Pearl was furious that next morning when Rage and Vengeance knelt before her and confessed their failure. A long, menacing black whip was in Pearl’s black-gloved hair, and her long hair swished, as if taunting the two girls. Vengeance was trembling, her blond hair mussed and her eyes darting from Rage to her mistress. Their gray robes drooped over their bodies as they knelt there.
Rage knew what happened when Pearl was this angry. She would whip them and then banish them to the Earth once more, or she would lock them up. Rage and Vengeance bowed their heads as Pearl began to speak.
“You wretched fools,” she snarled. She cracked her whip, making Rage and Vengeance shiver. “Don’t think I’ll let you get away with this. You could have captured Sailor Moon, her companions, her lover, and those two new sailor scouts. But no…you fail me. After I’m through with you, I guess I’ll give you an easier task.”
Pearl knelt by Rage and put her hand under Rage’s chin, forcing Rage to look her mistress straight in the eye. “Now Rage, you are my pet, as Vengeance is. I trusted you to lead Vengeance.” Rage winced as the whip cracked across her back.
“But this is what I get.” The whip struck Rage again. Rage bit her lip to keep from crying out.
Pearl stood up, allowing Rage to bow her head again, and whacked Rage a third time. Pearl crossed over to Vengeance, who was letting out little sobs. Pearl’s lip curled in disgust as she prodded Vengeance’s head up. A tear ran down Pearl’s slave’s face as Pearl smacked the whip on her back. Vengeance whimpered as Pearl struck her again, harder this time.
“Vengeance, you promised me to be successful. I remember you begging for me to let you go with Rage. But you’ve failed me, like I thought you might.” The whip snapped across Vengeance’s back again.
Pearl let go of her grip on Vengeance’s head and stood in front of the two girls. Rage was breathing heavily, and Vengeance was whimpering and crying. Pearl cracked her whip, causing them to lift their heads and look at her.
“Both of you follow me.”
Rage stood up and helped Vengeance to her feet. Vengeance grasped onto Rage for support as they followed their mistress down the marble halls. Pearl reached a door and unlocked it. Rage led Vengeance in and Pearl slammed the door behind them, locking it. It wasn’t a terribly bad room, with a couple of beds and a light, but Rage hated the idea of being locked up.
Vengeance tore away from the other woman and collapsed on one of the beds, crying. Rage sat next to her and stared at the door.
“Pearl isn’t a kind mistress. Oh no, she isn’t. And when she gets those scouts, they’ll be treated worse than we are!” Rage thought to herself. The thought gave her pleasure and would for a long time.
“It’s unbelievable,” laughed Rose that morning, sitting at her table with Comet. Comet licked some jam off Rose’s plate, listening. “Me and Darien…siblings! And you were our pet in Elysion!”
Comet mewed happily. “I didn’t really know. I thought it was all a dream. But now I find that it is true. I’ve been getting my memory back for the past few years.”
“And two battles yesterday…I am exhausted,” Rose groaned, giggling. “In 15 minutes I have to go to school…I thought it would never come. For some reason, I wish I could battle some more.”
“You’ll get tired of it eventually,” Comet sighed. “The Sol Scouts have faced tons of enemies; I think they’re sick of it.”
“I think that’s why I realized I was Sailor Earth at this time,” Rose replied thoughtfully. “Maybe they need some energized Sailor Scouts to help.”
Comet paused to lick some more jam. “Maybe. Besides, you will get exhausted from the fights sometime.”
“I already am out of it,” Rose moaned, leaning back in her chair.
Comet chuckled. “I can tell. Maybe you should have Phoebe’s mom drive you to school or something.”
“Can’t. Sonny’s walking with me today,” Rose replied.
“What for?” Comet inquired.
“He says he wants to ask me a question, but I think he’s going to give me a big lecture or something,” Rose groaned, rolling her eyes.
Comet leaped down from the table, gazing up at his owner with his yellow eyes. Rose put her hands behind her head and stared at the ceiling. The two sat in silence for about ten seconds, and Rose then stood up.
“7:45. I better get moving; Sonny’s gonna be here any—“
The doorbell rang. Both Comet and Rose started laughing.
“That was on time,” Rose giggled, slinging her book bag over her shoulder.
“I’ll go upstairs,” Comet answered, rushing nimbly up the stairs, his paws making a soft “pitter-patter” noise.
Rose opened the door. Sonny was standing there in his uniform. He smiled at Rose, her hair in her usual tidy brown braid and her uniform tidy and neat. He leaned against the doorknob in silence. Rose laughed.
“Stop staring at me so we can get going,” she chuckled.
