July, 2001, by Sailor GlitterGirl & Rose Aquarius

 

                                                  

                                 The Universal Galaxy Saga

                                                                          Book One:

                    The Light Never Fades

 

 

 

Chapter Five: School; The Universally Known Torture Chamber

Rated: G, perhaps PG for darkness

By: Sailor GlitterGirl & Rose Aquarius

 

 

 

 

 

            "Princess Universia..." Alex hissed vehemently at her sister.

Ali looked at her sibling, innocence written all over her face.

 

            "What?" She asked, feigning bewilderment that Alex would be

displeased with her.

 

            "Next time you come up with a 'bright' idea, remind me to shoot

you." Alex grumbled. Ali grinned wickedly.

 

 

                              *FLASH*BACK*

 

 

            "You did WHAT?" Laxa cried, leaping out of bed, silver silk

nightgown billowing down to her feet. "Run that by me again?"

 

            "I said, 'Hurry and get up, already; I've enrolled us in school

and we don't want to be late for our first day.' Alright? Now get

dressed! We'll run by one of those speed or quick food places,

whatever they call 'em. Hurry up!"

 

            Laxa was beginning to see red as her sibling strode out of

the room. Laxa groaned and fell back onto the bed, whimpering.

 

            "GET UP!!!*NOW!!!!*" Laxa jumped up at Versia's shout.

Grumbling, Laxa yawned and plodded wearily over to her walk-in closet.

On the door, hanging on a hanger was what had to be the worst uniform

Laxa had ever laid eyes on. With a groan, too weak from her usual

morning blues to complain, she donned the knee length blue pleated

skirt with white blouse which bore a collar and cuffs matching the

skirt. A large red bow on the front finished the sailor look.

 

                       *LATER*IN*FLASHBACK*

 

            "Students of Crossroads High," A redheaded, obviously very

fashionable teacher addressed the assembly in the large courtyard, in

the center of the school. The big blue sky loomed over head, and Alex

wanted nothing more than to just fly away. It was even worse because if

she really wanted to, she COULD!

 

            "Students," the teacher continued. "I would like to present to

you your newest classmates," The teacher stood beside Ali and touched

her shoulder. "This is Alisia Warren," Ali nodded, smiling, and the

teacher proceeded to Alex. "And this is her cousin, Alexandria Whitcom."

 

            Polite clapping issued, and the girls were let off the stage.

Serena and her friends immediately came over to greet them, though it

was obvious that Serena and perhaps Mina were the only ones that were

genuinely glad to see them. The rest wore identically wary expressions.

 

 

                              *END*FLASH*BACK*

 

 

            "Ah, come on, school won't be THAT bad!"

 

            "Oh?" Alex glanced around at the boys' dropped jaws and goggling

eyes, as well as the envious and poisonous glances from the girls.

"How so?" Ali rolled her eyes.

 

            "Okay, so maybe it won't be much fun fending off lovesick guys,

but the academic part should be a snap." Ali snapped her fingers

for emphasis.

 

            "Vers- er, I mean, Ali, darling, aren't you forgetting one oh-so-minor

detail?" Alex sighed.

 

            "Like what?"

 

            "Like the last time we were in school was almost three thousand

years ago?" Alex steered her sister through the crowd, away from a

group of good looking, probably the 'popular', guys. "And what was

considered school for girls back then mostly consisted of dancing,

embroidery, etiquette, and in our case, magic."

 

            Now it was Ali's turn to roll her eyes. "Aren't YOU forgetting

those private lessons Queen Tranquility (AN: Princess Serena's

grandmother.) had us take? History, science -what little we could

grasp anyway; most of that was just plain nonsense and we all know

it- English, languages, you know. We're not TOTALLY out of the times."

 

            "Yeah, well, it's still not going to be easy to catch up on

three thousand years worth of history."

 

            "Actually, only about a thousand, maybe two thousand."

Ali corrected. She continued at her sister's look. "Humans

only have their history as far back as the B.C. times."

 

            "Oh. Okay, that'll make things considerably easier. Now I

won't have to keep the Dragon Wars and the names of the Centranis

(Ambassadors) of the Unicorns and all that junk straight." Ali laughed.

