Brent W Ezell Phoenix Saga Standard Disclaimers apply. They can be found at the top of Part 1. Part 2: A New Day Dawns Raye woke up the second time that morning, but this time she didn't have another bizzare vision on her mind. Instead, she had the same one on her mind. She was also feeling rather morose for some reason. Raye looked at her alarm clock and saw that she had plenty of time to do a fire reading and still get ready for school. Raye got up and changed into her Shinto robes and went to the main building. After sitting down in front of the Great Fire, she started going into a meditation trance. Great Fire, tell me what my vision means, she asked and commanded of the flames. Slowly but surely, an image of Mellissa and Demos asleep, in bed in Mellissa's aprtment came into focus. Raye noticed a strange symbol on Mellissa's forehead, a symbol of Mars, but reversed. What is that? And what does it mean? Raye wondered. Two hous later, Mellissa woke up with a horrible headache and a twisted stomach. She looked around and found herself in a twin bed of the same kind she'd had in her room in the Palace. She felt Demos's small, furry body as a spot of warmth in the bed beside her. She noticed that all four walls of the room were lined with bookcases or something similar, most of which were full. Looking around, she found two doors. On one of the two nightstands beside her bed lay an alarm clock. It read 07:34. On the other lay a small lamp. Mellissa reached over and gently shook Deoms awake. "Wha-, what's going on Mellissa?" Demos asked tiredly. "I wish I knew Demos. And no, I don't know where we are." To Demos's ears, Mellissa sounded pained. "Are you okay Mellissa?" "If you can call a migrainge, a broken heart, and a knotted stomach all right, yes, I am, Demos. What about you?" Mellissa's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "A headache, that's all," Demos said, not wanting to worry or upset Mellissa any more. Not that she wasn't upset herself, but a guardian's job was not to dump problems on their ward's doorstep. "I'm sorry about my tone of voice, I'm just tired, hurting, and upset. Do you smell anything unusual, Demos?" "No, but Setsuna's been in here recently." "I'm going to look around, want to come?" Demos's only response was to jump up on Mellissa's shoulder. Mellissa got up, walked over to the near door, and opened it. She saw two more doors immediately and a hole in a line of cabinets that surrounded a kitchen area. One of the doors was down the wall to her right and another was across from her near the wall to her left. Looking around, Mellissa saw two more doors, including one that seemed to lead to a small balcony, several armchars, a couch, two screens, one of which seemed to be on a computer of some sort, another computer which seemed to be the local equivalent of a stereo, and several cases of various sorts, including ones that held books, some type of cassestes for the stereo and something one of the two screens was sitting on. Several lamps were also scattered around the room. The one near an armchair that was turned away from the door they had just exited was on. Both Mellissa and Demos realized that in their gawking, they'd missed the seemingly young woman sitting in the armchair, Setsuna Meiou. "Welcome to your apartment, Mellissa. Do you like it?" Setsuna asked, genuinely wondering if Mellissa liked it. "Where am I?" And it looks nice, but it's mine?" Mellissa asked her cousin in a tone of voice between apathy, worry, and curiosity. "You're on Earth in the city of Tokyo, in the country of Japan, and yes, this is your apartment. Please, sit," Setsuna answered and requested, gesturing to the armchair across from herself. Doing so, Mellissa noticed that there was a small saucer on the table. "Demos, would you like some milk?" Setsuna asked the kitten. "Uh, sure, 'Suna. You mentioned were on Earth, right? So what are we going to do? Blend in? 'Suna, we're two thousand-" Demos started angrily and upsetedly. "Demos, that's enough!" Mellissa snapped, irritated at Demos's behavior, not feeling paticularly calm herself. "While I don't really like her tone of voice, Demos is right, Mellissa." At this, Demos's jaw hit the table. Before she or Mellissas started stuttering, Setsuna elaborated. "Yes, you will blend in. You'd be amazed how close this culture is to the one you know. However, no one can be told that you are a princess or a Sailor Scout, the latter only being with non-Scouts, the other with everyone, even the Scouts until they discover they are Princesses. And Demos, you will have to keep quiet around people who don't know the Scout's identities. Also, you need to register for the local junior high school, Crossroads. I would recomend you learn English quickly, you will need it." "What about the local language, Setsuna?" Mellissa asked quietly. Demos's implanted translator would handle other languages for her automaticaly. "We're speaking it, but here, now, it's called Japanese. I'd suggest you refer to it as such." "And what about the geography, Setsuna? Surely