Chapter Eleven

About two weeks later, it was Saturday, November 17, 1990. And the Scouts were all assembled in the cavern, helping Mary get used to being in it more. Sylvia had assigned Mary a nook near it a few days before, after Mary had finally been able to visit the cavern for the first time in her life. Mary had checked out all the still-available nooks designated as sleeping areas by Sylvia, and had chosen one for herself. That nook would be hers to set up as she so chose to set it up, at least for the time being, if not forever, anyway.

Mary was now in her Scout state as Sailor Trinity, and Sylvia and Kiena were in theirs as Skyhorse and Renaissance, respectively, at the current time. As they were all in the cavern, they were monitoring things in the Jerusalem area from there as best as they could. While also helping Mary/Trinity get settled more into the nook that she'd chosen for herself, for that matter. Not present, though, at the current time, were Moonlight Serenade and Isaiah. For Serenade was currently on Sweet Musicalisti's grounds. And Isaiah was flying all over the Jerusalem area periodically, trying to find out where their next Negaverse General was, so that the Scouts could try to deal with them when they got the chance to do so well enough. He wasn't having any success in that regard, however, at least as of the present time.

As they monitored the local area, and as they helped outfit Mary's nook as necessary, the Scouts often discussed Scout-related matters with each other. Trinity eventually asked, "When do you think the Moon Princess will appear, if she does, Skyhorse?"

"I really don't know, Trinity. Nor do I yet know who she'll be, if she does. And under what circumstances she might do so, in fact, while we're at it. I also wonder when we might find other Scouts joining our group, for your information."

"Do you wonder who the Pilgrim is, by any chance at all, Sky?" asked Trinity, as she hung a few Chinese-style scrolls on some projections in the nook she'd been assigned to earlier.

"Sure I do. I believe we'll eventually find out who he is, when the need or ability makes it possible for us to do so, of course. I just don't know what'll have to happen before we can find out his true civilian identity, though, Trinity."

"I see. And are you possibly interested in him as a potential boyfriend, for that matter?"

"No, I'm not. At least not right now, if I ever will be, that is, Trinity," said Skyhorse. She and Ren then put a desk elsewhere in the nook where Trinity wanted that desk in it. After about an hour or so of working with Trinity to set up her new nook as she wanted it, Sky and Ren then returned to the main part of the cavern's area as needed or desired here.

Trinity stayed in her nook for a little longer, before Sky and Ren said they were going out on patrol again. It was then just after 1:15 pm local time when they did so. So, even though she might have preferred to stay in the cavern's area for at least a little while longer, she didn't. She put her bicycle in Ren's Spirtseeker, and got in it, along with Ren. Sky, however, got into her own van, and prepared to lead them out of the cavern again, in very short order.

By 1:20 pm, then, the two applicable vehicles were out of the cavern's immediate area, and heading back toward the city proper, in fact. When they got far enough into the city proper, then, Ren and Sky parked their vehicles, and exited them along with Trinity. They parked them in a rather deserted and rather isolated alley there, if at all possible. And then they patrolled in the city on foot as the need or desire arose for them to do so currently. Starting at about 1:35 or so, by the way.

The three Scouts patrolled for about two or so hours all over the area, at least. If not even longer than that. They finally decided to stop patrolling anywhere in the city sometime around 4 pm or so local time. And then they all returned to where they'd had their respective vehicles parked, of course. After doing so, Trinity eventually took her new bicycle out of Renaissance's trunk, and parted from her older Scout associates. Trinity parted from them, and returned to her family's apartment building just as quickly and as safely as she could do so well enough. On the way there, she also powered down at her earliest and safest possible opportunity

Shortly after Trinity left them both near each other in the city, Sky and Ren also parted from each other. Both eventually powered down after they did so. And both eventually went straight to their families' respective residences, in fact. They parted without planning to meet again with each other for any reason whatsoever later on that day or the night to follow.

When Kiena got home, she went right to her room, just as soon as she could. Her room was empty when she got there, for Leah and the rest of her family were out and about elsewhere in the local area. Because that was the case, she then decided it was a good time for her to nap in her bed for a little while, at least. So she napped in her bed from about 5 to about 8 or so.

