"Moon Over Chicago" By Horosha
Go to Part Interlude - Chapter 2
or Go Back to the Stories
This
series was created by December Lewis, Chivon Ruddock and Horosha
She
was in the garden again.
That
thought floated through her head as she sat on the beautiful marble bench.
As she always did when she was in the garden, she looked around her.
It was clearly evening, but the garden still looked serene.
White roses and calla lilies grew in various areas.
White stone paths led to other areas of the garden.
Fountains could be heard trickling in the background.
The garden always seemed as familiar as it was peaceful; it was how she
knew she was dreaming. Nothing in this serene existed on Earth.
She
wasn't a stranger to this dream garden. She
started seeing it in her dreams when she was ten years old and had seen it
regularly since. The garden wasn't in every dream she had, but it appeared in
all of her life changing dreams. It
was in this garden that she found the rosary and habit that helped her realize
the religious calling on her life. It
was in this garden that she saw the vision that led her to be in the church on
that fateful night. Given all of
that, the young girl focused her attention on the garden and its surroundings.
God was trying to tell her something.
As
she looked around the garden, her eyes stopped at the center of the courtyard in
which she sat. A beautiful light,
pure and peaceful, was shining in the center of the courtyard.
Amazingly, it wasn't hard on the eyes.
In fact, the soothing nature of the light gave the young dreamer hope.
She felt like she could look at the light for hours and enjoy her rest.
But
she wasn't given the opportunity. Soon,
birds of prey noticed the light as well. From
out of nowhere they became swooping down from the sky, trying to destroy the
light. A few of these birds seemed
to be determined, not so much to destroy the light, but to take it for
themselves.
"No!"
the girl heard herself shout as she rushed to try and shoo away the crows and
vultures. "No. Leave
this light alone. Go away!"
Yet,
for all of this shouting and shooing, the girl quickly weakened.
As she sank to the ground in front of the light, she heard a deep voice
say, "Protect the Light. Find
and protect the Light."
Suddenly
awake, the girl shot out of bed. Pushing
her dark black hair out of her face, she shivered.
What did that dream mean? What
was the light and how was she supposed to find it, much less protect it?
"Madre de Dios," the young girl whispered as if in prayer.
Sure at this point of not being able to get back to sleep, she climbed
out of her bed. Finding the last
gift her mother had given her, a rosary, the young girl decided to spend the
rest of the night in actual prayer. If
nothing else, this would give her a few moments of peace.
* *
* *
The
Flight of the Valkyries was the ring tone that came from the cellphone in
District Attorney Kerwin Lafitte's pocket.
The stocky man's eyes looked up and took a moment to look around his
office before he reached in and pulled out the device, and opened it.
"Lafitte speaking."
"Bad
Moon Rising."
It
was a password, and the blue steel-eyed man touched the scrambler button on his
custom-made phone. "You can speak freely, Chief Detective."
"Our
first Sailor Moon sighting might have just occurred, Mr. Lafitte.”
The DA's eyebrows lifted, but then he noticed the sour tone from the
police officer. "Some Shadow
scrum dropped a possessed UPS man in the middle of a residential section of our
town and he attacked a girl."
"The
girl survived the attack?" The
fifty-year-old man leaned forward in his chair.
To get the identification of Sailor Moon this early in the campaign
against the Sailor Scouts would be a stroke of luck.
"Yes,"
the sound of a notebook being flipped open could be heard, "a Mary Eve
Baker, age 15, called Molly by her friends, was found unconscious in the kitchen
of her parent's home along with a severely injured Donald Gibson, an UPS man,
who was also unconscious." The
man paused to wet his lips. "When
revived by the police officers answering the nine-eleven call, the dazed girl
told them she was attacked by Gibson, and her life was saved by a woman she
identified as Sailor Moon."
"What
is Gibson's condition?" The
concern in his soft voice wasn't for the attacker's health.
"He
is going to die on the operating table, even through the paramedics were able to
stabilize his vitals while in transit."
Lafitte
smiled at the chilly finality of the senior detective's tone.
"Are we sure it wasn't this Baker girl who defeated the possessed
man?"
"Yes,
Mr. Lafitte; there are several witnesses in fact."
Another pause, and noises of papers shuffling.
"Amber Terrance, a teenage student walking home from school, saw a
platinum-haired woman in a magical girl costume go crashing through the Baker's
front window." A third pause.
"And the woman who made the nine-eleven call, Phillis Ann Fraiser,
also saw a young woman with silvery hair and a gaudy costume running around in
the Baker's front yard."
"No
one saw her leave?" Lafitte looked up at his office door.
"The
officers found the back door open, so it is possible that Sailor Moon left that
way." There seemed to be a
note of satisfaction in the detective's voice.
"You
are glad she nailed Gibson, Mr. Folks?"
The gray-haired man couldn't help be amused by how the Chief of
Detectives' passion for police work would supplant his duties as a Master.
"Anyone
who cleans up the shit the Shadows do gets my vote of approval."
Certainty rang in the detective's words.
"Oh, we're not going to be able to make Baker disappear either; her
boyfriend is the son of two of my best officers."
"Does
she glow?" the man in the three-piece suit frowned.
"Like
a light bulb." There was a shrug in that voice.
"Are
the investigating detectives under our control?"
Something about the Chief of Detectives' attitude worried the DA.
"One
is the mother of Baker's boyfriend, and her partner is a by-the-book kind of
man."
The
man combed his hand through his graying hair.
"Are we one-hundred-percent certain that this is Sailor Moon and not
Sailor V?" This was probably the one and only time he hoped it was the
cursed blonde.
"A
police artist has done a composite picture of our rescuer, and her hairstyle is
different from Sailor V," there was a sound of a door opening, "and
Sailor V's MO is kill first, ask questions later."
There was a long pause before he added, "plus Gibson was exorcized,
freed from his possession."
Lafitte
didn't go pale at the news; how can you when you have expected this news to come
sooner or later. "So we have a new Sailor Scout, who might be Sailor
Moon."
"True,
Mr. Lafitte," Mr. Folks tone turned thoughtful, "we could be dealing
with another Sailor Scout trying to confuse us, like Sailor V did when she first
appeared in London."
"And
we won't know for sure until we have her corpse hanging on a cross," his
gray eyes were like marbles, "even though Sailor Moon is the only one who
can perform exorcism."
"Unless
this group of Sailor Scouts has a new wrinkle . . . " his words stopped as
another voice interrupted the detective. This
pause lasted longer before the detective started up again.
"I need to go now, Mr. DA, we've a new sighting of Sailor V in
Chi-town."
The
Master groaned and shook his head. "It
looks like the chickens are coming to roost."
He stared up the ceiling before adding, "just keep me up-to-date of
any new developments so we can present a detailed report at the next council
meeting."
"Will
do, sir."
* *
* *
A
young woman lay curled up on the bed of a room in an apartment in a cheap hotel
behind Dante's Inferno, one of several juice bars in Evanston that featured the
rock music scene. Her long hair
spread over her face, neck, her shoulders and most of her chest in an onyx
shroud, leaving only the ends spilling over her slowly raising and lowering
tanned breasts, her dark nipples peeking out.
Reclined next to her was an orange-haired man with a cigarette dangling
from his slack jaw; his expression showed a faraway look and he held a
twelve-string guitar against his chest, his hand slowly picking out a tune.
"She
is here."
The
man's soft brown eyes looked away from the guitar; it was the shadow hiding in
the darkness of the bathroom that he stared at.
"What happened?"
"She
freed a man possessed by one of our minions."
The voice had the quality of dried leaves crackle underfoot.
"How
can you be so certain?"
"Only
the Instrument of Peace has the power of exorcism."
Only if you looked hard enough could you see the empty darkness within
the empty room.
"Unless
the Sailor Scouts have evolved like they did on the Moon Kingdom and the other
sky kingdoms," he tossed the words out carelessly as his left hand drifted
down and gently combed back the hair out of the woman's face.
"It
is as she said it would be." The
voice seemed to show no reaction to the man's counterpoint.
The
young man nodded, his old eyes staring into the woman's onyx orbs; her gaze was
glazed over by what was in her blood, coursing through her brain.
"Correct."
"She
should be eliminated soon." The
gloom around the glow of the light bulbs sharpened as the presence move from the
bathroom. "She could be one of them." For the first time the voice showed an emotion:
hate.
"No."
Lazily his hand moved to the strings of his guitar; a couple of beautiful
notes filled the smoky air and the darkness suddenly shivered.
"She is our edge against the Masters," his fingertips called up
another enchanting chord and the shade dropped to the floor, "and if she is
indeed a Sailor Scout, then she could be our way of controlling them."
His other hand surrounded the neck, and the tenor of his next pluck
caused the woman next to him to coo in her drugged state. "Understand?"
The
harmonic sound had the desired effect; the creature of the hollow life crawled
back into the bathroom, its voice full of pain and fear.
"Understood, Nightwing."
The
man waited until the pitch black of the other room lost the smell of the Pit,
then he turned his attention back to the woman next to him, his hands once more
putting away the musical instrument, and gathering the woman into his embrace.
A soft giggle escaped her lips as she softly nuzzled his chest.
"Coyote...
Totem Spirit... guide..." her bottomless eyes closed, her breathing
slowed.
Moon Over Chicago
By Horosha
Chapter Two: The Bitter Fruit of Victory
Rated: R
Location:
Guerisser Residence
It
was not easy for Serena to get up the next morning.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the afternoon before play out in
her mind. She saw her new friend,
scared and tied up on the kitchen table. She
saw the twitching UPS man bleeding on the floor after she had hit him with a
frying pan. It was difficult for
the young girl to get through the rest of the night because she had no idea of
the condition of the possessed man. If
he died, it would be her fault.
Sleeping
was even harder, for when she slept, she saw different endings to her first
battle. Sometimes she was too late
and she saw her friend dying on the floor.
Other times, she didn't hear Luna giving instructions, and she ended up
killing the possessed attacker. Or,
she didn't get away in time and she was
shot by the police. That one had
her shaking for a few minutes after she woke up.
Given
her restless sleep, she was up early the next morning in a rather subdued mood.
She surprised the whole family by being awake early enough to actually
eat breakfast with the family before school.
And although her mother and father were clearly worried about her
behavior, neither pushed for information, for which Serena was grateful.
As
the teen left the house that morning to walk to school, she pulled out one of
her most treasured possessions, her grandmother's rosary.
Her grandmother had given Serena the pearl rosary, which she had received
at her confirmation, for Serena's first communion.
Ever since receiving it, Serena had treasured the pearl rosary, and had
often used it at times when she was really troubled, as she felt the presence of
the Virgin Mary as well as her beloved grandmother when she used it.
And
Serena was really troubled that morning.
Standing
in front her house, she kissed the cross that was her family heirloom, and began
the Apostle's Creed.
"I
believe in God, the Father Almighty."
A
lot of yesterday came down to a sense of disbelief.
Oh, she believed in God, but she hadn't believed in magical warriors in
sailor suits until she became one. She
really wanted to believe that all this Fallen stuff was some bad dream, until
she walked by the darkened house of the Bakers.
Molly's parents had rushed to the hospital after they had heard what had
happened to their daughter and they still hadn't returned home.
The quiet house with its shattered picture window marked by police tape,
as well as the kicked-in door, seemed to tell its own disturbing story.
She
remembered the police breaking down that door as she reverted back to her normal
self; she remembered watching them from her bedroom window as the sound of the
ambulance filled her eyes before she saw it, and she remembered as the polite
knock upon her front door once Molly was carried away by the men in white while
a second ambulance appeared for the UPS man.
She opened the door and faced the two police detectives, both in their
conservative suits and serious expression.
Once she let them in and all three were seated, it was then the questions
came, as she knew they would, but she couldn't stop herself from bursting into
tears, holding Luna tight in her embrace, as she told the police officers lies
after lies.
No,
she hadn't heard Molly's screams. She
had been in the bathroom, taking a shower.