 

       "Well, we had better get started! I can't wait to get to science,

and algebra will be exciting, I have chorus and piano too! This going

to be fun!" Ali said, she was always better at the academics, at least

liked it a lot more than her sister did, whereas Alex/Laxa had always

preferred hands-on things, sports -some of them- and gym, ballet, ect.

 

     "I hate you." Alex grumbled "You ALWAYS liked school!"

 

     "Yep! Always did, always will! What's your first class?"

 

     "Gym. This might not be as bad as I thought." Alex had liked

classes that she could win in, and Gym she knew she would ace.

"What about you?"

 

     "Creative Writing. Ohh, I can do THIS!"

 

            "Really? That's my second class." Alex smiled excitedly. Both

the girls loved writing. It was one thing they had no problem doing.

 

     *BRRRINGGG!!!!!!!*

 

     A loud ring stopped the conversation short and they ran their

separate ways.

 

 

 

                              *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

                                             ALI/VERSIA'S CLASS

                                                            ***

 

 

 

            'Whew! Made it just in time!' Ali thought as she stepped in the door.

 

      "Ms. Haruna?" She asked timidly. She never was used to getting to

know people and was rather nervous without her much bolder sibling

beside her.

  

      "Hello, Miss Warren," Ms. Haruna looked up from her desk and

smiled; she was the same redhead teacher that had introduced them that

morning. "Well, I must wait a moment for everyone to arrive before

starting. Please, just stand there away from the door." Ms. Haruna

said.

            Puzzled she did as asked and just as she moved out of the way

the door flew open and a blond blur was at an empty seat in seconds.

The class covered their ears and someone motioned for her to do the

same.

 

            And it started.

 

            "SERENA TSUKINO! YOU GET HERE *ON* TIME, TOMORROW

OR YOU'LL HAVE DETENTION FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!"

Ms. Haruna ended her tirade and turned to the flustered raven-haired girl,

her tone changing dramatically as she spoke nicely.

 

            Ms. Haruna waved Serena to her seat as the blonde opened her

mouth to speak. Pouting, Serena plopped down in her chair, and Ali

stifled a laugh.

 

            "Well, how do you do? Welcome to Writing class. Why don't you

come up here and tell the class about yourself." Ms. Haruna said.

 

            Ali nodded and walked up to the front, her black book bag

held tightly in front of her. Reaching Ms. Haruna's desk, she turned

and faced the class, only her expert acting abilities keeping her from

portraying how nervous she really was.

 

            "My Name is Alisia Warren," Ali began. "And I come from the

United States, Florida to be exact." She smiled timidly.

 

            "Well, Miss Warren," Ms. Haruna smiled. "Why don't you have a

seat next to Serena, and beside you on your right is Lita Kino, and on

your left is Molly Baker. They are very nice girls and will help you

with getting around." She directed her to sit next to two smiling girls.

 

            Ali went over to her seat and smiled at Serena, and gave a

peacemaking wink to Lita, who's smile was all too fake. Oh, yeah; the

senshi were onto them. Inwardly, Ali sighed as she pulled out her book.

 

     "Please open your books to page 122," And Ms. Haruna started class.

 

            

 

                         *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

                                         ALEX/LAXA'S CLASS

                                                         ***

 

            *Made it just in time!* Alex thought as she jogged into the

large gym, having exchanged her uniform for a dark navy blue leotard

and a big white shirt over it. White socks and padded running shoes

were on her feet.

 

            "Welcome!" Came a strong, throaty voice from behind. Alex

turned to see a woman who definitely was an athlete.

 

            "You must be Alexia Whitcom!" She continued.

 

            "Alexandria, actually," Alex corrected, and held out he hand.

The gym teacher took it, and shook it firmly, Alex was pleased to see.

"And yes, I am she. Thank you. May I ask what sport we're doing 

today?" She asked nicely. Unlike her sister, she could deal with

meeting people. In fact, she loved it.

 

            "Volleyball," The teacher answered. "Today we're split into

two teams, and we'll have a friendly match. I would like you to be on

the team opposite our captain, so she can see what level you're on."

