Star Guardians Episode 1: Strange Dreams It was well past midnight. Suiren was tossing and turning in bed, trying to get away from the strange images from her mind. In her dream, Suiren was surrounded in a thick, purple mist. In these types of conditions, Suiren would feel locked away and scared. A wind so chilling that it dug through her bones blew through her. She shivered, her light sea-green strands of hair blowing into her face. "Shara, Shara..." "What's going on?" Suiren lifted her head. "Why are you calling me that? I'm not Shara, I'm Suiren!" "Shara..." The voice continued to call out for her. Suddenly, a shadow seemed to move in her direction. "Hello? Is anybody there?" Suiren called out. The shadow didn't respond, but it did continue to move towards her. "Who are you? What do you want?" The shadow was now close enough that Shara could make out specific features. It was someone wearing a bluish-purple cloak, and it was about a couple of feet taller than Suiren herself. It was gripping a long staff with a star-shaped blade on top. Suiren gasped to see that its hands weren't human; they looked metallic as well. Making this discovery, Suiren stepped back in fear. "Who are you? What do you want from me?" Suiren whispered, plucking up enough courage to look at it in the eye. The shadow let out a male, booming laugh. Suiren gasped and backed away some more, but suddenly, two other cloaked men, about 5 or 6 inches taller than she was, grabbed her arms. The large shadow threw back his cloak. Suiren's purple eyes widened in horror to see that this guy definitely wasn't human. He looked to be like a metallic man with red, glowing slits for eyes. "I've come to take your life, Shara, for betraying me and for abandoning your mission! I thought I could trust you, but no, you just had to break out of the chamber early to warn your dear older brother, another traitor, of what he was up against!" "I'm not Shara, I'm telling you, my name is Suiren! Can't you get that through your thick skull?" Suiren shouted. "She's alot worse than we thought, master," one of the cloaked men said, shaking his head. "Well, no matter. We're going to dispose of her anyway. I'll do the honours." The evil being grinned and pointed his staff at Suiren's throat. "I'm going to enjoy doing this." For all this time, Suiren was trying to keep her composure, but in this situation, you might as well scream for your life. Opening her mouth, she let out a bloodcurdling scream..... Suiren sat up in cold sweat. Man, this dream was weird, she thought as she combed a hand through her hair. It's been the third time this week that I've been having these weird dreams. Turning over, she checked the clock. 4:45. Suiren sighed in relief. Almost morning. Suiren usually woke up at 5 anyway. Sighing, Suiren headed into the bathroom. Maybe a good shower would help her get rid of the fear she felt in that dream. Fifteen minutes later, Suiren was showered and dressed for school(if you're wondering why she does this at such an early, it's because she's got piano lessons at 6:00, since school starts at 7:45 at Myen Private High School), but she still didn't feel any better. Sitting at her elegant dressing table, she picked up a silver brush and started running it through her hair methodically. "Why would that person call me Shara? Why did everyone I met in my dreams call me Shara? Does she look like me?" Suiren stared at herself in the mirror. Totally weird. Oh, well, Suiren thought silently. There's no point in thinking about it now. Maybe I should focus harder on finding out who this Shara is tonight, if that is ever possible. There was a knock on her bedroom door. Suiren hurried up and opened it. There, standing in front of her was Mrs. Butler, the head maid of the house. "Breakfast is going to be ready in 5 minutes. Better hustle," Mrs. Butler said cheerfully. Seeing the chubby housekeeper made Suiren smile, her troubles forgotten. Ever since her parents died, Suiren inherited a bounty from the selling of her father's prosperous industry. She had enough to last her for...her whole lifetime; she wouldn't need to work. However, Suiren wanted to make something of herself. The hired maids would tend to her needs while she would do her schoolwork and other miscellanious activities. Mrs. Butler was now like a mother to her. "I'll be coming