When she woke up from her nap, then, Leah was again in their room. She learned this just as soon as she heard Leah playing her harp for a while. Of all the Jacanos, Leah was generally the only one who could play a harp reasonably well. So it was quite easy for Kiena to realize that Leah was now in their bedroom with her.

After she rose from her bed, she briefly moved over to her piano and played a few notes from her most recently-started sheet of music. That let Leah know that her older sister was now awake sufficiently enough, of course. Kiena played a few more notes to test them with other notes she'd just played here for her symphony. A few notes more from Leah's harp, and Kiena then left her piano's side again, just before deciding to open the curtain between her and her sister up.

After Kiena opened up the curtain between her and Leah, Leah asked, "Did you have a good nap, Kiena?"

"Yes, it seems so. I dreamed that Mozart and I were working on music together while he was still a young man. And that several other well-known classical composers from various times and places were with us while we did so, for that matter. People such as Haydn, Bach, and Beethoven, to name just a few, in fact, Leah."

"Which Bach?"

"Johann Sebastian, Leah."

"So was this dream of yours some sort of classical music jam session, by any chance at all, Kiena? And if so, what was it like? Supposing you could tell me well enough, of course."

"Most radical! It was a real blast, in fact. Believe it or not, this Beethoven that I saw in my dream was really belting it out on the saxophone. Haydn was playing an accordion, and Bach was drumming up a storm of sorts, at the same time. Vivaldi and Handel, for instance, were making trumpets sound almost heavenly. Gershwin was positively pleasant with his piano playing. While Mozart and I were primarily hamming it up on harpsichords and clavichords, if and whenever possible and desired for us then. Other composers and assorted musicians joined us for our jam session of sorts every so often, until it finally ended for us all. We seemed to periodically be jamming with each other for about a day or so, more or less." She described the rest of the dream that she'd just had during her latest nap in her bed to Leah as best as she could for a while longer. Eventually, she finished doing so to the best of her current ability to do so here.

When she did, Leah asked, "Do you know yet just how to finish your symphony?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. I'll put all the necessary notes of music down where required later, however. There are a few things I want to check at least once before I do so, Leah. If you'll excuse me, then, I'll check them out as quickly as I can. In the meantime, would you please vacate our room until further notice? There's at least one, if not more than one, phone call that I want or need to make here and now. And I'd really prefer you allow me my privacy while I make it or them, please."

"How much time do you need, then, Kiena?"

"I don't know. I'll have to let you know on that, if I can, of course."

Moments later, then, Leah left their room, and Kiena used a phone in her part of the room to call her friend Neesha Sansko. Kiena had known Neesha for many years, since they were very young. Neesha Sansko and Kiena had grown up quite close to each other, after Neesha was born in the Jerusalem area, in fact.

Neesha's family had long ago moved into the Jerusalem local area from their home nation of Sweden, just before Neesha had been conceived, by the way. Neesha's father was from Sweden, and her mother was from Madagascar. And their children up through the one before Neesha had been born in Sweden, near Stockholm. As for their children from Neesha onward, they all had been born in Israel. Neesha had twelve older siblings, and five siblings younger than her, in her family. She was the thirteenth child of eighteen for her rather prolific parents. And her oldest four siblings were now in their early to middle thirties, at least. Two of those four were married, one was engaged, and one was unattached.

Eventually, Kiena was able to talk with Neesha on the phone. When she was, Neesha asked, "Where've you been the past several days or weeks, Kiena?"

Neesha's father was a man who was now about 61 years old, and her mother was now about 59 years old. Neesha was about a year younger, more or less, than Kiena was. Neesha had darker skin than Kiena, but not much darker. Her mother was a black former television actress named Ketara Chobanga. While her father was a former part-time rock musician named Oskar, who retired from producing that kind of music when he accepted Jesus Christ into his life as his Lord and Saviour. Neesha's future mother had already become a Christian when she'd met her future father, but Oskar hadn't by then. Her future mother eventually helped lead him to Christ while they were still dating. And just before they married, her future father Oskar accepted Jesus Christ into his life.

"I've been rather busy with things that have recently come up for me of late, Neesha."

Ketara and Oskar eventually married each other while they were both still attending college in Sweden. And their first child was born when Oskar was still 23. By the time that Oskar turned 30, then, her future parents had produced their first four children, which included a set of twins. Over time, several other children joined the family as well. Two more as twins, and three others as triplets. The others not yet mentioned between the oldest child and Neesha were all single-birth children.

