Chapter 3: Historic Revelations Hi again!! Just so you don't forget, Crystal Tokyo and its Royal Family, the Sailor Scouts and their alternate identities, Greg, Chad, Alan, and Ken are not mine. The story itself and all the other characters, however, are mine and mine alone. Please do not rip them off. I worked hard to make up those other characters and I do not want my labor to be in vain. I'm not doing this for money, and if you ask nicely, I might let you use the Sailor Scouts' daughters. ^_- Okay, I think I covered my ass. On with the story!! ***************************************************************************** From reading the various books around the house and Gravitus, I learn the next day that Pollianus is a huge frigid world twenty-nine times the size of the Earth and that its gravity is twenty-four G's. Although I have no idea what a G is, it does explain why I was unable to move about earlier. The solar system Pollianus is in has two other planets and they are fiery Pyranina and industrial Metalicon. Pollianus and Pyranina had been fighting on and off for a long time. I ask Gravitus to explain why that is to me and he tells me that the Pyranians are evil and have been trying to take over other worlds in their quest to search out fuel for keeping warm under their rapacious emperor Pyrhaedon who has forty sons and twenty daughters. "So, Gravitus, what did Pollianus do?" I ask. "We activated the Thrasherzords, the most powerful arsenal of battle machines ever built, Reenie," Gravitus says as he checks over a paper. "Using them, we took the fight directly to Pyranina and severely mutilated the Pyranian war machine and wounded or killed billions of Pyranians. Among them was the Empress and many of Pyrhaedon's children. I don't know what remains of the Pyranian Imperial Family or the plebeian populace, though. Nobody does. Sad to say, we'll never know because a law was passed forbidding anyone to go to Pyranina or to bring anything from there." "So you just wiped out the Pyranians just like that?" I want to confirm, snapping my fingers. Gravitus looks at me blankly for a while and then nods. Enraged, I shout, "Why!?!? The Pyranians have just as much a right to exist as you do!!!" "Reenie, I can understand if Pollianian history upsets you," Gravitus tells me quietly as he continues grading papers, "but you know what they say about history: those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it. Yes, war is a nasty event and that war should not have happened. But you have to understand that the Pyranians are our natural enemies and that war was fought for survival. If the Pyranians are allowed any amount of fuel, they will regain the ability to leave their planet and will swarm over every planet they encounter in their travels like locusts looking for fuel to keep their fires going." "But that STILL doesn't give you the right to slaughter a whole people wholesale like that, Gravitus," I scowl. Gravitus stops what he's doing dead in his tracks and glares angrily at me. I think I just put my foot in my mouth. "I'm sorry," I squeak out. "Reenie, just WHAT makes you think that *I* had something to do with all those Pyranians being killed?!!?" Gravitus snarls as he springs out of his chair. "I wasn't even around when that war took place!! It took place millennia ago!!! I wasn't even in the stupid war!!!! So don't come up here calling me an animal, Reenie. I tell you right now that I'm not!!!!!" Wow, I really hurt Gravitus's feelings. I shed a rainshower of tears and run out of the room. "Reenie? Reenie, where are you?" Gravitus calls as he searches for me. I peek out from my hiding place to see if the coast is clear. Seeing nothing, I head toward the stairs only to have Gravitus step into my path!! "Reenie, I'm sorry I yelled at you," Gravitus apologizes as he kneels down to my eye level. "You are not the first to say that we had no right to slaughter the Pyranians like we did. I was a teacher of Pollianus History for 12.5 Earth-years and everytime I reached this point in the curriculum, I dreaded it. I would have students flaming me so badly during the lesson that I had to send nine out of ten students to the principal's office or risk being fired for not teaching the lesson as per the curriculm. It just got to the point that I found that I could not handle it anymore and I quit and became a scientist after much retraining." "Gravitus . . ., I . . . had no . . . idea what you had been through," I apologize. "I'm sorry." "Don't be, Reenie," Gravitus says. "The Pollianians have done worse to their own. Trillions of years ago, parents could legally kill their children." "WHAT?!!?" I ask Gravitus, shocked. "Parents could legally kill their own children!??!" "That's what I said when I first learned this fact," Gravitus tells me. "But why???" I ask Gravitus. "You know about the idea of how the seasonal change in attitude from conservative to liberal and back is depicted as a swinging pendulum, Reenie?" Gravitus wants to confirm. I nod. "Well, back then, the pendulum had swung all the way over to liberal . . . and got stuck. Everyone did as his or her heart desired. The juvenile delinquency and illegitimate birth rates soared and it was 90 billion years before we got to thinking that this is very self destructive. It was then the pendulum got unstuck and swung to the other extreme . . . and got stuck AGAIN!!! 