for me please, just a green tea." She said to him as she let his arm go and he went to the counter to get their order.
"Your first lesson is tomorrow for politics?" Haruka asked, Cleo looked up from her book and nodded. She smiled at the young girl. "Well, you may be in for a surprise in your class. Please excuse me, I have to go and get ready." She said as she stood up, Cleo looked at her confused while Michiru let out a little laugh.
"What? What is it?" Cleo asked the older girl.
"Wait and see!" she said as she winked at her and returned to her tea. Justin came back and put Cleo's tea in front of her.
"I swear you guys speak in riddles just to annoy me!" she said as she returned to her book. Justin looked at Michiru and he smiled.
Cleo woke up the following day after spending the night reading all of her first book on politics. She felt somewhat better, since she slept less, she did not have the chance to have a nightmare. She quickly had a shower, got her books and went to campus for her lesson. When she walked into the large room, she sat near the back, wanting to avoid attention from anyone. The room filled up to near all of capacity. She looked up from her book as the teacher walked in, followed by… no way, Cleo had to double blink before she saw Haruka following.
"Good morning class, welcome to your first lesson in politics. This is Haruka, she is my teaching assistant for the year, and you will see her around campus helping me grade your papers." The professor explained. Haruka went and sat in the empty chair next to Cleo.
"Gomen my queen." She whispered to the girl, she nodded as the class began.
Cleo made loads of notes and kept quiet as she listened to other people answer the questions, but she knew that this was not to last.
"Cleo our youngest student in the class, can you please tell me what you think should happen in this situation?" the professor asked. Everyone turned to look for this student who was younger than them.
"There is no way that she will be able to answer such a sophisticated question professor." One of the students shouted out, the professor looked at him.
"As a member of this class, she has the right to voice her opinion, regardless what you think of her." Haruka said back to the boy before the professor could reply. "And you have no right to say something about a person you know nothing about." She continued, as she stood up to approach the boy, Cleo grabbed her arm and Haruka looked at her. Cleo shook her head. "But your…" Cleo shook her head again and Haruka sat back down.
"It seems you know my teaching assistant." The professor said.
"Yes professor, she is a friend of mine." Cleo said as she looked at the professor. "If I may answer your question, in regards to this situation there are two possible outcomes. Since there is nothing that would technically hold that person accountable for their actions, they were asked by a person who had more power to commit such a crime, however the other side is that there is no written evidence to show that the person in power asked said person to commit the crime that he or she did. This leads to outcome number two, the person has acted against the constitution by harming another human, therefore the whole extend of the law can be used against this person." She said; the students looked at her in awe.
"Cleo, now please tell me…" the lesson continued so, the professor asking questions and Cleo answering them, causing debate in the classroom.
Once the lesson ended, Cleo picked up her books and notes and walked down to leave.
"Cleo, your performance not only surprised me but also many of your class mates. I look forward to debating more issues with you and reading your essay." The professor said.
"Thank you professor." She said as she walked out of the class only to be stopped by the boy who taunted her.
"There is no way that you can be smarter than me!" He said, Cleo sighed since Haruka had warned her that she would face hostility but she did not expect it so soon. "That teaching assistant must have told you the answers." He said.
"Did you see her whispering anything to me at all while I debated with our professor?" She said.
"No, she told you all of the questions before!" he continued.
"Today is the first lesson; do you really think that she could already know what he was going to ask us? I did not know she was the teaching assistant until she walked into the classroom today." she said, her voice getting louder. From inside the classroom, Haruka heard the argument and went to see what was going on.
"I still can not believe that you are smarter than me, no matter what excuse you use to cover your cheating skills!" the boy said, this made Haruka mad, how dare he accuse her queen of cheating! Haruka's symbol began to glow, Cleo sensed the power emitting from her and turned to look at Haruka and gave her a warning look. Haruka calmed down as her symbol faded. Cleo looked back at the boy and shrugged.