"Things like what, for example?"

After her parents had produced their twelfth child, they and all their current children immigrated to Israel, arriving there sometime in 1973. About two years later, then, more or less, Neesha joined the Sansko family, and she'd been part of it ever since. Another child arrived in 1977, another in 1980, another in 1982, another in 1985, and the last in 1987. No more children were likely to be born to her parents, for the obvious reasons. Her mother had left her child-bearing years behind no more than three or four months after the birth of her last child, when she entered permanent natural menopause.

"A symphony I've been working on quite often, whenever possible, for example."

Neesha had first met Kiena when she was about two months old, after Kiena's parents had unexpectedly met her parents at a day care center in the Jerusalem area. Ever since, the Jacanos and the Sanskos had often associated with each other in their lives. And by logical extension, the Sanskos had eventually also met up with other people associated with the Jacanos whenever the need or desire for them to do so arose in their respective lives, of course.

"Is it almost completed now, Kiena?"

Now Neesha and Kiena often were known to spend considerable amounts of time with each other in their lives, whenever possible. But now that Kiena had become a Scout, it was yet to be seen if that'd often continue to be the case for both of them, for the obvious reasons, of course.

"I still have to do at least some more work, if not a lot more work, on it before I can finally call it completed, Neesha. Then perhaps it'll be suitable enough for playing at a concert somewhere in the near future. Whether professionally or not, I think that might be the case, once I finish working on it as needed."

"Might my father be able to help perform it?" Neesha's father had normally been a guitarist for his now-dissolved band, which had been called Electronic Wing in English, and other things in other languages as needed. He hadn't necessarily been the band's lead guitarist, but he'd been a guitarist for it, nevertheless.

"I don't know. The symphony I've been working on of late doesn't really involve the guitar much in it, if I'm not too mistaken here. It involves a guitar only every once in a while, and only in one or two parts of it, I think."

Neesha thought for a few moments, and then said, "He might be willing to help perform it if you'd ask him to, Kiena."

"I don't think he's very familiar with classical music, Neesha."

"Maybe not. But he has still shared music with several of us in the past. Primarily, he's shared music he's played periodically over the years. Nothing from when he was still performing with Electronic Wing, but from the years since then, just so you know."

"What genre, primarily?"

"Gospel, or religious music, whenever possible. Nothing professionally, mind you, but stuff he's done outside of church or his job as a college professor in the local area, in fact."

"And your mother?"

"She doesn't seem to have much musical talent or to have much desire to produce music in her life. Mother mainly works as a kindergarten teacher at SBDES."

"I see. When was the last time she acted in a television show, a movie, or a theatrical stageplay, then, Neesha?"

"Just before they left Sweden for Israel, Kiena."

"And was she rather well-known before she chose to retire from acting?"

"To some degree, yes. But she quit, when she felt that the scripts being pitched to her by assorted people weren't worth her time and effort. And she chose her family over her career as an actress. She's never regretted doing so, in fact. I don't know if she'll ever choose to act again, of course. But whether or not she ever does so again, I'm glad that I've been able to spend more time with her than I might have been able to if she'd done that for as long as I've been around."

Kiena talked for a little while longer with Neesha, before Neesha said, "I hear my sister Aberkota calling now, and I suppose I better see what she wants. Do you think we could talk again sometime later, Kiena?"

"Sure, Neesha. Perhaps at lunch on Monday, if not sooner?"

"We'll see. Perhaps that might be possible. Only time will tell, though, of course."

Moments later, then, Neesha and Kiena ended their conversation with each other. After Neesha hung up her phone, Kiena called Sylvia's number, hoping to talk to her again for at least a little while. It was just about 8:50 pm local time when she was finally able to reach Sylvia on the phone. Sylvia soon picked up the phone in her room, after Martha had answered it first to see who was calling then.

After Martha left the line sufficiently well, Kiena began conversing in private with Sylvia. They discussed only things related to school at the current time, just in case certain members of their family might periodically hear them on the phone with each other, if and whenever possible. This, of course, was for all the obvious reasons. After a while, Sylvia asked Kiena, "So do you have your articles about certain seniors ready for the school paper's next issue yet?"