along, Mrs. Butler." "My, you look stunning today, not that you don't look like that every other day! I bet you're the prettiest girl in all of Myen Private High School! The girls must be jealous of you!" Mrs. Butler winked. "Not to mention the young men..." Suiren blushed modestly. "I'm not really that special. I'm just an ordinary girl. I'm sure there are other people who would..." "Yeah, right, don't go all humble on me, girl. Come along, you'r breakfast is going to get cold." Mrs. Butler headed down the curving stairway. Suiren smiled, still flushed by Mrs. Butler's compliment. Checking her watch, Suiren noticed that she had only 20 minutes to eat and blitz oveer to Mrs. Lane's house for her lessons. In a flash, Suiren grabbed her book bag and piano bag and ran down the stairs as fast as she could. After school, Suiren quickly got her stuff and was prepared for the walk home(she found it more enjoyable than riding a limo to and from school), when someone called out to her. "Suiren, hi!" "Ako!" Suiren ran up to hug her best friend, Ako Yaten. She went to another school that was far away, and she didn't see Suiren often. "How was your trip to San Francisco?" "It was awesome! The whole class got to see everything there! But let's talk about you instead. What have you been up to these days?" Ako sensed Suiren's slightly pensive expression. "Thinking about something?" Suiren said nothing as they strolled down the tree-lined streets. "Come on, you can tell me. What's on your mind? A secret crush?" Ako's bright blue eyes sparkled. Suiren blushed furiously. "Ako, you already know that I have a crush on Stephen Applegate! THere's nothing new to tell you abut that. He still hasn't given me the time of day." "I know Stephen's younger sister; she goes to my school. She and I are pretty good friends; maybe I can get her to arrange a date for you." Suiren waved her hand, her face growing redder by the second. "No, Ako, please, I appreciate your help, but it will just embarrass me if you ever done that. Besides, I heard that Stephen likes more aggressive girls, nt shy, goody-goody girls like me." Suiren sighed and blew at her sea-green bangs. "But..." "Just drop the subject, okay?" Suiren said sharply. Ako looked stricken, but nodded. Suiren saw Ako's expression and her face softened. "I'm really sorry, Ako. I didn't mean to shout at you like that. It's my fault." "Hey, it's okay, Suiren. I've gotten pretty used to your mood swings, though they usually don't come so often," Ako said breezily. "So, what's really on your mind?" "It's pretty sily. I shouldn't be saying this," Suiren said, looking down at the ground. "What is it?" Ako looked concerned. "You never sounded this...scared before. Is there something bothering you?" "I can't explain why, but I'm scared...of my own dreams," Suiren replied, her purple eyes soft with fear. "What type of dreams have you been getting?" "I can't really explain them. Often, they're about voices in the mist, calling the name "Shara". Yesterday, though, it was some menacing shadow with a spear who wanted to kill Shara for betraying him. He mistaken me for Shara, and he won't change his mind, no matter what I tell him. It's really strange, Ako, but I feel as if this Shara is a part of me." "Hmmmm. Is it possible that this Shara IS you, by any chance?" "I don't think so. I was born as Suiren, not Shara, and I haven't had any recent accidents that might've tuned out my memory." Suiren sighed. "I wish these dreams would just go away." "It could be that someone is trying to communicate with you," Ako suggested. "Yeah, maybe. Oh, let's change the subject. So..." Ako interrupted Suiren in midsentence. "Suiren, look, up ahead!" The two girls stopped to see a ring of guys, about their age, surrounding a short girl. They were sneering and spitting at her. "What's wrong, mutant, can't look us up in the eye?" one guy said caustically. "Yeah, Miss Goody-Goody Two Shoes, can't stand on your perfect feet?" another shouted. The boys laughed uproarously. Suiren's eyes narrowed. She was about to charge into them, but Ako held her back. "This isn't your fight," Ako hissed. "That girl can't handle them all by herself," Suiren hissed back. The girl in the ring looked up sharply at them. "I don't want any trouble," the girl said softly. "I'm just trying to walk home. THere is no law