Bree
collapsed on her bed – her own bed,
not a hospital bed. Her two roommates
were glad to see that she was home, though apparently, not enough to consider
hiding the newspaper clippings they had saved.
“
“Do you need anything?” Grace asked,
poking her head into Bree’s room. Bree shook her
head. She had missed Grace while in the
hospital. The chubby brunette always
seemed to be a in a good mood. Bree usually appreciated Grace’s maternal attitude, but
today she just wanted to rest.
Constantly being accosted by police officers, nurses, and the
journalists who managed to sneak into her room was driving her nuts. They couldn’t seem to get the fact the she didn’t know what happened. She had been fighting with Ally, had walked
away, and out onto the balcony to get some fresh air. The next thing she knew, she was awake in a
hospital bed. It was her that needed
everyone else to explain what had happened.
She could attest to the fact that she had been fighting with Ally about
Ty, but it was up to the other ten witnesses to say how Ally had pushed her
over the tenth story balcony.
I’m
back, alive. Why? Bree had been
wracking her brains about how she had survived that fall. It didn’t make sense. This was not the attention she wanted a month
into university. And on top of all the
unwanted attention she was getting, she had two weeks of lectures and labs to
make up for. Joy. School would not be fun
tomorrow. It might’ve been nicer for her
if the fall had killed her. Not for
everyone else, but for her.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Here are all the notes you missed,
Gabrielle!”
Yet another person shoved a pile of
notes into Bree’s hands. It was ridiculous. Those people didn’t even know her – for one,
they used her full name, a dead giveaway.
It was nice of them. With all the
different notes, she should be able to get everything she needed from the
missed lectures.
She left the school, opting for a
detour through the park to calm her down.
She was the centre of attention everywhere she went. And if someone didn’t know, they would soon
hear the whispers of “Isn’t that the miracle girl?” floating through the
air. Bree was
going to snap if they didn’t leave her alone tomorrow.
“Why me?” she groaned out loud,
kicking up leaves.
“Because you wouldn’t die, like I
wanted you to.”
Bree
pivoted, flinging her book bag into the leaves. Sure enough, there was a tall muscular girl
behind her, blonde hair spiked, green eyes flaming. Ally was going to kill her, Bree knew it. Those
were murderous eyes.
“Ally, I haven’t talked to Ty this
whole time.”
“He hasn’t talked to me either. Said something about not
wanting to be associated with a psycho.
Maybe it woulda been cooler if I was a real
murderer. How did you manage to survive
there, Bree?
True to your namesake and grow wings, little archangel?”
With a quick glance, Bree could tell the park was deserted all the way to the
nearest streets and buildings. No one
could or would hear her scream, and no way could she outrun Ally, ex-star of
the university track team.
“Ally, think about this. You could say that you didn’t realize how
close I was to the edge, and then this would all blow over. I’ll testify to that. Just don’t do what you are about to.” Bree backed off the
path, attempting to pick her book bag up.
That was the only weapon she had if Ally really tried to get violent.
“I want you dead, Bree. Your starseed shines too bright. It hurts us.”
Starseed!?! Us? What was Ally talking about? Her back hit a tree, and Bree
looked up. There was a branch she could
grab. Hopefully she could get very high,
very fast. She was lighter than Ally, so
she could get to a spot where she couldn’t reach her. Beside’s, Bree had survived bigger falls. With a breath, she grabbed and swung,
catching the branch with her legs and pulling herself up. Ally began to laugh.
“Pitiful. You actually think that will stop me?” Ally laughed, menacingly. She advanced on the tree, growing larger. Her skin began to darken, the green in her
eyes beginning to bleed out from her irises, into the whites and pupils. Her nails grew into claws. “Come here, kitty, kitty, kitty. You don’t want to be stuck in that tree do
you? I will get you down quickly.” The monster that had been Ally reached up
with one hand. Bree
quickly scrambled higher into the tree.
“What will save you this time, Bree?” Ally advanced
further. More frightened than she had
ever been in her life, Bree grabbed the next
branch. It snapped off in her hand. Reaching the highest point that would support
her weight, the trapped blonde shot another glance at her attacker. Ally’s transformation was complete. She was a full seven feet tall, her skin
gray. The green eyes were glowing in a
now pointed face. Her hair had turned
into real blonde spikes. Her clothes had
turned into a neon running suit. Shoes
gone, both her finger and toe nails had become claws. At that moment, Bree
truly wished that Ally had killed her the first time. It would have been quicker and less painful.
