Kione tried to look around, even through the surrounding darkness.It wasn't
getting her anywhere,of course,but neither would giving up. She looked around,
somewhat bemused.
:What am I doing here?: she thought to herself.:Where is here, for
that matter?: Kione's mind seemed foggy,as if there were spider webs strewn
around. She bent down to feel cool soil underneath her hands.It was cold in this
place,but a blistering heat was growing to her left. Even her eternal calmness was
deserting her as she smelled the smoke. She knew how this would end...
Kione woke with her head in a pile of crumpled papers, a crick
in her back,and coffee up her nose. She sneezed, and blearily looked up at her
her snickering friend Kate, who had so kindly
supplied the coffee.
"What time is it?"Kione asked, glaring at her friend who was pouring
the rest of the coffee into the potted plant in the corner."And will you leave my poor
plant alone? You pour so much coffee into that thing,I'm surprised it hasn't started
jogging around the building by now."
"For your information, it's time for lunch. Half over, actually.You missed
Yette getting fired.
"I'll live through the despair,somehow..."Kione stated, putting the back
of her hand to her head..
" And why are you falling asleep all the time now? Geez, you call me the
lazy one..."Kate began to tap on the linoleum in an annoying rhythm. Kione stretched
a little, tempted to just fall back to sleep.
"Band played late again,"she mumbled. "I couldn't get the reel right, so
we stayed up a little longer than usual."
"What's a 'little longer'?" Kate asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Till three,"Kione said.She grabbed her coat,and walked down the row
of cubicles before she had to listen to anymore of Kates admonishments.
Kione hugged the coat around her more tightly as she walked downtown.
It was finally spring again, but it was still pretty darn cold. :I hate,hate,hate,hate HATE
being cold,: she thought sourly, determined to be in as gruesome a mood as was humanly
possible. It wasn't too hard to achieve. Annoying, cold weather; tired as all get out; stupid
dreams that wouldn't let her sleep; and with school and work getting harder and harder to
juggle, she was feeling like crap. She picked a sandwich from a deli counter on the way,
and ducked into Lhiannon Park. It wasn't too popular, fortunately. It was really dark once
you got off of the pathways, and sort of creepy, but it was the biggest park in the city, and
it suited her mood.
Kione looked for a place to sit, but all the benches had been taken,surprise,
surprise. Feeling even more angry at the world in general, she walked off of the sidewalks
into the brush.After quite a while of walking, even the sounds of the city faded into the
background to a low hum. Even the weather decided to give her a break by drawing the
clouds back,and letting a little sunshine through.Hearing the sound of the sea close by, she
followed it until she reached a small clearing. A fish pond or something was sitting in the
middle, in front of a large tree. She sat down at the edge of the pool. Grabbing a handful
of stones, Kione threw them in one by one. :Geez, I'm tired,:she thought again, just
watching the ripples.:I wish I could just stay here for a while...:
"Well, why can't you?" asked a voice from behind Kione. The voice was
soft and reassuring, and fit in with all the sounds of the park around her so that it took her
a few seconds before she realized that it was more than just background noise. Suddenly,
she realized that someone had spoken to her, and she jerked her head around, trying to
find the source. She was all alone. Well, almost. A fairly large orange cat wandered out
into the clearing and stared at her questioningly.
Kione looked at the cat. :Okaaayy...:she thought.:Workin' a LITTLE hard
lately...Maybe I should take my vacation days right now, because cats sure as hell do
NOT talk.:She smiled a little warily at the orange cat. "Kuru kochiri, neko-chan,[Here,
kitty kitty]" she cooed, holding her hand out.Kione laughed nervously. Someone must
have shouted something nearby,and she'd only THOUGHT she'd heard a voice.Even
so...
The cat stepped forward with an air of confidence that was slightly shocking,
definately out of place for a stray. He sniffed Kione's outstretched hand and again looked
at her. Her gaze was drawn directly into the cats eyes, so that all she could see were those
green circles, parted by the black slits of pupils. Again,she heard the voice that came from
nowhere, yet everywhere at once: "I asked you a question. Why can't you just stay here
and enjoy the nature around you? If you want to, I mean." This time Kione was more
attentive, and the sound of the voice was centralized- but Kione couldn't place it. Her mind
just wouldn't allow a talking cat into it's reality. The cat sat down and looked at Kione
expectantly, as if waiting for a response, blinked and then yawned.