 

            *This is good; I'm pretty good at Volleyball,* Alex thought,

then the gym coach pointed to a blond haired girl with a volleyball

in her hand, then she saw the blonde had a red bow in her hair. The

blonde turned, and Alex held back a groan.

 

            "Hey, Mina!" Alex called, her voice friendly, but sighing

inwardly. She remembered all too well what a legend the Princess Venus

was on the court.

 

            "This is going to be a LONG day." Alex muttered, and jogged

over to the other side of the net, taking her position beside a short

brunette, and the game began.

 

 

 

                       *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

                                              LUNCH

                                                  ***

 

 

            Ali looked about the courtyard for a place to sit. In her

science class she was lab partners with Ami, and still had some blue

liquid in her hair due to a mishap. It didn't show up much thanks to

her dark hair, but it still looked weird; she'd never been one for

highlighting her hair.

 

            Before Ali could find a place to sit and eat she saw a bubbly

blond with a red bow in her hair.

 

            "Ali!" Mina called. "Have lunch with us!" Ali's glanced

around Mina a bit and saw the other senshi, as well as her sister

talking like they were old friends, so she joined the group.

 

            "Hi!" Ali chirped, setting her tray down at the end of the

table, across from Alex. "Hey, sis, how was your first day?" She asked

innocently and was given a scowl mixed with a smile.

 

            "I ended up in all Mina's classes and she totally whooped me

at volleyball. But besides that..."

 

            "Hey! So what if I can't play flute very well!" Mina protested

and the group laughed at the comment.

 

            "What about you Ali?" Alex inquired.

 

            "Well, first there was that creative writing class, and that

was ok. Then, I was blown up in Biology!" she said showing the blue

still in her hair.

 

            "I can't believe I read the instructions wrong." Amy whispered

to herself, the jaws of everyone at the table dropped. "sorry." Amy

said apologetically.

 

            "It's ok! That's the most fun I ever had in science!" Ali

cheered up the timid girl until she smiled brightly.

 

            "The bell's gonna ring soon," Serena said with a mournful

sigh. "Ali, Alex you're coming to the arcade after school right?"

Serena asked, her eyes hopeful. Ali and Alex managed to pretend they

hadn't seen the warning looks that the princess's guardians threw her.

 

            "Oh, yeah we'll be there." Ali said.

 

            "Wouldn't miss it." Alex added cheerfully.

 

                             *BRRRINGGG!!!!*

 

            The sound of the bell ended the conversation and everyone went

to the rest of their classes, waving good-bye.

 

 

 

                *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

 

 

 

            "I swear, I think Patricia Haruna LIVES to torment me." Serena

muttered as she dragged her feet to the booth where everyone else was

sitting and plopped down next to Ali and Alex, who gave each other

knowing looks.

 

            <Hasn't changed a bit.> Alex laughed.

 

            <Only difference appearance wise is that she doesn't HAVE

to look and behave like a princess.> Ali thought to her sibling.

 

            It was after school on Friday, that same day that Ali and Alex

had first attended, at the Arcade, in the mini cafe that was off to the

side.

 

            "So, is this place one of your guys' main hangouts?" Ali

asked innocently as she swirled her straw in her chocolate shake, and

took her first sip. A dreamy look over came her face as the creamy,

chocolaty icy substance touched her mouth.

 

            <Oh, god, Laxa, I'm in heaven...> Alex heard Ali moan

telepathically. Alex shook her head mentally, then her expression

mirrored her sister's as she took the straw of her strawberry shake and

sipped.

 

            <Mmmmmm...ditto...> The silver haired guardian murmured though

mind speak.

 

            "Uh...hello? Anyone home?" Lita shook a hand across the three

dreamy faces of the girls, receiving no reply, as Serena too had

receded into chocolate milk shake bliss. Only when all three shakes

were gone -with mournful farewell glances to the empty glasses- did

the three beauties turn their attention back to the other four girls.

 

            Light chatter ensued, the girls not really feeling free to talk

for real, as Ali and Alex were there.

 

            <Wise of them,> Ali observed. <We know they don't really trust

us, or are trying not to let themselves for safety's sake.>

 

            <Well, wouldn't we have done the same?> Alex countered.