"Not yet, Sylvia. Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering, that's all. I've already completed three out of four of them by now. The due date is Monday, November 26, in order for it to be able to be produced in sufficient enough quantities by the following Monday. How many articles that you were assigned have you finished by now?"

"I have completed two of four of them. I think I can get the rest done by the deadline, however. Supposing, of course, that I have enough time to type them up as needed by that time."

"Do you need help with getting the necessary interviews, by any chance?"

"No, I don't think I will need help with getting them. I have appointments to interview them next week at school. I believe I'll have those interviews done, and the related articles done, by the deadline, Sylvia."

They talked with each other until about 9:30 or so local time, before Sylvia said she had things to do now. After Sylvia said that, Kiena soon finished talking with her at the current time. And she let Sylvia hang up here, of course.

Kiena soon let Leah return to their room again. They talked for a while with each other, even while playing checkers with each other. As they played at least a few games with each other, they talked about their days as much as they then could. Eventually, by 10:30 pm, Leah said that she was getting rather tired of late. So Kiena let her retire for the rest of the night, in rather short order. Leah went to her part of their room, and did so. She turned off the lights on her side of their room, and went to sleep not too long after doing so.

Kiena went to her desk and worked for a while there. After doing so until about 11, she changed into some sleepwear for herself. That done, she then climbed into her bed, and read for a while. She read until about midnight, more or less, before she turned out the necessary lights on her side of the curtain, of course. And she was soon quite soundly asleep in her bed.

The following Monday, which was November 19, 1990, Sylvia and Kiena, among others, were eating lunch with each other. Those people with Sylvia and Kiena now also included Liz, Sonja, Ashley, and Leila, for that matter. And they also included Kiena's friends Neesha Sansko, Leanna Sirde, and Dani Kachon. Leanna and Dani had been friends of Kiena since their families had moved into the local area from Tel Aviv and Hebron, respectively.

Leanna Sirde was a native of Israel with some Greek, Turkish, Indian, and Egyptian blood in her family tree. She had short black hair worn in a near-crewcut and slightly tanned skin. She was about 5'8" and 140 pounds, with a slightly muscular look to her, wherever possible and appropriate. A birthmark in the approximate shape of a laurel wreath was barely visible on the left side of her neck, due to the current presence of the required school uniform's sailor-style collar. Another birthmark in the approximate shape of a winding vine of some sort was also present on her lower left leg. But it was currently hidden, wherever possible, by some long stockings. Leanna had five siblings, and all but one of them was a sister to her. Her only brother was still not yet school-aged, even for typical kindergarten-aged students. As for her, she was the third child of six for her parents.

As for Dani, she was now about 5'3" and 100 pounds, at about 16 years of age, more or less. And she now had barely wavy medium blue hair worn in a rather simple shoulder-length style. Often unbound, for that matter, whenever possible. Dani had moved with her family to the Jerusalem area in June 1987, after having spent most of her life in the Hebron area of Israel. Her mother now served in the Knesset, which was Israel's Parliament of sorts. Dani's father now worked for the Jerusalem Post as a columnist in its Entertainment section, after essentially having had the same kind of position with a Hebron-area newspaper for several years. Dani was now an only child, for three of her siblings had died at somewhat young ages from leukemia, an inoperable and unexpected brain tumor, and an accidental drowning. She had been the second of her parents' four children. Her older brother had died in an accidental drowning before she was 8. Her younger sister had died from the aforementioned brain tumor before Dani was 11. And her younger brother had died from leukemia before she was 13. The summer after her younger brother's death, her parents had moved to the Jerusalem area with her, shortly after her mother was elected to the Knesset.

Leila eventually asked, "Miss Jacano, where did you meet Sylvia?"

"I met her at the Athletic Club about two months ago. And since that time, we've often encountered each other in our lives." Kiena told Leila and the others with her and Sylvia only things about their first meeting that were safe enough for her to tell them about it at the current time, of course. After a few minutes of this, then, Kiena asked, "Who got Sylvia interested in horses well enough, at least at first, girls?"

"I think it was her paternal grandparents, but I'm not very sure about that, Miss Jacano," said Elizabeth, a few moments of rather silent contemplation later.

"I see. And what do you think of this, Miss McCall?"

"It's just fine with me if she loves horses, Miss Jacano. Word has it that she's often been seen around town on Moonlight Serenade, if I'm not too mistaken here."

