Solar Revolution

Monday, March 23

If it weren't for the fact that Celeste didn't drink, she would think she had a hangover. The blinding headache, sensitivity to noise (though not light, not for the senshi of truth, light, and growth), dizziness, and the constant sense of being on the verge of retching were her symptoms. But also all her muscles were so achy that it made her grateful she was home schooled. From the moment her alarm went off, Celeste knew it was going to be a horrible day. She had refused to crawl out of bed, it being freezing outside the covers. When Celeste had sent a phone call to the landlord about the heater being unresponsive, he told her that apparently the heating system was malfunctioning. So Celeste curled up deeper in the covers, forcing her body to sleep.

An insistent clicking on the glass door leading to the balcony forced her to sit up. Phoebe was outside in the frost, and Celeste obliged to let Phoebe in, ignoring the misery the few steps caused. Celeste glared outdoors, knowing the reason for her unprompted illness. The weather. It was dark outside, and wasn't likely to get any brighter as the day went on. Moments after Phoebe had been let inside, it started to rain, and shortly afterwards hail pelted her window. The rainy gloom was the bane to her existence. Celeste had always been a sun loving child, though now it was apparent why to her extreme extent, and had hated clouds that covered the sky-light source with a passion. Oh, she didn't mind the nice innocent ones that were a soft thin puffy white, ones that didn't hint at rain nor the blockage of the sun. Actually, they made for great natural colors and photo opportunities.

#You should sleep in the living room, Lantern-eyes. That way you won't be so close to the cold window and that infernal hail.# Celeste was tired, and while speaking telepathically was less strenuous, it wasn't second nature yet. Celeste needed sunlight, as much as plants did. Though I'm sure there are plenty of plants quenching their thirst at the moment. Phoebe had explained to her that while Celeste had always been exceptionally susceptible to disease in miserable weather, it was more so now that she was the Solar Sailor. How many other lovely side effects will I have sprung on me? Apparently, Celeste's Stellarian heritage caused her skin to have photosynthetic properties. For Celeste was never tired during daylight, and apparently the sunlight was a big part of what allowed her body to take on so much strain, what with so many varieties of power reservoirs to fill, maintain, and use. And Phoebe assured her that most Stellarians could go days without food so long as they had plenty of starlight.

Oftentimes it felt as though she was invincible when she was the Solar Sailor in sunlight. It was similar with the moon, though not quite as powerful. Celeste was unsure if this was because she had Lunar heritage as well; because the moon merely reflected sunlight, hence changing it slightly but still usable; or if light was light and the sun was merely more brilliant than the moon. Perhaps there was information in the Scriptures. Celeste as of yet was hesitant to look in the Scriptures for anything so frivolous.

However, it was quite clear that with the sun hidden behind the clouds, for days according to the weather reports, Celeste's health had plummeted. The living room would probably be preferable, except I don't think my stomach or legs can withstand the walk. Phoebe sent, #I could go astral and lend you my strength... But there isn't sunlight for me to feed off of, and you are in no state to become the Solar Sailor. And I haven't mastered the knack of reverting to my natural form without either.# Celeste curled in her bed once more and thought, too exhausted to project but knowing Phoebe would pick it up, So the all-wise tertiary astral phoenix doesn't know everything. Celeste chuckled at the range of insults Phoebe threw, Phoebe having no patience for being the teased or mocked or criticized. The chuckle turned into a series of violent hacking coughs that arched Celeste's back and strained her lungs. Before Phoebe could say anything, Celeste reverted to her earlier grouchy mood, her labored breathing and sore lungs the culprit. Bird. Quiet. Need. Sleep. And Celeste drifted off into a restless sleep, dreaming of dark blast that shook the ground and a bright light, leaving her alive to see the people she loved writhing in pain for their few moments left in this world. When Celeste later woke up, she remembered nothing, but found Phoebe shivering with fear.

Rini for once regretted where she chose to sit. At the beginning of the year, it had seemed to be a marvelous idea. The chair in the middle of the row, but right by the window. Here Rini could slack off without the suspicion those in the last row always received. And also, the window gave a great view of the football field, soccer field, pool, and track. How Darien would be shocked to know his little girl looked forward to the days when the football and boys soccer teams would play shirts against skins. Not that the swimmers or track runners were anything to dismiss. Serena would be outraged that Rini did this, and even more outraged she never thought of it. But today as Rini huddled in her wool sweater and purple raincoat in Ms. Heruna's class at Crossroads Junior High, Rini wished she sat anywhere but here. The rainstorm that had blown in this morning had developed into a thunderstorm. And I hate lightning. Hate it! Hate it! HATE it! Mother used to tell me tales of the Silver Millennium, and the Moon Kingdom never had thunderstorms. But then again, she also told me how she was once caught out in the open during a Jovian storm, and only Princess Jupiter being there had saved her life. Mother always found that as amusing as horrendous, for Jupiter had not been sworn in as a senshi yet. But the fearful awe mother always got when she told of it terrified me when I was little. How could mother be afraid of anything? Then again, I hadn't met meatball head yet. How different they are, yet so alike.

Another streak of bolts lit the sky, and Rini reflexively counted. Five. Good, that means for now there is nothing to worry about. Although I do hope it hits harmless large rocks and other objects that won't be damaged or cause damage. Rini trembled in her purple raincoat at the thought of elsewhere possibilities, the raincoat a gift from Hotaru.

No one understood the relationship between them. They were more than sisters, more than friends, yet neither was attracted to the other in that way. It was just that sometimes just thinking about something Hotaru said, or the way she would have laughed at something, or how her violet eyes would flash darkly as she would defend Rini, they all made Rini's gaze go distant and a little happy half-smile to appear on her face. But when they were together, there seemed no need to try explaining their kinship with one another.

Not that they always agreed. For example, Rini was in theory not speaking to Hotaru. First off, Hotaru did the stupid thing and turned down a perfectly wonderful guy over something as petty as age. "Look at the age difference between Serena and Darien," Rini had pointed out. Hotaru argued, "That is different. They were destined for one another. And as for another thing, they were older when they met in the first place. Besides, Daddy would never let me go on a date until I'm 16, let alone with a boy so much older than myself." While others would have argued with the last point, Rini refused to. She understood how Hotaru felt about her father; Rini felt identically about Darien and King Endymion. Rini would never push Hotaru to do something her father wouldn't approve of, it would devastate Hotaru to be pushed into such a conflict. And she still wasn't sure if it came to a choice between Dr. Tomoe and herself, that Hotaru wouldn't choose her father.

But Rini was angry when Hotaru spurred on the art museum trip on her. Rini had been babyish when she started her tantrum. The thought of all that time spent staring at artworks and trying to derive their meaning was enough to make Rini yawn. But now that Rini thought about it, it could be an opportunity for romance for Hotaru and Brian. Serena would be all too happy to give romance advice, and Rini would happily listen, provided Serena didn't know when it would actually take place. It was a precaution so there wouldn't be an extra meddling blonde there. Speaking of blondes, maybe Celeste and Mina would be better choices for advice. Mina is full of romantic ideas and is an established matchmaker, and Celeste has a good understanding of people and has been on more dates than even Raye and Lita and Mina combined. Probably more than all of us combined. Maybe she'll let on a few secrets so I can snag a nice soccer player. Rini remembered the last soccer player who wanted to date her, before his beautiful dream had been temporarily snagged, and how she turned him down because she didn't feel anything for him.

But Rini's outlook has changed since then. Rini didn't let anyone in on the fact that she still was head over heels over Helios. She didn't trust the older girls not to tease her, she couldn't tell her peers, and Hotaru had never met Helios. Had the two met, Rini would be thrilled to confide in her. But until then, anything she would say about him would seem like a fabrication. Still, Rini had recently come to conclusion that she would follow Celeste's example, play the field to know some guys better and see if any appealed as boyfriends. While Rini knew she would never love any guy the way she did Helios, Rini also knew her chances of seeing him again were slim. And there is no reason I can't go to fun places with other guys and possibly snag a kiss every once in a while. It is simple practicality.

Rini stopped her thoughts and renewed her awareness. She was truly her parents' child, for while she did slack off during class like Serena had, she also had inherited her father's innate sense of timing. Hence, Ms. Heruna's attempt in trapping Rini in a daydreaming mode was foiled. Ms. Heruna cleared her throat to make an announcement. "Class, since it is the beginning of the last quarter in two weeks, I want us to have one last project that will go on through the semester. I'm going to divide you up into groups of three to work on a project called 'Decades of fun.' Each group will be given a fifty year range in which they will research and present information on it. However, you will also be reading a book from and about that era. The information is to be global. There will be a ten page overview of what happened within your five decades, and each group will have between 45 and 75 minutes to present their project. A third of the project is graded on the 5 page paper and presentation on the book and how it presents its era. The book presentation in turn must take up a minimum of fifteen minutes and may not exceed 25. And now I will read out your groups." As Ms. Heruna told more and more about her 'little' project, more and more moans and groans of anguish came from the students. This is not a seventh grade level project. This is college level!

