SAILOR MOON H EPISODE 2-EAGLE'S EYE "Skyler-" She glanced around the gym. It was empty, cold, an uninviting slime green. The thick, glassy walls only emphasized that effect, the vacant wooden floor just barely reflecting the hanging lights above it. These creepy green hanging lights, swinging slightly as if they were watching her with mistrust. She took a tentative step forward, but froze when the whispered voice escalated to an echoing boom. "SOARA!" Skyler's heart fluttered, and she twitched uneasily. "Sora? That's my parakeet's name." Two figures were approaching from her right. They looked like they were in a hurry, and also pretty angry. Skyler tried to move. And there was that eagle, Orion. Right in her face and staring with golden eyes. She blinked again. The scene behind the eagle turned bright, almost blinding. She realized she was staring at the ceiling of her room. She yelped and tumbled off the bed. "Sky? You up?" Her father peered into the room. "You feel like going to school today?" Unlike the last week, she felt more like her old self- cheery in the morning. Although she knew she would never be totally back to normal. She nodded her head. 20 minutes later, she clapped the straps down on her rollerblades and loaded her books in her bag. She sat down on the front porch to arrange them. Tuna crossed the path, turning a wary eye toward her. He stopped to give her a stare with half-closed eyes. Suddenly, there was a flutter of feathers- And there was Orion, scanning the view with golden eyes. Orion dropped down in front of Tuna. The cat jumped, and Skyler laughed, expecting to see him tear away across the yard. But they just gazed at each other, Orion with a curious chirp. Tuna meowed affectionately, and rubbed his head against the eagle's wing. "That's--- really weird--" Skyler said to herself, before zooming off down the road. She arrived at her school and slipped into her sandals. Many of the others were watching her, silently, sympathetically. One of them walked over to her. "Hey, I heard about you're brother" he said softly. "Sorry-" She offered him a weak smile. "It's not great, but there's nothing I can do. I just have to live with it." Skyler then realized she hadn't seen this guy before. He was only a bit taller than her, with short hair with unusually long, spiked bangs, the color of a crow's feathers. He wore a Chicago White Sox baseball jersey with a neon green T-shirt underneath, and pair of pipe jean-shorts, and wildly-patterned blue and black sneakers. But what struck her most was his eyes. It was like staring into the depths of the deepest oceans, sinking down under crashing waves to the serenity of the sea's floor, only to be brought back up again by beams of sunlight slicing through the water and lighting a glittering path to the sky. "I haven't met you before." The boy chuckled. "I don't think so, this is my first day. I'm Devin Gyrode. Most people call me Blue, though. 'Cause of my eyes." "Yeah, I see. I'm Skyler Avis. Most people call me Sky, 'cause I'm going to be a pilot." "Really?" "Well-" Skyler turned her eyes to the ground. "When I learn how." "You're in sixth grade, I was told. Tough one, but not much to grade eight. I move on to the high school next year." "They're letting everyone in. That basically means 'go to class' " Skyler smiled. Blue scanned the wall. "Don't you have bells here? You know, to change classes?" "Galesburg Junior High is mixed with the elementary, and they don't change classes. There aren't that many people. Good luck today!" Skyler sat down next to her friend Karen. Karen smiled when she saw her. "Feeling better?" she asked. Skyler nodded. "I can't just run away-" "Where'd you get that bracelet?" Karen indicated the silver bracelet on Skyler's right wrist. She hadn't taken it off since the day after the storm, not even at night. It bothered her sometimes, but she remembered her promise- You will never be alone again- "You know, I'm not sure where this came from. I found it on my dresser. Maybe someone left it there as a present." A tall man walked in. Skyler watched him- this was not their teacher. There was something peculiar about his walking style as well, it was almost- frigid. This style continued as he sat down uncomfortably in his chair. Skyler remembered the face- it was Mr. Charen, the local substitute. Of course, it was hard to forget him- that brilliant red hair that burned right into people's minds, always in a different, strange style. His smooth, calm voice, quick with words and ready to take on anything a back-seat trouble maker could throw at him. "Ms. Mather must be sick" she concluded. He moved some papers around on the desk. The students waited patiently for him to start. But he only said, rather flatly, "No homework. Free day." The class was stunned. Charen wasn't like this at all. He was a fun-loving guy, but still made sure people had something to do. He'd always have something new for the class to learn, something interesting to keep their attention. But today, he just sat there, staring blankly at the walls. However, the other kids, including Skyler, weren't going to question his decision. After all, a free day was a free day. They went around as normal, most of the class in their own little groups, talking. Near