Sonny looked up, grinning. “Sorry about that…”
Rose shifted her book bag around on her shoulder as Sonny stepped aside in order to let her out. She stumbled a little, being tired. Sonny immediately noticed the bandage wrapped around her leg near her ankle. He stopped abruptly, and Rose, who was irritated, turned around to scowl at him.
“If we don’t hurry we’re going to be late, and I have to turn in homework because I missed most of the first week of school,” Rose snapped.
“It’s fine because you don’t get a ton of homework the first week of school”; then Sonny murmured, “What happened to your leg?”
“Oh?” Rose looked at her bandage. She quickly thought of a lie. “I was coming in from gardening and I discovered I had left my dinner cooking. In a frenzy, I rushed to the stove, and being the stupid person I am, I tripped and whammed into the hot oven, burning my leg.”
Sonny bought it. “I’m sorry to hear it. No wonder you’re kind of limping.”
Rose grinned. He had mistaken her exhaustion for her leg. She kept smiling as Sonny offered her his arm. She took and the two started walking down the sidewalk towards the school. Rose dodged a puddle of water from the neighbors’ sprinkler as Sonny chatted about his friends and nonsense school stuff.
Rose only half-listened, for she was thinking about her battles. She was trying desperately to keep it secret and not blurt it out. She wanted to tell Sonny but knew she couldn’t. She just barely heard what Sonny said as they turned the corner and faced the schoolhouse.
“You know the ‘Beginning of School’ Junior High and Senior High Dance?”
“What? Oh, yeah! I do. I remember the dances when I was in Juban Junior High,” Rose replied.
Sonny led her inside the building, attracting a few stares and whispers from other students. “I was…er…wondering if you’d like to go with me. You know, as friends.”
Rose grinned. “I’d love to. As friends, right? Nothing else?”
“Nothing else, or we’ll spread that I, a 17-year-old, am dating a 15-year-old.”
“Hey! What’s wrong with being a couple of years younger? Darien is much older than Serena! He’ll be heading back to college next week; he took leave to visit Serena.”
“I bet Serena will miss him, and you do have a point,” Sonny responded, watching as Rose took her English book from her locker.
“Hi, Rose!”
“Hi, Lita,” Rose greeted as the tall brunette bounced up to them.
“Who’s this hunk you’re with?” Lita giggled. Sonny blushed and Rose turned slightly pink from embarrassment.
“He’s my friend, Sonny Gregorson,” Rose mumbled, her ears going red as she slammed her locker door shut.
“Oh! You’re the 17-year-old who went to the private Junior High school! Do you know Rei Hino?” Lita rushed out.
“The girl with the long, black hair? Sure I do. She’s going to the private Senior High now, correct?” Sonny answered.
“Yeah. Her grandfather wants her there,” Lita informed.
“She does work at a Shinto shrine though,” Sonny added.
Rose got their attention by noisily dropping her book on the floor. Pretending that it was an accident, she bent down to pick it up and stood back up to face Lita. She was about one inch shorter than the 5 ft. 6 inches tall girl with the brown ponytail.
“I came mainly because I was wondering if you and Phoebe wanted to eat with us…you know, Serena and my friends, for lunch,” Lita informed, glancing nervously at Sonny. When Sonny began talking to one of his guy friends, Lita pressed a piece of paper into Rose’s hand. “Shhh, don’t let Sonny know. It’s about the Sailor Scouts. See you later.”
“See you at lunch, Lita!” Rose called, getting Sonny’s attention and allowing herself to wave at her new friend. She checked her watch. “We better get to our classes.”
“See you at lunch?” Sonny asked.
“Lita’s already asked me, sorry, how about tomorrow?” Rose suggested. “That is, if you want to.”
“Sure I do. Catch ya later.” The tall, golden haired boy strolled down the halls, leaving Rose to head to her English class.
Mrs. Wyatt was not in a good mood. Apparently while Rose was away, some boys had taken her papers and messed them all up and literally destroyed her desk. She was very warm to students like Kyra, Greg, Daniel, Phoebe, and Rose, but she showed no mercy to the troublemakers. Rose stifled a gasp as she walked over to Yvonne Tanner, a short, black-haired girl who was chewing gum, and pulled the gum out of her mouth.
“I do not allow gum chewers in my class,” Mrs. Wyatt informed the astonished Yvonne, quickly throwing the wad of sugary stuff away. “A half hour after school doing gum clean-up.”