Ms. Heruna soothingly expressed, "Think of it as a lesson in cooperation, collaboration, and coalescing." Behind Rini, Julian Pearal, m.c.k.a. Ral, whispered, "Co-rruption, eruption, ruption." Rini tried to glare at him, but it was ruined by the smile tugging at her lips. It was further devastated when he wiggled his ears. She ended up giggling, right when her father's talent failed. Or perhaps it worked, but in opposition to its purpose, for Ms. Heruna caught the giggling. "Well well Miss Little Tsukino, I'm glad to see you enjoy the prospects of our project. Perhaps you two, Rini and Ral, would enjoy being in the same group, without a third person to help save your grades from your slacking off. And I'll give you two 1550-1600. And I'd like you two to add an additional four pages to your report. Single-spaced. That is, if it is alright."

Rini and Ral nodded solemnly. While Ral was only embarrassed, Rini was furious. Ms. Heruna's husband had died this year from choking on his medication. She had been bitter since, not extremely bitter, but bitter nonetheless. While she was generally perfectly nice, she had gotten heavy handed with punishments. And she especially liked targeting Rini, who, though a 3.75 Honor Student, was Serena's younger cousin (this time; Rini switches off from being sister to cousin). It was decided that from here on out Rini would be Serena's cousin, for this year she was in the same grade as Sammy. This used to not be a problem, but with Rini getting older every time she returns it was less believable that Sammy and Rini were such close aged siblings. One day I might come back to find myself older than Serena. That would be wonderful, especially if Darien was still older than myself. But Rini was still mad, for she was a good student, hard as that is to believe coming from Serena's daughter. And Ral, well let's just say that Ral had been in seventh grade once already, and would probably be in it again next year. He was really smart, but didn't pay attention in class nor did any work, not even in class assignments. Why me? I'm stuck pulling the load of three because I'm given one partner instead of two, and my one partner is dead weight. Maybe I can let the senshi fight the Evolites without me. God, only way this could be worse was if...

The deity of perversity must have read her thoughts, for Odette thumped in. Not that Odette wasn't graceful, her mother was a prima ballerina and her father was a choreographer and dancer (he was a master in many styles), but Odette didn't take example from her parents. There had once been a performance at school and Odette's parents had been two of the performers. Afterwards students could ask questions. From this and a brief history of Odette, Rini had put two and two together. Odette's parents had encouraged her to dance, but didn't push her. When Odette showed an interest in ice skating, they allowed it. Odette was supposed to have been good, really good, until one day a clumsy amateur had run into her and knocked her into a contorted position. Both of Odette's legs had been shattered.

While Odette could walk again, she would never be the skater she was. What followed was a time of depression and vast weight gain. Odette's parents didn't push her to stop eating so much (having a sense that Odette would go anorexic if told that), nor pushed her to exercise. Now all Odette did was stare into space, sleep, cry, eat, argue, and complain, in reverse order by preference. Odette was only a few inches taller than Rini, but obviously weighed near twice of what Rini weighed. Rini knew Odette would only be even more dead weight. Worse, dead weight that would complain and argue because Rini "wasn't doing it right," and would do nothing to fix it herself. And it happened that Rini and Ral were the only group with two people, meaning Odette automatically was in their group. Rini suppressed a groan, but barely. This was going to be a long project.

Tuesday, March 24

Amy walked down the numerous hallways to her locker. It was the lunch period, and the Cafeteria prices were horrendous. Not that the Cafeteria sold anything but healthy brain food. But still, it was a better value sticking with bagged lunches. Amy wandered, having no particular area of calling today at Mercy. She decided she would stop at the Mendel Hall computer lab. Since Mercy was so full of over achievers and brainiacs, lunchtime was a different experience from conventional high schools. Instead of just lounging around, goofing off, and playing sports, people here spend their time working on class work or independent projects or homework. They would instead read books or play scrabble or chess. Instead of blaring the latest pop tunes, classical music was a must have on all discmen. While most high school social centers were the quads, gyms, and outdoors, here students were allowed, encouraged even, to stay indoors. The school had long hours and in turn gave a long lunch period. Often students would hang out in the libraries, work on their websites in the computer labs, perform science experiments, compose free form music, and work on artwork.

And oddly in this environment, Amy was one of the popular kids. Not that she had many close friends, but her personality, beauty, and exceptional achievements in a school of prodigies made her the girl everyone wanted to be and know. Had it not been that Serena hadn't let them drift apart and senshi business forced them to interact, Amy would have lost her few close friends. There were times when Amy drowned in loneliness, submersing herself deeper into schoolwork. Even though Amy was just a freshman, there was word that she would definitely be their class valedictorian as a senior.

Amy walked down to the first floor of the Edison Hall, and for a moment walked outdoors. The Mendel Hall computer lab had the best computer software on organic sciences; Edison Hall computer lab had the best programs on molecular chemistry and physics and a huge database on inventors. Amy had no homework to do, for at Mercy, teachers gave the week's worth of homework on Monday and due on the following Monday. Not to say the workload was light, it just gave students the opportunity to manage their time and work on homework around their schedule. The only assignments given during the week were to finish that day's class work. And Amy had been the only one in all her classes to finish the class work with time to spare. And there were no tests to study for, because Amy was absolutely prepared. But Amy had a personal project she wanted to work on in the Mendel Hall computer lab.

Amy was working on a special computer program, combining the excellent computers of Mercy with her Mercury Computer. It was a program that would accurately map one's DNA. Amy hoped that after she succeeded with that step, she could expand the program to determine one's genes and the exact parameters of them. But Amy dared not share that ambition with anyone. Amy knew there was moral issues with this type of knowledge. Amy kept her work mostly on disk, not daring to trust it to remain on the school computers. Amy would work solely at home, but her household PC lacked the capability and accessibility to information the school computers have. And Amy would not burn out the Mercury Computer on something so selfish. But as it was, Amy had her disk and files packed with encryptions and passwords and self-destruct traps. But that meant little in a school full of prodigies, for one in every seven students were computer whizzes, ³/4 of those were known hackers. So Amy was very cautious with her work. The few who asked her what she was doing thought she was just trying to map her own DNA, and using the computer to make elaborate ways of graphing it. While Amy had made some progress, one problem she kept coming across was how to make the program realize there was 46 chromosomes for each person. It would either, with the few faux codes she inputted, would think each chromosome was a different person or would overwrite a previous chromosome and save the current one over it.

Someone tapped on Amy's shoulder, and Amy immediately hit the keys to close her programs and lock her information. Amy turned around and exclaimed, "Naomi, Minnie, what are you two doing in here?" Naomi and Minnie were Amy's only friends at Mercy, or at least people Amy considered more than friendly acquaintances.

Naomi was a math and literature genius. There was no math problem she couldn't crack with time, nor no book she couldn't understand perfectly. Naomi's fault in math was that she wasn't particularly fast solving the problems. Give Naomi quick basics on a method, and she could easily solve a multiple step problem expanding on the basics. Problem was, Naomi took 1.5 times longer than the average student who was taught how to do the multiple step problem itself. Never mind that Naomi only once or twice in her life made a math error, the teachers were exasperated by this brain child. And when it came to literature, Naomi was adept at understanding everything from writing style to symbols to allusions to metaphors to theme and message. But Naomi's English Literature professor disliked Naomi. Naomi was so smart and defied the instructor. Amy could understand why Naomi felt that Nick in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby was a hypocrite, and at times even agreed with this statement. However, Naomi tended to be passive when the topic wasn't something that she was passionate about. Amy admired her dedication, and knew Naomi was absolutely loyal to anyone she considered a friend.

Minnie, short for Minerva, was a social studies prodigy. She was obsessed over mythology, living up to her namesake. Minnie had a great capacity when it came to memorizing names, significance, and dates. There were some rumors that she had memorized the school history books, school mythology books, and three sets of encyclopedias. When Amy teasingly asked her about it, Minnie simply replied the rumors do her little justice. Minnie found different cultures and religions to be of great interest. And Minnie went overboard with her interest frequently. On history tests Minnie has never gotten less than 96%, and those ninety-sixes were when she forgot to study, so the school was lenient with the drama that goes on whenever Minnie had yet another conversion. Amy and Naomi were the only ones to know that Minnie never sincerely believed in her converted religion, but did so to get a better understanding. Most assumed she merely did it for the attention. Minnie also excelled in her humanities, philosophy, and psychology classes. But Amy mostly noted the flamboyance and how Minnie preferred thinking in theoretical terms rather than practical. But being friends with Minnie meant things were never dull.