"True enough, I suppose."

"Rumor has it that Skyhorse has often been seen riding him around town as well. I wonder if Skyhorse and Sylvia happen to know each other, for that matter, Miss Jacano."

"I don't know about that. I mean, Miss McCall, just because they may ride the same horse, that doesn't necessarily mean that they know each other."

"Maybe not, Miss Jacano, but it still might appear so to certain people who might not know any better than that."

"Just because Skyhorse and I might often ride the same horse, that doesn't necessarily mean we know each other. I mean, as far as I know right now, there are at least a few hundred people who visit Sweet Musicalisti's grounds periodically for whatever reason they might do so at all. Perhaps even more than that, Liz," said Sylvia, while both Liz and Kiena were then taking some bites from their respective fruit salads.

"Perhaps that might be true. But I would hate to see something possibly happen to Moonlight Serenade whenever he was with Skyhorse. He's a rather good-looking horse, and I would really not want him to see him hurt or worse, if it could possibly be avoided at all, Sylvia."

"Skyhorse is always watching out for him, and so am I, whenever we're with him, I'm quite sure, Liz. If he's with either of us, then he should be just fine most, if not all, of the time, I believe. God willing, of course."

For most, if not all, of the remainder of their current lunch period, the nine girls conversed with each other, if and whenever possible and desired. Eventually, though, they all had to leave the school's main cafeteria again, for the obvious reasons, of course. And so they did so, heading as quickly as they could to their respective next classes, after doing that well enough.

Hours later, then, Sylvia and all the necessary people eventually left the school's grounds again, in order to do whatever they then chose to do in their respective lives. Sylvia left them in her van, and began patrolling the area in it for a while. She did so while not powering up into her Scout state, in fact.

Eventually, she made her way home, and stayed there for a little while. She worked on her schoolwork for a while in her room, and did so until her communicator soon beeped a few times. Sylvia answered the beeps, and then asked, "What's up, Kiena?"

"Isaiah seems to have found a potential disturbance developing elsewhere in the city. He says it's quite near DBJHS at present, in fact."

"On my way." Ten seconds later, at most, Sylvia was Skyhorse again. She quickly wrote a rather brief note to her parents and siblings, and then left her room by accessing her balcony as needed. When she was on the other side of its doors, she put a pipe or something where needed for them, securing them from the outside. That done, she carefully jumped off her balcony, when it was safe enough for her to do so at the current time. And she twisted and somersaulted a few times apiece in midair safely to the ground below it. She slipped secretly to the back door of her family's garage, and then into it. About two or so minutes later, she got into her van and drove off as quickly and as safely as she could then do so here.

Skyhorse was well on the way back to her school by five minutes after leaving Wakefield Castle again. If she wasn't already there, of course. And she was also maintaining steady communications contact with Renaissance and Trinity, who were now responding to the potential disturbance as well.

When she got there, she saw a monster fighting against Ren and Trinity quite near a young woman none of them yet knew in their lives, if they ever would know this woman in them. The monster was tall, and had several rather flexible and rather stretchable tentacles of some yet-unknown sort for arms. Its eyes were like two gigantic pie plates, in terms of their roundness, and were about twice as wide as a regulation-sized NBA basketball, more or less. Its mouth and nose were rather shark-like. As was the rest of its head. As for its middle section, it had those various tentacles and a large fin on its back. Its feet were rather human-like, and they were each at the end of six huge spider-like legs branching off from its lowest third as needed. At least two, if not more than two, of those legs were in contact with the ground at all times around it, in fact. All in all, the monster was quite big and quite unusual-looking to Skyhorse when she joined the current fight that Ren and Trinity had already found them having to fight in.

Skyhorse went right to work on that monster, just as Ren and Trinity had done when the monster had revealed themselves near the school's soccer/football field. The monster had drained the energy from the woman near them as she was practicing her soccer skills alone on that field. It took her and her fellow Sailor Scouts a good while to drive them far enough away from that girl, even after Pilgrim eventually showed up as well there, and joined the fight. But eventually, Sky, Ren, Trinity, and Pilgrim forced them far enough away from that woman. And the monster began to try to get away from them all.