Rose realized that gum-chewers weren’t tolerated, but pulling the gum out of a student’s mouth seemed pretty ridiculous to her. Phoebe watched as Rose fumbled around her book bag, making sure the note from Lita was still there. The redhead was also shocked at Mrs. Wyatt’s action against Yvonne, and she nodded as Rose mouthed, “I hope she doesn’t do that again.”
The bell rang and Phoebe fingered her red hair, loose with two yellow hair clips in it, as Rose slid her math book into her bag and pushed her English book into her locker. She took out the note and opened it.
“It’s from Lita,” she whispered to Phoebe. “She said it was about Sailor Scouts.” Rose read out loud into Phoebe’s ear:
Dear Rose,
The others and I will be at the farthest oak tree, eating. We want to talk
about being Sailor Scouts so you won’t be so confused. We are as surprised as
you are. Make sure no one sees this and meet us at lunch.
-Lita
“I would hate to eat this letter to get rid of it, like they do in some films,” Phoebe shuddered.
“I’ll rip it up,” Rose replied, tearing the paper as she spoke and shredding it into a handful of tiny pieces. She deposited them in the trashcan as Phoebe and she walked down the halls to their math class.
“Do you have your necklace? I have my brooch,” Phoebe murmured in Rose’s ear, trying not to attract attention from the girls who were whispering nearby. “We need to be prepared.”
Rose nodded in agreement, allowing Phoebe to open the door for her. The two girls were ready for an hour of algebra and geometry.
In the meantime…
Pearl sat on her black, marble seat, fingering her switch. Her black earrings swung as she turned her head, hearing the sound of footsteps. She smiled wickedly, parting her red lips as a cloaked figure stepped in. Someone wrapped in a black blanket was in his arms. Pearl stood up, her white blond hair swaying as she walked to her visitor.
“Brother, you’ve returned.”
The man pulled off the hood of his cloak, revealing a young, handsome face and short, pure white hair. The hair was what made him and Pearl alike. He was the younger of the two, and she loved him. At least he thought she did. Now he was doing what would make his heart break in two.
“I have brought you a Gaea Scout. In civilian form, she will be her former self. But in Senshi form, she will be yours to command.” Orion tried to hide the silvery tear that was threatening to slide down his cheek. “She does not know that she is a Sailor Scout and will not remember anything you make her do.”
“Which one is she?” Pearl asked.
Orion lay the girl down. She was 5 ft 2 inches…at least Pearl estimated it was so. Her chin-length green hair framed her face and blew in the slightest breeze. She was sleeping at the time, so they could not see her eye color. Pearl saw a symbol shaped like a leaf on the girl’s forehead; it was glowing with green light.
“This is, indeed, a Gaea Scout. Thank you, Orion.”
Orion nodded, his eyes filling with tears he was fighting to keep back. “Yes, sister. I…I…am glad to receive your thanks.”
He hung his head in humble service, brought his cloak over his head, and backed out of the room. Pearl saw a small staff at the sleeping girl’s side. She smiled and touched the vines entwining it and the emerald on it. Their green color turned black. She touched the girl’s symbol and it also turned black. In a flash of light, a Sailor Senshi was lying there. She did not awake.
Pearl surveyed the scout. A silver tiara with a green stone stretched across the girl’s forehead. Her skirt was bright green with a slight hint of black at the edges. Her white top was bedecked with two turquoise bows, also tipped with black. Her long, elbow high black gloves were tipped with two green bands, and the scepter (the staff) was clutched in her hand. She wore green, low-heeled shoes.
In another flash of light, the girl was restored to her proper self. She was now back to normal; she could not know about how Pearl would use her for evil. Pearl grinned menacingly. The girl vanished.
“Irene Litany…you poor, young girl. You are only 14 and already a puppet of mine. Go and live your life, ignorant of what I shall do to you!” The throne room echoed with Pearl’s cold laughter.
After that…
“Hi, Rose! Hi, Phoebe!” Mina greeted as the two girls headed towards the oak tree where she, Serena, Amy, and Lita were sitting.
“Hello, Mina,” Phoebe and Rose chorused, sitting down with their bagged lunches.
Amy looked up from her book she was studying. She smiled shyly and took off her reading glasses. She then set down her book and made room for Rose. Rose sat down in the circle and Phoebe plopped down next to Mina. Serena was eagerly gulping down some cookies.
“So,” Rose started, taking out her sandwich. “I see none of you are in my classes.”
Amy laughed. “I feel left out! I’m in your science class, remember?”
Rose smiled, replying, “I’m sorry! Besides Amy being in my science class, none of you are in my classes.”
“And I’m in every class with Rose except woodshop, so…” Phoebe took a bite of her apple. “That’s that.”