:Okay,:Kione thought to herself,:Either there's a talking cat sitting in front of me
or I really_have_ gone insane...:Of course it could be either one...but she decided to play
along,dream or reality."Because," she replied, drawing her legs to her chest and resting her
head on her knees,"I have a job and obligations with my band. The job sucks...but I'm not
going back to my parents no matter what! I have school here, and I can't just sit here and
forget everything else." She looked up through the canopy the leaves wistfully."No matter
how much I'd like to..." Kione's eyes narrowed as she looked at the cat again."Who are
YOU?" she asked sharply."And how the hell can a cat talk?"
The cat turned it's head sideways and looked at Kione out of one eye. "Why
shouldn't I be able to talk? You can. Are my ideas any less valid than yours just because
they're formed a few feet lower?" The cat turned it's head and looked at Kione. "Anyway,
what I meant to say in the beginning was only that you should be where you feel like you
should be. If you need some peace,why not stay here, for a time? Can't your "obligations"
wait? Won't your band understand? Won't your job give you a break for overstress?
Doesn't that count a illness? Oh, and my name's Hermes. Pleased to meet you, Kione."
"Um...nice to meet you too." She got to her feet, feeling a little dizzy."Well, I'd
better go check myself into the loony bin, so if you don't mind."Kione prepared to sprint and
got in one good stride before the cat wound itself around her leg.She lost her balance and
toppled into the fish pond. She surfaced with a look in her eyes that Hermes took to mean
he should probably stay out of her reach for a while.Kione dragged herself out, falling back
in twice due to the slick sides. She finally got up, and stood over Hermes.
"What-the-hell-was-THAT-for?!" she growled at the cat, dripping on him.
"Heh, uh...heh heh...She told me you shouldn't leave without meeting Her,"he
said nervously, backing away slowly the whole time." I didn't mean it! Honest!" Kione had
stopped stalking him already, and was looking at him strangely.
"What do you mean 'Her'?"
"Lady Gaea..." Hermes sat down on the ground in front of her."I think you
already know who I mean..."And she did...She was a Wiccan after all. Her whole religion
centered around Gaea and her consort...But having a talking cat tell her she was supposed
to meet with a goddess...
"I don't believe this,"she muttered, pushing some wet hair out of her face.
"So you're saying you don't believe in your own deitie?"he said snidely,
getting in her face."What kind of Wiccan are you?!"
"Shut up,"she muttered, and pushed the cat. Caught off guard, he fell in the
pool with ayelp.
"Help! :sputter Get me out of :cough:-out of :sputter: KIONEEE!!" Feeling only a
tiny stab of pity, she deigned to fish him out, pulling him up by the scruff of the neck. Kione
held him up before her face. "That was uncalled for," he told her in a sulky voice.
"Prove it,"she said, narrowing her eyes."I believe in Gaea, but not as a person."
Kione set him on the ground.
"Go ahead and bring her here." She sat back and glared at him, wringing out her clothes.
Hermes, after giving her another weird look, scampered behind the tree in front of her."Wait
here,"he called back.
After about ten minutes of sitting on the ground in her cold, wet clothing, she had
just about reached the limit of her gullibility. "Miserable little bastard..."she mumbled, scowling.
Getting to her feet, she looked around for a sign of where she had come into the clearing.
Kione glanced down at herself, giving a small smile.She certainly couldn't go back to work
looking like this! So back home, and then-
Kione heard someone moving behind her. Her heart lept to her throat, turning
quickly. Was it-?!
Two big green eyes looked up at her from under a mop of blond hair. A little girl... The kid
grinned at her.She was dressed in green and blue, a weird dress that reached down to her
ankles.She looked maybe twelve or thirteen, but it was hard to tell.Who in their right mind
would let their kid walk around the city dressed like this...
"You look confused," the little girl said."Don't you recognize me?"
Kione shook her head slowly."I...don't think so...Are you lost out here, or
something?" The kid ignored her question, and walked forward to stare at her face.Kione backed
up a step or two, getting seriously freaked out.
"You look different,"the little girl said thoughtfully."You used to have blue eyes, and
your hair was a lot longer..."
:What's with this kid?: Kione thought. She was thinking about making another,
more sucessful, break for it, when the girl said:
"Where's Hermes? I would have thought he'd come back." Kione backed away
from the kid a trifle more.
"Who are you?" she asked quietly, staring at her.
"Oh!"the kid exclaimed,"I don't believe we've met formally,in this lifetime.(:In this
lifetime?!:) My name is Gaea." She gave a grin that completely went against anything Kione
might have expected from a goddess. "Dignified" came to mind, and "motherly". Not a thirteen
year old girl who didn't look as if she were responsible enough to care for a goldfish, much less
all living things. Kione decided she had had it.