against that, so let me pass." Grabbing her book bag that was on the floor, the girl tried to get past them, but one guy grabbed her by the arm, squeezing and twisting it. "You're not going anywhere until we get our fun," the tall guy holding her said dangerously. "Let me go! Help, someone!" the girl shouted, frightened. Suiren wanted to jump into the fray and pull her out, but Ako kept pushing her back. Any other students walking by would look at the poor girl, whisper something and hurry on. The girl's purple eyes looked desperate. "Please, would somebody help me?" The group of boys laughed. "No one would help a weak squirt like you, Hottie-girl," one fat guy said. "Stop calling me that! My name is Hotaru, not Hottie-girl or anything else!" "You're in no position to be demanding anything!" The tall guy threw her hard onto the ground. Hotaru yelped in pain, gripping her schoolbag tightly. The fat boy grabbed her schoolbag. "I wonder what's in here..." He dumped the contents onto the ground. "Hey, those are my school things!" Hotaru quietly tried to pick them up, but the fat boy kicked the contents out of her hand. "You wouldn't need those things once we're done with you!" The group of boys picked up her books and threw them around. Some fell onto the street, where cars started running them over; some were in the thick mud, some notebooks in puddles of wwater after last night's rain. Hotaru looked at all her things, her eyes widened. "Look what you've done!" Hotaru wailed. "Shut up, mutant!" One guy reared back one leg and kicked her. Hotaru fell back, limp and weary(you know she can't retain energy for so long). Another guy picked her up and threw her back onto the ground. The assualt seemed to continue, over and over. Suiren couldn't stand it anymore. Pushing away Ako, she ran up to the ring of guys and shouted at the top of her lungs, "STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" The guys turned to see a burning Suiren glaring at them, her hands on her hips. Suiren angrily noticed that one of the guys was Stephen Applegate. What a jerk, she thought. "Hey, Suiren baby, how's it going?" One guy asked. Suiren noticed with distaste that this guy was Carson Holbrook, a guy who had a crush on her ever since 3rd grade. The others were guys that she realized were from Mugen Gakuen High, which was two blocks away from where Myen was. "Shut up, Carson, I'm not here to talk about your idiotic love life." "Ooooh, harsh." Carson laughed. "Now let the girl go! She didn't do anything to hurt you," Suiren said calmly. "Not without a fight!" The group of guys turned to Suiren, their fists slightly cocked. "Fine," Suiren folded her arms and started tapping her foot onto the asphalt. The guys were angered by Suiren's nonchalance and charged at her. Ako put her hands over her eyes. This was the end. Suiren was going to get flattened, she thought. Most of those guys were major athletes, mostly in martial arts or football. Ako heard a high-pitched cry, and some grunting sounds. She cringed as she heard the sound of bone on bone. Soon, though, it was all over. She peeked behind her hands to see all the guys sprawled, knocked out, on the sidewalk. She also saw Suiren, still as cool as a cucumber without a wrinkle on her beige school uniform, stride confidently to Hotaru, who was quite stunned with the blow that she received. Ako ran up to her friend. "Suiren, are you okay?" Suiren turned with an easy smile. "Of course I am, Ako." Seeing her stunned expression, she laughed. "It's the martial arts classes that I take up at the university with my friend Darien. Plus, I worked up a strong arm playing tennis. Now, the most important thing is to see if Hotaru is all right. Are you?" Suiren turned to the frightened girl, who was looking at the ground, her skirt soiled and her hair a mess. "Yes," Hotaru whispered. "Good." Suiren turned to look at all the scattered school things of hers and shook her head. "It looks like alot of your stuff is ruined. Let's go retrieve the ones that we can..." "That's the 7th time this month. I don't know if my dad could stand buying new school suppies for me everytime, and I'm getting behind in school because my homework assignments are usually ruined." Hotaru put her hands over her face, her shoulders shaking with sobs. "I don't know how much of this I can take." Suiren