it's changed in two thousand years." Mellissa was wondering if she'd actually tripped Setsuna up. No such luck. "Here, read it and memorize it, Mellissa, Demos," Setsuna answered, handing Mellissa an atlas. Mellissa took the book and began going over it's pages, noting the new names for places that she had known and visited in the past when she, Raye, and Serena had often visited Prince Endymion and Princess Kathryn on Earth. If so much had changed here, on Earth, what had happened on Mars? Mellissa was afraid to ask, but Demos wasn't. "'Suna, what happened to Mars?" Demos asked, voicing the question both of them knew they wouldn't like the answer to. "Later, after we register you for school Mellissa. They shouldn't ask any questions about astronomy. Or history for that matter. If they do, you are in trouble." Setsuna's calm was clearly covering a lot of concern for her cousin and Demos. "Wait a minute, Setsuna! I can't exactly go out in my Scout uniform, or my Princess's gown, for that matter!" Mellissa exclaimed, thinking the centuries had caused Setsuna to lose her senses. "Did you happen to look in the other door in your room? Either of you?" Setsuna asked, already knowing the answer. True to form, both Mellissa and Demos shook their heads. "If you had, you would have found a closet full of clothes in your size, Mellissa. As well as linens for your bed, several blankets, and a large cat bed with a few blankets in it's size, in case you want to put Demos on the floor. They might come in handy." Mellissa's lack of comprehension of that saying was written clearly on her face. So was Demos's. Seeing this, Setsuna quickly explained. "It menas it could come in useful, but why is for the future Mellissa. You'll find about it soon enough." Seeing how she wasn't going to get much more of an answer from Setsuna, Mellissa went back into her room and changed into a pair of shorts and a dark red T-shirt. After getting dressed. she went back out and went over to the kitchen area where Setsuna and Demos were waitning. As she washed her hands in preparation to eat something, she asked, "Setsuna, I assume food hasn't changed much over two thousand years, so, what's for breakfast?" "Would you believe cereal?" "After everything else, yes, I would." Setsuna knew what she meant: the destruction of Silver Millenium. "Why are things here so similar to Silver Millenium, Setsuna?" "I wouldn't know, perhaps there are trends in Time that lead events in certain patterns." (Real Answer: My making writing this easier, but there are some major differences coming up, trust me.) "I must leave for a time, I'll be back to take you to Crossroads to register you for school and get your class schedule. I suggest you look around the apartment for a while, Mellissa. You might be surprised by what you find." Flicking her wrist in a gesture few would have recognized as pulling something out of her subspace pocket, she handed Mellissa a small notebook. "Inside are the account numbers for a number of the accounts I have set up for you in different banks, and the details of the identity you have here, on Earth. I'm sorry, but this is the best I could do. It also has some information on Raye's reincarnation, Raye Hino, namely that which might allow you to still be her twin sister, even here, after they know about the Moon Kingdom and Silver Millenium. I thought it would come in useful," Setsuna added with a smile. After Setsuna had left, Mellissa and Demos were looking around the apartment and found a number of books of various types and apparently in different languages, including several on how to learn English, music, and tapes of video programs, apparently for a device hooked up to one of the monitors (the TV). 'Apparently Setsuna has stocked the shelves as well as the kitchen,' Mellissa thought. "Demos, let's take a good look at the stuff in this book, okay? I don't even know what my name here on Earth is!" Mellissa suggested after they had taken a good look through the house. "Sounds like a good idea, wait do you see what I see?" Demos asked, spotting a white cat on the balcony. Glancing around, Mellissa noticed the white cat, and then she blinked. Is that a crescent moon on his forehead? she wondered. Walking over to the balcony door and opening it, she got a better look at the cat and realized that it had to be Artemis. "Okay Artemis, get in here. What exactly do you think your doing, spying on me?" Mellissa asked of the cat. "Meerow," was his only reply. "Hahaha, Artemis, very, verrry funny. Now out with it!" Demos barked at him angrily. (Note: Demos's temper can be as bad as Raye's and Artemis knows this. He also knows pure ferocity can make up for lack of size.) "Umm, uh, Demos, should we be talking in front of her?" Artemis asked of Demos in feline, i.e., meowing. "Spit it out, Artemis! NOW!! Or do I have to teach you why you should do it?" Demos yelled, losing her temper and holding her claws about half an inch from his face. "Okay, okay, okay! No need to get completely out of whack! I just thought I sensed something odd around