'Help society or die' and 'I brought you in this world; I can take you out' were the attitudes held by the adults. If you did something serious like disrespecting your parents, participating in prositution, or raping somebody, you could legally be killed by any adult, not just your parents. Children of poorer families did their level best to not be a burden to their parents. Sad to say, whether or not they lived depended entirely on the condition of the economy. If inflation or recession struck . . ." Gravitus pauses and sighs. He then hides his face. "Gravitus, I'm your friend and I want to help you," I whisper as I take Gravitus's big left hand in both of mine and rub it affectionately. "Look at me." Gravitus straightens up and my red eyes and his dark green eyes meet. "Please tell me what happened to the children of poor families if inflation or recession struck." Gravitus blinks and looks away as if he thinks that I won't like the answer. "Here's another point in history I didn't like teaching, Reenie," Gravitus mumbles, turning to look at me. "If you're the child of poor parents and inflation or recession struck the economy back then, you could expect to be cannibalized by your parents as soon as either basic necessities like food became too expensive to buy or as soon as the food ran out after your parents lost their jobs no matter how beautifully behaved you were. You were literally dead meat." I gasp and stare at Gravitus in shock. I begin hyperventilating and Gravitus puts an empty plastic bag over my face and sits me on his lap. "Gravitus, I want my mommy and daddy!!!" I whine as I sob into the soft banded shirt. "I hate being stuck on Pollianus!!!" "Reenie, I wish I knew where your parents are so that I could return you to them," Gravitus replies as he takes the plastic bag away. "They must be very worried about you by now. I bet Despicability is trying to locate your parents and find out if they're on Pollianus somewhere, but I still don't know how you ended up on Pollianus." "Gravitus, just hold me," I sob. "Don't worry, Reenie," Gravitus reassures me. "Despicability will find your parents and I'll take care of you until then." "Dad, are you home?" Selraina calls out to Gravitus. "Yeah, Selraina, I'm home," Gravitus replies. "I'm in my study." Selraina walks in. "How was school?" "It's all right considering that I hate going to school, Dad," Selraina tells Gravitus. "Well, I suggest you start liking school, young lady," Gravitus chides Selraina, "because you will not even get an entry-level job in this economy of ours unless you have at least a college certificate." "I hate it when you say that," Selraina grumbles. "Hate it if you wish, Selraina," Gravitus responds, "but unless you have a certificate or something that shows that you have an education and can be trained for the job you're being asked to do, there's no real reason for anyone to give you a chance. That may seem harsh to you, but it's the solid truth. Besides, the law is the law. You have to go to school until you +have 80 years+. You know that, Selraina; we've been through this before." "But, Daddy . . .," Selraina begins. "Don't you have homework or studying to do, young lady?" Gravitus rudely interrupts Selraina. "Unless you have another issue you want to discuss besides not liking school, we have nothing more to say to each other tonight." I climb down from Gravitus's lap and follow Selraina up the stairs. When I get to Selraina's room, I find its disgruntled occupant dumping out her backpack mumbling something about getting even with Gravitus. "Selraina, are you angry about something?" I ask. Way to go, Reenie. What a stupid question to ask!!! Selraina pauses and looks at me and I find her eyes are blacker than black!!! Instead of a circular dark green iris surrounding a circular black pupil on a background of white I saw earlier, Selraina's eyes are COMPLETELY black!!! It's like Selraina had black pearls for eyes. "Can I help you in some way? That was a pretty passionate exchange you and Gravitus had back there." "Reenie, did you ever have a moment that