No,
she hadn't seen anyone leave the Baker's home.
She had been in the bathroom, taking a shower.
No,
she hadn't known anything was wrong at Baker's home until she saw the police
arriving.
Forcing
herself to continue down the street toward her school, Serena reached the first
pearl bead in the rosary and started the Our Father phrase.
When she reached the phrase, "Who art in heaven," her heart
seemed to ache. Ever since Luna
first told her about her "calling," it had been anything but heaven.
She could still hear Luna telling her that the Fallen were looking for
her, killing anyone they thought might be the Instrument of Peace.
At
the end of the block, Serena had reached the second bead.
More desperate than before for comfort, she began to whisper the first of
three Hail Marys, "Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee."
Besides
being worried, the teen realized she also felt alone.
This other sailor that Luna mentioned aside, she was facing a slew of
monsters and evil with just a talking cat by her side.
She also couldn't talk to anyone about what she was
facing. Assuming the person
even believed her words, sharing this information would just put them in danger.
Wouldn't it? Would it be
worth risking it if she wasn't so alone?
By
this point, Serena had reached the school grounds, something she was only barely
conscious of. Although the air was
filled with the petty concerns and prattling conversation of high school
students, she didn't hear any of it, so focused was she on the second Hail Mary.
As
she uttered, "pray for us sinners," for the second time that morning,
the sensitive teen almost started to cry. She
had severely injured, possibly even killed a man, unnecessarily.
Thou shalt not kill was definitely a commandment, and she didn't think
about what possible options there were before she had bashed the possessed man
with a cast iron frying pan.
On
her third Hail Mary now, still searching for peace, she uttered the phrase
"now and in the hour of our death," and froze.
Death. She almost caused several deaths. As she closed her eyes, she was back in Molly's kitchen, with
Luna looking at her accusingly.
"Your
indecision almost got your friend killed, think about it."
The sound of the front door being kicked in echoed throughout the house.
"Now move!"
She
almost got Molly killed. Molly was attacked, and based on other things that Luna had
told her, this was just the beginning.
Someone
once told her that the hardest thing to do was to praise when you were in pain.
She didn't really understand what that meant until today. It was very hard to start the Glory Be in her frame of mind,
but she managed. She had gotten as
far as invoking the name of the Holy Spirit when she walked into an obstacle.
Blinking,
the teen looked up to see a familiar face that looked a little worried.
"Girl, I called you three times and you didn't seem to hear
me," the tall redhead said. "If
figured if I stepped in front of you, you'd at least see me."
"Oh!
I'm sorry, Lita," Serena said apologetically, "I really didn't
hear you."
"That's
okay. Obviously your head was
somewhere else," the taller teen replied.
For a second she looked at Serena as if to say something, and then
appeared to change her mind. "Hey,
look. Why don't we have lunch together again today?
I tried this new dish last night... and I could use some feedback on it.
So, up for it?"
"Oh-
oh, yeah, sure! I'll see you at lunch."
The blonde teen smiled a few seconds later than she should have, in her
friend's opinion. As they separated
to stop by their lockers, the taller girl decided that she would need to keep an
eye on her friend that morning. Something
was definitely up.
* *
* *
Location:
Room 222 Japanese Language Class
It
took most of Serena's willpower just to remember where her favorite class was,
and make it to her desk before her energy level took a nose dive, and she
flopped into her chair, her head seeking out the comfortable darkness of her
folded arms upon the top of her wooden desk.
"Ohayo,
Odango-kun."
It
took a minute for everything to click in Serena's gray matter, and her muffled
voice to say, "Ohayo, A..." She
stopped herself, remembering the class rules just in time, and lifted her head
to give Ami a tired smile. "Ohayo,
Idzumi-kun." The mushy feeling
in-between Serena's ears kept her baby blues locked on the big brass belt buckle
that held the four-layered black skirt her friend wore, tiny white outlines of
teddy bears and 'Skirts for Kids' printed on the fabric.
"You
don't look well, Odango-kun, do you worry about Molly-kun?" Ami's
expression seemed neutral; yet the way the three layers of chrome alum ruffles
hung from her long-sleeved black sweater, Serena could tell the goth girl was
leaning forward a little. Was Ami concerned?
Serena
gave Ami another feeble smile. "Hai...
Idzumi-kun." She wasn't
surprised a brain like Ami would know about Molly's situation; the attack was
all over the news. "Molly-kun
is my first friend and I haven't heard..."
Just
then Mr. Takei came into the schoolroom, which killed the buzz of talk in the
room and sent the students to their desks and chairs.
What caught everyone's attention, including Serena's sleep weak eyes,
which caused her to jerk her body ram-rod straight, was the earthy young lady
following the teacher into the classroom. It
was the one she saw at the school meeting, standing on the podium with the
teachers and the principals. She
tried to remember the name; it was on the tip of her tongue, but lack of sleep
made her forgetful.
"Miss
Guerisser."
The
blonde immediately focused on the Japanese teacher.
"Hai?"
The
black-haired man motioned to the lady with the turquoise hair band that pulled
her raven hair back over her small ears; the lady's eyes were shielded by an
expensive pair of mother-of-pearl sunglasses.
"This is one of our school counselors, Miss Wynona Tempus."
Even
in her sleepy state Serena was able to stand.
"Konnichi..." she caught herself when she saw the puzzled look
on those beautiful features. "Good
morning."
Wynona
smiled, showing her even teeth. "Morning,
Miss Guerisser." There was an
unusual accent to her words. "The
vice-principal has asked me to discuss with you about how you feel about what
happened to Miss Baker."
The
young body under her clothes tensed, but she nodded.
"All right, ma'am." She
picked up her book bag while the taller woman moved toward the door.
"Don't
worry, Serena, I'll give you a copy of my notes when we meet in biology
class." The blonde blinked
when she heard Ami's offer; she smiled at the ivory girl before she moved to
join the tanned woman at the door.
Serena
was rummaging through her memories as she followed the Native American down the
hallway; her wandering gaze finally got her to notice how every inch of the
young woman's body was covered by long-sleeved, reddish brown blouse, matching
slacks and heelless brown shoes. They
entered the school's office; a busy place with secretaries and other school
counselors moving about, and the two went into Wynona's office, where the tanned
lady picked up the folder that had the teenager's name on it.
"I
wear gloves because I have a skin condition."
Serena didn't realize her baby blues were staring straight at the taller
woman's hands, now noticing the brown leather gloves on those long-fingered
hands.
"Oops!
Sorry about that," she put her backpack on the floor next to the
chair she sat down on. "I
didn't mean to stare."
"It's
all right. I get that a lot since
I've moved off the reservation." Wynona
sat down behind her desk, and opened the folder; her eyes scanned the contents
before she looked up. Her
expression is polite. "I want
to let you know that Miss Baker will be released from the hospital late this
afternoon."
A
wave of relief wiped the tired depression from Serena's mind.
"Thank God."
Wynona
returned the nod. "The hospital called here to inform us of the condition
of Miss Baker, one of our students." She
crossed her arms. "Which leads
me to my first question, Miss Guerisser..."
"Please,
Miss Tempus, could you call me Serena?" the blonde knew she was taking a
risk. "I've never been one for formal conversations."
"Only
if you call me Wynona," another polite smile from the young lady.
"Now tell me, Serena, how do you feel about your classmate being
attacked?"
The
shift in gears put an icicle into the blonde's soul.
"Yes, Wynona," she sat more upright in the chair.
"Well... really badly, because Molly lives next door to me, yet I
didn't hear her screams because I was in the shower."
Got to keep my story straight.
"You
slept well last night?"
"Awful,
actually; I couldn't forget the sight of Molly being taken out on the
stretcher."
"Did
you have any dreams?"
"Yes..."
Now she was in a pickle, and the teen bit her lower lip.
Could she lie to this lady and make it believable?
"I was at Molly's grave... putting flowers on her grave... feeling
hollow inside."
"I
see." Serena's nervousness
didn't go away; the sunglasses perched on Wynona's nose stopped her from telling
if her fib was accepted or not. "Did
you feel glad it was Molly's home instead of your home that the attacker
entered?"
"NO!"
The odango girl was already halfway out of the chair before her hands
clenched the armrests, stopping her cold. Wynona's
reaction to Serena's outburst was to give the student a mild look, making the
blonde feel even more guilty. "Sorry...
ma'am... Wynona," she lowered herself back into the chair.
"That
is all right, Serena." She
gave a slight nod. "These
questions are meant to get a reaction from you, so I can learn if you need help,
and what kind," her eyes glanced down at the folder on her desk.
"For example, I'm sure that your immersion into a formal education
system has been a major cause of stress in you."
"Huh?"
A
couple of blinks from the blonde caused the raven-haired woman to broaden her
smile. "I mean that going to
school with other students must be a downer at times."
"Oh,
that," Serena relaxed once more. "It's
new, yes, but being around others my age is a blast."
She gave an eager nod, "and I've been in much more crowded places
that this before."
"Like
Calcutta?"
"Oh,
yeah!" She leaned to one side,
her usual bright smile firmly in place, "and Bombay, and Beijing, and Hong
Kong, before my parents took me and by brother up into the Yukon
Territory."
"It
must have been dangerous to live in those places?"
"Well,
any place is dangerous if you don't understand the rules of survival."
"And
you do?"
"Yep!"
Serena counted off on her fingers. "One:
don't talk to strangers. Two:
never walk by yourself, always walk with your friends or parents.
Three: be sure of your
surroundings. Four:
be sure of what you are eating. Five:
show respect to other people's culture and traditions."
"You
seem wise for your age, Serena."
Sarcasm?
Praise? It was so bloody
hard for Serena to tell because of those dark lenses shielding her councilor's
eyes. "Me?
Wise?" A bark of
laughter came from the teen. "Nah!
Just my parents making sure their daughter knew how to handle herself
when they were busy with their work."
She decides some humble pie was called for.
"Besides my parents always made sure me and my brother had a nanny
when we were in a big city."
"Did
you help your parents with their projects?"
"Yeah,
once I got older, but later I helped take care of my brother, Samuel."
"Did
you resent taking care of your younger sibling?"
"Nope,
I enjoyed taking care of Sammy," her tender smile quickly changed to a
pout. "He only later became a
royal pain in the you-know-what."
"I
see," the raven-haired girl closed the folder before she held out a hall
pass to the blonde. "I think that is all for now, Serena."
Serena
blinks. Is that all the questions?
She had been expecting a grilling similar to the one the police had given
her. "Eh... okay."
Standing up, she took the offered slip of paper.
A
loud caw came from the blinder-covered window, and caused Serena to fumble the
slip of paper. "Ack!"
"Buffalo
Pea," there was a frown upon Wynona's lips as she went to the window.
"Bad bird," she pulled the blinder up, "you scared
Serena."
"A
raven?" Serena had seen plenty
of ravens and crows in her life, and more since arriving here at Evanston; it
was just that she hadn't noticed the window behind the blinders was open.
Then came a flutter of black feathers, and another raven, slightly
smaller than the first raven, landed on the ledge.
"Two ravens?"
"Oh,
I see you brought your girlfriend with you."
The gentle stroke of the big raven's chest showed no fear before she
turned to the curious blonde. "Serena,
this is my pet, Buffalo Pea, and his mate, Moon Glow."
Serena
can't think of anything more than to give the two black birds a little wave.
"Hi, there."
Buffalo
Pea cawed again, while Moon Glow flew between Wynona and Serena to land on a
wooden pole that Serena had originally assumed was a coat rack.
The blonde took a step toward the small raven, who was now taking what
looked like jerky from a small bowl. She
wasn't looking at the bird; her eyes were locked on the intricate images she
saw: doves, apples, lambs, and a face?
"Caw!"
"Ah!"
Serena's hands went up to protect her face from the claws and beating
wings of Buffalo Pea as the bird flew into her face.
"Buffalo
Pea!"
At
once the raven broke off its attack, to land on the bird perch next to its mate;
the creature's beady eyes stared at Serena, as it continued cawing at the
blonde; the warning was quite clear to her.