"Look,"she snapped,narrowing her eyes,"I told the talking cat, and I'm telling you:
Prove it."Gaea raised an eyebrow."Looks like_some_things stay the same,"she said sarcastically,
suddenly sounding about ten years older.She took a seat at the edge of the pool. "What do you
want me to do?"Gaea asked, raising an eyebrow. It looked strange on her young face.
"I don't know..." Kione said, at a loss."Make something appear or dissappear or
something..." Gaea actually looked offended.
"I am a goddess,"she sniffed,looking at Kione angrily," I don't do parlor tricks."
"Look,"Kione moaned,getting really sick of this,"as far as I can tell,you're a little
kid who's running around in a dress that doesn't fit you and telling me you're a goddess.If you
can't prove it,I'm going home." The girl gave a tiny frown and got to her feet.
"Fine,"she said with a frown,"I don't need such as you to help me. Erebus-um...I
mean others can serve in your place." With a toss of her head, she jumped into the pool.
"Hey, wait!"Kione cried,trying to grab the girl."What the hell are you doing?!" She
ran to the edge of the pool.But the girl hadn't come back up. "Oh shit,oh shit, oh shit," Was the
kid dead?! Kione took a deep breath and jumped in after her. She didn't come up either.
The next thing she knew, she was staring at an image in front of her.There was
nothing around her. Literally, nothing.It was sort of odd; no color or anything.It was interesting
to think about, until the image attracted her attention. It looked like a portal to another time- a
time when dungeons were in vogue, and knights rescued ladies fair or slaughtered a few peasants
and no one minded, except maybe the peasants. It showed a battle. Soldiers, some on
horseback, attacked people in some sort of village. She couldn't see the figures very well; she
was seeing it from maybe 50 feet up, and all she could get were hair colors and clothing. But
what had drawn her attention wasn't the soldiers or the fact that the whole village was on fire.
It was the flashes of light and various other elements that came from the hands of the people
in the multicolored robes.'Magic...'she thought, fascinated.She had never seen such powerful
(and destructive) magic. But the mages were fighting a losing battle, with so many soldiers
around them, and, one by one they fell.
"These were your companions. Do you recognize them?" Kione turned to find a
stranger behind her again. Sort of... The woman standing before her was a little younger than
her,and had the same blond hair and green eyes of the child.
"You're Gaea too,aren't you?" Kione asked, beginning to believe.
"Well,"Gaea said huffily,crossing her arms,"Of course I am. For a Wiccan, you're
certainly hard to convince."
"But...but...why are you talking to me?"Kione asked helplessly."And why do you
keep talking about past lives? And why were you a child up in the park?!" She was completely
confused at this point, and miserable because of it. She hated not knowing what was going on
while this woman so obviously knew everything.
"I've called upon you because...I have a problem..."For the first time, Gaea looked
uncomfortable."You see, in the life before this one, you were a disciple of mine, just as you are
now. There were many others as well. But before any of you could even mature, that damnable
revolution broke out, and you were all killed by Beryl's soldiers."She took Kione's hand, not
meeting her eyes. "I've been waiting almost a millenia to apologize to you all for that."
"For what?"asked Kione,mystified.
"That battle I showed you was of yourselves,"Gaea said quietly."You and your
friends were all killed there." Kione tried hard to remember something, anything, but only drew
a blank.
"I don't remember anything..."she said,"But I forgive you. But what do you want
with me? How can I possibly solve a problem that a goddess can't handle?!" Kione had no
illusions when it came to where she stood on the helplessness scale. A few Tae Bo classes
and erratic runs to the fitness center were about the limit of how physical she chose to get.
Gaea appeared to follow her train of thought, and smiled.
"You don't have to worry. All of you had remarkable amounts of strength. You're
a little older than you were when you died, so perhaps you're stronger."Her face darkened
momentarily, and she looked apphrehensive. "Let's hope so..." Gaea's face suddenly switched
back to the cheerful little girl."But I can tap all that power you all have, so we probably won't
have any problem!"
"Problem with WHAT?!!"Kione shouted, ready to strangle Gaea, goddess or no.
"You haven't mentioned what the hell is going on!!" Gaea looked at her, annoyed.
"Well aren't you the patient one... Fine. You want an edited version, I'll give you
one. You and a handful of others-"
"How many?"
"Don't interrupt me! Um...six...I think..." She looked a tiny bit nervous, and quickly
went on."Anyway, you and some other priests served me in the time of the Silver Millenium-"
"The what?"
Gaea looked at her with an expression that told her to shut up or painful things
would occur."Look,do you want a history lesson or find out 'what the hell is going on'? Ahem...