the end of the day, Skyler remembered she had to get the assignments she missed during the week. She approached the desk. "Excuse me, Mr. Charen? When's Ms. Mather coming back?" He looked right at her-- or, into her would be more accurate. His eyes, as she remembered, were normally a deep, shadowy brown, like a mud road in a rainstorm. Now they had brightened in color a bit, into a somewhat more cheerful red, yet they were empty, lifeless, steel-like- it gave Skyler chills. "I'm not sure" he replied bluntly, with no follow-up. Everyone was leaving now, so she decided she had better go as well. She walked out. A shadow passed over her- She glanced up just in time to see a small figure swoop down and perch on the handrail next to her. And there was Orion, watching the children with golden eyes. A crowd of them immediately appeared around them, gasps of surprise in the air. "That's an eagle!" Orion seemed to be liking the attention. He closed his eyes happily and chattered. She saw Mr. Charen watching fron the window, but she didn't think too much of it at the time. She was more focused on the eagle. She reached into her backpack and pulled out an apple. Orion gladly accepted the gift, to the surprise of the others. "Eagles eat meat" a boy proclaimed. "That's a fruit!" Skyler left the crowd and started on her way home. As she reached her driveway, a shadow became visible. There was Orion, looking down on her with golden eyes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mr. Charen looked in both directions and headed down the stairs, to the school basement, where many a tornado drill had been held. The dust down there could have easily made a new sandbox. Unmarked cardboard boxes blocked out the walls, leaving a taint of curiosity in any visitor as to what was in them. But it wasn't Charen's focus. He headed way to the back, to a darkened corner that looked like a piece of the room itself cut off. It was far out of place, too gloomy even for a basement. "Problems may occur-" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Skyler's feet swung lazily in the air, keeping in time with the crystal tones of her wind chimes dancing in the breeze. She tapped her pencil impatiently on the paper. "I could've had a free night if I didn't have catch-up work" she muttered. One of the wind chimes gave a loud protest in response to a sudden movement. She looked up sharply. Their was Orion, trailing each one of the noisy crystals with golden eyes. Skyler walked slowly towards the window. The eagle didn't budge, it only looked at her with a steady gaze. He hopped down to the floor. Skyler eyed him in question, then turned back to her homework. "Skyler-" That sounded like it had come from-- the floor. Skyler's eyes met the eagle's. Then, it called again. "Skyler!" She realized her father was calling from the front door. "Coming!" she called back. As she left the room, she took one last glimpse at Orion. "That was pretty funny, I thought for a second you were talking to me. Hehe ^_^" Orion stared after her, with seemingly wise eyes- But she knew better. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next day was a hot one. Even Skyler's hair was too tired and steamed to fly, it stuck lifelessly to her, unresponsive to the burning wind around it. Mr. Charen was there again. He had that same silent tone as yesterday- even the same clothers. "Take out your assignments from yesterday" he instructed. The kids exchanged glances. "But we didn't have an assignment" Karen reminded him. Charen finally looked up. Skyler raised her head in surprise. His eyes, those calm, cool, all-knowing eyes that he used to have, were glowing like fireflies! The glow was easily visible, despite the bright sunlight through the window. "That's OK, I didn't expect you to understand" he hissed in an altered, distorted voice. He stood up- and slashed the desk in half with one hand! Screams drowned out the normal noises of the morning as the kids scrambled out the door, crowding the hall like a roaring river. Skyler, however, avoided the crowd. She managed to get a view of Mr. Charen. And there was Orion, hovering in front of him with gleaming golden eyes. And then he headed straight for Charen. One swift strike of his hand, and the eagle was sprawled out on the ground. It twitched once and lay still. Before Skyler realized her own actions, she dashed off towards the guy, through a mess of flying papers and desk supplies. It all seemed familiar- The tornado. This time, she wasn't letting anyone down. She raced by and scooped Orion up, then carried him to safety, under a window outside the classroom. Orion wiggled out of Skyler's arms and they both looked in. Charen just stood there, the metallic emptyness in place once again. Skyler shuddered. Then, from the classroom door came a little girl. She had light, cyan-colored hair, tied up into three ponytails that reached no lower than the bottom of her face. Her eyes, a large perwinkle type, sparkled with some kind of unknown enthusiasm. She flipped over to Charen. Judging from her fuchsia skintight outfit and moves, Skyler assumed she was acrobat or gymnast of some sort. What happened next shocked Skyler into a frozen state- the girl reached into Charen's mouth, and way down into his throat, then