The teen looked at her hands and forearms, sighing at seeing the
scratches on them.
"I'm
sorry, Serena, Buffalo Pea is protective of his mate."
Wynona gave the indignant raven a cool glare.
Serena
smiles politely. "It's all right, Wynona; with the amount of time I've had
around wild animals I should know better."
She flipped open a compact she took out of her backpack, and was relieved
to see from her reflection on the lid's mirror that her face was untouched.
There
was a dismayed look on Wynona's lips. "I've
had the two ravens since I was a child," her hand gently ruffled the male
raven's breast feathers, "and growing up on the reservation has left me a
little jaded when it comes to how others react to them."
"Because
the raven is a sacred bird." The
blonde still couldn't read the raven-haired girl's eyes, but the language spoke
volumes. "North America isn't
the only place where they are so honored."
A
slight nod came from Wynona. "Indeed." She
then picked up the slip of paper Serena dropped and gave it to the teen once
more. "Just remember that I'm
here to answer your questions and offer advice." Wynona stood up and held out her hand. "I want you to feel I'm someone you can trust."
"I
will, Wynona." The young girl left the counselor, but as she walked down the
hallway, going back to her Japanese class, she was still seeing the images of
the carved pole, and the face up near the crossbeam that was used as the perch.
The face didn't look like Serena's,
although it did look European; and yet there were the twin hair buns
above the face, and the way the two ponytails flowed from them, twisting around
and becoming the pole itself, with the animals resting in the locks.
* * * *
Third Period:
Room 322, Biology Class
The
bell for the next class rang as Serena entered the Japanese class, so she didn't
get much chance to say anything to Ami except to say thanks and head for her
English class. The English teacher
gave her a list of books to select from for her first book report, as well as
give her a list of words to look up and memorize for Friday's test.
At
entering her Biology Class, the blonde raised her hand to give Ami a wave, but
the gesture lost all of its heart at the sight of the empty seat next to Melvin.
She knew Molly was safe; she knew her friend was alive, but it looked so
wrong not to find the redhead sitting next to her boyfriend.
"Hi,
Serena." Serena blinked at the
goofy grin on Melvin's face, and he held out his cellphone to the blonde,
motioning for her to take it.
Serena
took the phone, looked at the tiny screen and burst out laughing; and she
laughed and laughed and laughed, tears of joy trickling down her rosy cheeks as
she struggled to her seat to plop down, her hand still holding the tiny machine.
Already seated next to the tickled-pink blonde, Ami's owlish expression
had a sapphire sparkle in her bottomless eyes.
It was a normal reaction that even got to Andrew when he came from his
desk to investigate the disruption after the school chimes went off; he chuckled
as he read the words on the screen while bending over Serena's shoulder.
The
words? Simple:
MOLLY:
GO GET THEM, TIGER!!!
It
felt so good to laugh, for Serena; to feel her anguish spill from her eyes and
hear the sounds of cheer around her; she was even able to let out an "aww,"
when Andrew spoke.
"Now,
class, time for me to teach and for you to learn."
"Here
you go, Melvin." Serena gave
the phone back to the brown-haired teenager, "and thanks a lot." She then gave the boy a puzzled look. "But why the message from Molly? Didn't you see her this morning?"
"When
I got there, Molly was still sedated in a deep sleep," Melvin took the
cellphone from Serena, "and they wouldn't let me see her because
I'm not a family member."
An
icy finger once more ran down Serena's spine.
What if the Fallen were trying to pump Molly of what she knew of Sailor
Moon, or trying to brainwash her? But
then, she remembered the message. "So
this is Molly's way of letting you know she's doing fine."
Melvin
nodded and turned his attention back to the front of the class, as did everyone
else, focused on Andrew as he began his lecture.
For the first time since the combat, Serena felt better about what she
did, but as she listened to her teacher and wrote down her notes, she would occasionally
glance over at Ami. She couldn't
help but be attracted to the blatant way the super genius held herself apart
from the rest of the student body.
Then there was the laptop that Ami had with her, a Sony, and the way her
pale hands moved over the keyboard at an incredible speed.
Serena had seen office personnel do the same thing, but only a few could
match Ami's speed or skill; not one word on the bright screen was misspelled.
The
class bell chimed and Serena began to put her notes away when Ami spoke up.
"Here is a copy of my notes from our Japanese language class."
The blonde looked up to find the goth girl holding out a CD case to her.
"Thanks,
Ami." Serena took the CD.
"I hope I can return the favor to you soon."
"But
there is something else you want to ask me, isn't there?"
A blank look appeared on the odango girl's face.
"At least that is what your tone told me."
"Oh,
yeah!" Serena giggled softly
as she stood up. "I didn't
know I was being so obvious about my curiosity about you, Ami."
"Why
don't you ask Melvin?" Ami
looked over her shoulder at Melvin. "I'm
sure he has most of the answers." Her
gaze got the bespectacled teen to make tracks to the door.
"No-
no," Serena waved her hands in mock surrender as she was reminded of what
happened to Melvin's science project. "It
isn't anything I really need to know."
She picked up her backpack and walked with Ami toward the door.
"You
can ask, Serena." Ami's words
caused the blonde some surprise. "I
really don't have anything to hide."
"Really?"
The sound of Ami's black army boots matched her nod.
"My questions could be too personal."
"Like
the reason why I'm so pale, yet don't have pink eyes like an albino."
The blonde's jaw dropped open. "No,
it's not mind reading, either." An
air of superiority crept into the goth girl's words.
"Just deductive reasoning."
"Oh."
Serena couldn't tell if she was relieved or disappointed; instead, she
asked, "so the answer is?"
"I
suffer from a genetic defect similar to vitiligo."
The blonde couldn't help but notice how the students gave them a wide
berth; well, as much as a crowded hallway could allow.
"I have no skin pigmentation, which also means I need to be fully
clothed whenever I go outside to prevent severe sunburn."
They reached Ami's locker first. "But
unlike albinism I don't have white hair or pink eyes, although I do need to wear
sunglasses when outside."
"Eh..."
Serena's tone showed some concern, "doesn't it get hot wearing all these
clothes during the summer?"
"I'm
used to it, Serena," Ami opened her locker, and retrieved her lunch bucket.
"Just as I'm used to students avoiding me like I've got AIDS."
"I
don't." Serena put on her
patient smile. "I think you're
the cat's meow, Ami."
Ami's
head moved slightly forward to stare deeply into the pair of baby blues, her
soft words reaching her classmate. "I
hope you say the same thing on Christmas Eve."
Was that hope or pessimism, belief or deduction?
Serena couldn't tell what was in those lake blue eyes.
The clang of the locker and her vision was cloaked by a braid of raven
hair, which caused the blonde to blink, snapping the blonde out of her musing.
"I will see you in PE, Serena."
Serena
opened her mouth, wanting to say something to Ami, something witty or
insightful, even to the back of the leaving girl, but a new voice spoke before
she could. "Yo, Serena!"
"Hi,
Lita." The aftereffects of
Ami's last words showed on Serena's face.
"Whoa,
GF." Coming up, Lita had seen
the tail end of the previous discussion. "Did
the school genius smack you down?"
"Sort
of." Serena gave one more
glance in the direction the goth girl had gone.
"Well, let me get my lunch and we can find a place to eat."
"Yeah,
hopefully we won't have to play dodge ball at the same time," Lita gave
Serena a wink as she followed the blonde. The
giggle coming from Serena lightened the mood.
"Now that sounds more like the spark plug I met yesterday."
"Thanks,"
Serena smiled before she sighed. "It's
just one of those days." They
reached her locker. "What with
Molly being attacked yesterday and the police asking me questions," she
opened the lock, "I've been in and out of the dumpster all day."
"I
noticed." Lita held her lunch
bucket with both hands in front of her.
Serena
pulled open her nodded. "Sorry about that, Lita; heaven on my mind sort of
thing." She took her lunch
bucket out before facing her friend. "So
where do we eat?"
"Follow
me, GF." Lita led her friend to the stairs, and they began to go up.
"We're
eating in one of the classrooms?" Serena
didn't sound thrilled with the idea; three walls and windows... she was getting
enough of that before and after lunch.
"Nope."
Lita pointed up with her right forefinger. "Higher."
"Oh."
Serena's eyes perked up. Up,
up, up... and then a single door, which Lita opened to the main building roof.
"Cool!"
"You
like?" Lita grinned; the gravel of the flat roof crunched under their feet.
"Just
like in an anime!" Serena was almost hopping as she noticed the edge of the
roof was lined with a twenty-foot storm fence.
"I
thought you might like it." Lita
sat at one of the several sets of steel tables and matching chairs.
"Although you can't move the tables or chairs."
Serena
saw what Lita meant: iron rings around the table legs, and the chair legs, held
them firmly to flat blocks of concrete. "No
lie." She planted herself next
to the redhead. "Andre the
Giant you have to be to lift one of those."
"Andre
the Giant?" Lita opened her lunch bucket.
"Who?"
"You
mustn't be a wrestling..." Serena interrupted herself as her nose picked up
an aroma. "Aw... is that what I think it is?"
"Yep!"
Out of Lita's lunch bucket came silverware, her thermos, and three
containers of various sizes. "New
Orleans sausage gumbo, hot spiced cider, shrimp salad, and rum drizzled angel
food cake." If this had been
an anime show, drool would have been dripping from Serena's mouth while she held
her silverware at attacking position. "What
about your lunch?"
Serena
blinked, and then giggled. "Nothing
as fancy as yours, Lita." The
odango blonde opened her own lunch bucket.
"Just a tuna fish sandwich, apple slices, and a thermos of
milk."
"All
donations to our meal are appreciated."
Lita's emerald eyes glittered with amusement as she watched Serena pull
out her containers from her lunch bucket, but then the redhead turned serious. "You can come out of hiding and join us," her voice
was loud, "we are just two defenseless girls."
"Eh?"
At a twisting of her neck, Serena spotted a boy wearing thick glasses
coming out from behind the roof entrance. "Melvin?"
"Sorry,
Serena, I didn't mean to eavesdrop," Melvin edged slowly toward the door.
"I came up here because the wireless reception here is the
best." He held up his laptop.
"That's
all right, Melvin." Serena
eagerly opened the containers for both her and Lita.
"Join us, there's plenty for all."
"I've
already eaten, but I don't mind watching," Melvin stopped going for the
door. "If you don't mind."
"More
the merrier." From Lita's tone Serena could tell her friend was carefully
studying Melvin. "I'm Alithea
Woods, but everyone calls me Lita." The
thoughtful look deepened at the change of the boy's expression.
"You've heard of me?"
"He
has." Serena took the sandwich
out of its container and poured half the gumbo in it.
"Melvin is the Curious George of the high school," she nodded
at the young man. "Him and his
computer."
Lita
took up a spoon and took a bite of the gumbo.
"Are you the reason why Serena knew about my background?"
Melvin
laughed nervously as he sat down. "Yeah,
sorry about that." He
scratched the back of his head. "I
told my girlfriend and she told Serena. I
don't blab what I know to everyone," he placed his laptop on the table,
"but I do answer questions when I think it's appropriate."
"Why
do you... need better reception... privacy to go on the net?"
With
eyebrows up, Melvin was caught off-guard by Serena's question; the blonde was
shoving the food into her mouth. He
looked at both girls, clearing thinking before he opened his laptop and turned
it on. "I'm trying to see if
there is a connection between the attack on Molly and the murder of Jennifer
Morrison."
Chalk
had more color than Serena's face, and Lita's reaction was clearly negative; her
right hand flashed out and rapped her knuckles on the top of Melvin's head.
"Tactless aren't you, Einstein," her words growled out.
"You just couldn't delay until after we ate to drop that bomb."
Despite her tone, the redhead took a big bite of her share of a tuna
sandwich.
It
took supreme effort for Serena to continue eating, saying, "tell us."