you hated your parents and wanted to kill them?" Selraina asks. "My dad is being completely heartless!!!" "Yes, Selraina, I have had moments where I have had those feelings," I reply. "What child doesn't? I feel that if someone likes their parents all the time, then something's wrong. Selraina, your education is very important. My parents made that clear to me even though I'm only seven. I can tell that your dad cares about you very much and realizes the importance of an education; otherwise he would not have seen to it that you got up on time to catch the school bus. If your mom were here, she'd be shooing you out the house right beside your dad." "You're rather perceptive considering you only have [28] years, Reenie," Selraina says with a grumble as she opens a book. "What do you mean I have [28] years, Selraina?" I ask. "I'm only seven!!!" "It's just the way we express age here on Pollianus, Reenie," Selraina says as she gets to work. "No need to get upset. I said [28] because Pollianus rotates and revolves around its sun four times faster than Earth does. A year here equals three months on Earth. A day here equals six hours. Get the idea?" "Yeah, I do. How many years do you have?" I ask Selraina. "I have [61]," Selraina tells me. "So on Earth, you would have turned 15 just three months ago," I conclude. "Right?" "Uh huh," Selraina replies without looking up from her homework. "Your dad also made a big deal about +having [80] years+, Selraina," I recall. "Any idea what that's all about?" "I have no idea what the big deal about +having [80] years is+, but I'm sick of being made to go to school!!" Selraina snarls abruptly as she clears her desk with a sweep of her arm. Books, homework papers, pens, and pencils go flying everywhere. "I can't take it anymore, Reenie. I just can't." Selraina grabs me and looks directly in my red eyes. When I look into Selraina's dark green eyes, I see a mixture of anger, desperation, despair, hopelessness, bitterness, and frustration aching to be quieted. Selraina lifts me into her lap and cuddles me close to her body. "Reenie, I was jealous of you when you first arrived," Selraina admits. "I thought that you had lost your parents and that you were going to take mine away from me. But now that I have had a chance to get to know you, I'm warmed up to having you around. It's always push-push-push with my parents. My mom is always on duty and I could lose her at anytime. My dad is always wanting me to work and work and never stop to rest." I could feel Selraina's arm support my bottom as she stands up and walks over to a large window with a padded shelf for lounging. Selraina seats herself on the shelf and directs my attention to a large spherical whitish-gray object in the sky. "Ruefulness is beautiful when it's full," Selraina whispers in my ear, pointing to the large spherical whitish-gray object in the sky. "I wish that I were a princess and that I could be the one to set up a government up on Ruefulness in my image. There would be no one telling me what to do and what not to do, no school, and no rules. You can do whatever you want whenever you feel like it." "Yeah, Selraina, my parents are the same way," I say. "I was in training to participate in a tournament against eight girls that I barely have gotten to know. My mom Neo- Queen Serenity says it's the tradition of the Moon Kingdom that I fight a duel with each of my future court members before they can join my court. I'd like to go back and ask my grandma Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom if she had to fight for her court. How do I know that this tournament isn't just to satisfy some sick perverted desire of my parents to watch a fight and enjoy it?" "Ouch!! School is starting to sound real good right about now," Selraina remarks as she fiddles with my pink hair. "Cold Falconian is beautiful when it's all lit up at night. My mom is out there somewhere protecting the citizens of Cold Falconian, but I want her here with me. @Palldere,@ please guard Despicability and bring her home safely." Neither Selraina nor I say anything for a while perfectly content enjoying each other's company. Selraina holds me loosely in her lap as if I were her daughter or little sister. "Selraina, I have a problem," I say, breaking the silence. Selraina stops staring at Ruefulness and acknowledges me. "I'm worried that I'll get clobbered in the tournament. All my powers right now as Sailor Moon do is annoy enemies." Selraina chuckles slightly. "You're better off than I was when I was your age, Reenie," Selraina says. "My parents went to Pyranina looking for adventure and accidently unleashed the evil of the Malomega Crystal when they were my age, an object of such pure evil that it permanently