here and I was just checking it out," Artemis said as quickly as he could. "Why didn't you tell us that in the first place, Artemis?" Mellissa, who had kept a somewhat sad look on her face the whole time, asked. "How, how do you know I can talk?" Artemis stuttered out, looking at Mellissa in amazement. "Do you remember your past in Silver Millenium?" Mellissa asked, hoping he remembered enough of it for her to work with. "Bits and pieces of it, why?" Artemis answered. "Because, I'm from Silver Millenium and I have full memories of my past there, Artemis. I never died, but was only injured when Mettallia* attacked. And no, I can't tell you who the Moon Princess is, I'm sorry," Mellissa said sadly. "Too painful?" he guessed. "Do you remember Pluto?" Demos asked, seeing the tears beginning to well up in Mellissa's eyes. "Yes, faintly. I take it she told you two not to tell us?" Artemis guessed again. "Right, and it is painful," Demos said with a sniffle. Seeing this, Artemis walked over to the kitten and nuzzled her a little to calm her down. Then they heard a knock at the door. "Let me go see who that is. You two, keep quiet," Mellissa directed, brushing a few tears away. Walking over to the door, she looked through the small peephole to spy Setsuna. Hurridly unlocking the door, she lead Setsuna over to where Artemis and Demos were sitting watching what was going on. "Welcome back, Setsuna, I've found Artemis," Mellissa said, gesturing to the white cat sitting on her couch. "Hello, Artemis. I presume you don't remember me?" Setsuna asked, scratching the white cat's ears. At his scilence, she took a step back and then, "Pluto Planet Power!" When the light had faded from her transformation, Pluto stood where Setsuna Meiou had only seconds before. "I suppose this is sufficent verification as to who I am? And as for why I'm not helping the Scouts, I have to watch the Gate most of the time, but I can leave for short periods of time, when nescesary." "I know that, I just didn't know who you were, Pluto," Artemis responded after he got over the shock of having Pluto transform three inches from his face. "I understand why you're watching the gate, the last thing we need is the Dark Kingdom getting access to Time." "Thank you, Artemis. Mellissa, I don't beleive you've had the chance to reveiw the details of your identity here, on Earth. I suggest we do so." "Of course, and would you lay off with the orders, Setsuna? That gets irritating after a while," Mellissa stated with a glare at Setsuna for good measure. "I'm sorry, but having two thousand years to one's self leads to either insanity or somewhat of a cold heart. I trust I made the right desicion?" Setsuna asked with a smile. "I guess so," Mellissa responded, taking a moment to think back to Silver Millenium, to happier days long gone. In any case, they soon gathered around the small notebook Setsuna had given her and Mellissa quickly found the section on her identity. It read: Name: Mellissa Valorie Hino Birthdate: 10:07 AM, April 17, 1981 Known Relations: Setsuna Meiou (2nd cousin), Susan Meiou (3rd cousin), but past included adopted mother and father, died recently in car accident "That last part is for Susan, if she's ever found, Mellissa. If she is, I doubt I could take care of her so she would have to stay with you or one of the other Scouts. I know that seems selfish-" Setsuna began, but Mellissa cut her off. "She's your daughter, Setsuna, I'll keep an eye out for her." Current Address: Apartment 311, 126 Cooper Road, Juuban District, Tokyo, Japan Also on the page were records of her schooling, utter falasities, and her blood type and allergies, including one for alchohol. Noticing this, Demos thought, Thank whomever Setsuna remembered that one. The one time she and Queen Vesatallia had that alcohol in their food, they were both sick as dogs for a week! " I see you remembered the alcohol allergy, Setsuna. Thanks," Mellissa said thinking back to that week, and the numerous talks she and her mother had then because they hadn't had anything else to do. Snifling again, she closed the notebook and said, "Come on, I need to be registered for school, don't I?" "Of course, Mellissa. It shouldn't take more than two hours. After that, I must go back to the Gate and you should probably look for the Scouts." As they walked towards the school, Mellissa kept an eye and, as best she could, her pshycic senses out for any of the other Scouts. Unsuccessfully until she got to the school, but when she did, she noticed both Sailor Mercury and Princess Serena. Gasping, she turned to Setsuna, "I think I sense Serena and Amy! Are they here, in this school?" "Yes, Mellissa, they are, but you will meet them soon enough. Ah, here we are, the main office of the school," Setsuna noted, stepping inside the office. Once inside she walked over to the secretary. "Ma'am, I would like to register my cousin here for school. Where do I go?" she asked politely. "Well, Miss, umm..." the secretary trailed off, looking for Setsuna's name tag. "Perhaps you should sign up over there as a