Melvin
gave Lita a look, to which the tall teen rewarded with a slight nod.
"Well, Serena, since you are a newcomer to Evanston," he plugged
in a laser mouse, "you don't know about the string of unsolved murders of
young teenage girls in and around the suburbs of Chicago." Serena fought to keep her eyes from showing her knowledge,
trying to keep Melvin and Lita from realizing she knew about the murders,
allowing only her pallid face to hide
that fact; her hands kept busy putting food in her mouth.
The brown-haired boy accepted the petite girl's silence as agreement.
"So I was using my laptop to access police files at the Evanston
Police Department, as well as those at other police departments, whose
jurisdiction covered those other murders."
A
disgruntled noise came from Lita. "So
what, a couple of white girls get killed and everyone gets on the police'
backs." She took a big gulp of milk, "but when sisters from my
hood get killed, it's just another bunch of ghetto bunnies gettin' offed by
their own."
"Although
those numbers are going down since Sailor V showed up."
The sound of Melvin's typing punctuated his words.
"In fact, your neighborhood
seems to be in the middle of her activities."
Two
green eyes narrowed, and Melvin seemed to cringe, but Lita went back to eating.
"I've seen her."
Serena's
black mood vanished and Melvin's typing stopped.
"You have?" Serena's full mouth slurred the words.
Lita
shrugged and popped an apple slice in her mouth.
"She's just some blonde saltine wearing a trashy outfit that would
give any man over the age of ten a moose in his pants."
Serena almost choked on her own food and Melvin blushed.
"And I would've kicked those bangers' butts without her jumping
in."
"Sailor
V rescued you..." The image of
Sailor Moon in her head caused Serena's cheeksto go all rosy, making her wonder
if the uniform was adjustable, but then an idea popped into her head.
"Melvin, is that why you knew about Lita, because she was rescued by
Sailor V?"
"I
wasn't rescued," Lita complained as she picked up the cyan cup that had the
milk in it.
Melvin
shook her head. "Actually I
was checking out the deaths of Alithea's parents..."
Too late, the boy tried to stop himself, but both
of them could see the pain flash in the tall girl's expression.
"Go
on, four eyes." A soul in pain, that was what Serena heard in Lita's voice.
"What about my parents?"
Sweat
glistened on Melvin's forehead. "Um...
you see my parents are police officers and... they are concerned about police
competence." Serena couldn't
miss the brown-haired youth's nervous glances at the ginger-haired girl. "The detectives assigned to some murder cases... eh...
they don't have a great closed case percentage."
There
was a sound of plastic breaking. Serena's
eyes went wide as they locked on Lita's right hand; the scattered remains of one
of the plastic cap cups were there. "Lita!
Your hand!"
"Fuck..."
Lita looked at her hand, turning it over, staring.
"Sorry, GF..." Milk
was all over the table, and Melvin, panicky, lifted his laptop off of it.
"Get you a new cup for your thermos."
"Forget
the cup!" Serena was out of her seat, taking Lita's hand, opening it
carefully, gently picking out the plastic.
"Thank God, just a slight cut on your lifeline."
She smiled gently at her tall friend.
"You should go see the nurse."
Lita
grinned. "For a scratch like
this?" Serena could still see
sadness in the corner's of those emerald eyes.
"I'll get a bandage when we go to Home Eco."
"All
right," Serena replied after giving Lita a hard look, and she let go of the
redhead's hand, "but I get to put the bandage on, okay?"
Lita
nodded before she turned her eyes back to Melvin.
"What about the guy that attacked your girl, Melvin?"
Her green eyes flashed. "He
could be a serial killer like that guy who killed and ate those boys."
"We
might never know for sure." The
brown-haired teen frowned while helping Serena clean up the split milk.
"He died on the operating table."
Died?
Died.
"GF?"
The
ground felt like it was missing under Serena's feet, like nothing was there.
Her stomach felt overstuffed, she could feel it in her throat, wanting to
get out of her mouth; and she turned away from Lita and Melvin, barely able to
make it to the garbage can, grasping the cement holding and plunging her head
down as she opened her mouth. Her
stomach heaved, the acid taste of the food shoot out of her mouth, the smell of
it in her nose; and a hand was on her back, gently rubbing between her shoulder
blades.
"It's
all right, Serena," the voice was Lita's, soothing.
"I didn't know you were so sensitive about such things like
that." The hand was rubbing in a circular motion between the
blonde's shoulder blades. "I
won't make that mistake again."
The
man was dead. He died because
Sailor Moon hit him too hard. She had killed someone, murdered someone; and she was
responsible for his death. She had
sinned against God. She didn't want
help, didn't want anyone telling her it was all right.
She was a murderer. Dry
heaves were hitting her system, noises coming from her as her body kept trying
to cleanse her soul.
"Serena?"
"I...
I better clean up..." the face that looked at Lita was bone white.
"See you... next class..."
Serena grabbed her backpack and fled
from the rooftop, running down the stairs, ears ringing with her friend's shouts
but she didn't look back. It was as
if the hounds of Hell were dogging her heels.
Fourth Period:
Room 344, Home Economics
Serena
politely asked the Home Economics teacher if she could just sit out in the hall.
The teacher could see how green around the gills the blonde was and asked
if she was ill. The teen nodded,
said she lost her lunch. The
teacher nodded, and let Serena sit outside on a bench; the adult suggesting the
teen should go to the nurse's office. Lita
was the last student to get into class, and she smiled at Serena, placing her
friend's lunch box next to the blonde, but not saying anything. Serena glanced up, nodded her thanks; but she kept her eyes
firmly on the floor. Once her tall
friend was inside and the hallway became empty, the teen slipped her cross and
prayer beads out of her shirt and her lips begin to move as counted the dark
brown beads. It was worse than
before; Serena struggled with each phrase, the sound of her own voice; how hollow,
how much the words taste like ashes. It
wasn't that she didn't believe the words anymore, or that her love for Christ
was any lesser than before; it was just
she felt unworthy of the love given to her by God through Jesus.
She had sinned, taken a life that couldn't be given back.
"Thou
shalt not kill."
Serena
jumped at the words before she realized it was her own voice.
"Chill
out, GF." It was Lita that Serena's baby blues saw, and she blinked,
now noticing that the hallway is full of students heading for their
next class; one hand of the amber teen was reaching out to her friend. "Do you want to go to the nurse's office?"
A
shake of her blonde head was Serena's reply, and she let her worry beads to slip
back down her top as she stood. "No." Her own footfalls mixed with the sounds of other feet moving,
with Lita just a few steps behind her.
Fifth Period:
Gym
The
shrill sound of a whistle broke the chatter of the girls gathered on the floor.
"Ladies!"
The
voices of the teenagers disappeared, although one of them hadn't been chatting:
Serena. For her, gym was
turning out to be worse than Home Economics.
There was a coldness to Ami's aloof attitude.
The pale girl's onyx orbs were empty of emotion whenever the blonde's own
gaze turned to her. The goth girl
seemed to be even more of a loner in the crowd of teenage females.
Another straw to break Serena's back, and another guilt for her to bear.
She could also feel Lita's physical presence sticking close to her like
iron slivers to a magnet, yet even that attempt at protective comfort kept
reminding the odango girl what she had done to her friend's food.
"Today
will be Volleyball, so I'll pick the captains for the teams, and let them decide
the teams." Two arms went up with hands waving
"Jolly
good!" The crimson bow in
Mina's flaxen hair bounced with the enthusiasm of its wearer as she joined the
teacher, turning and giving her classmates a winning smile and flashing the sign
of victory.
Mrs.
MacClean frowned at Mina before she called out the other captains, which
included Lita. Serena could see her
tall friend stiffen at the calling of her name, clearly showing her resistance
to leaving her friend's side, but the smaller girl wasn't going to add the tall
girl's hot anger to her misery. "Go
on, Lita, I'll be fine."
Lita
gave Serena a hard look; the emotions those emerald gems communicated to those
sapphire gems let both owners know that one
"I'll
let you serve first." Mina
flipped the ball underhanded to Lita with ease.
"That way you have a fighting chance."
"Why,
thank you, Lady Blue Eyes." Lita
caught the ball and spun it on one finger.
"I'm sure you are going to regret it."
Most
there didn't notice the two boys playing basketball in one of the corner
baskets, and those who did were perplexed by as to why Kineta let them.
It was clear the P. E. Teacher saw them, but she just ignored them.
It
was another student of Lita's team that fired off the first serve, the setup of
the return shot was a little sloppy, requiring another setup, but then Mina came
in for the spike. The ribbon-haired teen must have had iron springs for legs,
with the height she reached; it put her head above the plane of the net; even in
her distraught state Serena saw it.
"SERENA!"
The angle Mina took to spike the ball- Lita saw where it was going, and
she saw how wooden Serena stood. The
redhead took a few steps before launching herself sideways, and she reached out
as far as she could with one hand. Serena
heard her name, saw the grin on Mina's face; saw black diamonds hollowed by
white filling her vision for a few seconds, before her whole face felt the sting
of pain and the impact knocked her off her feet.
"Serena!"
"Christ!
Her nose is like a fire hose!"
"You
fucking beotch! You didn't need to hit it that hard!"
"Don't
blow your head! How did I know she was going to stop it with her face!"
"Didn't
you notice how messed up Serena was?"
"I
just thought she was one of those dope babies you Americans keep popping
out."
"Your
saltine ass is grass, Blue Eyes!"
"You
and what legion, Red!"
Voices?
Whistle?
"Girls!
Break it up! Make
room!"
Serena
could feel someone's knees now holding her head off the hardwood floor; felt
something being stuffed up her nose; but her vision was still a jumble of images
caused by the ringing in her head.
"She
needs to get to the nurse's office! Now!"
"I
can carry her!"
A
new voice. From someone Serena
hadn't heard before.
"I
can do it!"
"No,
Alithea, Alex is a professional athlete and has more endurance."
"But..."
"No
buts! Guerisser could be suffering
from concussion!"
Serena
felt two set of hands lifting her up, draping her on someone's back, feeling two
slender arms wrap around her hips, strong fingers lacing together so her behind
rested on them. "Grip my neck," the new voice said, and the blonde
complied. The blonde wrinkled and
squeezed her eyes, trying to get her eyes to work right; she could feel the
person she was on turn and begin to run, but it wasn't the heavy tread of a man
or jerking of impact that someone should have when carrying someone.
Instead the motion was fluid under Serena; she could feel her
Hair?
Why
wasn't Serena feeling the hair of her carrier against her own face?
She wished her vision would clear, her arms could tell the neck was slim,
and the shoulders were supple, but there were muscles in there, too.
The
hot summer air flowed over Serena's body as they left the gym, and headed for
the building containing the nurse's office; but the bright light caused the
odango girl to groan, and her vision started to fade.
"Stay
awake, Serena!"
Lita's
voice? Yes, it was, breathy, like
she was running next to Serena and whoever was carrying her.
Serena forced her eyes to stay open, tried to get her brain to stay
working. Alex?
Could that be Alex Kennedy, the one Molly had been talking about?
That would be nice, what she could feel of the body she was nice, strong,
but not over muscled. She hated those pictures that showed men to be nothing but
rippling masses of muscles, biceps and tendons; they looked so ugly.
Air
cooled suddenly; sunlight was replaced with soft light, and footfalls echoed.
Were they inside a building? Probably.
Then a door opened and a shout caused Serena's head to ache.
"Nurse!"
"What's
wrong?" A new voice; older, feminine, and alert, but not panicking.
"Our
friend here got hit in the face by a volleyball."
Lita's voice, Serena was sure of it.
"Her nose just flowed with blood, and her eyes are glassy."
Glassy?
Maybe that explained why they didn't work right.
"Put
her on the bed," the calm voice replied.
Serena could feel once more two pairs of hands lift her from her carrier
and gently lay her on the bed, one set gently smoothing her hair from her face.
She could see shadows in her gaze of various shades of gray.
"Her nose is broken," the voice informed the group.