corrupts anyone who touches it. My mom, not knowing what the Malomega Crystal was, freed it by prying it from its pedestal with her staff and brought it back to Pollianus after Pyrhaedon raped her. As the years passed, my mom's behavior changed for the worst. When my brother Sandigeo and I came onto the picture, things settled down for a while, but I was a sickly child and my parents spent much of their time caring for me, leaving poor Sandigeo to fend for himself. My mom began to tire of caring for me and tried to do away with me. My mom's first four attempts on my life were sneaky at first, but after the fifth one, my dad caught her redhanded and sent me to Earth on a shuttle with six magical coins which each had a distinctive color and a creature engraved on it on which its lightning-driven powers are based. After figuring out I was here, Sandigeo followed me to Earth and stole one of the coins despite my best efforts to stop him. My dad was furious when I told him what happened. He told me that I had to get the stolen coin back by whatever means I could." "So what did you do, Selraina?" I ask. "Since I landed in the U. S. state of Texas, I abducted five students named Isidore, Jarred, Raymond, Arabella, and Ermentrude from their middle school," Selraina tells me, her voice heavy. "I brought them to my fortress, the Freedom Anomaly, where I made them into the Lightning Freedom Marshals, a group of superheroes driven by lightning sworn to protect the Earth. Isidore was the Red Marshal and his Lightning powers came from the Allosaurus, Raymond; the Black Marshal and the woolly mammoth, Jarred; the Blue Marshal and the Torosaurus, Arabella; the Pink Marshal and the Pteranodon, and Ermentrude; the Yellow Marshal and the Stegosaurus. Anyway, for a while, I could successfully fight off the monsters Sandigeo sent with the Freedom Marshals using huge lightning-driven animal-like battle machines known as Lightningzords. One day, Sandigeo decided to use the coin he had stolen from me to wreak havoc. He kidnapped a girl named Beulah and she became the Magenta Marshal and had the powers of the Fire Phoenix. The Freedom Marshals' efforts to stop the Magenta Marshal bore little fruit until I created the Gray Marshal using the powers of a male timber wolf I had captured. After a breathtaking battle, the spells on the Magenta Marshal and Sandigeo were broken and I found the Magenta Marshal's fiery powers and Sandigeo's muscle very useful against the monsters that came afterwards . . . until my dad's brother showed up with a whole new batch of monsters." "Selraina, I had no idea that you had been through all this," I say. "But where did you get the power to grow and shrink like that?" "My dad came to Earth and gave it to me," Selraina explains. "My smaller Earth temperature mode enables me to conserve my powers and bodily strength which are lost faster than the Earth' weaker gravity can replenish them, helps me control my body temperature and avoid roasting to death out in the sun, and also blend in with the humans. I don't look too alien to you, do I, Reenie?" I look at Selraina and see nothing unusual. Selraina could pass off her sandy-yellow skin as just having a real bad case of jaundice or being Mexican and her long black hair won't pose any problems. "Your sandy-yellow skin could pose a problem, but I think you could say that you're Mexican or have a real bad case of jaundice, Selraina," I reply. "My dad and Raye have black hair, so your black hair is not a problem. I'm not sure if your dark green eyes will enable you to fit in, though. Is there a way you could change the color of your eyes?" "Not that I know of," Selraina replies. "Even if there were a way, my dad would never let me use it. The fuddy- duddy louse!!!" "I'm sure Gravitus has his reasons for not letting you change the color of your eyes, Selraina," I say. "But let's get back to my problem. What are we going to do so that I make it through the tournament?" "Oh, sorry," Selraina grins at me sheepishly. "I got carried away with my story. So what are your parents going to do? They're not just going to put you in a room with these girls and just let you and them go at it, are they?" "I don't think so," I tell Selraina. "My mom said that I would have to fight a duel with each member of my court. I think I'll have to fight them one-on-one." "Did your mom tell you what you had to do to win a duel, Reenie?" Selraina asks. I shake my head no. "I don't believe that your mom would ask you to do something like fight someone and not tell you what to expect. I can't believe that any mother who deserves the title would ask of her child what your mom has asked of you!!! I . . . I . . . I just can't." "Selraina, what are you yelling