Anyway,"she glared at Kione,daring her to interrupt again," During the Silver Millenium, you
and the others lived in a village near the castle of Prince Endymion. I was trying to raise you all
well, and you were all quite talented. Brendyl was quite a bit of trouble, though,"she muttered,
faint annoyance and a little sadness flashing across her face."I was hoping when I was done I
could use you to help me, but there was a horrible coup between the Earth and Moon
Kingdom."
"There's nothing on the moon-"
"WILL YOU SHUT UP?!!"
"Geez, fine..."
"There was some sort of affair between the royal heirs of the two kingdoms. I'm
not exactly sure of the details, but I can remember that night clearly. Queen Beryl (one of the
leaders of the revolution, before you can ask) sent a group of soldiers through the land,
meaning to wipe out any support that the Moon Kingdom had on Earth. They slaughtered
dozens of people, who couldn't even have helped the Moon in any way, even if they had
sided with Serenity (the queen of the Moon. That was also the name of her daughter, the
one in love with Endymion. A remarkably powerful family, though I'd never of the father...)
But somehow, our village was accused of treachery, and her soldiers came to burn us out.
I'm proud to say you all defended yourselves admirably...not that I condone violence!"she said
quickly,sweatdropping."But I can say that not one of the soldiers that survived that battle
lasted the week. Some mysterious, oddly selective plague," she said,smiling a little.
"That brings us to the present. There's a kingdom that nearly overlaps our own.
It used to be more accessible a long time ago. There've been a few theorys that say they
depend upon human belief. They don't like that idea very much. Neither do I, if it's true. My
following is only a tiny fraction of what it used to be."
"What do you mean 'they'"Kione asked cautiously. Gaea didn't seem to mind this
question.
"The world of faerie. And," she said sharply, as Kione started to argue that there
were no such things as faeries,"you should remember you have talked to a cat, who pushed
you into a bottomless pond, and are currently speaking to a goddess in a place you would
have a bit of difficulty finding on a map. Don't say things are impossible. You can usually be
proven wrong, sooner or later."
"Well... "Kione said slowly,"what do I have to do with all this?"
"I need you to be one of my senshi,"Gaea said,"I don't know exactly what the
Seleighe and Unseleighe want, but better safe than sorry. Besides," she said uncomfortably,
"I've missed you all. I want to talk to everyone again."She looked at her hands for a moment.
Suddenly,she whistled. The cat from earlier,Hermes trotted in.When he saw who else was in
the room, he tried to make a run for it, but was scooped up by Gaea. "You're going home
with Terrena here, Hermes."
"WHAT?!!" Kione and Hermes cried at the same time.
"You need someone to advise you, Kione. Hermes knows quite a bit about me
and your history. He'll fill you in on the things that I don't have time to get into now."
"Please, Mistress, don't make me stay with her!"Hermes pleaded. Kione eyed him
with distaste. She already had two cats at home, and if she had even wanted another one,she
certainly wouldn't have picked this sarcastic little know-it-all.
"Oh hush," Gaea said, placing him in Kione's arms before she could protest.
Hermes sulked,his tail swishing back and forth in annoyance.Kione sighed. Maybe if she was
lucky,he would run away...
"Take these too,"Gaea said, and handed her a huge green marble and a thick book.
"What am I supposed to do with these?" Kione asked, trying to juggle a huge book,
a sullen cat and the green marble."What do they do?"
"The book is just a book, but a good reference. It has a lot of factual information
on the Courts. A lot a complete lies too( the author was one of the most superstitious men I've
ever seen) but Hermes will help you weed through those." Kione glanced at Hermes. He didn't
look like he'd be helping anyone anytime soon.
"And,"continued Gaea,"the green thing is your henshin orb. It will transform you
into a sailor senshi.You won't be a true senshi, like the planetary senshi of old, but close
enough that it won't make a difference. Just say "Terrena Power, Make-up", and it will do the
rest."
"Make-up?"Kione repeated doubtfully. She stared at the orb for a second before
sticking it in her pocket."I'll wait, thank you." Gaea shrugged.
"Suit yourself. Hermes will talk to you about everything you want to know. Bye!"
"Wait-" There was a weird sensation, like the buzzing you get in your head after
you've just woken up from a faint, and Kione sat up in her apartment. She was on the couch
in her living room, with the cat on her lap.She pushed him off unceremoniously and started
leafing through the book. Maybe this would make her life a living hell, especially with Hermes.
Maybe she would go nuts from trying to fit this into her schedule. But it wouldn't be
boring...
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