"We
should call an ambulance." Ami?
Was Ami here?
"No,
I can fix her nose here." The
noise of a cabinet being opened, things being taken out.
"I'm certified for such things."
Someone
spread the eyelids of Serena's right eye before a blinding light filled it.
The odango girl hissed in pain. "Please...
hurts." Her
A
collective sigh could be heard by Serena, and someone said, "well, since
your cute friend seems to be still thinking, I need to head back and finish
practicing with my brother, Gilbert."
"Thanks
for your help, Alex, I didn't mean to sound so protective."
Serena picked up an apologetic tone before she let out another hiss of
pain as the glaring light did the same thing to her left eye.
"No
skin off my nose, Alithea." Hearing
Lita groan dramatically at the pun did make Serena feel a little better
despite the dull ache; then her
nose was cleaned by something damp, the top of the bridge pressed by something
stiff, and layered by tape that spread onto the edges of her cheeks.
"Maybe
we can play a few hoops together; I was impressed you kept up with me despite
the pretty package I was carrying." It
sounded to Serena like this Alex guy was flirting with Lita.
"Maybe
we will, and I'd rather be called Lita if you don't mind."
A little hint of competitive fire was in the redhead's words.
"Lita
it is then," good humor was in Alex's words as a door was opened.
"See you later." The
door closed.
"There,
there, young lady." Serena
focused on the nurse's voice. "Your
nose should be fine as long as you don't bump it against anything."
Color was back in her vision, although the images were still blurred; the
nurse was a mess of white, pink and brown.
"And you only have mild concussion, so I'm going to give you a note
to excuse you from P. E. for the rest of the week."
"Ah,
ha..." Serena sounded like she
had gone a several rounds with Mohammed Ali, and by crossing her eyes she could
see her bandaged nose. "Sorry for being a bother, Miss..?"
"Bellamorte,
Melissa T. Bellamorte." Her
voice was polite as she pulled a sheet and blanket to Serena's neck.
"Now rest here while I talk to your friends and see if they can tell
your sixth period teacher that you are going to miss the class." Serena heard the rustling of sheets and
Serena
blinked several times; her vision cleared, and she could make out the nurse's
features better; indeed, she was a young woman with platinum blonde hair,
delicate bone-structured face, and pale amber eyes.
"Oh, okay." Suddenly
the odango blonde hated the way she sounded, muffled and weak.
Wasn't she supposed to be a hero? Yet,
here she was in bed in the nurse's office, her nose pancaked by a volleyball.
"I'll
be back momentarily; I need to go to my desk, and call your parents to let them
know what happened," Melissa's white teeth shone in the soft light.
"Would you like me to ask them to pick you up?"
"No,
I can make it home." Again
that weak, muffled voice; it grated on Serena's nerves.
"All
right," Melissa turned and left the bedside, and after a moment Serena
could pick up the sound of a click; she guessed that the nurse had gone into her
private office to call Serena's parents.
It
took mere seconds for Serena's self-loathing to magnify by what had happened.
She was supposed to be Sailor Moon, a hero, yet she allowed her own
emotions to leave her weak and indecisive, costing the life of one to save the
life of another. Luna had to be
wrong, she couldn't
A
soft sob left Serena's lips, and she pulled herself out of the bed, the white
sheet falling away from her body as she stood, feeling lightheaded for a moment
as she stumbled through the divider into the office, trying to get her eyes to
focus properly, feeling the tears upon her cheeks but not sure if it was because
her eyes hurt or because her soul hurt. It
was an uncontrollable feeling of hopelessness that ate away at the blonde's
fragile being. Was this how the
condemned felt like, the loss of hope, of love, of forgiveness?
She sensed her hands opening doors, her feet moving, running.
Was she running away, fleeing from what took away her grace, or was she
running to find a way back? Back to
where?
The
garden. Yes.
The peace, the joy and the warmth. The
fields of rolling grasses, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil standing
Sun,
hot. Serena's chest was heaving,
her lungs burned for need of oxygen, her tendons threatening to knot and knot
again. She can't breathe through
her nose. Why?
Oh, her nose was broken. Her
green sweats were soaked with sweat and her long hair tails were sticking.
Sweats? Serena noticed she
was still wearing her gym clothes, with the school name decorated with drops of
her blood. Finally catching her
breath, she found herself almost straddling a steel guardrail, and before her was
a gray granite staircase, the measured steps leading up a small hill; upon its
crest was a church. The style was
clearly Neo-Gothic, done on a small scale.
The spires and bell towers stretched to the sky, the oval and oblong
windows filled with stained glass. A
large door was set in deep, inside of a stone entrance, layered by arches.
The
Church of Mary Magdalene was the title, found on the large wooden plaque hanging
from the hooked signpost. Was someone trying to help her?
A year ago she would have passed this off as just the randomness of life,
but after meeting Luna and all the talk of destiny and Sailor Moon, she wasn't
sure anymore where predetermination ended and freewill began; yet her curiosity
was roused out of the windstorm of emotions that were making a prisoner of her
being.
It
was cool in the shadows of the arches, and upon close examination of the door
Serena found it to be two doors instead of one, and adhering to the center of
each there was two unrolled scrolls made of lead.
The writing on the left one was in Latin, while the other one was in
Greek. The running must have done
her some good, because the petite blonde was able to focus on the punched
lettering. Her parents were
traditional Catholics, so while she could read Latin fluently, the only Greek
she knew was from her Sunday School lessons, which were several years old.
Slowly she mouthed the words of the Latin script, linked each one to the
other until she recognized the words came from Saint Augustine. "Estautem fides credere quod nondum vides; cuius fidei
merces est videre quod credis," she calmly said, before translating.
"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith
is to see what you believe." Turning
to the other script there was a pause, and a groan from
Serena
hadn't noticed her hand was moving over the Greek script until when she reached
the end, and the slight pressure of her fingers caused the door slowly swung
open on oiled hinges. She blinked, waited for her eyes to adjust to the candlelight
before she entered the place of
Feet
glued to the floor. It would have
looked like that to any passerby should they have seen Serena standing before
the altar, her head turned up due to shock.
There was a divine glow coming from this moon white-haired woman's face,
her hands holding a cup above her blissful face while abstract flows of holy
water gushed from the bejeweled yellow cup to empty into the deep below her
feet, but she didn't stand upon the calmed surface.
Instead, the figure, wearing white plate armor, sat upon the edge of a
full moon.
"Sailor
Moon?" Serena blinked hard at
how her soft whisper was magnified to an echo within this house of stone, and
she looked about again to check for peepers, but found none.
Again, she studied the portrait; and then studied the other windows,
immediately realizing that the others were about the strong and divine women of
the Holy Book. Again she felt her
own inferiority rest upon her young shoulders, her spirit feeling the burden of
what this church seemed to represent, and in this state her drifting gaze caught
sight of the confessional.
Traditional.
That would best describe the confessional.
Oak, several layers of lacquer, the two tiny rooms made as one, one for
those who confess and feel guilt, one for those who listen and forgive.
Serena touched the top of the door and ran her hand down to the ring
doorknob. She opened the door to
find a hard wood stool and then the gingerbread window that once slid open would
allow the priest to interact with the person seeking penitence.
"Confession?"
Was this the reason she ran from her school, her soul full of grief and
sin, seeking cleansing? Was her
flight one of blind emotion? Serena
stared at the unpadded seat fore several minutes before she stepped into the
device, sat down and closed the door.
The
sound of the window being slid open caught Serena totally by surprise.
Someone had been in here all this time?
The blonde was in a panic, but quickly, she iced her fear, silently
chiding herself about not showing proper respect to the priest waiting for her
to confess her
Serena
sobbed in the silence that greeted her confession, waiting, waiting; waiting for
the priest to give his advice to her, to assign her
"Stop."
Serena
stopped like the word erected an invisible barrier in front of her.
Both fear and hope ricocheted within her being, her body turned to face
the speaker, but her mouth dropped open at the sight of who was standing there. "Sister?"
Indeed
a nun was standing there, but not any ordinary nun either; the complete virgin
white of every piece of her uniform told Serena this was a nun-in-training.
The face framed by the cowl looked young; Hispanic or Latino, with her
eyes a rich coffee brown or black, and lips thin.
Serena could tell that even under the formless clothing, the nun was a
little taller than the blonde, with a body modest in portions.
Then Serena's
"Sister..?"
Serena said again, a pleading tone now to the word.
Would the nun keep her secret? There
was nothing; no oath that kept the lips of a nun-in-training closed.
Was she a member of the Fallen? Did
she hide in the confessional so to learn of others' sins and use those
A
smile. It appeared on the nun's
face, her eyes full of gentleness; the surprise of seeing both confused Serena,
then the words came. "May the
Almighty God have mercy on you, and forgiving of your sins, bring you to life
everlasting. Amen."
The billowing sleeve of her nun garb slipped back as she raised her right
arm, revealing a bluish-white glow around a young hand.
"May the Almighty and Merciful God grant you pardon, absolution, and
remission of your sins." Serena
felt a spark of hope inside of her; then it became a crashing waterfall as two
soft
The
final word wrapped around Serena's being, the absolution had long since washed
her surroundings from her sight; and it was a long time before reality winked
into existence. It was the cool stone her knees touched the petite blonde
noticed first, the second thing she noticed was her head bowed and her hands
pressed together in prayer. This in
and of itself would be pleasing to the odango blonde, but what really surprised
her was finding the nun kneeling in front of her; the white-clad lady was
hugging her tight, and a soft whisper in Spanish was coming from within the
cowled head. "Con la ayuda de
la Virgen Maria le he encontrado."
"Maria?
My name is Serenity." Serena
blinked several times, surprised by how normal her own voice sounded, the
anguish and pain she felt on the whole were still there, but had become
manageable. "You better
explain yourself, Sister. I've got
a lot of people looking to put my pretty head on a platter." She wanted to sound tough, although after what just happened she felt
more like dancing for joy. "Maybe
by first telling me your name, since you now know mine?"
The
nun gave Serena a curious look, tilting her head slightly.
"Don't you know who I am, Instrument of Peace?
You did come to me for
"I'm
a fourteen-year-old girl who got drafted into this magical girl story by a
high-minded black cat." The
nun's eyes narrowed, but Serena continued.
"I know I'm this Instrument of Peace, this Sailor Moon, created to
protect all mankind from the Fallen, but other than a few
The
nun gave Serena a measured look before saying, "my name is Raye Ceniza
Perez. I was born in Panama City,
Panama, but I came to live with my mother's father after my parents died when I
was five. My grandfather, Father
Patrick Deiria, is the senior Father here at this
"But
you are more than a nun-in-training, aren't you, Raye?"
Serena looked up into the taller girl's face.
"Or you wouldn't have been able to give me absolution."
Raye
nodded, her cheeks tinted. "Since I was a little girl I've had visions and dreams
that come true." Then her eyes
flickered with ire. "I've also
seen things, creatures, who look and act like people but are not," she
frowned, "and I'm sure there are others who cloak their true selves from me
with their coat of multicolors."
"The
Fallen?" The word came out
even before Serena could stop herself from saying it.
Raye nodded once more before standing up and helping the petite girl to
stand. "Well, you haven't given me my penance, nor have I said
the Contrition."
It
looked to Serena that Raye realized her mistake, but the nun decided to follow a
different track. "First let me
ask you about this person you murdered."
The pit of Serena's stomach suddenly felt bottomless.
"When you stopped your friend from being killed, did you know at the
time of any other way of saving her life?"
Serena shook her head. "After
the battle, did you know of a way to save your friend's life without taking
another life?"
Serena
thought for a moment, thinking about the exorcism she performed, finally
noticing the amount of time it took her to do the ritual and wondering if she
could have done it while being attacked. "No,
I don't think so."
"Was
this your first battle?" Serena
nodded to Raye's further questions. "How
much do you know of your powers?"
"Not
much, I've kind of new to this hero stuff."