Minnie gestured wildly as she explained, "We've been looking for you all lunch. We wanted to play three-way table hockey in the student lounge, and you were our top candidate, after much elimination." Amy smiled and assented. Naomi and Minnie pulled her up and skipped to the student lounge. Amy did all she could to not laugh at their arms swinging every which way in graceless movements.

Wednesday, March 25

Lita, who generally watched in amusement at Mina and Serena's antics, was the one they watched with amusement. Lita always had loved rainy days, with the exception of the one where her first infatuation blew her off. But that day was also the one where Lita finally discovered the extent of her bond with Ken. Right now Lita was on the lawn of the quad and was out in the rain spinning and embracing the droplets coming from the heavens. Lita stuck her tongue out to catch some bits of pure water on her tongue. Mina laughed and said to Serena from the safety of the overhang, "She looks like a dog panting with her tongue out like that." Serena kept her face straight as she replied maliciously, "Oh I wouldn't go that far." A flash was in the sky which branched out. Serena gasped and crouched down. Mina simply cringed. Lita thought the lightning was beautiful. She stopped her stepping and stuck her foot out to brace herself against her momentum as she admired the beautiful light in the sky. No one understood how she felt about lightning. The light quickly faded, temporarily scarring the gray clouds. A few moments later thunder pounded the sky.

"Lita, you fool, you've been out there long enough. Get over here so we can go inside and warm up. This is too dangerous with lighting. I'm serious," Mina demanded. With chattering teeth Serena agreed, "C-c-come on. It-t-t's fre-ee-e-ezing. P-pl-lease Lita." But they were speaking to deaf ears. Lita just stood there with a blissful smile and shut eyes as her bouncy hair was matted to her head. She was oblivious to the exit her blonde friends made.

Lita sat down on the lawn, which at the moment was soft mud beneath the plush layer of grass. It was insignificant that her clothes would get wet, possibly muddy. She had PE next period anyway, so her PE clothes would suffice for the rest of the day. Not that she was consciously thinking any of this. For some reason Lita zoned out when in the rain. It wasn't disorientation, more of her thoughts were no longer in the present. Lita never remembered the past in dreams. She was unique in that she never dreamed, at least nothing pertinent. There had been one exception, right before the senshi confronted the Bureau of Bad Behavior, but that is besides the point. Lita was having a flashback of her previous life.

***

She was in the family forest. Only members of the royal family were allowed within the Jovian Family Dryad Woods. Not even the Moon's Queen Serenity, their liege, was allowed to walk among the trees. Not even priests. It was to prevent lumberjacks and other desecrators from ruining the trees. For the trees grew big and strong and healthy. They were the reason the royal family was notorious for being big, strong, and healthy. At age ten a member of the royal family was permitted to either pick a grown tree or plant the seed of a new one. Should one pick a grown tree, a gash would be made in both the tree and human so blood and sap could blend. There was a ritual then to bind the two together. Should one pick a seed, they would plant it and water it that day with his/her own blood. Once the seed reached an age where it grew bark, that was when the blood would be mixed with sap. This is why Jovians were known as dryads (nymphs associated with trees). The bond meant the tree would lend its strength to its human, and the human would care for the tree by preventing vermin infestations and by pruning the tree.

Common-folk were allowed to do this as well, but they did not have a forest already granted to them. They could choose to do this, while it was mandatory for the royal family. But the common-folk were forced to expend a lot of money to buy soil capable of sustaining such life and to pay for protections around their tree. For lumberjacks were numerous on Jupiter, and many of the best trees were those that were bonded to a human. Despite cutting a bonded tree being highly illegal and immoral, it still happened. Should a person's tree die, most frequently did the person as well, or were disfigured enough that they wish they were dead. The advantage of an already grown tree was that the person knew it was strong and didn't run the risk of it dying immaturely. But the advantage of growing your own tree was that the bond was deeper. It was inadvisable to bond to multiple trees, same with multiple bonders to one tree, but it did happen occasionally.

Princess Jupiter was eight, and was with her older brother and sister, the prince and heir Drake under the house of Dryad and princess Jolie under the house of Dryad, the official family name. Drake was eleven, and already had his own tree, a monstrous elm, symbolizing dignity, and Jolie at twelve had a proud pomengranate tree, symbolizing mature elegance. Since the area was so well protected and the King and Queen gave their children a great amount of freedom, they were without guards. Drake and Jolie had wanted to check on the health of their trees, and Jupiter had been permitted to go so she wouldn't torment the council members.

Jupiter cared nothing for the topic of the fight between her siblings. Jolie and Drake were too close in age, and both were just as pompous of their importance, Jolie being the firstborn and Drake being the heir. Jupiter let her eyes wander, knowing that since her left hand was in Jolie's right and her right in Drake's left, she wouldn't get left behind or lost. Jupiter rarely spent time with her siblings, for she had a separate tutor, separate friends, and she had no duties to bring her in their common company. She mostly saw them at morning meal, dinner time, and when father and mother spent an hour with them just being a family. Jupiter started whistling. Drake and Jolie were giving each other the silent treatment, so Drake asked, "Where'd you learn to whistle?" There was nothing snide or patronizing in his voice, just sincere brotherly interest. Jupiter responded, "The lark and robins in the Uranian quarters." The house of Fememhyr, one of the three ruling houses Uranus, had sent a diplomat a week ago. The diplomat was highly ranked, said to have trace blood connections to the Cielo kin, the royal family's bloodline. Jupiter always befriended the castle visitors. She was a friendly child, and one who never caused trouble, so was a welcomed delight to the visitors. The Queen and King found no reason to curb this behavior, for a few treaties were signed only after the diplomats were befriended by the youngest princess. Drake found Jupiter's response amusing, and Jolie hugged her little sister.

It started raining, and Jolie said, "We should get out of this. Lightning could follow soon." Jolie narrowed her eyes as she tried to remember where one of the stone shelters were. It was a luxury that was ubiquitous on planet Jupiter. Lightning storms and intense winds and other wretched weather was frequent, and the stone shelters were there to provide protection. Travelers often used them as safe places to camp out, and were placed within a mile of each other. Drake reacted before Jolie could remember and yelled over the now pouring rain as he shoved her in the right direction, "Move it! There is a shelter nearby! Follow me!" If it weren't for the fact that the situation could easily become critical, Jolie would have lectured him for his rude behavior. He didn't give her a chance to respond. His feet pounded through twists and turns, and should he get them lost, Jolie would hold a gloating look in her face for the next couple of days. But Drake knew exactly where they were going and brought the to a stone shelter.

They huddled in there, and watched in awe as lightning struck. The trees were enchanted to withstand lightning, but the royal siblings were not. The lightning and thunder was beautiful, and soon it hailed. Jupiter shivered in the cold, and Jolie stroked her hair, hugged her tightly, and whispered kindly, "We'll soon be back home, in dry clothes and roaring fires going in our rooms as we snuggle into our beds. Soon." Jupiter asked, "Promise?" Drake said, "This is Jolie speaking. She knows what she's talking about." They were too old to believe in magical mystical forces, so it was just a coincident the rain stopped then. Drake and Jolie got out to stand and beckoned, "Come out now, Jupiter."

***

"Come out now, Lita!" Mina yelled. Lita looked up. A great many gusts had picked up and were making Lita shiver. "The bell rang. You are going to be late in addition to catching pneumonia. You hear me?" Serena nagged. Lita stood up and squeezed excess water from her hair. She had lost her train of thought. "I heard you," she called good-naturedly to her friends. She walked past them. She swirled and tapped her toe impatiently, "You two coming or what?"

It was 5^th period Michelle was expected to attend PE today at the private non-uniform Miracielo High School, though lately she was able to get out of it due to swim team. I suppose if I also joined water polo I could skip this entirely, but I’m not inclined towards water polo. While I’m good at it, it is so violent and competitive. Maybe I’ll start diving, even though the season started. That could be fun, and they would probably let me. However, that would cut into my free time. Then again… Amara does have track practices during the same hours, and she is my ride anyways. And my artwork can take a break. Yes, I’ll look into diving this afternoon. But for now, I still have to do PE. Michelle walked into the locker room to change into her PE clothes. As she passed the different locker blocks, she saw girls behave strangely.

Some of the girls quickly covered themselves up, or put their backs to her, or glared, or were aghast. I’m not going to rape any of them. Sheesh. First off, I am perfectly happy with my current relationship. Secondly, the thought of doing that without consent is disturbing. And thirdly, none of them really attract me. To be honest, with the exception of Amara, I find myself attracted to guys more than girls. Not that I don’t admire a beautiful female figure, but I don’t really think of myself as a lesbian. The object of my love just happens to be female. And Amara I find more attractive than any guy I’ve met. Not that anyone ever gives me a chance to explain this to them.