visitor and put on a nametag there, then I'll show you to the principal's office," she said when she realized Setsuna hadn't signed in or gotten a name tag. She noticed that the teenager standing next to her wasn't wearing one either. "Make that both of you." After Mellissa and Setsuna had complied she guided them to the Principal's office, where Principal Kaykoro and Setsuna set Mellissa's files straight while Mellissa took the academics test and waited for it to be scored. While she was getting a tour of the school and receiving her uniforms, Artemis and Demos were taking a second, througher look around Mellissa's apartment. "Hey, Artemis, this book looks interesting, would you help me get it down?" Demos asked, spying a book titled Garfield: The Sixth Fat Cat Three Pack. She immediately jumped up onto the shelf and attempted to dislodge it, but only managed to knock herself back onto the floor in the process. Artemis walked back into the room and saw the kitten laying there on her back, groaning slightly in pain. "Demos, are you okay?!" he yelled in panic. Even though she wasn't his lifemate, like Luna, she was still a good friend. "I think so, but why is the room spinning?" she said dazedly. "It isn't you just hit your head pretty hard. Come on, let me help you up, Demos," he offered, concernd for the small kitten's safety. "Thanks, Arty," she responded, calling him by the old nickname she and Luna tended to use on him in Silver Millenium. "You're welcome, and don't call me Arty." "Sorry, Artemis." "So what were you doing anyway, kitten?" he asked, wondering why she fell. "You see that book up there? The light blue one?" At his nod, she continued, "Anyway, I was trying to get it down by myself instead of waiting for you to help me to prove I was big, too. I guess I should have wait for you to help me." "Yes, but I'll need your help to get it out, Demos. If you don't mind?" "Nope, but I'd really like to look at it," she answered, her pain gone. "Garfield, eh? Good choice, I happen to like reading him myself, on occasion, but are you sure you can read English, Demos?" he asked once they'd managed to get the book down to the floor. "What about this?" she asked gesturing to her crescent moon. "Oh, yeah, well, I'm going to take a nap. Wake me when Mellissa's back." "Count on it." To make a long story short, Demos began flipping pages and continued reading, and laughing, the latter to Artemis's chagrin, until Mellissa got home with both tears and hope in her eyes. "Hello, Demos, and what are you reading?" Mellissa asked, noticing the kitten laying there, chuckling to herself. "Oh, you've gotta read this, Mellissa. It's so funny!" she cackled to herself. "Okay, but would you mind telling me what it says? I can't read it. What language is it in, anyway?" Mellissa asked, getting down on the floor with the kitten. "It's in English, Mellissa. And it says:" (Note: At this point, read the comic, as if you couldn't see that coming.) [Image] "Yeah that is pretty funny, Demos, I really need to learn how to read English, don't I?" "Yeah, you do, Mellissa." Then the reality of the situation caught up with them, and they realized, for the first time, that Silver Millenium was truly gone, never to rise again. This thing with English only served to emphasize that point. Both girls (well, one girl and a kitten) began sobbing for a moment before managing to clamp back down on their emotions. "Oh, yeah, Artemis, Mellissa's back." Demos called out. When he heard the kitten's call, the white cat came walking in and noticed the slight puffiness on the other's cheeks and in their eyes. "Are you two alright?" he asked, concerned. "Just, just thinking back to times long gone, Artemis," Demos answered, as she was the calmer of the pair at the time. "So, ah, have you seen Sailor Venus yet?" she asked as she calmed down. "Yes, she's in England right now, combating some of the Dark Kingdom's warriors, Demos. As the super-heroine Sailor V," he said, looking at the pair, not quite beleiving they were completely okay. "As for the other Scouts, I only know about Sailors Moon and Mercury, and they're Serena Tsukino and Amy Mizuno, if that helps you. I know Luna's with them, but they could probably use your help, or, more to the point, Sailor Ares's," he finished, looking at Mellissa. "What about Phoenix's?" Mellissa asked, curious if Artemis would know what she meant. "Phoenix is just a legend, Mellissa, she's not-" he began as Mellissa stood up and took out her transformation pen for Phoenix. "Then explain this if Phoenix is just a legend, Artemis; Phoenix Star Power!" Mellissa called out, and then her transformation took place. First, her body became the sparkles that all of the Scout's become when they transform, then golden ribbons began to encircle her body, forming first into her uniform and ribbons, then they began to encircle over a non-existent object, becoming a pair of white angel's wings. Next they encircled her arms from the elbows to the tips of her fingers, and then they formed into her boots. In the end there came a