pulled something out. A red crystal. "I KNOW from Biology that that isn't right-" she whispered. Charen fell, as if the crystal was the thing that had been keeping him up. "Just a Harmony" the girl sighed with disappointment. Her voice was airy, and with an unusual scent of wisdom in it. "Oh well. Harmony Disrupt" she commanded, tossing the crystal up. It quivered, and then flashed with a fury of flames that seemd like it could never be calmed. The flames flickered, folded, and took the shape of a huge bird. And Orion was watching, with worried golden eyes. "Skyler-" That voice. The one that she thought was her father- She whirled at Orion, who was looking at her. "0 0() You just talked to me, didn't you?" "That's right. Listen carefully. That bracelet you treasure has more to it than it seems. Look and you'll see power beyond your dreams. This is a key. You see, you are one of the defenders of the universe, the ones known as Sailor Scouts. You are Sailor Aquila, Soldier of the Wing. And I'm here to help you." "Sailor Scout?" Skyler's eyes went beyond wide. "I'M A SAILOR SCOUT?!" Orion nodded. "You need to help that man. He was under control of that girl, and without the Harmony restored, he will sleep for the rest of his days. You need to defeat and calm the angered crystal." "So what do I do?" "Say 'Eagle Star Power' first, and turn into Sailor Aquila." Skyler stared at the ring. It glittered more than ever now, and she saw the reflection of eagle eyes- "EAGLE STAR POWER!" Her hand thrust involuntarily into the air. She felt a strange tingling sensation where the bracelet touched her skin. It spread quickly though her arm and then through the rest of her, and she was suddenly filled with energy. A strong, irrepressable energy, that she could see as she looked up at the bracelet, at the hand that was glowing with a bright rushing light. This energy made her feel like she was leaving the ground, soaring high up into an infinite blue sky- flying feathers, flashing light. And it stopped. She stood with her hands flat out to the side, feet together, the bracelet in ringed over one wrist- at five times its normal size. The first thing she saw was her reflection in the window. This did not look like her at all. A golden v-shaped tiara had appeared on her forehead, a glistening silver star in the middle. There was a silver choker with a white double-wing symbol on it, matching her new silver sailor collar. A pointed blue bow with a gold star brought the top together. The bow on the back of the silver skirt was also blue, with long, split-end tails. Even her sandals had changed, silver with crossed straps halfway up her legs, and wings on the backs. They looked real, glossy white feathers, muscles in perfect position. She reached down to touch one, only to find she was wearing long white gloves with a silver ring at the end. "Wow!" Skyler exclaimed. "This is awesome! I'm really-" "The Charen bird is attacking people" Orion informed her. "Aquila, go help them. Oh-" he added with a wink. "Don't forget a speech! It's tradition!" Fire blasted through the air like a lased. The Charen bird rampaged across the schoolyard with a seemingly unstoppable rage. "Hey you!" The fire bird looked at the figure on the roof. "Don't you know it's against the law to smoke on school grounds? I don't appreciate you trapping these people in a barbecue. In the name of freedom, I am Sailor Aquila, here to bring harmony back to the world!" She smiled- That wasn't bad! The Charen bird shot fire in her direction. She leaped off the roof and landed nimbly on the ground. The fire came her way again, and she dodged it effortlessly. But she knew this wasn't what she was supposed to do. "Wait a minute-- what am I supposed to do?" She heard Orion's voice in her head. "You have powers, you know. Try your Hurricane Ring." Aquila's eyes lit up. "Yeah!" She gripped the overgrown bracelet tightly. It shined, then exploded in a blast of blue light. She tossed it in the air, and it split into a cloud of blue feathers, and melded into her hand. "RAZOR FEATHER FLURRY!" she shouted. She aimed her hand at the Charen bird, and a storm of feather accompanied by an intense wind streamed at it. It shrieked as the feathers tore the flame to shreds, then it fell to the ground with no further movement. "Just like that, huh?" she said as Orion flew up. "Yep, just like that." The star outline appeared on his head, and shot a beam into the bird. It shrunk quietly back into a crystal. Orion picked it up in his beak. "Give this back to the man." "Of course-" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Skyler looked at her new friend as he nestled up in the bed she had made him, by the window sill. "It is all right if I call you Orion, isn't it?" "Yeah" he replied sleepily. "You probably couldn't pronounce my real name, anyway. Rest up. You never know when more problems might arise. But at least I found someone." Skyler pondered these words, and the events of the day. Who was that girl? What would happen next time? Was Sailor Aquila going to be the greatest thrill of her life, or her worst nightmare? But she had to accept it. And as she turned out the light- There was Orion, his golden eyes closed tight for the night. "Sailor Aquila is on the scene-"