Shame was upon Serena's face. "Luna
has been trying to get me used to the idea of being Sailor Moon, let alone
whatever powers I have."
"Luna?"
"She's
the black cat I mentioned earlier." A
pout is added by Serena. "I
went to the pound to get me a new pet but, oh no, I couldn't get just an
ordinary cat; instead I end up with a Spirit Guide with a letter informing me
that I have a destiny to follow."
"A
letter?"
"Figure
of speech."
"Oh."
A puzzled look flashed across Raye's face before she said, "then the
advice I can give you is to learn what and who you are."
Her tone showed some puzzlement over Serena's less than stellar attitude.
"The Instrument of Peace, Sailor Moon, is a holy warrior:
a paladin."
Those
words sank into Serena, but then she looked curiously at the nun.
"How did you know about me... eh...
about the Instrument of
A
glitter in those dark chocolate eyes told Serena of Raye's catching her
correction, so the next words aren't really a surprise.
"For your
Now
Serena eyes got very wide. "Hey! How
do you know my nickname?"
"Probably
from me, GF." Both of the
girls looked toward the entrance to find a figure outlined in the afternoon
light. "When I saw how upset you were this morning, how you
were clutching your rosary, I headed over to Raye's school and caught her before
the first class." The figure
came into the dimness. "Told
her what you looked like, especially your unique hairstyle, and I asked her to
swing by our school so she could talk to you."
The back light turned her hair into a fiery halo.
"Lita!"
A smile on flowered on both faces, but then Serena became shamefaced.
"Oh, Lita, I'm so sorry about running off!"
A
flash of white showed in Lita's smile. "No
problem, GF." She took out her
cellphone as she joined the others. "I
better call Ami so she can let the others know I found you."
Serena
sighed with relief but concern butted in, her gaze going back and forth between
Raye and Lita; she wondered how much her tall friend had overheard; the petite
girl knew that the confession needed to be completed.
Raye saw Serena's worry. "You
can say the Contrition,
"What?"
"Chill
it, girls," Lita placed her hand over the opened cellphone, "unless
you want the Great Brain to know Raye's secret."
"Sorry,"
Serena nibbled her lower lip, thinking about how dumb it was for her not to
think of this explanation of Raye's priestly power.
"How... eh... when?"
"I
had a dream," Raye whispered. "I
was wearing not the attire of a Bride of Christ, instead I wore the collar and
frock of a priest." Her
Serena
let out a high-pitched whistle. "I've
heard of Protestant ministers as teenagers and women, but doesn't the Catholic
Church have a ban on women becoming priests, let alone all the requirements of
going to the Seminary?"
"Grandfather
shares my belief of my visions and dreams coming from God," Raye forced her
voice to stay a whisper, "so not to follow the mandate they lay out for me
would be to deny the destiny given to me by the Lord Almighty."
Her Latino accent was becoming stronger the longer she spoke.
"Besides the great numbers of women becoming nuns far outstretches
the lesser number of men joining the priesthood; soon the ban will be lifted,
and I'm ready for it."
In
the echo of Raye's righteous declaration Serena heard a hint of old pain; her
mind's eye imagined a crying five-year-old girl, the chubby face stained by
teasing words from childhood friends and scorn from disbelieving adults.
"I believe you, Raye, how can I not?"
Her gaze
"Yes,
that is a representation of the Instrument of Peace, but I do not know how or
why it is here, nor why the Church of Mary Magdalene was built here."
A relieved smile was on Raye's lips; she didn't need to follow Serena's
gaze to know what the blonde was looking at.
"According to my Grandfather, the church was built a long time ago,
by the first French Catholic missionaries coming to this part of the country,
but I have my suspicions about them being Catholic."
"Oh?"
Serena returned her gaze to Raye.
"Gnostic..."
Raye stopped at the sound of Lita closing her cellphone.
"All
set, GF, Ami is going to pick us up
in front of the church." Lita's
smile slipped a little when she glanced about the church.
"I
wish this place didn't bring you grief each time you came in here, Lita."
Gently Raye took hold of Lita's right hand with both hands. "I
The
shared look of tenderness between Lita and Raye, and the shimmer of unshed tears
in the redhead's emerald eyes, made Serena feel uncomfortable; and she tried as
quietly as possible to tiptoe away from the two, but Raye spoke up.
"You still need to say the Contrition, Miss
Serena
stopped and faced Raye; she brought her hands up in prayer, her head bowed in
submission and her tone imploring. "Oh
my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins,
because of Thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend
"Remember
your penance, Serena." Raye no
longer held Lita's hand, and the tall redhead had moved to fill the space
between the two girls, "and remember you're never alone when God walks with
you."
Serena
nodded but looked back-and-forth between Raye and Lita, the odango blonde's
curiosity visible enough for a lopsided smile to appear on Lita's lips.
"Alright- alright, GF, the reason I know Raye is because I used to
go to Saint Mary's, and I knew her then."
Serena
knew she didn't need to press Lita for more information; she could guess why her
tall friend didn't go to the Catholic school
"N-
o, Baptist, National Baptist," Lita pulled out her purse and gave a blue
card to Serena. "That's the
address to my church in Chi-town." She
gave a mischievous look to Raye. "Come
on by, both of you; I sing in the choir, and we really shout our joy to
God."
A
giggle came from Serena, and a smirk from Raye; both set of eyes were happy.
"Maybe I can get my parents' permission to go."
The tone the blonde used suggested she didn't need to be very persuasive
to succeed.
"Well,
we better get out front to meet Ami."
She then leaned over and hugged Raye around the waist.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Raye, and thanks for the help."
"I
helped only little." Raye
blushed at physicality of Serena's affection.
"For it was God who guided the lost lamb to His home so it could be
made well in both body and soul."
Serena
blushed at Raye's words, and followed Lita out of the church with the nun in
their wake. To recover from that
awkward moment the blonde asked, "so why did you go to a Catholic school,
Lita?"
There
wasn't an immediate answer, but it came when Lita picked up her backpack where
she left it at the main entrance. "For
different reasons, my parents rejected our heritage; so they sent me to Saint
Mary's to knock the ghetto out of me."
Serena
blinked hard, and she heard a disgruntled sound coming from Raye's direction.
"You sure sounded ghetto to me, Lita, and probably to Melvin
too."
Lita
chuckled. "Thanks, but I did
that on purpose, to throw a monkey wench in that boy's rumor mill."
She led the group out the door. "Also,
it was the reason my parents moved to this town."
"So,
you are living in Chicago?" Serena
stopped and turned to Raye.
"Yep,
living with my mother's mother in the middle of the city."
All three girls waved to each other, before Serena and Lita went down the
steps while Raye watched them. "But
I commute here because even my grandmother realized I'm too much of an Oreo to
go to an inner city school."
"You
shouldn't talk of yourself like that, Lita," Serena frowned up at her tall
friend and used the handrail to correct her balance.
"I mean, you should be proud of whom you are, instead of listening
to what others call you."
Lita's
raised eyebrows showed she was surprised. "You
have some strong..." she stopped as a white limousine came into view.
"There's Ami."
Serena's
mouth dropped open. "A limo?"
"Ami
Shabon doesn't flaunt it but her mother is rich."
Lita grinned as she waved at the vehicle, "and her father is a
famous artist, so our local little gothling probably has a fat bank account to
draw a monthly stipend from." The
tall girl waited until the rolling piece of wealth
"Bodyguard?"
Serena felt a little silly at repeating her surprise, and the heavy tint
of the back windows reminded her of Ami's sensitivity to sunlight.
The
white limousine came to a halt in front of the two girls and the back door
opened, revealing a female bodyguard wearing sunglasses and a polite smile; the
back wasorganized so that two sets of seats faced each other.
Ami leaned forward. "I've
got your backpack, Serena." She
was wearing sunglasses, too. "The
vice-principal was so nice in opening your gym locker for me."
"I'm
so sorry for causing so much trouble for you, Ami," Serena scooted inside
and sat across from the goth girl, while Lita sat next to her, and the bodyguard
sat beside her charge. "I'll
promise never to run away again." She
crossed her heart.
"Accepted,
Serena." There was a flicker of emotion in Ami's pale face before she
returned to her normal expression of neutrality.
A
wide smile showed Serena's shiny teeth. "Rome
wasn't built in a day, eh?"
Once
again there was that flash of emotion in Ami's bottomless orbs, but it quickly
disappeared when she reached into her book bag, pulling out a small white box.
"I didn't want to risk losing this for you."
Serena
accepted the box, and smiled wide when by opening it her cross
"Opium."
"Eh?"
Serena
noticed Lita's frown at Ami's comment but her tall friend asked, "that's a
beautiful rosary, GF. Is it pearl? How
long have you had it?"
With
baby blues glancing at Ami as she undid the clasp of the rosary, Serena felt
strange; she knew what opium was, had seen the effect of the drug and its
derivatives in the streets of the cities of India and Africa; but what the goth
girl meant the blonde didn't know nor did
"Nice."
The smile on Lita's lips looked thin to Serena, and the glance the
redhead gave Ami seemed to dare the pale teen to say something.
Ami returned the glance but didn't say anything.
Instead she nodded toward the bodyguard, who touched her throat with one
hand, saying, "drive to Miss Guerisser's home."
The
long white car pulled out so smoothly Serena could barely tell it was moving as
she put the rosary and cross under her blooded top.
"Jesus H..." The
petite blonde made a face as she looked down at herself.
"I look like a victim from a slasher movie."
The
chuckle from Lita seemed to pop the tension in the backseat, and this time
Serena was quick enough to catch the tiny smile on Ami's lips before it
vanished. "I'll close my eyes
so you can change your clothes," she smiled at the teen genius, "and
I'm sure Ami would too," then she winked at Serena, "although I don't
know about the bodyguard."
"Mrs.
Chase, please close your eyes." The
bodyguard nodded at Ami's order before the goth girl brought down her black
lashes. "I think I'll take a
nap."
Lita
grinned. "Forty winks sounds
good and this ride is smooth." Lita
sagged in the backseat, resting her head in a corner as her eyes closed.
Serena's
eyebrows touched her hair at hearing the breathing of both of her friends slow
and deepen; clearly both were exhausted from helping her, or both were very good
actors, thus pretending to sleep. Either
way, she waited a few minutes to make sure neither woke before she began to
change her clothes, trying to do it as quickly as possible.
As she changed, the petite blonde looked at each of her friends and tried
to
"Finished?"
Two
baby blues blinked at the mumbled word, and Serena realized she was sitting
there, thinking. "Yes, Lita."
A glance out the window also told her something else.
"And we're at my home." Those
same eyes looked at Ami, and then at Lita.
"Would you like to come in and meet my family?"
She let her eyes stare deeply into her friends' eyes.
There
was real regret in Lita's emerald eyes, and there was a hint of the same emotion
in Ami's eyes. "I wish, GF,
but I've got a train to catch and grand-mama expects me home for dinner."
A soft smile was on those painted lips.
"And on time for once."
"I,
too, have a time limit." Out
of her pocket Ami pulled an old-fashioned pocket watch; Serena's eyes widened as
she noticed it was
"If
you don't mind being pulled over by beat cops or being scoped out by the local
gangstra." Lita chuckled to
take an edge off her warning. "I live in a rough neighborhood, and many will think of
you as some richie out slumming."
The
cloak of superiority seemed to fold around Ami; at least to Serena it looked
that way, the pale girl's expression becoming almost a dare.
"Thank you for the warning, Lita."
Her gloved hand put away the watch before she pulled out a white
cellphone.
"I'll
see you both tomorrow." The
window rolled down enough for Serena to look in.
"And thanks for caring about me."
"Whom
would I find to share my lunch with," Lita winked at Serena, and then
grinned at Ami, "or introduce me to such lively company?"
Was Ami amused? The petite
blonde couldn't tell from her angle.
A
simple wave came from Ami as the window rolled up, while the limo pulled away.
Serena watched the car until its path brought her
"Hey,
Serena."