put a soothing arm around Hotaru. "Ssssh. It's okay. I'll take care of you." Hotaru stopped crying and smiled softly. "Thank you. You're very kind." Suiren helped Hotaru up onto her feet. "Sorry for not helping you sooner. My friend Ako was being too protective over me. I'mm Suiren, by the way, Hotaru." Hotaru weakly shook Suiren's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Suiren." She looked up at Ako, who was smiling openly. Her eyes suddenly became wary. "Please, I don't want trouble from you, either." Suiren looked confused. "What do you mean?" "Your friend happened to be one of the girls who ruined my lunch last week. She couldn't stop saying things about me. Why does everyone have to be so mean just because I've got the power to heal?" Hotaru sighed. "I just don't understand why everyone hates me so much." Suiren turned to Ako, her face stricken. "You did that, Ako?" Ako looked reluctant. "Well, I..." "Tell me the truth, Ako, now!" Suiren looked sternly at her. "All right, so I did it! I never wanted to tell you because I knew you wouldn't want to hang with people who were like that, and I didn't want you to stop being my friend..." Ako hung her head. Suiren sighed and shook her head. "Ako, I never knew you would do something like that. I thought you were one friend that I had that would always look at things objectively and never jumping into one situation without thinking. So much for that..." She looked up at Ako, her eyes glazed. "I never expected this from you, something this coldhearted, cruel..." "But I said sorry!" Ako yelled. Suiren threw up her hands in exasperation. "Saying sorry would never make up for anything this big! Ako, you've just discriminated someone! I would never forgive anyone who would do something this cruel." She pursed her lips. "Suiren, don't do this, it's not worth..." Hotaru began. It was too late. Ako looked at Suiren with large, hurt eyes. Then, she spun around, her short red hair flying as she turned to run away from Suiren. "Suiren, that wasn't necessary!" Hotaru cried. "It was too late. I can't forgive her. I can't forgive her because she did this to you, and secondly, she can't be trusted. If she told this to me outright, maybe I would forgive her, but not now." Suiren looked moody. "How could I have been so blind?" Suiren was afraid of going to bed that night. She didn't want to be subjected to the nightmares she had been having for the last few days. Sighing, she knew it was inevitable. If they come, they'd come. She'll just have to live with it. Suiren's eyes drooped as her head hit her down pillow. Within minutes, a mist enclosed around her, but lifted again, to her relief. Suiren felt the fabric on her body change to something soft, and she realized that she was wearing an orange cotton dress. She was in a beautiful field of amarylis, and it was summer. Suiren never saw a land this beautiful. Ahead of her, was a lighthouse, with a beach, and she sighed as the clear water sparkled under the sunshine. Relaxed, Suiren started to walk towards the beach, the amarylis blossoms brushing her bare feet. Ahead of her, was a figure of a young man standing on the beach. Curious, Suiren came closer. He was about 5 or 6 inches taller, with a mane of longish, uneven black hair, which was rustling in the breeze. Suiren seemed soothed by his presence. He turned, and Suiren gasped, shocked by the intensity in his green eyes. The young man's eyes widened. "Shara?" Suiren groaned inwardly. Not this again! Calmly, she said, "I'm not Shara. You're mistaken. My name is..." The young man didn't hear her. His eyes lighting up, he ran up to Suiren, putting his arms around her, hugging her so hard she couldn't breathe. "Shara, oh Shara, my dear sister, I'm so glad you're safe." "Please!" Suiren pushed him away from her. "I'm not Shara, you've got to believe that!" "What do you mean?" The young man put his hands on Suiren's shoulders. "Don't you remember me? I'm your brother, Slade. Don't you remember?" "I don't know who you are! Just leave me alone!" Suiren, suddenly frightened, pushed him away again and started up the hill into the field of amarylis. She could hear Slade's quick footsteps as he followed in hot pursuit. "Shara, come back!" Slade yelled. His voice sounded utterly heartbreaking to Suiren, but she didn't dare turn back. She kept on running and running, until she cleared the field and was behind a large oak tree. Thankfully, Slade didn't know she was there, and turned in the opposite direction. Sighing a sigh of relief, Suiren let her head drop onto her chest. "Suiren!" At the touch of a hand on her shoulder, Suiren leapt away, screaming. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you." "You scared me, though." Suiren looked up and saw a figure about her height, wearing a hood over its face. She could tell it was a woman. "Who are you?" "I'm the one who's been giving you these dreams. I need you to do something for me, Suiren." "What?" "Find me the Rainbow Pinwheel. It's a magical talisman that can free me from this slight. It's scattered around Tokyo, in 12 different coloured pieces." "How can do this?" "I will send you a follower to train you into finding them. You will have many opponents sticking themselves in your path. They want the pinwheel too, those evi Venomoids, for it would give them power-ups they could never imagine. You will now take on the life of a Sailor Senshi, Suiren, the protector of Saturn, Polaris. You will put your life on the line for her, as well as dedicate yourself to fighting the Negaverse and the Venomoids, plus having too find the Rainbow Pinwheel." "I don't know if..." "Please, Suiren, do this for me. Free me from this slight. I'm trapped in a dream dimension, all the ones I care about thinking I'm dead, but I want to be free, and I want revenge to those who dd this to me. Will you help set me free?" Suiren nodded. "I will." "Thank you. To find the object of your power, look in your mother's jewellery box in the attic." The girl in the cloak walked away. At that moment, Suiren woke up, her eyes wide. My mother's jewellery box in the attic... Fifteen minutes later, with a robe around her, Suiren ran up into the attic and started rummaging through boxees of old stuff that belonged to her dead parents. She found it; a silver ornate box that played Fur Elise when you opened it. Suiren found tears slipping down her face as she heard it play. Oh, Mother, I wish I could play that song for you before you died... A small, purple and silver henshin wand that didn't look like it belonged to the jewellery box shone in the pure moonlight from the one window. Suiren clutched it, the coolness of the item giving her strange strength. Quietly, she shut the music box and set it back tenderly in a wooden chest she got it from, the sound of it hitting the bottom like the chimes of a final gong. The next day, Suiren and Hotaru decided to meet at Fairview Park at the center of Tokyo. They planned to go for a picnic and a ride out by the lake to have some quiet time and to talk. "Oh, look how beautiful it is out here!" Suiren cried out. "I know. THis place is one of the most beautiful spots in all of Tokyo. That's why my father gave out so much money to keep it alive." "What does your father do, Hotaru?" Hotaru's eyes glowed when she thought of her father. "He's a scientist, and a very brilliant one at that. His inventions have been known all over the world. What about your father?" Suiren's eyes suddenly went blank. "Is there something wrong?" "No. My father was a big businessman who owned a large computer company. I was very fond of him, before he and Mother died in an airplane crash in Milan." Hotaru looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry. I know how you feel. My mother died in a house fire when I was really young." The two finished the ride in silence. "Would you like to go see the gardens? They're really nice." "Sure." Suiren and Hotaru stepped out of the canoe. "I want to see the amarylis. My mother adored the amarylis, and seeing it makes me remember her." "I want to go see the rose garden. How about we split up for a moment, and we'll meet in the tulip section, okay?" Hotaru smiled. "Okay, but be careful. Yell loud if you're in trouble." Suiren broke away from Hotaru. A stone fountain was surrounded by the ragrant, lovely flower, which had a deeper shade of sea-gree compared to Suiren's hair. Suiren sighed and relaxed. "It's so beautiful here," she said to herself. "I agree." Suiren gasped in surprise and spun around to see...Slade? What is he doing here? I thought... Slade seemed equally surprised, but for different reasons. "Shara? Is that really you? I thought you died