Sailor Scout dressed all in yellow, from a topaz in her tiara to pale yellow boots. Her skirt, and the tips of her gloves were in a softer yellow than her ribbons. "Now if I can only figure out how to fly, eh, Artemis?" As the two cats looked on, Phoenix stretched her wings and began to walk towards the balcony door. "Demos, care to take a ride, because I really need to figure out how to use these wings and my other powers from Phoenix's abilities and I'd like some company, interested?" Phoenix asked. "Uh, are you sure you can fly?" Demos asked hesitently. "Relax, Demos. It's instinctive," I hope, Phoenix thought. "Coming?" "What about me, what should I do?" Artemis asked, still in awe of her ability to do this. "Go home. We'll talk later," Phoenix responded as she bent down to pick up Demos's slightly trembling form. "Why don't you come back, say three days from now, when school's out, Artemis?" "Because you don't have school on Saturdays or Sundays, that's why!" he responded sharply. "Listen, when you find Luna, if she mentions Central Control, she means me, but don't tell her I'm Central Control, okay?" "Sure, Artemis, when next we meet," said Phoenix as she flexed her wings again and got ready to jump off the balcony. "Demos, you secure there?" "Y-, yes, I think so, Mellissa, do we really have to do this?" came the shaky reply from Phoenix's hair, where Demos was haging on to Phoenix for dear life. "Yes, we do. Look at it this way: I bet Luna's never done this," Phoenix responded as she lept and stretched her wings wide. They caught the air and Phoenix began sailing cleanly through the air. On her back, Demos was steadily getting very, very sick from looking down. "Phoenix, do ya think we could land somewhere, like over at that temple we just flew over?" Demos asked, trying to keep from losing her breakfast. "Sure, Demos, besides, I need to learn to retract or get rid of these wings when I need to," she answered. Circling back gently, so as to not make the kitten anymore motion sickness than she already had, Phoenix found a suitable landing spot on the grounds of the Cherry Hill Shrine. Putting the kitten down, she asked, "So how do you think I control these things anyway, Demos?" Once Demos was safely over her dizzy spell, she answered, "Maybe it works like your transformation, I don't know." Guessing her friend was right, Phoenix began to concentrate on her wings and the mental image of them retracting into her back. Of their own accord, they folded around her torso, then, yellow ribbons wrapped around them again and when they faded, the wings were gone. "Okay let me see if I can get them to come back," Phoenix said to Demos, who was busy wondering what exactly had happened. Phoenix again concentrated on her wings and the mental image of them stretched out behind her, then those same yellow ribbons wrapped around where her wings were originaly, and then, after they faded, her wings were back. "Alright, anything else you can think of, Demos?" "Yes, but only one thing," she responded then took two quick steps backwards, and then ran and did that little Moon Cat pirouet that creates items. This time, a small, mostly featurless hilt of a weapon lay there on the ground, the hilt of the aforementioned lightsaber. "Your lightsaber? Better see if it works, then we can go home, right?" she asked, praying that Phoenix would choose to walk, not fly. "Sure Demos, but you might want to stand back, I don't know how use one of these things," Phoenix said, stepping backwards to make sure the kitten and the surrounding foliage were clear of the blade's arc. Then she hit the toggle on the hilt, causing a brilliant silver blade of pure mana to be emitted from the tip of the hilt. "Wow," was all she could think of to say. Taking a couple of practice swings for good measure and to make sure the blade would handle being swung, Phoenix shut the blade down and stuck it in her subspace pocket. Detransforming, Mellissa picked Demos up and began stroking the small kitten's back to calm her jitters spell. "Hey, what's the matter there, Demos? Why're you trembling like that?" Mellissa asked as she noticed the kitten wasn't calming down and had actualy started crying. Then she realized why. She had to have looked like her aunt when she had been doing that. Almost exactly like her. That realization struck Mellissa hard, almost harder than the realization that everyone was dead. Looking around, she spotted a bench and fell on to it, hard, tears welling in her eyes. They had been crying for a few minutes when an old man came upon them and saw a girl who looked very much like his granddaughter crying her heart out. And his granddaughter should have been in school right then. Besides, something about her just seemed different from what he usually got from Raye. "Excuse me, Raye, but what are you doing home when you should be at school?" he asked with a stern tone in his voice. "Huh? Who are you? And you must have mistaken me for someone else, sir," Mellissa managed to choke out through her tears. "Well still, miss, what are you