“Are you going to fly away
angel? Or are you waiting for
something?” the monster queried. She
took a swipe at the tree. It shook
beneath Bree, and she prayed to whatever would
listen.
“Jump,
Bree!”
A gust of wind shot through the
park, shaking all the of trees, including Bree’s. A blonde
girl appeared at the end of the path.
“Jump, you idiot! Vanna, go!”
Bree
realized it was the blonde girl talking to her in that strange, wispy
voice. She looked at the ground. It was a good thirty feet away. The blonde girl ran, towards the monster, and
passed through her.
Not believing her eyes, Bree then did not trust her ears in the next second.
“Grab a hold of me, Bree,” a little blue butterfly said, hovering by Bree’s head. It was
odd. It looked too big to be a real
butterfly. The body and the wings also
looked a little too solid, almost metallic.
Below, the monster’s attention was
turned to the non-corporeal blonde in the funny outfit.
“Bree,
grab me and say, ‘West Wind Metamorphosis!’ now,” the butterfly urged at Bree’s ear. Unsure
if she was awake anymore, Bree took a chance and
grabbed the butterfly. She was
right. It was solid.
“West Wind Metamorphosis!” she
shouted.
And then my life changed forever. Those are the three words I can never take
back. And I’m dedicated to the life they
opened.
The butterfly landed in the middle
of Bree’s chest.
Its wings grew until they were larger than Bree
was. One at a time, they began to
shrink. The top left wing returned to
normal size, and a long purple, fingerless glove appeared on Bree’s right arm.
The top left wing retracted, and a shorter, light blue fingerless glove
appeared on Bree’s left hand. The bottom left wing shrunk, and a light blue
boot appeared on Bree’s left foot. On her leg, purple shorts appeared. The right wing shrunk, leaving behind another
light blue boot. A blue, short top grew
out from under the butterfly, and a dark blue skort
appeared over Bree’s purple shorts. The butterfly turned to face downwards, at
the same time, a dark blue collar and black chocker appeared on Bree.
“Warrior?!?” the monster cried in
surprise. It backed from the tree,
unsure of what to do now. She hadn’t
been prepared for a sailor warrior.
Bree had
no clue what had happened to her. Her
clothes had transformed, and she also felt…. different. Something like a renewed, enhanced power
filled her body. The feeling was
exhilarating.
“Hurry
and fight!” the blonde apparition commanded.
“Fight how?” Bree
asked, but somehow she already knew the answer.
She leapt from the tree, landing nimbly behind the monster Ally. It turned to face Bree,
which was an advantage to the warrior.
She made a motion with her right hand, as if to throw something. It was instinctive.
“Razor Wings!”
Shiny, metallic feathers flew
towards the monster. They swirled around
Ally a few seconds before disappearing, leaving Ally covering in shiny green
blood and open gouges.
“GRAHHH!” the monster screamed. “How dare you do that to
me, warrior?!” It lunged toward Bree, arm, claw outstretched. Bree dodged. The monster came at her again, and again she
dodged easily. Ally was not a track star
in this monster form. She was clumsy
almost, in the new body.
“Finish
her off,” the blonde girl said, obviously giving another command. Bree nodded,
dodging another slash.
“Razor Wings!” Bree made several
throwing motions. The monster was
covering in metallic feathers, swirling as if caught in a blizzard. It screamed, a
horrible nails-on-chalkboard sound. The
feathers exploded outward. Bree raised her arms to protect her face. Feeling no cuts or metal on her skin at all, Bree looked. The
feathers, and the monster, had disappeared.
The only occupants left in the park where Bree
and the strange, ghost-like blonde.
“What the hell was that?” Bree asked.
She was back to her regular clothes,
out of the uniform she now knew she could transform into whenever she shouted
her transformation phrase while touching her transformation item, the blue
butterfly charm. Thanks to Mene, she now knew that the butterfly charm also housed the
spirit Vanna, her guardian. Bree was more than
a little confused about the whole thing.
First of all, the blonde girl that
appeared to her and now sitting on her bed was actually an ancient spirit,
Sailor Mene.
Apparently, she came from the moon.
Second, Bree
was actually Sailor Zephyrus, a sailor warrior.
Or at least she was when she transformed. That had something to do with how she
survived her large fall.
Third, she had some sort of mission
that Mene had to fill her in on.
Life was about to get very
interesting.