Michelle turned to her locker, and with graceful twists, deftly opened up her locker. She started to change into her PE shirt, when she noticed her hair was a mess. This locker block didn’t have many girls, but they all felt awkward from this lesbian sitting down to brush her hair with only a bra on. It was only that Michelle was comfortable with her body that she did this, and that she didn’t want aqua strands of hair to cling to her shirt. Michelle just shut her eyes to shut her attention from the weird looks. When she finished brushing her hair, she languidly glanced past her eyelashes at the other girls. They were hastily getting dressed and pointedly ignoring her. All except one, who seemed to try avoiding looking at her, but was ashamed whenever she peaked over her shoulder at Michelle. Glenda. Wonder why her behavior is different? Michelle casually pondered.

Glenda was an outcast. She wasn’t anti-conformist, she just didn’t fit in. The outfit she was changing out of was a pair of scandalously short/tight tulip-purple plastic shorts over a pair of teal spandex pants, over which was a rainbow ribbon used instead of a belt. She had on a bright red sparkly v-neck, sleeveless, mid-drift shirt that was a cotton-spandex blend. Her black fleece vest reached mid waist. This outfit was one that needed a fabulous figure with coloring to match, which Glenda did manage. Glenda had beautifully kept ash-blonde hair which was in a soft cut around her shoulders. Glenda’s face was perfectly pleasant, with eyes that matched the color of her shorts. But her outfit was overdone and gaudy by the popular group’s standards. Her jewelry was odd, opals in silver settings attached to hemp bracelets, necklaces, anklets, and even earrings; definitely not an expected combination. But it wasn’t only Glenda’s clothes that made her an outcast. She didn’t quite fit into any group, for though she was known as a poet and actress, Glenda was too upbeat for the only groups that did lean in those directions. And she was too quiet and deep for most other groups, and too spacey to fit in with the brainy groups. So Glenda wasn’t disliked by any group, she just didn’t have a niche with them.

Michelle had no more time to think of the whys of Glenda’s distinct behavior, for she had to get going. Within a matter of moments Michelle was ready to play German dodge ball. For that was what was fairly universal on rainy days at schools with multiple PE classes at a time. There was one Junior PE class, one Sophomore, and two Freshmen, all four of which were co-ed. After each class quickly did warm-ups, ran a few laps around the gym, and quickly stretched, the classes were divided. The first match would be the one Freshman team against the other. The other two classes lounged on the sidelines, and even though it was crowded, there was an area of room around Michelle. The school found out about Amara and me only about a month ago. Had we not been so beneficial to our school’s already exalted prestige, we would have suffered more hostilities than we do. I think with time we will become accepted, though most people stiffly tolerate us now. And I’m not obtuse enough to think Amara and I are the first homosexuals at Miracielo, but we are the first to have an open relationship. Amara said last night over dinner that she thought we are truly pioneers at our school, and will set an example that one can have a normal life while being homosexual. Though our lives are far from normal. The main hostilities come from Jared, and the administration remaining oblivious to our hardships and relationship. I think the only way the administration would acknowledge us in that way, two prominent achievers, would be if we went to the newspapers saying we are taking a leave of absence from our activities to visit San Francisco for the Gay Pride Parade. That would certainly make their eyes pop. Michelle felt under scrutiny, and though not nearly as observant as Celeste, she noticed Glenda was shyly looking in her direction. Must be she is empathetic about my social isolation.

Finally it was time for the Sophomores and Juniors to play. The coaches decided to divide it up into boys vs. girls. Every girl groaned because they would lose, and the boys groaned cause there wouldn’t be any challenge. Michelle groaned because Jared was on the other team, and knew he was going to try pelting her, full force. Jared’s parents must have forgoed teaching him to never hit a girl, or else he thought lesbians were exempt from the rule. And one of the coaches was stupid enough to give the one of the three nerfballs to Jared, the other two to Glenda and some Sophomore girl. Glenda and the Sophomore girl immediately took aim. It turned out that Glenda was good at this, for she managed to get two boys out with one hit. The Sophomore’s hit was easily caught. Jared had bided his time and now drilled it at Michelle. He focused more on strength over accuracy, for it was at a level which Michelle could easily catch it. However there was so much momentum from the nerfball that it bounced out of her hands.

And Glenda was ready to catch it. She then nailed Jared with it. Jared was out. Glenda just looked smug, and oddly gave Michelle a look seeking approval. Michelle was distracted enough to get pelted in the ankle, a hit she could have otherwise easily avoided. Michelle shrugged, rolled her eyes, and glided to the prison with a great deal of dignity. There was a load of girls shortly in prison, most caring little for this turn of events, and instead were chattering with their pals. So Michelle was the only one aware of the toss Glenda sent Michelle. Michelle quickly realized it and managed to knock some boy out. By doing so, Michelle was allowed back into the game. It looked fairly hopeless for the girls side, for besides Glenda and Michelle, there was one sophmore JV softball player, one Varsity basketball playing Junior , a pair of chatting Sophomores barely within boundaries and not noticed, and a timid Junior whom nobody could quite remember her name. The boys were at half strength, but had good enough tosses to reach the prison. But somehow the girls managed to win, for Glenda and the JV softball player and Varsity basketball player managed to bring back plenty of girls out of prison, while everyone else managed to pelt the boys into nonexistence. Oddly Glenda seemed to go out of her way to protect Michelle, but that was a silly thought.

The classes were let out five minutes early, for doing such a good job today. Michelle hung back, wanting to talk to the Diving coach. When the other coaches had left, she approached him. “What can I do for you today, Michelle?” he kindly asked. Michelle swiftly came to her point, “I’m wondering if it is too late to join the diving team?” The coach carefully considered his response, “You know tryouts were weeks ago, don’t you, and that we are already into the season- ” Michelle patiently and calmly responded, “Yes, I am quite aware of this. However, I only came to the conclusion that I would enjoy doing this today.” The coach thought before asking, “Are you any good? And by good, I mean as good at diving as you are at swimming.” Michelle promptly nodded, “Absolutely.” The coach reluctantly offered, “I’ll give you a shot to show me what you’ve got. Be there in your swim suit at 3:00 sharp, cause I know you don’t have a seventh class, and that way it won’t get in the way of the others’ practice. Got it?” Michelle smugly smiled, “Yes.” As he was walking off, Michelle called, “May I make a quick request?” The coach halted and impatiently awaited her question. She continued, “Would you mind if I occasionally miss practices to see the track games?” The coach was one of the few faculty members who both acknowledged and accepted Michelle’s relationship with Amara. All he cared about was that his athletes were happy, healthy, and dedicated. He threw his hands in disgust at her impudence as Michelle called after him, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Michelle skipped over to the locker room, which was empty since all the girls left as soon as they could. There was still five minutes before 5^th period was actually over, so Michelle had the locker room to herself. Or so she thought.

Waiting for Michelle was Glenda. Glenda was fidgeting in her normal outfit and was looking quite shy as she approached Michelle. “Hi, Michelle,” she softly greeted, her voice trailing off and fading at the end of the phrase. Michelle kindly greeted and complimented, “Hello Glenda. Thank you for saving me out there. Without you we would have lost.” Glenda blushed, which was strange since it wasn’t that much of a compliment. Finally Glenda said, “It was nothing.” Glenda then looked up as she said, “But I was thinking… maybe we could hang out sometime.” The words hung heavily in the air. Michelle was disoriented by this, this being the last thing she expected. “Holy…” Michelle whispered so softly that Glenda didn’t notice it. Why me?

Glenda went on to say, “It is just that the two of us are alike in many ways. I mean, both of us are artists, you with your art and music, me with my poetry and monologues and plays. And you are so beautiful, always an inspiration for my poetry. A Muse. And neither of us entirely fit in. And… both of us are attracted to the same things.” She absently brushed some strands of hair out of her face, and patiently awaited Michelle’s response. First off Michelle examined Glenda, seeing if there was a trace of the spark she felt around Amara. Nothing. Sure she is quite attractive, but I’m not compelled to act on it. With Amara I can barely restrain my feelings, and here there just aren’t any strong ones. I’ve got to let her down gently.

Michelle cleared her throat to indicate she was ready with an answer, and sat down, Glenda quickly sitting down beside her. “Glenda, you are an exceptionally beautiful and lovely person. You have a physique that is one day going to attract a lot of friendly attention. And you are a sweet person. However,” and Glenda’s expression minutely dropped. Michelle’s heart wrenched and continued, “I’m absolutely in love with Amara. She is my soul mate, my other self.” It was then that Glenda started to look guilty and sheepish. “I had no idea it was like that,” she blurted out. Michelle cocked her head to the side and arched an eyebrow. “What did you think it was?” Michelle calmly asked, not out of irritation but pure curiosity. Glenda blushed as she responded, “I thought you two were together only in a non-serious way. I figured you two were together because, well, there was no one else available that was interested. Honestly, I figured it was just a casual thing, and thought I might let you know I am an available option. I am so sorry, I had no idea.”