"That is your opinion, fine, I have to respect that, however I forbid Haruka to help me in any of my work." She said, saying the last sentence a bit louder. She let out a little laugh. "Not that I would need it no matter how much I love and respect Haruka that would be cheating, and I am here to prove that I got here on my own merits. Now, if you please I have to go and see if I made the cheer squad." She said, the boy didn't move. Cleo sighed and looked at him. "I can hurt you; please don't make me do that." Cleo said as she looked pleadingly in the boys eyes.
"You could not hurt anything!" he said as he took a swing at her, Cleo gracefully stepped aside, the boy missing his target.
"I have asked you nicely to leave me alone, starting a fight with a girl is immature and I will stop it. Please let me pass!" she said, the boy laughed as he swung for her again, Cleo again stepped aside.
"Last warning!" Cleo said; the boy ignored her as he tried to sweep her off her feet. Cleo back flipped out of the way and into the classroom. This caught Haruka's attention as she went to Cleo's side. "No, I have already warned him three times, now it is my turn." She said, Haruka reached out her arm and grabbed Cleo's shoulder. The boy smiled and ignoring the fact that the professor was in the room, took another swing at Cleo. She ducked, as did Haruka, once again he hit air. Haruka let go of Cleo's shoulder and that was enough. She ducked the second punch and swiped the boy off his feet. Once he was on the ground, Cleo jumped on his chest and pinned him down. The boy struggled to hit her or kick her, but Minako and Makoto had taught her well. She looked at the boy.
"Violence never solves anything. I have learnt that several times in the past, we have to face what comes and deal. You need to deal with your "I'm better than you and there is no way you could beat me" attitude, otherwise one day it will get you in trouble! Now, I am going to get off you, if you ever accuse me of cheating my way into this class or any class for that matter I will not play as nicely!" she said, the fear in the boy's eyes was evident as he nodded in acknowledgment that he understood what Cleo had said. She got off him and turned to face the professor and Haruka. The boy stood up and smiled, taking a swing at Cleo while her back was turned. She turned and grabbed his fist in her hand. She squeezed it, his eyes growing wide. She felt Haruka's hand on her shoulder. She looked at the boy and let go of his hand, this time he went out of the room. Cleo turned back to face her friend and professor.
"My apologies for letting that get out of control." She said.
"Cleo, you acted diplomatically from what I saw and heard, if anything, it should be that boy who apologizes to you." The professor said.
"Thank you professor, but that will not be needed. If I may be excused I have to check something." Cleo said, the professor nodded and she walked out of the classroom.
She allowed the tears to fall as she went outside. She made it to a tree that was hidden in the corner and cried until she had no tears left. She felt alone and isolated here in college due to her intelligence, she was not accepted as a normal student.
"Just like high school all over again." She whispered as she hugged her legs and cried some more.
"Cleo?" a voice said, she looked up and saw Michiru standing above her. Cleo stood up and wrapped her arms around Michiru, sobbing in her chest. Michiru put her arms around Cleo and stroked her hair.
"I heard what happened from Haruka-chan." Michiru said as she sat down on the grass and helping Cleo onto her lap. "You acted with grace and control, great signs of a great leader and queen." She continued as she wiped away Cleo's tears. "But sometimes we all forget how young and sensitive you are and for that gomen." She said; Cleo nodded as Michiru wrapped her arms around Cleo, rocking her to calm her down. Once Cleo had calmed down, she stood up, offering her hand to Michiru. Michiru picked up her knapsack and they walked to the sports hall to see if she had made the squad. Cleo looked on the list and saw that she had indeed made the squad. She let out a weak smile as she and Michiru walked away, Cleo heard a voice calling her.
"Cleo, congrats!" Kimmie said as she approached the pair. "We so have to get lattes and discuss stuff!" she continued, Cleo let out a smile. "First practice is tomorrow evening, and you can get your uniform, ciao until then!" she said as she walked the other way. Michiru looked down at Cleo.