“I hate my history teacher,” Lita moaned. “He’s always saying,” Lita put on a deep, male voice, “’Class, if you do not respect the past you will never respect the future!’”
Serena and Rose immediately burst out laughing, and soon all of the girls were clutching their sides from laughing so hard. Serena giggled and leaned back against the tree, her long pigtails swinging. It took a minute for them to get composed.
“So, have you gotten dates for the Beginning of the Year Junior High/Senior High dance?” Mina asked, swallowing a gulp of milk.
“Darien is leaving next week!” Serena sobbed, waterfalls of tears spilling out of her eyes. “But…” She smiled. “He’s going with me! And it’s in 4 days!”
“Friday,” Amy sighed. “Normally when I go to the—“
“Nah ah! You are not going to the library to study that day! You are getting a date and coming with us!” Lita chuckled, smacking Amy playfully on the shoulder.
“I’ve got a date,” Rose said softly.
Everyone turned to see her red face. Rose clutched onto her bottle of lemonade.
“I-I…Sonny asked me. We’re going as friends, you know,” Rose stammered out.
“You lucky girl!” Mina wailed. “You’ve got a perfectly gorgeous guy to go with, and you’re not really excited or anything!”
“Andrew says he’s taking a day off from working at the arcade because older kids are allowed…but a small number,” Lita informed, taking a bite of her cookie.
“Is he taking you?” Phoebe questioned teasingly.
Lita blushed. “He’s taking me just because I asked him, and he can’t really turn girls down.”
“He’s too…kind. Like Darien,” Amy added.
“Like Darien,” Serena echoed dreamily, sighing happily.
Rose sweat-dropped. Now that she knew Darien was her brother, it was getting awkward to hear Serena be so obsessed over him.
“Serena and Darien are destined to be together,” Rose suddenly heard Amy whisper in her ear. “Quick, pay attention, we’re going to talk about being Sailor Scouts.”
Lita cleared her throat and looked at Phoebe and Rose. “We have a lot to tell you.”
“So I see,” Phoebe answered, packing her trash in her lunch bag.
“You two are different Sailor Scouts, apparently, and we…er…kind of want to fill you in,” Lita added. “As you know, I am Sailor Jupiter. I am the Senshi of thunder and lightning.”
“I am Sailor Mercury, the Senshi of ice and wisdom,” Amy added.
“I am Sailor Venus, the Senshi of beauty and love,” Mina chimed in. “Rei is Sailor Mars, the Senshi of fire and flames.”
“And I,” Serena announced, trying to put on an air of importance, “am Sailor Moon, the champion of love and justice and princess of the moon. I am the leader.”
“I can tell,” Rose giggled.
“We are not the only Sol Senshi, as we are called,” Lita continued. “Luna and Artemis—Luna is Serena’s cat and Artemis is Mina’s cat—both know all about the past. They can talk and are both very wise. They told us who the other Senshi were after we met them. Now they have told us that there are more than the Sol Senshi.”
“Who are the other Sol Senshi?” Phoebe inquired, pulling her legs up and wrapping her arms around them.
“There is Sailor Uranus, who is Amara Teioh,” Lita started, and then Rose cut her off.
“Amara? I met her and three other girls at the café with Pho! She’s going to play piano with me at the music festival in November! I met Michelle and Hotaru and Setsuna, and they knew about the fire!” Rose interrupted frantically.
“You did?” Mina’s eyes widened. “Well no wonder. Amara and those girls always seem to be on the lookout for news and things.”
“As I was saying,” Lita broke in, “Amara is the Senshi of power and earth. Michelle is Sailor Neptune, the Senshi of water and ocean. Hotaru, the young one, is Sailor Saturn, the Senshi of health and destruction. Setsuna is Sailor Pluto, the Senshi and guardian of time.”
“And are those all the Sol Senshi?” Phoebe asked.
“No,” Serena said seriously before Lita could say another word. “The Starlights aren’t really Sailor Senshi, but they are women who came to Earth as men to search for their princess. Princess Kakyuu has been found and they have left, but their names were Sailor StarFighter, Sailor StarHealer, and Sailor StarMaker. And they were CUTE!”
Everyone groaned as the bell rang.
“You’ll have to finish later,” Rose notified. “See you tomorrow!”
“No, wait! Meet us after school, all right?” Mina answered for all the other girls.
“Sure. Bye,” Phoebe called.
Rose thought and thought. She could barely concentrate. She was thinking of what Lita and the others had told her.
The Sol Scouts…and…her new friends were all scouts. And these Sailor Starlights…what could it all mean?
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