But eventually, they trapped them near a fence along three sides of the school grounds. And they all wore the monster down enough to nearly destroy it before Skyhorse would finish it off as needed. The final few strokes against that monster were given by Skyhorse, when the need arose for her to give them those strokes. The monster was destroyed, and the host body regained its energy after it was. And where needed, Sky healed the woman as the situation required her to do just that here.

Two minutes later, then, the Scouts and Pilgrim had left the scene and powered down. The Pilgrim left first, without another word to any of the Scouts, and then Trinity and Renaissance left moments later. Sky left the scene moments after Ren had earlier followed Trinity away from it. And she powered down after doing so well enough, once it was safe enough for her to do so.

After powering down, Sylvia was the only one that returned sufficiently well to the scene to check on the woman that the now-destroyed Negaverse monster had earlier drained the energy from. She checked on that woman quite thoroughly, in fact. And that woman was sufficiently okay, after having her energy restored to her by Skyhorse, in fact. When Sylvia was sufficiently sure that the woman was quite okay at the current time, she asked the woman her name.

The woman said, "My name is Tatiana Tereshkova."

"My name is Sylvia Wakefield, and you're on my high school's grounds. What are you doing here now, Tatiana?"

"Practicing my soccer skills. A friend of mine said I could practice them here."

"What is this friend's name?"

"Sergei Zivachonov is his name. He is now about 22 or 23 years old. He is an assistant coach for the boys' varsity soccer team here. I attend school at a local college. But their soccer field is not currently available for me to practice on. So he said I could practice here, because of that fact. I am also a member of a soccer team back home in Novosibirsk, in Russia. Sergei is also my boyfriend, you might say, Miss Wakefield."

"I see. Do you have a place to stay at the moment?"

"Yes, I do. I live in a dorm back at my college. I am now a college junior at my school. Sergei also is working on an astronomy-related graduate degree, even while working as an assistant coach here at your school."

"What are you studying, primarily?"

"Primarily, I am studying things related to biology, whenever possible, as part of an individualized major. I also have an individualized minor consisting mainly of things related to political science, whenever possible. I hope to graduate from college in no more than four or so years overall. I've already completed two of those years. And I fully expect that I'll be able to finish my undergraduate degree in about two more years, if enough bad things don't happen that make that quite impossible, by that time, in fact. I came here to Jerusalem just a few years ago for my senior year in high school, as a foreign exchange student, and I've generally lived in the area ever since then."

"And before you did, you generally lived in the Novosibirsk area of Russia?"

"That's right. I have spent most of my life in that part of the world. I probably will return there after I finally do get out of school with the necessary degrees. Or I'll probably settle near Odessa with Sergei, if I can, once we're married. That's supposing, of course, that we can be someday married to each other in the future, Miss Wakefield."

"Sergei's from the Odessa area?"

"That's right."

Sylvia and Tatiana talked a bit longer with each other, before Sylvia asked, "Will you be all right again if I were to leave you alone here?"

"I think so. What happened to me to make you ask that?"

"Some strange being drained your energy. Some people fought it off, and destroyed it, restoring your energy to you after doing that to the monster. If necessary, they also healed you of any injuries that the being gave you when it drained you of your energy, for that matter. At least as much as they then could, in fact."

"I see." Minutes later, then, Tatiana proved sufficiently well to Sylvia that she'd be okay enough if Sylvia were to leave her alone again for the rest of the night. After Tatiana did so well enough to suit Sylvia enough here, Sylvia then left Tatiana alone again where she'd found her.

Some time later, then, Sylvia became Skyhorse again, and patrolled near her school for a while. Whether it was on foot or in her van, she still did so, just the same. Eventually, after finding no more trouble that needed her attention in the area, she powered down yet again, and returned to Wakefield Castle.

She parked her van in the Wakefields' garage, and then exited the garage on foot through the same door she'd earlier accessed it. With that done, she walked to a place under her balcony as needed, and then leapt up suddenly on her balcony. She landed rather easily enough and rather quietly enough on that balcony, and returned to her room in very short order. After doing that, she closed her balcony doors again, just before securing them from the inside, as usual. She retired to her bed almost immediately after doing that.

Sylvia wrote for a little while in her journal, and read a few pages from a novel she'd only recently begun reading, before eventually turning out her light or lights as needed or desired for her here. After she turned out her light or lights, she was soon quite soundly asleep again in her bed. And lost in even more dreams of the past, in fact.