A
squeal of pure joy came from Serena as she heard those words; she didn't
remember turning around or vaulting over her home's fence.
It was a blink of seconds which left two girls hugging each other, and
tears of relief rolling down the blonde's pink cheeks.
"Molly."
"It
looks like our daughter likes our pick-me-up surprise."
"I
think our daughter is enjoying it just as much as your daughter is."
Serena
didn't have to look up to recognize the voices of her mother and Molly's mother;
all she could do was keep her face pressed to her friend's right shoulder; her
muffled voice spoke. "I'm so glad you're here, Molly."
Serena
felt Molly's squeeze before the redhead held the blonde by her elbows, and she
said, "after Melvin told me about how you were going about looking like a
three-day road kill, I figured I better get out of the hospital as soon as
possible."
Serena
noticed something in Molly's expression but couldn't recognize it.
"So you're all right?"
"A
clean bill of health." Molly's
emerald eyes sparkled. "Of
course, the doctors want me to take it easy for the rest of the week."
Her grin got a little bigger. "Which
means no school until next week."
"Lucky."
The false pout on Serena's face got a big smile from Molly.
"Now
let me see your face, young lady." Two
strong arms took hold of Serena's shoulder, and the teen found her concerned dad
staring intensely at her face, an expression of relief on his face appeared.
"Your nose doesn't look broken."
Broken
nose?
"I
agree." Ilene stood next to
her husband, combing her daughter's bangs out of her face to get a better look.
"The way the nurse was talking on the phone I was quite sure your
father would need to take you to the hospital."
"Well,
her eyes aren't puffy enough for a broken nose, so I think the school nurse
overreacted." Ken's voice was calm as he continued to
"I
feel fine, Papa." Serena's expression showed she had completely forgotten about
the broken nose and her concussion after everything that had happened to her at
the church; especially since neither Lita nor Ami really made an issue of it
once they had caught up with her.
"Then
we'll take her to our family doctor tomorrow after school."
Ken dropped his hands from Serena's shoulders.
"Agreed,"
Ilene nodded.
She
heard Molly giggle, and found her friend pressing a hand mirror into one of the
blonde's hands. "See for
yourself, Serena."
Blonde
eyebrows meeting blonde hair was Serena's reaction; the odango blonde really
expected she was going to look like Sammy's raccoon, a fate worse than death in
her opinion. Instead, she found almost no bruising, and her nose looked
only slightly swollen.
"It
looks like you won't need a nose job, Sis."
A
quick sticking out of her tongue at Sammy was Serena' initial reaction; she
hadn't noticed her brother joining them. "I
would rather not look like that fleabag of a pet you have, Sammy."
"Now,
now, no fighting in front of our house guests," Ilene's pleasant voice
stopped the sibling rivalry in its tracks, her gentle right hand
"House
guests?"
"Yes,
Serena." Molly walked on the
other side of her blonde friend. "Your
father and mother invited me, Mom, and Dad to stay at your family's home until
the police allow us to move back into our home."
"Cool!"
Now Serena was truly surprised and delighted; she hugged her mother,
hugged her father, and even turned to hug her brother.
"Oh,
no, you don't!" Sammy left his sister in the dust, dodging between the adults
and going into the house, which got a laugh from everyone.
Serena
giggled as she watched her brother's rapid retreat; only to find her throat
suddenly close around her mirth, at the sight of Luna in her bedroom window,
plus the pissed-off look on that pussy's face.
"Uh oh."
"I
hope Luna will get used to the crowding."
Ilene also saw the black cat. "She
hasn't come out of your room since the Bakers came."
"Won't
help her much since I'll be bunking with Serena."
Molly took hold of Serena's right hand with her left hand.
"If that is all right
"Oh...
of course!" Serena actually loved the idea of sharing her room with her
best friend, although she knew Luna was going to be even
"Good,
dear," Ilene smiled. "Your
father already took out the spare futon and placed it in your room."
Serena's mother led the group into the house.
"Great,
Dad!" Definitely; Luna was
going to have a cow.
* *
* *
Guerisser Residence:
Serena's Bedroom.
"I
wish Mom wouldn't tease me about my cooking," Serena's voice could be heard
before she opened the door to her bedroom.
"I know I'm not much of a wiz in the kitchen."
"At
least you know how to cook rice." Molly
followed her friend into the room, spotting the futon in place on the floor on
the right side of
A
roll of the eyes came from Serena. "And
a few other things that I can list on two hands."
It wasn't hard to note Serena was looking around the room.
"Looking
for your cat... eh... Luna?" Molly stood next to her friend.
Serena
paused and looked over her shoulder at Molly; there was something in the
redhead's tone setting off bells in her blonde head.
"Yeah, I think her time in the animal shelter has made her leery of
strangers."
"I
can understand that." Molly
got a strange look from her blonde friend.
"I mean from a cat's point-of-view."
"Oh."
Serena spotted her closet cracked open.
"I think I know where Luna is hiding."
"You
don't need to drag her out if she doesn't want to meet me."
Again
there was that strange tone coming from Molly.
"Not a chance, Molly." Serena
didn't even look back as she knelt at the closet, opened it, and crawled in.
"Luna isn't getting her way this time."
Was that a giggle from Molly? Serena
decided that this day had to fit into the
"Keep
your voice down, Serenity." Luna
was nose to nose with Serena. "Molly
mustn't see me, and I took the brooch just in case it was too much of a
temptation."
"What
do you mean, Luna?" Serena
looked a little confused. "Molly
saw you peeking out the window just now, and she's too good a person to steal
anything."
"Serenity,
I mean she saw me yesterday during your first battle."
An pained expression was on the black cat's face.
"Unlike you, my physical features aren't cloaked by any disguise
spell; only my spirituality is hidden."
Serena
blinked several times before she realized that what Luna had said made sense;
Luna remained in her cat form all the time and so she had to remain recognizable
by everyone. "Luna, you can't
hide here forever." She took the brooch from Luna and stuffed it in her
pocket. "Mom is already
commenting about your behavior," she tried to sound determined, "and
sooner or later you are going to get Molly curious about you." Then, an idea hit her. "In
fact, I think she already is."
Luna
sighed and bowed her head in defeat. "All
right, Serenity." She allowed
the blonde to pick her up. Not
letting anything out, the black cat was sort of proud of Serena.
Whatever had happened between dawn and dusk, there was a positive effect
on the teenager's warrior spirit, which banished all the apprehensions Luna had
after a night of watching her charge tossing and turning, a captive of her own
demons.
Serena
brought Luna out of the closet, holding the cat in the fold of her arms as she
came to stand before the redhead. "Molly,
this is Luna." There was a
nice touch of sweetness to the blonde's voice.
"Luna, this is Molly."
"Meow."
Molly
stood there for a moment, smiling down at Luna, before one of her hands began to
gently scratch the black cat's chin. "Nice
to meet you, Luna." At hearing
Luna purring at the caress, Serena relaxed.
"Would you please tell Sailor Moon how much I owe her for rescuing
me?" The purring stopped cold.
"You being her helper and all."
A
family of swallows could have made a home in Serena's mouth before she said,
"Sailor Moon?"
"Yeah,
Luna was with Sailor Moon, giving her advice and everything."
She stopped scratching the cat's chin and put her finger against her
right cheek, staring toward the ceiling, and with an obvious fake wonder on her
face. "And Sailor Moon knew my
name, and was very affectionate when she comforted me, and she even jumped the
fence to get to your home just like you did."
Serena just stared straight at Molly;
so did Luna. The blonde was
unable to decide if she should tell the truth or lie through her teeth, but
Molly once more took the lead. "Oh,
Luna, tell Sailor Moon that I'll keep her secret."
She tilted her head to one side and smiled wide.
"I'm just glad to have her as my friend."
That
did it. If this was Molly's
strategy to get Serena to confess, it worked like a charm.
It wasn't a direct confrontation, it wasn't a
"I
owe Sailor Moon my life."
"You
don't owe me anything. It is my
duty as given to me by God to protect all mankind from the forces of evil."
"But
Sailor Moon can't do it alone with just Luna to help her."
"For
now it is enough."
"Maybe
Sailor V will help Sailor Moon?"
"According
to Luna, Sailor V will help me."
"I
would still like to help Sailor Moon in whatever capacity."
"If
those I am fighting against discover you helping me, I might not be able to
protect you."
"They
might still come after me just because you rescued me, or because I'm a
girl."
"You
notice how the murders of girls seem to be piling up?"
"Not
hard to notice when your boyfriend worries about his parents getting the blame
for not solving these murders."
"No
way I can talk you into sitting on the sideline?"
"Nope,
my mind is made up to help Sailor Moon."
"Sure?"
"Hell
or high water!"
Serena
held out her right hand. "Welcome aboard."
Molly
shook the hand, and sat down on the bed next to the blonde.
"So where do we start?"
During
this whole time Luna was looking back and forth between the two teenagers, her
amber eyes getting larger and larger, her purring dead despite Serena stroking
her furry back. Then she heard her owner say, "Luna, tell her."
"Serenity,
this isn't something you can involve noncombatants in."
Luna bounced out of Serena's lap and turned to face the two teens, anger
in her words. "Only the Sailor
Scouts have the heavenly power of God to survive and succeed against the
Fallen." She looked hard at
Molly. "I'm sorry, Mary Baker;
I don't mean to sound harsh or ungrateful but what aid you could give Sailor
Moon is, at best, minimum."
"I
know, Luna." A sweet smile was on Molly's lips. "But, isn't it true that evil only succeeds when good
people do nothing?"
Luna
was taken aback by the redhead's response and she sat down.
"True, but can you handle the passion of the Cross," her anger
cooled, "and the grief it will bring to your loved ones?"
"I
must, Luna." A sober expression was on Molly's cute face.
"I couldn't think of myself as a Christian unless I help Sailor
Moon."
At
seeing Serena take hold of Molly's right hand and squeeze it, Luna sighed.
"Very well." The
Spirit Guide hopped up on the bed. "Don't
say I didn't warn you." She
slipped between then and stood in the middle of the bed.
"But don't say I didn't give you a fighting chance."
With that, the little animal did a back flip, and at the apex a flash of
light was seen, with a popping sound added.
Dropped at Luna's feet were three objects:
a five-inch pink wand, with the tip decorated by a red heart, bounded by
a crown of thorns; and what looked like two wristwatches,
each with a tiny screen, plus an even smaller pad full of brightly
colored buttons.
"Wow!
Cool!" These were the
words that came out of both girls as they scoop up the created items.
"These
watches look like they came from Dick Tracy!"
Serena held one of the objects close to her face.
A
clear-cut cough came from Luna. "Well...
like minds, works..." Clearly
she seemed a little embarrassed by the comparison.
"Dick
Tracy?" Molly looked at
Serena, and then Luna, while holding the other watch and the wand.
"You mean the Warren Beatty/Madonna flick?"
"Pale
imitation of the comic strip." Serena
giggled when she turned over the wristwatch and saw the stylized cat face on the
back as a trademark. "So the
wristwatches are communication devices."
Her baby blues switched to the circular object her friend held.
"But what about the wand?"
"As
you surmised, Serenity, the wristwatches are communication devices, but much
more complex than the current ones available."
Despite her early embarrassment, Luna was pleased by Serena's quick
deduction, although it being connected to comics and cartoons did bother her a
bit. "But the wand is
specifically meant for Molly."
"Oh?"
Molly's emerald eyes lit up, and she looked more carefully at the pink
wand. "What does it do?"
"It's
a disguise wand, Mary Baker." Luna
shifted to lecture mode. "For
a short period of time, approximately sixty minutes, Molly will be able to
disguise herself as any humanoid being of the same mass."
She began to clean one of her forepaws.
"She will even have the abilities that goes with the guise, but only
temporary."
The
green eyes of the redhead kept getting bigger and bigger as a certain black cat
explained the wand she held in her hands; finally
Two
fingers twitched, but Serena stopped herself.
"Why don't you try it out?"
"No!"
Luna gave Serena a disapproving look.