Glenda was heavily embarrassed, and was stood up and grabbed her stuff. Michelle also stood up and gently placed her hands on Glenda’s shoulders. She slowly spun Glenda around and held her there so they were face to face, eye to eye. “There is no reason to apologize. The number of lesbians at are school are few, the amount ready to admit it even less. But that is not the point. Even if, heaven-forbid, Amara and I broke up, I don’t really consider myself a lesbian, nor bisexual. I love Amara the person, and Amara happens to be in a female body. Otherwise I tend to be attracted to guys. But listen, everyone has their perfect match somewhere. You’ll find that person someday, whether it is female or male.”

Glenda nodded and for some reason relaxed. There was no need to try earning a date and Michelle was being simply a friend. So Glenda was comfortable in wryly asking, “You said you don’t consider yourself a lesbian. What about Amara?” Michelle smiled as she lovingly shook her head and rolled her eyes. She snorted and then responded, “Oh Amara is a full-fledged lesbian. She loves to flirt with girls, and I think that is sometimes the reason she dresses so masculinely. That way she can get straight chicks to flirt back.” Both laughed as Michelle told of how her friend Mina had been misled into believing Amara was a guy.

Finally when they were calmer, Michelle asked, “Quick question. You knew both Amara and I were lesbians, right? So why did you approach me rather than Amara?” Glenda smiled shyly and fidgeted, trying to find the right words. “You were just so lovely. Not that Amara isn’t a babe, but you know? You were more… uh what’s the word, elegant- that’s it. You’re so graceful and every movement is poetry in motion. To be honest, I’ve written quite a few poems about you. And Amara, she is more strength and has a harsher look. To sum it up, she’s an athlete, you’re an artist. I’m looking for someone who would appreciate my work, and I think Amara would only do that if I wrote an ode to motorcycles.”

Michelle nodded and only then noticed that it was into sixth period. All the sixth period PE classes were watching videos instead of doing German dodge ball, hence their continued privacy. Michelle quickly changed, amused that Glenda’s eyes were only appreciative and relieved they were no longer yearning (as she termed Glenda’s earlier behavior). They walked out of the locker hall together. Michelle finally asked, “Don’t you have a sixth period?” Glenda shrugged, “I’m a T.A. for Drama level 3.” They parted ways, it going unspoken that Michelle would not let it go around about Glenda’s tendencies.

Start playing song: “Unpretty” performed by TLC.

Serena rushed into the bathroom, and quickly checked to see if she was alone. Foods class had made eclairs, and Serena had eaten a ton. Serena quickly locked the bathroom door. She then stood in front of the mirror and rolled up her shirt. Her flat stomach looked to her like it was bulging out of her skirt. She poked the rolls in her tummy and sigh dejectedly. I’m a cow, she thought critically to herself as tears streamed down. I promised Darien I would clean up my act and I’m going to. Otherwise he’ll leave me, for someone like Celeste.

Serena liked Celeste well enough, but Celeste seemed to be too cozy with Darien and the male species altogether. And Celeste was beautiful. A different part of Serena whispered, of course she is, she is your cousin. Honestly, do you believe your mother, Queen Serenity, would birth an ugly child. And it is ridiculous to compare yourself to her, for you are the moon, she is the sun. There are some similarities, but in the end they are drastically different. Serena would have left the mirror at that moment, when the critical part got the last word in. Yes, but suppose Darien prefers the sun. Celeste was naturally given a wonderful body, and tones it with frequent exercise and a good diet. You have got to look your best in order to keep Darien’s attention from wandering. After all, all you offer him is a pretty face and a pretty body, for you have no talents and don’t have the smarts to contribute to conversation. Come on Serena, be honest with yourself. You need to have the perfect body. You don’t have the money for surgery, and do you really want to sacrifice time and energy in getting in shape the hard way? And there is no way you could starve yourself. It is no big deal, it is only this one time. Tons of girls do it, and there is no shame in doing it once.

Serena pushed herself away from the mirror and walked into one of the stalls. She held her hair back with one hand and leaned forward. With the other hand she stuck her forefinger down her throat and started to gag. Her body trembled and convulsed until finally she regurgitated her eclairs, lunch, and breakfast. She coughed and struggled to breathe, her heart pounding hectically. Finally she finished, and flushed the toilet. She walked out of the stall and washed her hands, and then looked in the mirror. While her body felt tired, to her she appeared to look minutely thinner. She splashed some water on her face to make it stop looking so pale and pasty. It was only this one time, she thought to herself. Famous words often spoken by bulimics.

Serena went back to her classroom, and once there grabbed a breath mint and stick of gum to get the foul taste of bile out of her mouth. At first Serena had feared everyone would realize what she had done, that she would get called down to the principal’s office and suspended. Or something just as dreadful. But no one noticed. Not a single soul noticed.

Stop playing song:

Michelle shortly found Amara, for neither had sixth or seventh periods. Amara was out on the quad sitting on one of the benches, reading a book for one of her classes. Michelle just quietly sat down beside her beloved and snuggled her head so that way Amara’s shoulder made a nice pillow. Amara put her book down and kissed the top of Michelle’s head. “How was your day?” Michelle asked. “The usual, same old junk. And you?” Michelle sat up and placed her head in her arms after she laid on her stomach. “Not much. I decided to try out for the diving team after school. And I got a proposition.” Amara raised an eyebrow and said, “How broken was his heart when he found out you are involved with me?” Michelle smiled smugly as she responded, “It was someone quite aware I’m known as a lesbian. She thought we were nothing but a casual relationship.” Amara was a little worried as she asked, “You turned her down, didn’t you?” Michelle expression can only be described as cat-like. “Well she did have a lovely figure, beautiful eyes, and luscious lips. And she has poetry dedicated to me.” Amara’s face was stricken and her voice tight as she demanded, “But you turned her down, right?” Michelle smiled wickedly as she said, “Amara, are you jealous that I’d-” “ ‘Chelle!” Amara shrieked. “-cheat on you with another woman,” Michelle primly finished.

Michelle continued to lead her love on in this direction before sitting up and kissing Amara on the forehead. “Seriously, love, you don’t give my fidelity any credit. You are the woman of my heart. Got it?” Amara nodded as she put her arm around Michelle’s shoulders and hugged Michelle close to herself. Finally Amara asked, “Who was the chick?” Michelle serenely responded, “Glenda.” Amara nodded and commented, “If you were to cheat on me, at least you attract good choices. After all, Glenda does look cute in those shorts and spandex pants of hers.” Michelle shook her head in amused disbelief, “Pervert. Don’t you ever look past thinking about a girl’s shorts?” Amara responded, “I didn’t get around to my opinion of her in her halter top.” Michelle groaned in dismay.

Amara changed the subject with, “You mentioned the diving team. Mind if I come watch?” Michelle snorted derisively, “To support me or see pretty girls in swim suits?” Amara promptly responded, “Both.” Michelle threw her hands as she asked, “Why do I ever put up with you and your lusty manners?” Amara cockily smiled, “Cause I’m so lovable.” Michelle commented, “That is debatable.”

Thursday, March 26

Throughout the past week, there had been numerous minor skirmishes between the Clan of Pisces and the Sailor senshi. Colonel Shark had made none of the attempts whole-hearted, having sent Petty Minions that he knew would fail. Oddly the Solar Sailor had been absent all of this week, though the Evolites had no idea as to why. They were unaware that the rainy weather led to her falling ill. The Clan of Pisces was cheating on getting only two tries by sending only Petty Minions. However Colonel Shark learned much by observing these skirmishes. Like how there was much tension within the team. And how some of them depended on the senshi known as Sailor Moon. He had as of yet told anyone else his biggest revelation. Sailor Moon is their leader and strongest member, not the Solar Sailor. That was a tidbit he planned on using to his advantage at some other point in time. But for now, he had a training session to hold.

The Evolites lives weren’t all lounging around in indulgence all day. Far from it. They were expected to stay in top condition in order to maintain their rank. Getting lax in your training could lead to your demotion, the humiliation of that act being nothing compared to the hazing that goes on against demoted Evolites. The only reason the Evolites had so many privileges was because they worked for them.

The training room and obstacle course weren’t the only ways the Evolites trained. Some Clans left it to individuals to handle their own training, like the Swarm. Others, like the Clan of the Hoof, have daily mandatory group training sessions. The Clan of Pisces arbitrarily had group training sessions. However, all throughout this week Colonel Shark has had ordered mandatory training sessions. While he didn’t think much of the senshi as individuals, as a group they were strong and resourceful. No Evolite has managed to even kill one of them. Despite both myself and Colonel Draco of the Scale having gone to earth.