in that..." This time, Suiren groaned out loud. "Please, I don't want to tell anyone else again. I've had it enough in my dreams, and I don't want it now. I'm not Shara! My name is Suiren!" Her purple eyes flashed angrily. "Now please, leave me alone!" With that, Suiren spun one heel and left a stricken Slade behind her. "Man, I can't believe this guy from my dream is actually real! This Slade is getting on my nerves...ow!" Suiren bumped into someone hard, and nearly fell backward. She looked up sharply, her hair falling in her face. "Watch it!" "Same to you!" Suiren looked into the blue eyes of Ako Yaten. She felt a feeling of revulsion sweep over her. "I didn't expect to see you around here," she said stiffly. "I needed to let my senses fly away, especially after all I've been through." Ako's eyes softened. "Suiren, I just wanted to say..." "I don't want to hear it! What you did to me, to Hotaru, was unforgivable." Suiren pushed past Ako and ran as fast as she could, her head spinning so wildly, she felt she was going to faint. "Suiren, please!" Suiren stopped for one moment and turned to face Ako, who was still standing. Even from that distance, she could see the tears sparkling on her face. A pang hit her heart bad, sending tears spilling on her own cheeks. Should I forgive her? No! With that, Suiren spun on her heel and continued running, afraid that Ako might see her cry. I mustn't think of her, I mustn't think of her! Suiren's head grew dizzier and dizzier. Her vision grew blurry. Suddenly, Suiren couldn't walk anymore; her body was too limp and frail. Suiren tried to fight it, but she couldn't do anything as she started to crumple, falling into the comfort of unconsciousness...... Suddenly, Suiren felt someone wrap their arms around her waist, catching her from her fall. That stunned her back into reality; she shook her head to clear it. "Oh, goodness, what happened to me?" She ran a hand through her hair and looked up, to realize it was Slade who caught her. Slade looked concerned. "Are you all right? The sun must've been worse than I thought." THe intenseness of Slade's green eyes made Suiren blush slightly. "I'm fine," she murmured. She disentangled herself as stiffly as she could from Slade. "Thanks for catching me; I might've hurt myself." Without another glance at him, Suiren hurried away, her cheeks still flaming. Why would I be shy around that guy? Suiren thought as she slowed her pace and stopped by some azaleas to catch her breath. She's been around alot of guys; it's a world of men and women, by the way. Maybe there weren't alot of guys who would look at her that way. Suiren gazed at the azaleas thoughtfully. I've never had a boyfriend before, and I'm in no rush, but sometimes, just staring at couples having fun and holding hands makes me feel...empty... Suddenly, a piercing scream brought Suiren out of her reverie. "Huh? What was that?" Someone screamed again. Suiren noticed that it was Hotaru screaming. There were other screams in the distance from other people. Suiren sensed that something was up. Quickly, she took off in the direction of the screams. It took only five minutes to find the area of chaos. Suiren was astonished at all the unconscious people lying on the grass. As for Hotaru, she was being choked by a sailor senshi in black. "Hey, leave her alone!" Suiren shouted. "Suiren! Get away from here!" Hotaru gasped. The sailor scout turned to face Suiren, keeping Hotaru in her grip. She was pretty, with long black hair and eyes, but her face was a sickening white. "Oh, goodie, another fresh human to drain energy from," Black Vine sneered. She used her free arm to throw several black tomato bombs at Suiren. They blasted her back, but Suiren was still up and going. She dodged behind an oak tree to avoid the next wave. Gripping the henshin wand in her pocket, Suiren knew that it was time to transform. With Black Vine concetrated on Suiren, Hotaru had time to escape. With her foot, she brought it down as hard as she could. Black VIne screamed, losing hold on hotaru completely. Hotaru ran behind another oak tree in the area. "You can run, but you can't hide, brats!" Black Vine cried. "Saturn Planet Power!" "Polaris Starlight Power!" The wands in both girls' hands started to glow. Hotaru's turned into the Silence Glaive, creating purple ribbons flashing around