The Lone Sailor Soldier - Part Three
May stood on the sidewalk, staring at her unresponsive locket. She was stunned; in shock. Never had any call using the locket gone unanswered by anyone. She knew that as a fact. Even if Wind hand't been able to answer, someone else would have. Yet, the white crystal which was used for communication was a dull grey.
Moments passed, but May didn't notice. She was frozen to the spot. Her mind was trying to work out the situation, but for some reason, she just couldn't decipher the problem. Her brain just wouldn't go that way.
"May! Hey, May!" A young male voice called, and May quickly shoved her locket back into her school bag. She turned around to see a boy about her age, with chin-length black hair, running towards her. His face was bright with a smile of recognition, familiarity, and relief.
"Oh, man! I can't believe I'm late today." He skidded to a stop before her, bending over to place his hand on his knees. He took a few breaths, then looked up at May and smirked. "I can't believe you're late today," he added.
May furrowed her brow. Who was this guy? She opened her mouth - then closed it. Judging by the morning's earlier events - that is, seeing Neo Queen Serenity in her teenaged form - was evidence enough that this was no ordinary day... or place. Everyone seemed to know what was going on except herself... suddenly May felt like an intruder. She wasn't in her own place. This boy, however, probably was.
"Come on," he was saying, "We'd better get to school before the second late bell." He started walking again, but then stopped, and turned back to May, who was still standing stiff like a stick in mud. "Are you all right?" he asked, peering at her curiously.
"...Ah, yes, I'm fine," May said, a bit too hastily. When he wouldn't stop looking at her, she explained, "I just had... a headache this morning. That's why I'm so late. I thought it was coming back... but I'll be all right."
May assumed he accepted her answer, because then he just smiled, took her by the elbow, and walked her quickly to school.
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Much to May's relief, her classes were the same as she remembered them - except for the fact that there were several new faces around her. She didn't recognize her Biology or English teachers, and about half the students were unrecognizable. Still, at least some things hadn't changed. May appreciated the fact a lot more than she ever had.
After her third class, the students had a lunch break. May was putting her books in her locker and hoping the cafeteria hadn't moved, when somebody tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to face... Young Serenity.
"Queen - I mean, hello," May's face flushed.
"Hi!" Serenity smiled. "I knew I recognized you this morning - you're Aidan's friend, right?"
Aidan? Was that the boy from this morning? Well, May knew she didn't have any enemies, so it was safe to nod.
"Here," the young Queen said, handing May a notebook. "We just had a class together, and he left this on my desk."
May looked at the cover. A spiral notebook, with the words "Chess Club" written on the cover. "Thanks," she said, trying to keep the mystified look off her face, "I'll give it to him when I see him later."
"Great! See you later!" Serenity flashed another bright smile, and dashed off to meet her friends.
As soon as Serenity and her friends had left, and May was sure no one was watching, she turned back to her locker and studied the notebook in her hands. She flipped to the first page. There was a computer printout paper-clipped to the inside of the cover. It was a list of Chess Club members... Aidan's name was at the top. May's was about one-third of the way down the page. She raised her eyebrows. She'd never been in the chess club before. "I guess I am now," she muttered, under her breath.
The first page of the book was blank, but there was a hand-drawn map that spread across the second and third pages. May recognized it as the area of the city she lived in. Sure enough, there was her house, with her name written on it. Most of the houses were named. May traced the path with her finger that she took to walk to her friends' houses. That's when things got strange.
The temple that Aurora lived in wasn't a temple, but a library. Had Aidan gotten that wrong? She looked for Molly's house. It was there, but the name written on it read, "Sarah Mason." Sarah? There was no Sarah in Molly's family.
With a strange lump building in her throat, and a heaviness to her heart, she slowly traced her way to Jessica's house. It wasn't even there.
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May hadn't seen Aidan or Queen Serenity for the rest of the day. At least she thought she didn't - after seeing the map in Aidan's notebook, her mind was in such a fog she was hardly able to take in anything of her surroundings.
After school, May wanted to go home, but apparently she had the Chess Club to attend. She took one last glance at the map, and tried to memorize it. Despite the situation, May was secretly thankful to Aidan for supplying this informatin on her new surroundings.
She arrived at the Chess Club a few minutes late, as she never knew where the meetings were held in the first place. Several students were seated at desks, in small groups, playing or observing. Aidan sat by himself - when he spotted May at the door, he waved.
"You're sure punctual today, eh?" he teased her when she approached the desk and sat down.
"Sorry," May said, smiling slightly. "Here - someone gave this to me. You left it behind." She handed the notebook to him, and a look of relief washed over his features.
"Ah, great. I was looking for that. So. Shall we start?" He gestured to the chessboard between them.
The rest of the afternoon passed peacefully for once, and May even found it relaxing as she played her way through several tournaments. When people started packing up their chess pieces, she was surprised to find herself feeling slightly dismayed. It was like returning back to the real world... the reality that May kept wishing wasn't...reality.
Aidan punched her playfully on the arm. "Hey, don't look so letdown," he said. "You played great today. You'll probably be chosen to represent our club in the School Championships."
"Really?" This was more news to May.
"Sure. Did you hear the tournament is going to be held at that new culture center downtown?" When May shook her head, Aidan continued, "I passed by it the other day. It's really cool. Do you want to check it out tomorrow, after school?"
"Sounds good," May said, smiling. However, she had a feeling she'd already seen the culture center... it must've been fifty years old. But at least she'd get to see it after it had just been built. Just wait until she told Aurora about that. She and Aurora had walked there several times to look at the paintings, and... May realized what she'd been thinking, and a lump caught in her throat.
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When May walked home later, the sidestreets she took were more or less quiet. She walked slowly, watching her feet move mechanically over the grey, cracked sidewalk. The day's events played over lethargically in her mind.
May obviously didn't belong here. She'd been pulled out of her own reality, and pushed into this one. Nobody seemed to notice this, though. Was that a good thing, or not? Perhaps it did make some things easier... but still... May missed her friends with a crippling passion.
She arrived at her house and shuffled up to the door step, where she sat down. She reached into her school bag and withdrew her locket again, opening the top, but making no attempt to use the communicator crystal. She simply stared at it.
Things were so different now. She learned this morning the communciator in her locket didn't work. What about... the actual transformation crystal? Would May still be able to transform into Sailor Aqua? Did she still have her Sailor Senshi powers?
May's breath caught in her throat as a sudden realization came like a holy revelation. Would she... even need to have her Sailor Senshi powers?
~Continued in Part Four~
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Sailor Aqua's Realm /
On to Chapter Four