Colonel Shark himself didn’t participate in the training sessions, him being too violent and vicious and competitive to train with his Clan. He saved that for Peons and Petty Minions. Instead he oversaw the training of his Evolites. Currently they were swimming laps. There was a timer, and each member of Pisces was expected to achieve at least 25 laps in fifteen minutes. Failing to do so would result in having to do 500 laps, without rest in between. Winnie (2^nd General of Pisces; a.k.a. Dolphin) and Seymore (4^th General of Pisces; a.k.a. Seal) were the two fastest. They easily managed to finish under the allotted fifteen minutes. Even Stefan (2^nd Captain of Pisces; a.k.a. Starfish) managed to finish the laps in time. There was a two minute breather. Then came the next drill.

It was a two team anything goes fight. The top two Generals and lowest three Captains were on team, the lower two Generals and top two Captains on the other. The object of the drill was take all five flags off each member of the other team, only one flag being allowed to be taken off at a time. When a person lost all of their flags, they were out. The team with the last person left wins. It was a good drill for excercising their skills, ingenuity, and resourcefulness without killing each other. Not that a fight to the death would offend Colonel Shark, but Fauna would not be happy with such indulgences. Not that she minded whatsoever with Petty Minions and Peons, but it was difficult to acquire replacements for broken Evolites. The drill was quite a spectacle to watch, and it eventually came so that Winnie and Russ (3^rd General of Pisces; a.k.a. Walrus) were left. Winnie had only 1 flag left, and Russ had two. After many attempts at snatching, amazing dodges, fabulous water acrobatics, and a mesmerizing show of magical attacks, Russ won with his two flags. Colonel Shark commended him, and then snapped out orders for all of them to be at the obstacle course in one hour.

His Clan drifted off when Fauna appeared. Or at least her apparition did. When it was her apparition, she was transparent, the only indication that it wasn’t her physical body beside him. “Not that bad of a training session. Too bad all the extra work isn’t going to be put to good use for quite some time,” she commented nonchalantly. Colonel Shark insubordinately questioned her with, “Whyever for? You guaranteed us two chances,” and before he could finish his sentence, Fauna had cast a little spell that caused every nerve in his body to scream agony.

She calmly responded, “Don’t push me. My talent over animals could make you grow gills at this moment and be unable to ever leave the pool and starve, or suffocate. It is very tempting. I’ll let you slide for questioning me, but not for your cheap trick. I don’t care whether you cheat my Evolites or not. But never, never try to cheat with me. You owe your very existence to me, remember that. All those little skirmishes of yours with Petty Minions count for more than a second try. Had there been only two or three, I might of let it slide. Had you succeeded, I would of probably let it slide. But SIXTEEN FAILURES are unacceptable.”

Now was a good time to use his trump card. Fauna let the spell slacken slightly, enough to let him tell her his insight. “The Sailor senshi don’t follow the Solar Sailor. They follow Sailor Moon. The Solar Sailor is more of a powerful ally rather than a true member of the team. They have been working fine without her for the past couple of days.” Fauna released the spell as she thought this over. It was possibly true, even likely, considering the senshi’s difficulty in following the Solar guardian. Fauna then said, “You have redeemed yourself enough to have a chance of living.” And Colonel Shark trembled, knowing that Fauna’s love of games of chance frequently were fatal to all other participants. A coin appeared in Fauna’s hand. She didn’t realize at first it was an Ankhphar coin. She hesitated replacing it, and decided it wouldn’t make much difference which coin she used. Besides, They wouldn’t care about such details and its possible symbolism. Fauna hoped. “Heads you live perfectly intact, and gracefully allow another Clan to take over. Tails, you get the gills.” Fauna flicked the coin into the air. There was a metallic clink as it hit the ground and spun. Soon it fell so that one side was faced up. Heads.

Colonel Shark was relieved. Fauna’s apparition disappeared, leaving only the haunting words, “This is just as well. It is so troublesome having to break in new Colonels.

Natalie (5^th General of the Swarm; a.k.a. Snail) finally made an appearance in Evolite society, the first since her disfigurement. The only people who knew of her scars, that she knew of, was herself, Fauna, and the medics. Natalie had been so ashamed of her appearance that she did not trust even Tara (2^nd General of the Swarm; a.k.a. Tarantula) to create a mask. So the day of her disfigurement, Natalie had painstakenly forged and crafted and plated and gilded and carved the beautiful mask she now wore. It was remarkable in that the mask perfectly mimicked the contours of Natalie’s own face, when it had been in its perfect state.

It was Thursday, and the Evolites tended to hit the Lounges after Thursday banquets. The Evolite Lounges are like earth’s dance clubs. There is music, dancing, alcohol, the special Evolite drugs, and minor performances. Natalie had tolerated sitting through the banquet, ignoring the curious looks she got when it came to her mask. Not that something as simple as a mask was peculiar. Many Evolites had weirder fashions, and just as many had weirder behavior. Natalie would not have come, except Fauna decided further torture was necessary. Meaning, Natalie could not hide herself from the world, for Fauna had specifically forbidden this. Little did Natalie know that Fauna was testing her. Testing to see if she was protégé worthy by being able to deal with the social difficulties the mask and scars bring about.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Fauna had “suggested” they meet in the Gadget Lounge tonight to discuss something. Natalie never liked club hopping the various Lounges (there were seven in all), and with her disfigurement was even more loathed to go. But Fauna was her all-powerful leader. It could be worse. She could have requested the Sparkle Lounge. The music and décor is hideous in there, with sickening, happy-ditz music and as much tacky sparkly items as could be crammed in there. At least in the Gadget Lounge my mask will match, what with the mechanical decorations. And the music is more tolerable, being (using earthling terms) heavy metal, punk, and ska. Had it been anyone but Fauna who did this to me, even Colonel Monarch Butterfly, they would not have lived to tell the tale. But Fauna is my liege. And she has so much knowledge I could use, like where us Evolites come from. She tells us we came from the planet Bona Dea, but none of us know anything else. How I would give anything to get that knowledge.

Vana (5^th General of the Nest; a.k.a. Peacock) luxuriously stretched, checking to see if her outfit was flattering enough. Not that Vana looked anything but beautiful, but she was so picky about her appearance. Vana valued beauty and appearance above all else. Besides the inventors’ sororities, Vana was the main provider of the cosmetics Tara (2^nd General of the Swarm; a.k.a. Tarantula) used with her customers. Strength and intelligence and humor were perfectly okay, but they could be so arbitrary in their appearance. Not that beauty wasn’t like that as well, but true beauty was always appropriate. Strength could tire out, intelligence have lulls, and humor fall flat. And any of the three could be inappropriate at time. But beauty was always there and always appreciated. The Evolites had little worries over aging, for aging didn’t occur for them, so beauty was even more permanent. Fauna’s magic gave them longevity and youth, so whatever age they appeared was what age they would remain.

Vana liked most of the Evolites, for all Evolites had pleasant faces to begin with. But there were few who truly caught her attention, for few had truly outstanding beauty. So Vana critically examined her appearance, looking for any flaw, no matter how minute. And she failed to find any. “Perfect, as usual,” her lovely smooth voice said.

I probably shouldn’t have come, Vana was now thinking. None of the more interesting Evolites were in the Gadget Lounge. Vana was typically shallow in that she tended to find those of lower rank than herself as inferior. Vana stood up, and was asked to dance by Sebastian (3^rd General of the Swarm; a.k.a. Wasp). Sebastian was handsome, and of suitable rank. She indifferently agreed. Both were marvelous dancers, and danced to the odd music the Evolites played. There is no suitable words to describe the dancing, though both it and the music was appropriate for the Gadget Lounge. The Gadget Lounge was very futuristic, with everything being made of metals and wires and shiny plastics. It also had some of the neater special effects, such as holograms and laser beams, and little mechanical creatures that performed acrobatic feats.

When Vana got tired, she and Sebastian separated to seek other companions. Vana sat on a bar stool and ordered tiurnaken on the rocks, an Evolite liqueur that was colorful and fairly potent. “I’ll have the same,” ordered figure sitting next to Vana. The robe and hair and figure was a dead give away. It was Natalie (5^th General of the Swarm; a.k.a. Snail). Vana admired the mask Natalie wore. Very fashionable. The swirl of metals matched the Gadget Lounge color scheme beautifully. And the mask was thin, perfectly mirroring the contours of Natalie’s face.