doing here? And why are you crying?" This last part was the concern of a grandfather for his grandchild. He didn't know why, but Mellissa just seemed like family. "My, my family and all of my friends just died, sir. Very recently. It still hurts a lot. I just thought about something my aunt had done in a place like this, and I started crying," she responded with a sob. Mellissa really didn't want company, but for some reason, Mellissa didn't mind this old man. "I know it may not be much, but perhaps I can say a prayer for their spirits, would you like that, miss?" Raye's grandfather asked. Silently, slowly, Mellissa nodded once. "As for who I mistook you for, my granddaughter looks just like you, and I thought she was skipping school. I'm sorry for that miss, and I hope that you can get over the pain soon. Would you like to be alone now?" he asked quietly. Getting a better grip on her emotions, Mellissa shook her head. "Wo-, would you show me around these grounds, sir? "Of course, but it would be easier if I knew your name," he responded, wondering why he felt this kinship with this girl. "Mellissa. Mellissa Valorie Hino," she answered, wondering why his eyes bulged at that last part. "Hino...?" "Yes, why?" "That's my last name, and my granddaughter's," he answered shakily. Is it possible Valorie never told me she had twins? I mean, if one of them died or she gave her up for adoption, would she have told me? We weren't on speaking terms back then, he reflected with a sigh. He'd never even met Raye until her parents died. He decided to ask the question. "Mellissa, were you adopted?" he asked quietly, hoping not to upset her further. Slowly, she nodded once, before turning away to look and at some of the various flora of the shrine. Mellissa and Demos were both wondering why he had asked such a strange question. "Do you know what your real parents names were?" he asked, wondering if Mellissa really could be his granddaughter. "No, but I think some of my adopted parent's papers at my apartment, sir. Why?" Mellissa's interest was now piqued. "Just bring the adoption papers here if you could, Mellissa. I think you may be my, my granddaughter," he added with a sniffle. "I'll bring them over tomorrow, sir," she answered, wondering what was going on. "Wouldn't you know if my birth mother had had twins?" "If you are my granddaughter, you should know that your birth mother and I were not on speaking terms. She might not have told me she'd had twins if one of them had died, or, possibly, been given up for adoption. I never got to say goodbye to her," he added with a tear. "I'm sorry, sir, but I didn't know my birth mother, only my adopted mother. My father died when I was three, so I never knew him. I never had any grandparents," Mellissa added with a sigh. Is it possible? Could I really have stumbled on to Raye this easily? Maybe it's just an incredible cooincidence, there's no way it could have been this easy, is there? Mellissa was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't realize Demos wasn't with them. Until it was too late. All of a sudden, three screeches broke the peaceful atmosphere at the shrine, one feline, two avian. "Demos? DEMOS!!" Mellissa cried, realizing that the kitten was gone. "Sir, did you see where my kitten Demos got to? I thnk that cat screaming was her!" Mellissa yelled as she ran in the direction of the screams. "Demos? Those birds were my granddaughter's crows, Phobos and Deimos!" Grandpa yelled as he ran after her. Soon they reached the site of the screams and saw Demos trying to pounce on one of the crows, only to be picked up by the tail by the other one. "LET HER GO, YOU UGLY BUZZARDS!!!" Mellissa screamed at the crows. Running at them, she batted at Deimos, the one holding Demos by her tail, who was screeching her head off. Grabbing a nearby stick, she proceeded to whack Deimos over the head with it, causing him to drop the kitten. Demos landed hard on her head and started moaning and groaning in pain. Mellissa slashed at Phobos again with the stick and when both crows flew, she ran over to where Grandpa had picked Demos up and was stroking her back as she moaned in pain. "Grandpa, is she alright?" she asked without realizing what she'd done. "I don't think so, wait, did you just call me Grandpa?" he asked, looking at Demos's hurt tail. Mellissa realized that she had, then shook it off as she went over to her friend. "Yes I did, do you mind?" she answered as she looked Demos's tail over. It was red, bleeding, and swollen. "Oh my God..." Mellissa trailed off as she saw her friend's condition. "Let's get her inside, I need to bandage her tail, quick!" Mellissa said urgently. "Uh, where is the building? I'm sort of lost," she confessed, trying to remember which way it was, based on her overflight of the area. "This way," Grandpa said, hurrying off in the right direction, Mellissa following quickly behind. When they reached the main building, Grandpa got the medical kit and handed it to Mellissa, who quickly used a cloth to dry up the blood and then she put some hydrogen