her. A burst of purple light created her uniform. With a light whip of pink lipstick, Sailor Saturn smiled gently, and posed with her Glaive at her side. Suiren's pen sent out a comet of purple light into the ground, creating a spot of light at her feet. This spot create a tornado of purple silk that enveloped her whole body. Suiren whipped it off, her body suit on her body. Sparkling purple threads wrapped around her arms, legs, and waist to create the rest of the uniform. A gust of purple wind blew Suiren's hair in her face, and the Polaris Star Spear reached her hands. Sailor Polaris pushed her hair away from her face, a shining dusty-rose lip gloss dancing on her lips. She posed with her Spear crossed across her body. Sailor Saturn and Sailor Polaris jumped out from their hiding places. Black VIne looked amused. "Well, well, two sailor brats. And they're dressed the same, too!" Black Vine said menacingly. "In the place of the Silent World, I am the Sailor of Destruction, Sailor Saturn!" "On behalf of the North Star, I am the Senshi of the North, Sailor Polaris!" "Oh, man, don't make me laugh! Destruction? Oh, I'll give you that! Black Axe, come forth!" From her arm, black vines spun around to give her a huge axe with a black handle. "Come on and get us if you want," Sailor Polaris taunted. "If we don't make out of this alive, I want you to know that it's been nice to work with you," Sailor Saturn hissed. "Same here," Sailor Polaris whispered back. "Here I come...ah!" Black Vine shot forward in an amazing blitzing charge. Sailor Saturn and Sailor Polaris had to jump back to avoid getting hit. Black Vine jumped into the air, her axe aimed at Polaris' head. Polaris moved away from the attack, but Saturn got caught. Her head snapped back and she fell backward, landing on the ground with a thump. Her head lolled to one side; she was out like a light. Her Silence Glaive flew out of her hands and landed in Black Vine's. "Well, whaddaya know, it's Miss Destruction's cutsie little weapon. I wonder what it does." Black Vine put her axe away and started slashing at Polaris with the Silence Glaive. Polaris avoided the first two swings, but one caught her by the ankle, and she toppled onto her back. Polaris kept her hands tightly around the Star Spear. Black Vine yelled and slammed the Glaive down at Polaris. Polaris blocked it with her Star Spear, and took the moment to kick Black Vine in the stomach. She lurched in pain; Polaris leapt onto her feet and gave her a powerful swing in the head, sending her flying. Black VIne hit into a tree, making a pretty body dent. Her eyes glittered with anger. "You're going to pay for that!" She raised the Glaive over her head. "Death Ribbon Revolution!" A sudden rush of wind blasted forward many purple ribbons that struck down at Polaris. She cried out in pain as the ribbons gave her numerous cuts; she dropped her Star Spear to protect her eyes from getting hit. Black Vine smiled in anticipation and swung her Glaive. It created a huge gash along Polaris' arm. The force of it knocked her onto the ground. "Now it's time to finish you..." Black Vine whispered. "Go ahead and do that then," Polaris dared her. "Say goodnight..." Black Vine stabbed downward. "No!" Suddenly, in a blinding of blue skirt, Ako threw herself in front of Polaris. BLack Vine seemed surprised, but didn't even stop. The Glaive plunged into Ako's shoulder as she screamed in pain. "Ako!" Polaris yelled, stunned. Black Vine pulled the bloody Glaive out in satisfaction and stabbed downward again, this time, aimed for Ako's stomach. Polaris gasped and pushed Ako away from her. THe Glaive ended up digging into the ground, just millimetres from Polaris' toes. Back Vine tried pulling it out, but it remained stuck in the sticky earth. Polaris took this moment to retrieve her staff and whack Black Vine in the butt with it. "Are you all right?" Ako asked as she gripped her bleeding shoulder painfully. "Shush, Ako. Let's take a look at your arm." "I'll be fine," Ako said. "Your arm is injured, too, you know." "Thank you for reminding me about that cruel reality," Polaris muttered, just remembering the searing pain still gripping her forearm. "Ako, what were you thinking?" "I wanted to make sure no hurt my best friend, Suiren," Ako said simply. "How do you know my name is Suiren?" "Intuition, I