Both sat there enjoying their drinks in silence. No conversation sparked until a certain low class Evolite walked in. Keisha (2^nd General of the Nest; a.k.a. Vulture) was considered trash by all Evolites. She was the epitome of Evolite values, but to a vulgar extent. Keisha’s stringy hair looked like it had neither been washed nor brushed in days. Even by Evolite standards her clothes were over the top. Her upper body was barely covered in the hideous tube top she made herself. She had a hideous tiara that had boasted only wisps of bird feathers as ornamentation. And her skirt was poorly made. Not that Tara had anything to do with the creation of this monstrosity. Keisha and Tara had a great hatred of one another. For Tara had refused to create any of Keisha’s concoctions, saying they were hideous and impractical (which they were). And Keisha had claimed that Tara lacked the skill to create her designs.

But it wasn’t just Keisha’s appearance that made her so disliked. She was a horrible overall fighter, though she had some powerful attacks that she always saved for the last minute. Should someone work in collaboration with her, the other person would do all the work and at the last moment Keisha would take all of the credit. Keisha was absolutely immoral, lazy, and ruthless. She lived up to her namesake, Vulture, perfectly.

Both Vana and Natalie kept straight faces as Keisha wandered over to them, her breath stinking with alcohol and traces of a half dozen different Evolite drugs. Both smothered cruel laughter as Keisha stood up on the bar table and did erratic, graceless, offbeat dancing. Had it not been that Keisha outranked them so much, the two 5^th Generals would have never let her live this down. Eventually Keisha collapsed, and was carried back unceremoniously to her quarters by a pair of Peons whose only job was to do this variety of tasks.

Natalie commented, “How in the Creators sake did she become a 2^nd General?” Vana agreed, “I know. But you have no idea what it is like actually being in her Clan. When she’s sober she is such a brat; when she’s loaded, she is an absolute idiot.” Natalie responded, “You would easily make a better 2^nd General.” “Thank you! You know, you are the first person to agree with me on that.” So somehow talking behind someone’s back had forged a friendship between two Evolites who had otherwise been indifferent to one another. They continued talking for about an hour. Vana was getting tired and tied up the conversation. Just as she was leaving she said, “You know Natalie, you are quite beautiful. However, that hairstyle and outfit works against you. Sometime I should give you a makeover.” Many would have been offended by this. Before their conversation tonight, Natalie would have been. But somehow the shallow, beautiful Vana had become comprehendible tonight. “Sometime I’ll take you up on that,” Natalie responded.

Vana had made her forget about her mask, which was odd since Vana cared only about appearances. Vana had also made Natalie forget that the reason she came into the Gadget Lounge in the first place. But a path was made as Fauna entered the Gadget Lounge, nobody wanting to get in her way. Natalie stood up as Fauna approached her, not out of courtesy, but because she did not want to give Fauna a height advantage. They both sat down in unison. Fauna made her message short and quick, “As of midnight tonight, your mask will be in my possession. And you are not to make another mask. If you are able to deal with your disfigurement well, I might allow the medics to restore your beauty. I have my reasons but they do not concern you, so don’t ask why.”

Fauna smoothly left, leaving Natalie to deal with her newest torment. It was about 11:00, and Fauna had indicated she would send her apparition to pick up the mask, no matter where Natalie was. Natalie trudged back to her room, despair ruining any joy she had experienced tonight.

Friday, March 27

“DJ, I really appreciate you coming with me. Celeste’s dad has been out of town and she is really sick,” Mina told her friend. The two of them were armed with Echinacea, OJ, and Lita’s chicken soup. The other senshi knew Celeste was really sick, and had refused to call on her help this week unless they absolutely needed her. So far they had managed. The Outer senshi were spending free time outside of school work and activities being alert for the next attack. Both Hotaru and Trista had commented how the attacks this week had seemed only half-hearted. The Inner senshi had offered to come with Mina, but Mina said how it would be a bad idea for all of them to get exposed to Celeste’s illness. That reminded them of the time they had all been sick, except for Mina and Rini. Besides, Mina wanted to work on her matchmaking skills.

Mina had been making trips daily before and after school to see if Celeste needed anything only human hands could accomplish; there was only so much Diana and Phoebe could accomplish on their own. So Mina and DJ continued to walk under their umbrellas until they reached the apartment complex. Celeste’s groggy voice greeted them over the intercom, as she pressed the button from her condominium to allow them in. Mina knew from Phoebe’s brief psychic message that the dove had unlocked the door already for them, so when they reached the front door she just pushed the door open.

Celeste was lying on the living room couch with a wet washcloth covering her face. She didn’t sit up as she groggily greeted, “Hey Mina. Hey DJ. Don’t get too close, cause you guys might catch it.” Mina just replied, “I’ve already been exposed all week, so it’s too late to prevent me from coming down with it,” and she turned to DJ, “but DJ, you ought to not get too close to her.” DJ and Mina put the food in the kitchen, and then came back and sat down on chairs that weren’t too close to Celeste.

DJ asked this girl who had caught his heart, “How have you managed all week?” Celeste replied, “I’m used to being able to take care of myself. Foodwise, I’ve been living off of bread, soup, water, OJ, and coughdrops. Mina has been kind enough to bring me Lita’s delicious soup daily, though with my sinuses clogged up I can’t fully appreciate the flavor. For entertainment, I watch TV, talk to Mina on the phone, read when my headache has faded, or sleep. And for company, Mina and Phoebe and Diana have served quite well.”

Puzzled about the last bit, DJ asked, “Who?” Celeste calmly explained, “Diana is Rini’s and Serena’s kitten, from Luna and Artemis’s litter. And Phoebe is my amazing familiar, my dove.” DJ found the last bit of information interesting. I shouldn’t have expected less than an unusual pet from such an unusual girl. Celeste asked him, “Do you want to meet the featherbrain?” DJ sincerely replied in the affirmative, and Celeste managed to give an odd whistle (though it caused her to cough hectically afterwards), and Phoebe flew in from upstairs. Though Celeste’s face was still covered with a washcloth (to help with her headache, she had explained), Celeste knew when Phoebe had landed on the little coffee table in front of all of them. She abstractly stroked her beloved familiar with loving care.

She was pleasantly surprised to find another hand hesitantly stroking Phoebe’s soft feathers. She knew it wasn’t Mina’s, by observation (the hand was masculine), intuition, and her telepathy sensing this. Celeste smiled, for few people would think of getting near Phoebe. If I say a dove is my familiar, it is a reasonable assumption that the dove is tame and has been given shots. People just aren’t thrilled at the thought of touching a filthy pigeon. Not that I don’t blame them. But Phoebe is certainly not filthy. Though maybe the reason people are hesitant to pet her is because I say “familiar” instead of “pet.” I realize it makes me sound like I’m a witch, but I think that is a more accurate term. Celeste’s headache had eased and she took off the washcloth. Her blue eyes met a startle pair of earthy green-gray eyes.

“I thought your eyes were orange!” he exclaimed. Mina smiled slyly as she responded for Celeste, “She just likes to let you think that. Celeste here is a fairly good chameleon. I don’t want to bother counting how many pairs of colored contacts she has, or how many people have been startled to see her natural eye color.” Both Celeste and DJ had stopped petting Phoebe by now. Celeste gave a tired grin as she mischeivously asked DJ, “Are you disappointed my exotic eye color is instead merely a perfectly ordinary color.”

DJ responded softly, “No, they just surprised me. They remind me of someone I’ve met. And those eyes are far from ordinary.” The words hung heavily, as Celeste and DJ awkwardly tried to find someway of changing the subject. Mina saved it by whining, “What about my eyes? Aren’t they breathtakingly gorgeous?” Celeste and DJ shared a look as they both said, “Well, I don’t know. They are okay, I guess.” Mina pretended to pout as she said, “Aw, you two are so mean to me.”

DJ was glad that awkward moment was over. But how those eyes looked just like his dreamgirl, the Solar Sailor. There was a faint resemblance between the two, but it was impossible for them to be the same person. First off, the Solar Sailor has an astral phoenix that lets her travel through space. Not likely an astral phoenix is able to disguise itself as a dove. Though both have pale blonde hair with black chunks. But there the resemblance ends. It is impossible, since the Solar Sailor is psychic, and Celeste is obviously not. Though… No, it just is impossible. That would mean Mina is Sailor V and Sailor Venus. And Serena is Sailor Moon. It might be possible, against all likelihood, that Celeste and Mina are senshi, but Serena? No, it just can’t be.

Darien decided to do his trademark thing and bring flowers to a girl that he knows is really sick. Darien was able to be let in as one of the tenants walked in. Darien remembered which condominium was Celeste’s, so he was shortly there. He reached the door exactly the moment Mina and DJ were leaving. Mina greeted Darien excitedly, and introduced him to DJ; for DJ and Darien had never met before. Yet, Darien had an odd feeling he knew the kid from somewhere. It was the oddest thing, but he couldn’t shake off the feeling. And DJ kept giving him a weird look, as though Darien reminded him of something that eluded his memory.