peroxide on her tail to keep the kitten from becoming infected. Once that was done, Mellissa quickly wrapped the bandages around Demos's tail before she could start crying again. Once Mellissa was done, she picked the small kitten up and hugged her. "I take it you and that kitten are pretty close?" Grandpa asked, noticing how much concern Mellissa had for her cat. "Very. She's the last reminder of home I have. And I'm her last link to home, too," Mellissa answered, after she stopped hugging the kitten and had put her on her shoulder, making sure not to jostle Demos's tail any more than nescesary. "Speaking of home, I think I should get back to my apartment and look for those papers. It was nice meeting you, Grandpa," she teased lightly, a smile coming to her face for the first time in hours. "I'll see you tomorrow, though if you come back at about 3 o'clock, you should be able to be here when Raye gets home and meet her." "Thank you, I'll be back over here then. With my adoption papers, if I can find them," she added with another small smile. I just hope this isn't a cooincidence. If it is, both me and Grandpa are going to be very disappointed, and sad. "See ya then, Grandpa!" she called over her shoulder. Once they were safely out of earshot, Demos asked, "Do you think that that really could be Raye's grandfather? Our Raye?" "It's possible, but maybe that computer I've got can confirm it. I know that both it and Amy's are capable of genetic scans. And, assuming Raye's genetics are the same, it should be able to recognize them. By the way, what did you do to excite those two crows?" "I, um, sort of, uh, got, a little, um, uh, hungry," Demos said in a small voice, well aware that Mellissa was beginning to get angry. "You what?!!" she barked, realizing what she had thought had happened had happened. "I, um, well, ya see, sort of, tried to, um, eat one of them," Demos responded. "I hope you're happy. You could have been seriously hurt!" Mellissa exclaimed angrily. "Well, I'm still sort of, um, uh, well, um, hungry. Could I maybe, please, have, uh, something to eat?" "When we get home, Demos," Mellissa replied disgustedly. As Mellissa continued walking home, neither girl noticed the small, black cat following them. That same black cat noted the fact that Mellissa had bellowed at the cat as though it had done something very stupid. That in and of itself wasn't very surprising, considering that she had done that to Serena, and had it done to her in the past. A natural, normal reaction. The surprising part was that the cat had responded verbally. Could it be? Could that be Demos that that girl was yelling at? Luna wondered as she followed the pair. If it was, then the human had to have been either Sailor Mars or Sailor Ares, and Luna was leaning towards the later. From what she remembered, Ares had been the cat lover of the pair. If it is, then I need to have a talk with those two. Or at least the cat, Luna noted. Soon enough, they were back to Mellissa's apartment, where Luna was in much the same posistion as Artemis had been earlier, though his scent had long since faded from the area. She watched as Mellissa walked over to the kitchen area and began to fix two meals, one had a decent bit of meat on it and some lettuce and the other was a sort of soup like substance that the girl was sniffing to see if it smelled good enough to eat (Think chili). As she turned, Luna happened to sniffle and Mellissa caught the movement out of the corner of her eye. "Demos, look behind you, do you see who I see?" Mellissa asked, wondering if she actualy had spotted Luna. Demos turned around slowly and spotted a black cat, with a crescent moon on her forehead. "It's either Luna or Charon, why?" After taking a closer look at the cat, and noting the tinting of the fur, Demos declared, "No, that's Luna, not my sister," she said, disappointed. (Note: Charon is the Plutonian mooncat, and is also Demos's younger sister, though she tends to hang around with Susan, because they're the same age, more than Setsuna. While Susan isn't mentioned much, until some later stories, I'm still planning on working with her, eventualy.) "I know you miss Charon, don't you think I miss Raye and the others? Anyway, if that is Luna, she's the one dealing with Serena and Amy, so I'm going to let her in, okay?" "Sure, but you'll have to convince her to talk, Mellissa, won't you?" "I'm not an idiot, and, speaking of which, who's the one who just tried to eat a crow bigger than she is?" Mellissa said pointedly. Demos got the hint and dropped the subject as Mellissa walked over to the balcony door and opened it. "Would you like some milk, Luna?" she asked, hoping she wouldn't have to do anything absurd to get her in the room. Luna hesitated, wondering if she should take the offer or not. Demos noticed this and spoke up, asking "Well, it's not drugged, so why are you still standing there?" "I was wondering if she's a Sailor Scout or just a friend of yours, Demos," Luna retorted in feline. Mellissa just walked over to the cuboards and proceeded to pull