guess. You're alot like her too." "Well, you're a good guesser. Just don't tell anyone, okay?" "If you want." Ako looked down at her feet. "Are you still mad at me?" Suiren looked at Ako's bright blue eyes and had to smile. "No, I'm not mad. Just hurt that you would've kept something like that from me, but it was my fault for overreacting like that. I'm sorry, and I hope you forgive me on this one." Ako put her arms around her friend and hugged her. "Of course I forgive you. I'll never want my best friend mad at me." "Oh, how sweet. Now this is the time of your destruction!" Black Vine took out her axe and charged at the girls, who were still hugging. Polaris managed to get out of the way, but Ako wasn't so quick. Polaris watched in horror as the axe sunk into her best friend's back. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Ako cried out. Blood streamed down the whole length of her body. Black VIne laughed and pulled the axe away. Ako's body fell in a bloody heap at her feet. "NNNNOOOOO!" Polaris ran to her friend. Ako smiled weakly and held her hand, but her eyes soon grew glassy and lifeless. Polaris started to sob uncontrollably. Black Vine took this moment to swing down with her axe. Polaris saw this, but was too frozen to move. Her eyes widened, and she screamed. "Red Pinwheel Power!" A straight beam of red light smacked Black Vine into the back. Black Vine groaned and fell forward, injured. Polaris leapt out of the way, and turned to see who it was... It was Ako! Polaris noticed that the body wasn't there; Ako was standing, and was wearing a red dress with a halo of holly on her head. "Ako!" Polaris cried out. "Yes, it's me. I'm the guardian of the Red Pinwheel. I didn't realize this until after my death, where my true self emerged. I am reincarnated by the forces of the Princess Red. I will help you in the battle against scum like that." She looked disdainfully at a groaning Black Vine. At that point, Saturn woke up and shook her head to clear it. She looked up at Ako and gasped. "You're the Princess Red, from my dream!" "That's right, Sailor Saturn. Silence Glaive, come!" Ako waved one hand and the stuck Silence Glaive budged and fell back into Saturn's hands. "Now, it's time to destroy her, while she's still low on energy!" "Right! Death Ribbon Revolution!" Sailor Saturn raised her Silence Glaive and many purple ribbons started flying at her target. "Polaris Tranquility Radiate!" Sailor Polaris created a huge ball of purple flame that she fired at her enemy. Black Vine screamed as she saw these attacks approach. First, the ribbons cut her up, and the ball of flame scorched her remains into nothing but ash. "Yes!" Sailor Saturn and Sailor Polaris high-fived each other. Ako was smiling. "You guys did a good job. Now, before I do anything else..." She cleared her throat and looked at Hotaru. "I'm really sorry for what I've done. I knew it was a terrible thing to do, and Suiren helped me see that." Sailor Saturn smiled. "No hard feelings, Ako. I'm always welcome to have a new friend." Ako's face lit up. "Really?" "Sure!" "So, I guess it's a threesome," Polaris said with a laugh. "Oh, before I forget, Polaris, I need to give you this." Ako took off a pendand she wore around her neck. It contained a shiny jewel that looked like a part of a pinwheel. "This is the Red Pinwheel. You need this to succeed in your mission. Guard it well, and don't let it fall into evil hands, understand?" "Yes." Polaris took the jewel from Ako. Ako's outfit then turned into one of a Sailor Senshi; one that looked like an ordinary Inner Senshi, with the colours red and purple. "I think I'd better get used to being a Sailor scout," Ako said. "You can call me Sailor Red, if you like." "Sure," Polaris said with a smile. "With us on the team, we'll make sure those evil baddies will regret they ever messed with the Sailor scouts!" And so, the three girls de-transformed and decided to go to the Dairi Ice Cream Parlour for a snack. However, little did they know that their enemy was watching them...from both sides... To be continued... Any questions or constructive comments can be made to me, Amy Gee/Sailor Polaris at as390@torfree.net. Wait till next time for our next adventure, which features Sailor Neptune, Sailor Aqua Star, and the trio here, plus Sailor Orange, our next Pinwheel warrior. Until then...