Celeste could sense the feeling of familiarity going on between DJ and Darien, though she was too tired from fighting her illness to try delving into past memories. While Celeste’s shields were up, her exhaustion still made her sensitive to strong thoughts. I’ll just have to look into this later on. Celeste just sat up as Darien finally walked past the doorway. “Flowers for me? That is so sweet.”

Darien placed them on the kitchen counter and came back into the living room. “How have you been holding up?” Celeste shrugged her shoulders as she said, “Okay, considering I am absolutely in miserable health.” He sat down at the edge of the couch and told her, “Just think of being in a field full of warm sunshine. It should remind you there is a reason your body is fighting off the illness.” Celeste smiled tenderly as this brought up my memory. “Darien, you remind me of my brother. That is so something he would say.” Darien was puzzled, “You have a brother?”

“Back in the Sun Kingdom. Actually, I had two. And two sisters. Now let’s see,” and she bit her lip as she struggled to remember, “Hyperion, the one you remind me of, was the oldest, and named after my grandfather. Then came Angela, who was so rigid and duty conscious. Then came me. Then there was Mitra, the little sweetheart. And Phoebus was the youngest. Yes, there were five children born to my parents, King Sunblaze and Queen Clarity of the Sun Kingdom.” Celeste yawned, being worn out. As Darien was tucking the blanket over her, there was a shrill screech.

The front door had been left open, and Serena had come to check up on her cousin of the past. And she was furious to find Darien alone with Celeste. Darien quickly tried to explain himself to the furious love of his life. Celeste just sat, not wanting to get involved until the last moment. Diana and Phoebe tried explaining what had happened, but Serena would not listen. She ranted incoherently. Celeste’s headache was returning, and was making her very irritable. Fortunately Phoebe had spent a lot of time fine tuning her skill and control, otherwise she might have destroyed the fragile minds around her. Instead Celeste psychically yelled for silence, the telepathic call being strong enough that for a one mile radius there was utter silent for a few moments. The outside world dismissed it. However, Serena and Darien looked frightened for a moment. Celeste whispered, “Serena, did you realize you are the fourth person to visit me today, out of concern for my health?” Serena shook her head. Celeste telepathically made the gentle request that, #Darien, please leave. I’ll get her to chill out. How about you wait downstairs in the lobby, and I’ll send Serena down in a little bit?# Darien didn’t like the thought of leaving the ill Celeste to receive the brunt of Serena’s anger. But then he reminded himself, Celeste is telepathic. Even if she wasn’t, she can take care of herself.

Diana and Phoebe took the hint and left Serena and Celeste alone. Serena was still furious, but she wasn’t yelling anymore. She took a seat in the chair and glared at Celeste as she demanded, “Explain!” Though Celeste was the younger of the two of them, she calmly said, “You are touchier than usual. If it weren’t for the fact that I’m so tired, I would be tempted to find out why. But I don’t have the time to do it. Not,” Celeste started when seeing the glare deepen, “that I was planning on doing it telepathically. I don’t trust myself to do it without someone’s consent. I envy the rest of you. Especially you, Serena.”

This comment surprised Serena enough that she immediately spoke in her normal voice and stopped glaring. “You envy me! Because I have Darien?” Celeste laughed softly, so as to not start another coughing fit. “Oh, Darien is a sweet guy. But I’m not attracted to him. He reminds me of my brother too much. No, I envy how you and the other girls are able to have normal lives. Even without the telepathy, I am the daughter of a world renown photographer. I’ve always been cursed to live the life of the privileged. And you and the girls are able to touch others’ lives, as well as let others touch your lives. Have you realized that I push people away? The only exceptions are Mina and Phoebe. Why do you think I date so many jerks?”

This shocked Serena. The beautiful, wise, insightful, and powerful Celeste was jealous and unhappy with her life. This was just impossible to believe. But who would believe that Sailor Moon is developing into a bulimic? Serena hoped Celeste didn’t detect that thought. “Celeste, we all want normal lives. Well, at least I know I do. But do you consider Hotaru’s life normal?” At Celeste’s puzzled look, Serena explained the whole heart crystals thing. Celeste muttered, “I really don't know that much about your tales as senshi. Sometime I need to make a record of it.” Celeste then spoke normally, “I suppose you are right about Hotaru. And Trista, I know she feels totally isolated from the rest of us.” Serena’s eyes bulged, “I had no idea! Trista, was well, always so distant from the rest of us. But anyway, I don’t think I understand what you said about Darien reminding you of your brother.”

Celeste did something she had never tried to do before; she brought Serena’s mind into her own. Serena saw Celeste’s siblings of the past. I recognize them. For that’s Hyperion, and Angela, and Mitra, and Phoebus. Serena experienced the emotions each one brought, the emotions focusing primarily on Hyperion. There was admiration and sibling love, anger and irritation (as is usual with siblings), a need to prove oneself and a desire for space, competitiveness and companionship. Then Serena saw Darien in her mind’s eye. Once again Celeste’s emotions washed over Serena. The emotions were very similar, though the amounts were different and on a lower scale. This was how Serena realized that it was safe to assume that there would never be romantic feelings from Celeste towards Darien. Celeste gently guided Serena back to her own mind. Instinct told her that Celeste would always be trustworthy. Celeste is like the sister I never had. Both now and in the past. Wonder what she remembers about her true siblings? Then Serena remembered something Celeste mentioned. “When did you start pushing people away?”

Celeste had been dazed when she heard the question. She was still really sick, and had been exerting her psychic power without sunlight or Phoebe to focus it. When Celeste reacted, she quickly asked, “What is today’s date?” There was something frantic in her voice, which startled Serena. Serena responded, “March 27^th. Why?” Celeste was struggling to get out of bed, despite feeling wary. Serena wasn’t letting her get up, knowing it was for Celeste’s own good. Finally Celeste resignatedly sunk back in and asked Serena to bring her the phone. Serena complied. Celeste hit speed dial. “Who are you calling?” Celeste responded absently, “The airport.” “Huh?”

“Hello, do you have any tickets to LA for either tonight or tomorrow? Price doesn’t matter. One please. There’s one for midnight? I’ll be there, thanks.” Celeste hung up. Serena demanded, “What is that all about!” Celeste responded, “I forgot that it has almost been a year,” she said, not speaking to Serena. Then Celeste asked Serena, “Would you go downstairs and ask Darien if he’ll give me a ride to the airport in about an hour?” Serena hesitated, but knew that Celeste was determined, so grudgingly complied.

Celeste then dialed another number. She was nervous as she waited for the other line to answer. “Mom? Oh Dad, hi. Would you put Mom on the phone? Don’t get teary-eyed on me, you big lug.” Jasmine Aglaia’s pleasant voice responded, “Honestly Celeste, you should speak nicer to your father. He does afterall feed and clothe you.” Celeste swallowed before she said, “Hi Mom. I haven’t talked to you in a long time. It’s nice to hear your voice.” “And it is nice to hear your voice too. Are you calling to tell me you randomly decided to forgive me? And are you okay, you sound stuffed up?” “I’ve been sick all week. Mina and her friends have taken good care of me, though, so don’t worry. I haven’t entirely forgiven you, but I decided it is time to stop holding a grudge. Also, I just bought a ticket to LA.” Jasmine’s voice was kind as she gently asked, “It’s been a year, hasn’t it?” Celeste gulped as she fought the tightness in her voice. “Yeah. So will you be willing to pick me up and stay with you? Otherwise,” and Celeste’s voice got mischeivous, “you could trust me to travel to LA with no plans and no place to stay.” Jasmine laughed, for her daughter had her father’s humor. “Of course you can stay. I’ve had a room waiting for you here. Perhaps we can finally get over the past. Both mine and your father’s as well as Jonathan’s. I know how much you miss him. I’ll call his mother to let you know your coming.” Celeste whispered, “Thanks, Mom. Tell her I’ll be there all of Sunday, the anniversary of when it happened.” “Of course, Angel. I love you.” “Thanks, Mom. Listen, I gotta go and get packed. I’ll call you when I land. See you tomorrow.”

Celeste hung up and silently sobbed. For Jonathan, for her inability to reflect the love of her mother, for herself, for the victims of these week who she should had been there to help. For Amara and Michelle, for losing their friend Robert. For Trista, for never having found anyone to really care about. For DJ, who reminded her so much of Jonathan, for losing his parents years ago. Celeste sobbed and sobbed. When Serena came back with Darien, all they did was lend her their presence. Celeste had to find peace her own way.

I hope you enjoyed the first nine chapters of Solar Revolution. I am really proud of this episode. Sorry for those of you who were bored for the lack of action. Keep reading.
Love, Sailor Eeveon Girl, Friday April 5, 2002 - Day of Frigg and Venus; Month of aperire (“to open;” assumed to refer to flower buds opening)                PS- E-mail is always welcome. = ^ D