out two dishes and filled both with milk, setting one down in front of each cat, then got both her's and Demos's lunches. After setting them on the table, Mellissa walked over to the refrigirator and got some orange juice for herself, and sat down at the table. "Well, which is it, Demos?" Luna asked after taking a sip of the milk. "Sailor Scout, Luna. Mellissa's Sailor Ares and Phoenix, now." "Phoenix, but she's just a legend! How can she be here?!" Luna said excitedly in Japanese. "I was the next avatar, so to speak, Luna. Don't you realize that?" Mellissa responded. She was getting irritated that Luna didn't recognize her and was going to demand proof. Oh well, once more unto the breach, Mellissa thought, disappointed. "Phoenix Star Power!" she called, pulling out her transformation pen. After the fireworks had faded, Luna was staring at Phoenix, trying to pick her jaw up off the ground. "But, that's impossible!!!" Luna exclaimed. Phoenix merely rolled her eyes and looked at the cat. Yeah, right, Phoenix thought. "Well if it's impossible, I can't do this, can I?" Phoenix asked, focusing on the mental image of her wings. In flash of ribbons, they had appeared, stretched out behind her. "Or this?" she asked picking Luna up and walking towards the door. Luna was too shocked to react as Phoenix took a step and then jumped off the balcony. After a moment, her wings had caught the wind and she soared upwards, carrying a slightly airsick Mooncat with her. "Believe me yet, Luna?" Phoenix asked as she did a slight banking turn back towards her apartment, Luna still firmly in her arms. "Yes, yes I do! Now, put me down!!!" Luna screeched as she looked down. Landing smoothly on her balcony, Phoenix did just that. "Airsick, Luna?" she asked smugly. "Yes, quite. Don't you ever do that AGAIN!!!" Luna exclaimed, feeling woozy and extremly irritated at Phoenix. "I will admit, you were right, though. I apologize." "Thank you, Luna. Now, would you like something to eat?" Phoenix asked as she detransformed and walked back over to the table. "I'll pass, Mellissa. I'm glad that we found another Scout, but why didn't Central Control warn me?" Luna pondered. "They just found out this morning, Luna. I met with another agent of their's earlier today." Well, since he is Central Control, I guess Artemis qualifes as an agent, Mellissa thought. Slowly, she tried out the soup and found it was to her liking. "Well, is there any paticular reason you were over here, Luna, or was this just a social call?" Mellissa asked, wondering why Luna would go so far out of her way. "I was investigating some strange feelings I was getting. I thought I sensed some unusual vibes-" Luna said, then stopped when she realized that both Mellissa and Demos were staring at her. "Vibes? What're those, Luna?" the kitten asked, curious. "Sort of like gut instincts, Demos. Anyway, I thought I sensed some weird vibes and was investigating. I just localized them here. Mellissa, I'd like you to meet the Scouts this afternoon, say about 4 or 5 o'clock this afternoon?" Luna suggested. "No, I'll have to do that tomorrow, Luna. I'm going to be looking up my twin sister this afternoon and I will not sacrifce that for the Scouts. Until and unless there's trouble." Mellissa's tone brokered no argument. After a long conversation on what had happened to date and Mellissa and Demos's finding out the identities of the other Scouts, Luna bid them farewell and Mellissa cleaned up the dishes from lunch. Neither one of them looked happy at this point as they realized that Jaedite had gone over to the other side, or that as many attacks had occured as had. After finishing with the dishes, Mellissa began to search through the papers Demos had found while exploring the apartment. Neither spoke as they examined them, looking for the adoption papers for Mellissa Valorie Hino. They were beginning to think they didn't exist when Mellissa found the ones she was looking for and set them down on the table. "Say Mellissa, I found a couple of books on astronomy around here, do you think we should find out what happened to the system in them?" Demos asked hesitently. "We might as well, Demos. Although I have a sinking feeling that we won't like what we find." Nor did they. After going through one that included summaries on the planets and finding out the various (wrecked) climates of the worlds, both were crying. All too soon, the time to leave for the Cherry Hill Shrine to meet Raye Majel Hino was near and Mellissa walked out of her apartment with Demos on her shoulder and the adoption papers in her pocket, both wary of what, and who, they would find. Author's Note: Thank you for taking the time to read this. For those of you reading the TXT version of this story, I apologize, but I wrote the original in HTML and the aforementioned comic is in there. I thought the irony of a Mooncat reading a Garfield comic was rather funny and included a scanned one for fun. Any comments or critiscms are appreciated and should be directed to bzell@juno.com.As I said before, thank you for reading this.