about?" Gravitus demands as he enters the room. Selraina tells Gravitus what we have been discussing. Gravitus emerges with a look of surprise and points his thumb at me. Selraina nods. "Reenie, I had no idea," Gravitus gasps. "It has always held tried and true that children should not be separated from their parents, but it has also always held tried and true that there are certain things that should not be asked of children. I'm not sure if I want to send you back to Earth anymore. I know that to be a leader, one has to earn the respect of the followers. If fighting the followers does anything, it just generates a lot of bad feelings which can be detrimental to the cohesiveness of the team as well as anything the team tries to accomplish." "I wish that you could tell Neo-Queen Serenity this," I tell Gravitus. "But I don't think that she'll listen to you. So what's going to increase my chances of winning this tournament?" "Three words, Reenie," Gravitus advises me as he kneels down. "Use your brain. Your muscles can be trained to do almost anything, but to execute those instructions, you have to use your brain. That doesn't just apply to that tournament; it applies to any task that life asks of you." "Gravitus, you don't understand," I protest. "All my powers as Sailor Moon do is . . . " "Annoy and distract enemies," Gravitus finishes for me. "Yes, Reenie, I know. I have not forgotten. Trust me; I know what I'm talking about. The Sailor Scouts have a lot of power and it might seem that you might not have a chance against them, but remember, Reenie, trying to match their powers is not the answer. As powerful and frightening as their attacks seem, they do have weaknesses. Find them and capitalize on them." "I don't want to go back to Earth and fight in this tournament, Gravitus," I whisper as I give Gravitus a tearful hug. "I want to stay here on Pollianus with you." "I know you don't want to go back, Reenie," Gravitus whispers back, "but I can't keep you here and your parents have got to be worried sick about you by now. I also can't stop your parents from making you fight in this tournament because to do so would be interfering in a foreign culture." Gravitus and I disengage and my teary red eyes meet Gravitus's sad dark green eyes. "If you didn't have any family, I'd welcome you into mine and raise you as if you were my own," Gravitus continues as he tries to keep from crying. "You and Selraina could be . . . sisters. I can tell that you're already good friends because Selraina was holding you in her lap. If I were your real dad, I'd do everything in my power to keep you from having to fight in that tournament." "Really?" I ask Gravitus. "Really," Gravitus answers me. After dinner, Despicability comes home and once we're all downstairs, Selraina goes all hog wild. "Mommy!!!" Selraina cries out as she leaps into Despicability's arms nearly knocking her over.

"Selraina!!!" Despicability cries in surprise as she and Selraina embrace. Despicability loses her balance and falls down. "Selraina Despicability Vitaliter!!" Despicability cries again, this time in angerous annoyance. "Get off of me!!" Selraina's smile fades as she slowly crawls off Despicability who is scowling bitterly. "You and I are going downtown if you do that again!!" "Des, our little girl is just happy to see her mother," Gravitus tells Despicability who whips her angry dark blue eyes around to look at him. "Oh, I'm sorry," Gravitus apologizes as he helps Despicability up. "Did you have a bad day at the office?" "I checked everywhere to locate Reenie's parents but found nothing," Despicability grumbles as she runs a gloved hand through her black hair. "Sad to say, Earth is too far away to go take a look, Reenie. But I *will* find your parents." "You hungry?" Gravitus asks Despicability. "There's some dinner left over on the stove hot." Despicability agrees, changes out of her police uniform into her pajamas, and allows Gravitus to lead her into the kitchen. While she eats dinner, Despicability tells Gravitus that the Cold Falconian Police Department is getting suspicious of her inability to work full shifts and that she's under investigation. "Despicability Vitaliter!!!" Gravitus yells when Despicability tells him what must be done. "I don't give a shit what the law says!! I'm not throwing Reenie out!!!" "Gravitus, keep your voice down!!" Despicability orders. "Selraina and Reenie may be listening in and this IS a residential area." That is, of course, what Selraina and I are doing from around the corner. "Sorry," Gravitus apologizes in a much softer, but still angry tone of voice. "What do you mean we can't keep Reenie here much longer?" "Which part of that don't you understand, Gravitus La Phoenix??" Despicability