"Your parents, or Sammy, could walk in unexpectedly."
Both girls looked disappointed, so she added, "instead we will use a
secured place where we can practice."
"Why
not use one of the karaoke booths at the Crown?" suggested Molly with a
renewed grin.
Serena
quickly nodded. "They are
soundproof, and the ones at the Crown are large enough to have a party in."
Two sets of eyes locked on Luna. "What
about it, Luna?"
Luna
had a feeling that more than practicing was going to happen in the room, but
what else could the feline expect from teenagers?
"All right, but I want to be there with you."
The
two girls did high-fives, but it was Molly who asked, "now that I'm an
official member of this little conspiracy, maybe you should tell me what I've
gotten myself into."
Cat
and owner nodded, which launched Serena into telling about what had happened
when she found Luna at the animal shelter and the blonde became the Instrument
of Peace. With a few corrections
from Luna, an hour passed before Serena finished the abridged version.
"Any questions?"
During
the hour long dialogue, Molly had pulled out a pad of paper and a pen from her
overnight bag. "Well, I'm a
little confused about how these sky kingdoms were each connected to the Sailor
Scouts." She chewed on the
black cap stuck on the end of the pen. "Weren't
the Sailor Scouts essentially archangels?"
"Correct,
Mary Baker, the original Sailor Scouts were archangels given female guises by
God." Luna became more alert; she hadn't expected such a question
from the redhead, and thought Serena's compressed tale would be enough for the
girl. "But by the time of the
Silver Millennium, things were much more complex in all ways politically and
strategically."
"Huh?"
Serena looked up from putting one of the wristwatches on.
"I
think Luna means it became more than just a once in a lifetime battle of good
versus evil." The movement of a pen over paper showed that Molly was
writing.
"Very
good, Mary Baker." Luna was
warming up to Molly by the second.
"Teacher's
Pet." Serena made a face; Molly stuck her tongue out, and both
ended up giggling and leaning against each other's shoulders.
Luna
rolled her eyes, and thought for a second that lessons delivered by claws might
work here; instead, she stayed in lecture mode.
"As Mary Baker has surmised, the fact that the numbers of the Fallen
had greatly expanded, and the distance needed to cover by the Sailor Scouts
meant that each one of them had to be much more powerful, and able to operate
independently at the point of contact, until reinforcements could reach
them." A couple of times,
blank looks appeared on Serena's face, so the black cat asked, "do you
understand?"
"Eh...
I think I do, Luna." Molly
sounded less than certain. "Each
of the sky kingdoms adopted a Sailor Scout?"
"That
was a good guess, Mary Baker." Luna
glanced over at Serena but the blonde seemed to more concerned about what was
being discussed than that her friend was giving all the right answers.
"In essence, each of the sky kingdoms adopted an archangel into
their royal family, so that the divine power was passed down from one generation
to the next." She rubbed one
of her ears with a forepaw. "Thus,
someone in each generation was a Sailor Scout."
"In
what way did being a part of a bunch of royal families help the Sailor
Scouts?" Serena held her
wristwatch to her ear like she thought it was broken.
"The
foundation of the Silver Millennium civilization was based on genetics, crystal
technology and environmental science."
Luna hopped off the bed and went over to her water bowl.
"Each one of them interlocking with the other to such an degree that
if one of the three was removed, the others would collapse."
"But
why was the Instrument of Peace to become Sailor Moon?"
Serena pressed a button on her new wristwatch.
"Why didn't it become Sailor Earth?"
"Originally,
that was the idea of the sky kingdoms; but at the last moment God changed the
plan." Luna drank from her bowl before adding, "he told the
council that Earth already had a defender, and that the Moon Kingdom would need
one."
"Council?
Defender?" Serena
looked at the screen of her wristwatch when the device beeped.
"The
Solar Council; each member represented the royal families of the sky kingdoms
and the Earth Kingdom." Luna
knew they were starting to get off the subject, but Serena asking questions was
a good sign, in her judgment. "And
the male heir of the Earth Kingdom is designated with the title:
Defender of the Faith."
"A
male heir?" Stereo responses
came from the two girls, with Serena adding, "so we are going to get a hunk
for our very own?"
"Really,
girls." Luna was about to tell them to act their age but decided
against it. "Anyway, each sky
kingdom became responsible for the training and equipping of their Sailor Scout,
while guidance was supplied by the spirit guides, like me, when necessary."
The
tail end of Luna's answer got Molly looking at her notepad.
"How many spirit guides are there?"
"In
the Silver Millennium there were many spirit guides, some specializing in
specific areas, while others gave general guidance."
Then
Serena
slipped off the bed and gathered Luna in her arms.
"So Artemis is the only one you know of?"
"Yes."
Luna nuzzled the gentle hand stroking her small head.
"If only he wasn't such a lazy idiot."
Her tone became angry. "He's
always breaking rules, taking the easy way out, and ignoring the chain of
command." Her claws flexed.
"Owie!"
Instantly Serena dropped Luna. "Hey!
I'm not a pincushion," she glared at the cat.
"Sorry."
Like any cat, Luna landed on her feet.
"Sounds
like a difference in aptitude." Molly
couldn't miss the way Luna's fur stood on end.
Serena
didn't miss it either. "They sound like an old married couple," Serena
whispered behind her hand into Molly's ear, which caused the redhead to giggle.
Both
girls got an evil glare, and a long pause from Luna.
"Any other questions?"
Molly
retrieved her yellow notepad. "You
seem to hint that even in her non-powered state Serena could detect the other
unrevealed Sailor Scouts?"
"Yes."
The question seemed to calm Luna down, although her tone was still
frosty. "Due to the nature of
Instrument of Peace, Serena is able to detect unshielded, and some shielded,
divine or demonic powers."
Serena
slowly nodded at Luna's explanation. "You
mean if I suffer a strong attraction to someone I see or meet, they might be a
Sailor
"They
could be." Luna hooped onto the bed and begin to clean the tip of her
tail. "There are also objects
containing either divine or demonic energies as well; for example the
wristwatches, and the disguise wand."
"Let's
test it out." Molly gathered up the wand, her wristwatch, and waited for
Serena to take off her own. Once
done, the redhead quickly walked over to the closet and slipped inside, pulling
it closed. "Ready!"
The
teen looked at the cat, who nodded, before she let herself relax, her baby blues
staring at the closet while her breath slipped through her parted lips.
A slight intake of air in seconds showed something happened.
"What
do you see, Serenity?"
"It's...
it's not wh... what I see..." The
girl struggled to speak. "It's
more what I feel... I... I don't see anything special..."
Her voice was soft. "But,
something in my head... it's telling me... something special... inside..."
Her voice petered out and after a moment she could sense the divine
objects moving closer; and then something touched the middle of her forehead,
which broke the spell, and her eyes focused on Molly's face just a few inches
from her face. "Whoa...
too much heaven on my mind."
The
redhead giggled as she lowered her right finger from her friend's brow.
"Kind of left yourself defenseless."
"Doesn't
usually suck me in like that." Those
baby blues of Serena's blinked several times.
"Most
likely fatigue is making you more vulnerable to the multiple-layered reality it
shows you, Serenity." Luna
moved over to sit
"I'm
a little curious, Luna." Molly
sat on the other side of Serena. "Since
I'm here I can guess that the Fallen failed to destroy the Silver
"They
are in ruins." A sad sigh came from Serena.
"At least the Moon Kingdom is, from what I saw."
"The
Earth Kingdom was taken over by the Fallen."
Luna sounded sadder than Serena. "A
princess of the Earth royal family was corrupted by them; and once her parents
were assassinated, she became the queen, and used her position to convince the
people of her kingdom to support her in a war against the sky kingdoms."
"Their
first target was the Moon Kingdom?" Molly offered a guess.
"Yes,
Mary Baker, it was although its selection was due to the Earth Queen's ire for
the Moon Kingdom's own queen, Celena."
A disgusted look appeared on that furry face.
"She had an unhealthy love for her brother, who was the Defender of
the Faith, and when he sided with the sky kingdoms against her and started to
live at the Moon Kingdom's court, she went off the deep end."
"A
really twisted sister," Serena muttered under her breath before she got up
and made her way to her dresser, wanting to hide how much pain this was causing
her. She knew of no one there, nor
did she have a personal stake, but it didn't stop her from feeling sorrow.
"So the
"But
what happened to those other sky kingdoms, and the Earth Kingdom?"
A quick glance into her wall mirror showed Serena that Molly was opening
her suitcase while asking that question.
"How
much do you know about the Moon?" The
question caught both off-guard, and they looked at Luna, which caused her to
repeat it. "Mary Baker,
Serenity, how much do you know about the Moon?"
Molly
and Serena looked at each other before Molly said, "well, it's too small to
have an atmosphere, it's gravity is much less than the Earth, and it is mostly
covered by craters."
"Also,
the United States went to it several times about thirty... forty years
ago." Serena began to change
into her pj's. "Something
about
Luna
nodded. "That is the Moon you
both know." Then her amber eyes got a faraway look in them.
"But the Moon I knew was covered with pillars of manmade crystals,
with each having the girth and height of a redwood tree."
Serena couldn't miss the pride she heard in that voice. "Those pillars absorbed the radiation raining down from
the Sun, and the black star-studded sky, turning the Moon into habitable planet;
and they used their technology to beam that power to the Earth Kingdom, and to
the other sky kingdoms."
Molly
pulled on her lime green pj's over her panty-clad body.
"So when the Earth Kingdom attacked the Moon Kingdom it was like
someone hitting a light bulb with a baseball bat."
Luna
blinked at Molly's comparison but then nodded somberly.
"Baseball bats of several megatons to be exact, Mary Baker, and
despite the Moon Kingdom's defenses, the Earth Kingdom unleashed a battery of
missiles that left the Moon looking as it does today, a cratered planet." Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Then the army of the Fallen came."
Without
hesitation, even through Serena only had her pajama top on, she went over to
Luna and tenderly pulled the black cat onto her lap as she sat on the bed.
Her bare thighs could feel the spirit guide shivering she stroked her
pet's satin fur. "It's all
right, Luna; it happened long
Luna
curled up in the warmth of her owner's bare lap.
"I know, but it still hurts, Serenity."
She was on the verge of tears. "It
was my first mission as a spirit guide, and even with the Sailor Scouts
augmented by the cosmic power of the planets, and their training, it ended in
mutual destruction for the Silver Millennium, for the Sailor Scouts, and for the
Fallen."
"We'll
do better this time around, Luna." Serena
looked up at Molly. "Right?"
"Right."
Molly smiled assuredly as she patted Luna's head.
"All..."
The
door to Serena's room opened and a head with a mop of brown hair looked in.
"Hey, Serena, Mom wants to know if you and Molly want some
ice..." A pillow stuffed the
boy's mouth.
"Sammy!"
Now Serena turned so Luna hid the blonde's nude bottom.
"Knock first, and ask if you can come in!"
"Give
me a break, Sis!" Sammy ducked
behind the door as another pillow sailed out of the bedroom.
"We took baths together."
"Not
with Molly, have you?" A
retort and a third pillow came sailing through the opening before the preteen
closed it fast. The petite blonde
glared at the door; she was sure her brother was getting even for the gag she
pulled earlier.
Molly
giggled, and got up. "Let's join them, Serena." She picked up Luna from her friend's lap and headed for the
door. "I think Luna would like
some melted ice cream."
"Thank
you, Mary Baker." Luna's tail
swung back-and-forth. "So few
appreciate the heavy burden a spirit guide carries."
"Oh,
Luna." Molly paused as she was
about to open the door. "What
about those people who triggered Serena?"
She almost giggled again as Serena did a hoop-wiggle-twist dance to get
her pj bottoms. "Shouldn't
we check to see if any of them are Sailor Scouts?
Maybe get them into the mix as soon as possible?"
"No,
Mary Baker, they will answer God's calling," certainty was in Luna's eyes,
"when it is their time to... oof!"
"Ack!"