 

            <Yes, I suppose.> Ali agreed, and winced. <And I guessed it was

our own fault for talking so freely. I can't believe we didn't notice

that they were ALL following us!>

 

            <Um, we're...a bit rusty?> Alex suggested. She smiled as she

felt her sister mentally roll her eyes.

 

            <Gee, ya think? After a thousand years of only sparring on

occasion? Yeah, we're rusty.>

 

            <Well, then, it's a good thing I signed us up for extra gym and

karate at school.> Alex said smugly. Ali shrieked, aloud, spraying

her mouthful of water all over the table.

 

            "You WHAT?" Ali whirled on her sibling. "You little-" Her

next words were cut off as Alex clamped a hand down over her sister's

bottom half of her face, cutting of her air as well as her words.

 

            <Shut up!> Alex hissed mentally. <Don't have a cow!>

 

            <Okay, okay, what are we gonna say?> Ali said horridly.

           

            <Umm...say we have a secret sister hand and winking language.>

 

            <Okay, sounds good...> Ali's voice became slightly faint. <Um,

sister dear? Mind letting me breathe? Blue is more your color.>

 

            "Oops, sorry," Alex backed away from a blue and purple faced

Ali.

 

            "You guys okay?" Mina asked cautiously.

 

            "Uh, yeah, Alex just told me something I wasn't...expecting."

 

            Raye shot the girls a glance. How could she have told her

something? They hadn't spoken! Aloud, at least.

 

            "Oh. Um...how did you do...that?" Serena asked, blinking.

 

            "Oh, we have a secret hand and eye signal language." Ali said

casually, taking a sip of her water.

 

            "Yeah, we've been using it since we were, what, five?" Alex

looked at her sister and Ali nodded.

 

            "Yeah, somewhere around there. It's as easy as Japanese to us

now."

 

            "Cool! That's so neat!" Serena gushed, breaking the tension. A

loud beeping suddenly rang, and Serena shrieked as she glanced down at

her watch. "Oh, no! I'm late for my date with Darien! Oh, man!" Without

another word, she dashed away. Exchanging glances, Ali and Alex burst

out laughing.

 

            <Oh, yeah, still the same Meatball Head Princess.> Ali cracked.

Alex chuckled along with her, as everyone else shook their heads and

smiled.

 

            "Must be nice having such a sweet and steady boyfriend as

Darien," Lita sighed, leaning on the table and sipping at her coke.

 

            "Yeah, my grandpa would have a cow though, if I had a serious

boyfriend at my age." Raye grimaced.

 

            "Yeah, same here." Mina sighed in agreement. "My dad is sooo

overprotective. And my mom is super picky about my crushes."

 

            "Well, as much as I miss having a mom and dad, I don't miss

MY mom and dad, cause I never knew them," Lita shrugged. The others

nodded in agreement; it was true. Ali and Alex exchanged knowing glances.

Not miss your parents? The sisters could barely remember the time when

they and their mother's, the first Sailor Senshi, the original Sailor

Guardians, and their half brother had been together. They had never

met their biological father, as he had died before they were born, and

they'd only seen their mother's second husband twice, as he'd been a

diplomat.

 

            "Yes, it is rather hard for me to have a separated mum and

father, but at least I know they still love me," Amy said, her eyes

gentle. The others smiled at her.

 

            "Looks like we're all pretty close to our parents, even in

death," Mina added that last after looking at Lita, who shrugged, her

eyes only slightly remorseful.

 

            "What about you girls?" Raye asked the sisters. "What are your

parents like?" That was when Raye gasped inaudibly, noticing the girls'

eyes, which were now both cloudy and dark, guarded, and heavy with despair

and sadness.

 

            "Our mother was a great woman," Ali spoke quietly. Despite both

girls having loved their family dearly, it was undeniable that Ali had

been the closest to their mother.

 

            Ali suddenly leaped up and bolted from the arcade, running full

out towards Alex's and hers apartment, sobs tearing at her throat and

tears streaming down her face as she ran, a black blur weaving through

the streets, her anguish so strong even Raye felt a tinge of it.

 

            "I'll see you guys later," Alex said quietly, simply, and

walked quickly out the door, wiping away a single tear of her own, and

hurried after her sister.

 

            <Oh, Versia...>

 

 

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