snaps impatiently. "We CANNOT legally keep Reenie here. It's against the law." "Despicability, Reenie is just a little girl," Gravitus whispers. "She doesn't have anywhere else to go." "I understand that, Gravitus," Despicability says sympathetically. "Unfortunately, we're both licensed for one minor child and that's our daughter. It doesn't matter how you slice the cake; it all boils down to the fact that we can't keep Reenie here without breaking the law. We both know that." I gasp at this point and Selraina nearly suffocates me by putting her hand over my nose and mouth. "How long do we have?" Gravitus asks Despicability. "Hard to say," Despicability replies. "There are a lot of factors at work, like the seriousness of the other crime that's taking place right now and the evaluation of my conduct. There are those on the force that are jealous of what I have gained in such a short period of time and just of me in general. They may spill the beans if paid enough. I've taken pride in going on patrol in the car and on foot. I have even taken the time to talk with the people I encounter on my beat and speak to kids about the dangers of date rape and drunk driving. If you ask me, I've done what my job as a police officer has required of me . . . and then some." "Yeah, Despicability," Gravitus agrees. "I guess our chances of getting caught aren't so bad if your superiors think as highly of your performance as you do." "Don't forget about my enemies, Gravitus," Despicability reminds Gravitus. "Any one of them could spell disaster if they learn that we're illegally keeping a minor in our house. I think if I hit my job harder than ever, I may be able to buy us a little time while we figure out and arrange for somewhere else for Reenie to go." "I wonder how the girls will take this news, Despicability," Gravitus says after a brief silence. "I don't know how I can approach them with the news," Despicability agrees. "Strange. I have never had any qualms about delivering bad news to anyone before." "I know what's different this time, Des," Gravitus tells Despicability. "Oh, you do, Gravitus?" Despicability challenges, grinning. "Well, enlighten me. What's different this time?" "You finally got a heart," Gravitus replies coyly. Despicability goes into a rage, first throwing her half- finished dinner at Gravitus and then overturning the table, making a big mess and a general disaster area of the room. Gravitus then flees as Despicability grabs a chair and chases him about the neighborhood swinging the chair at him like a club. "Aww, Des, come on!!" Gravitus shouts back at Despicability. "I'm sorry!!" "You're nowhere near as sorry as you're gonna be when I'm done with you, Gravitus La Phoenix!!!!!!" Despicability threatens as she takes a swipe at Gravitus but misses. "Call me heartless, huh? Well, just stop running a moment and I'll show you how heartless I can be!!!!!!!!!!!" Selraina and I step outside to watch a frightened Gravitus run from an enraged Despicability who swipes at him scoring some successful hits. The cold starts to get to me and Selraina takes me inside. "Selraina?" I ask as Selraina is putting me to bed. "Do your parents always fight like this?" Selraina whips around as if in shock that I would have the courage to ask such a question then turns to look at me. "Yes," Selraina whispers in a small voice. "My mom has chased my dad all over the neighborhood with either an axe, a sledgehammer, or whatever she can get her hands on quickly several times." Selraina then gets in her own bed and cries herself to sleep before I could go comfort her. THE END That's a kind of violent note to end this chapter on, but I reached the caboose of my train of thought and I REALLY hate it when that happens. So what do you think so far? What do you think will happen next? Email address: CMDChiba@hotmail.com Please put the title of this story in the subject line of your letter. Doing so will enable me to get back to you faster. ***************************************************************************** Pollianus Terms [] = Divide by four to find the age in Earth-years. Pollianus is a fast-moving planet!!! +having [80] years+ = This is the Pollianian age of majority or the legal dividing line between being a child and an adult. Pollianus requires its youth by law to attend school until the end of the year that they reach this age after which it is left up to the youth if they want to attend more school. @Palldere@ = This is the Pollianian word for God. Whenever a Pollianian prays like Selraina did when she wanted her mother to come back home safely, the prayer goes directly to God instead of through Jesus like in the Roman Catholic religion. Okay, I think that about covers everything. ^_^