"See, not all people in this college is like that guy." She said; Cleo nodded as Michiru put a protective arm around Cleo, taking her back to their apartment so that she could study.
Haruka came home and saw Cleo asleep on the sofa with a book in her hand. She took the book from Cleo's grasp and wrapped a blanket around her as she went in search of Michiru who she found in her room.
"Cleo was asleep." She said to her room mate, Michiru nodded as she turned to Haruka who was sitting on her bed.
"She is having nightmares; I spoke with Setsuna-chan a few minutes ago. I think that she has not slept at all last night. I invited her back to our place so that she could have some privacy." She explained and Haruka nodded in agreement.
"That was the best thing to do. You should have seen her Michiru; she was amazing today in class!" Haruka said to her friend.
"We forget that she has matured so fast, she had no time to be a kid, nor a teenager. We should do something fun for her this weekend." Michiru said and again Haruka nodded.
Cleo woke up screaming and sweating. She looked around and realized that she had no idea where she was. A figure came running to her and took her hand to try and calm her down.
"No, get off me! Leave me alone!" she said as she reached for her brooch. "Moon crystal stardust power!" she said as she transformed into Sailor Stardust. She looked around and panicked, the room began to spin as she passed out, only to be caught in someone's arms.
"She transformed while she was still having a nightmare!" Michiru said.
"She had no idea who I was and what she was doing." Haruka said; this was staring to worry the outer senshi. Michiru put the flannel on Cleo's head again to help her calm down, Cleo let out a small moan as she opened her eyes and looked at the two outer senshi.
"You scared us both so much!" Michiru said as she hugged the girl. Cleo did not move, still in shock. She looked down and realized she had transformed.
"What happened?" she said as she powered down.
"You were having a nightmare we guess, you screamed and I came to help you relax, but you were still half asleep, not recognizing where you were or who I was you transformed before passing out. I caught you and we have been waiting for you to wake up since." Haruka said to Cleo.
"Gomen, I need to go." Cleo said as she grabbed her book and knapsack, but she did not make it past the sofa as Haruka grabbed her hand. Cleo looked at the outer senshi and then heard footsteps. She turned from another room and her eyes grew large.
"Gomen my queen." The person said. Cleo looked at her and moved closer.
"Setsuna-chan?" Cleo whispered as she looked at the senshi of time who nodded. "Setsuna-chan!" she said louder as she cried and went to the outer senshi. Setsuna put her arms around Cleo and whispered into the girl's ear, trying to calm her down. Haruka and Michiru watched this scene. Michiru put her shoes on as she went outside, she knew that Justin would have felt Cleo transform and would be looking for her after his lesson. She went out to stop him from panicking.
Justin was in his last lesson for the day as he felt his head hurt. He knew then that Cleo had transformed. He could not leave no matter how much he wanted to. He pushed away the headache and stopped his transformation as he listened to his professor talking. Once class was over, he saw Michiru waiting for him at the door.
"Cleo is she okay?" he asked, she nodded.
"She transformed by mistake." She told him, Justin looked at her confused. "It is a long story and it is one that only makes things worse." She said as the two began to walk away from the campus.
"Talk." Justin said, and Michiru nodded, telling Justin about the events of the day.
Setsuna had managed to calm Cleo down and tucked her in her bed to sleep. She closed the door, but left it ajar in case she had another nightmare.
"What does this mean?" Haruka asked.
"It means that the enemy is going to strike, and soon." She said as she sat next to the outer senshi. "Cleo keeps mentioning an everlasting silence; I do not like the sound of that one bit. There is only one senshi who is capable of such a thing." She said and Haruka nodded.
"I thought that she was a baby?" she said, Setsuna nodded.
"If she is woken by anyone but the queen, we are in for a world of trouble!" Setsuna said. Haruka closed her eyes, they did not need this.