SAILOR MOON HARMONY EPISODE 6-THE LION AND THE UNICORN *~Plot written by Tierra~* "Soara-" Skyler saw the lights swing as a cold breeze curled around her. The gym again. The faded green walls gleamed faintly under the shifting light. She knew what was coming next- but this time she was ready. She jumped when she saw the figures in the door, but she stood firmly in place. If they were going to bother her every night, she was going to find out why. "SOARA!" Skyler cringed, but stood her ground. That voice was even louder than her dad used to shout over his airplane engine, and it didn't even sound like the guy was trying. It was the tone, the harsh fury behind the shout that made her flinch. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was a soft, calming touch, yet for no reason a profound sorrow came with it. "Someday you will understand-" an airy voice sighed. A familiar voice- Then the light came, and Skyler knew she couldn't do anything else. She could see her ceiling materializing through it. "Ohh-" she mumbled. "Missed it-" "Missed what?" Orion asked. He stood on her desk, on the opposite side of the room. A small bowl lay next to him, half-full of grapes. She quickly debated if she should tell him what she was seeing. After all, in the dream she had been determined to find out what was going on, and he might know something. Still, she didn't really know him well enough to tell him dreams- that was something, in her mind, that was for really close family and friends only. She didn't want to lie to him, though- "N-Nothing" she replied at last. "A dream, that's all-" Orion snapped up a grape and tried to chew on it, but it was too small to move. He dropped it on the desk and attempted to pick it up at different angle. Skyler stuck her tongue out in disgust. "You don't know what's been on that desk-" "Skyler, I'm an eagle. Like it will matter-" he managed to swallow it and fluttered over to her. "You know, dreams have meaning, especially to Sailor Scouts." "Really-" Skyler caught sight of the alarm clock, then got to her feet and scooped Orion up in her arms. "I have to get ready for school. Out." Orion squirmed out of her grasp. "I can walk by myself" he clucked before hopping out the window. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She watched the sunlight glimmer across Orion's golden wings as he soared away, with a wishful sigh. He could just glide through the sky all day, leaving the whole world behind for a boundless dimension of his own. He denied that he just did that all day, but he never had any new information, either. "I know you're out there right now-" she said over the communicator. "I can hear the wind." "I'm searching. You know, someone's probably staring at you and thinking 'Why's she talking to herself?'" he retorted. She shook her head as she walked into the classroom. That eagle so far had never failed to talk his way out of a jam- Her train of thought was broken as someone brushed into her, almost knocking her backpack off. "Hey-" she grumbled. "Excuse me." It had been a girl, about three inches taller than her, a thin, pale face framed by wavy, sun-gold hair that reached just past her shoulders. Her bangs cascaded over deep, narrow emerald eyes. She was wearing a sleeveless shirt, slightly flared jeans, and thick sandals with wide straps. She touched one slender hand to her mouth nervously. Her nails were neatly trimmed and painted with bright colors of pearls and fuschia, not a crack or chip anywhere. "Um- hi" Skyler started. She had not seen this girl before. "Hi, is this Ms. Mather's room?" the girl responded, smiling somewhat cautiously. "Yeah" Skyler returned the smile with a bit more confidence. "You're new here?" "We moved in from Montana a little while ago. My name's Jillian Donner" she introduced. "I'm Skyler Avis. Most people call me Sky." "OK, kewl" Jillian's smile widened, revealing the whitest set of teeth Skyler had ever seen. "Well, thanks for saying hi. No one even turned a second look at me before." "They probably think you're from a different class" Skyler reasoned. "You look older than sixth grade." "My mom did too, when I was her age." A gleam of yellow light caught Skyler's eye, and she glanced over to the window. Orion was there, watching them. Skyler nearly forgot where she was when she opened her mouth towards a communication, but Jillian reminded her. "Oh wow, what's that?!" She scrambled over to the window where Orion was. Orion fluttered back, landing on the ground, all the while keeping at least one eye on her. "Orion, she can see you-" Skyler whispered as softly as possible. "NO KIDDING! Who is she?" "I guess she's a transfer student. She says she's from Montana." "Well, she shouldn't be able to see me. Talk to her a bit more. I think there's another energy here-" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I see the problem-" Enygma muttered. "Don't yell, Inpherno." Rayne's shuffling footsteps echoed across the silver floor. The others glanced up as she entered the room, a manila folder in hand. "Quayke said to give you this" she grumbled. "This better be something good, cause I'm tired of sitting up in this ship all day-" Inpherno smirked. "So you do actually want to do something?" "What's it to you?" "We could actually move this ship to other places if you would get out and help me-" Their silver, jet-like spaceship had been caught in Earth's gravity and had remained in the same place for days. Inpherno had been trying to locate the problem, but Enygma had instructed them to look for those Harmony Crystals instead. And they didn't even know what a Melody Crystal looked like. They knew all about their power- each one regulating one element. They knew where to find them- Harmonies. "So when we get this fixed, are we going to move, or we going to clean up this little city?" "We're moving" Enygma responded with no hesitation. "We don't need this Sailor Scout on our tail." "Yeah, but what if she knows where we are?" Typhune thought out loud. "I was watching the city with Quayke, and she only shows up when there's a problem. Maybe she's a ghost or something-" "Wait- I got it" Enygma took the folder from Rayne and set it down on a control panel nearby. "See, there's a lot of rumors in this town about ghosts and things like that. Maybe we can use this to our advantage-" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "So is it true?" Jillian asked, leaning back on the patio chair. "Is what true?" Skyler and Jillan had been out on the porch for the past few hours, Skyler trying to help Jillian catch up with the rest of the class with math. It wasn't one of Skyler's favorite subjects, but Jillian hated it with a passion. It was break time for now. "All those ghost stories I hear. Like ghosts in the cornfields. How close is this place to Dyersville anyway?" Jillian grinned and disguised her voice. "Is this heaven?" "No, this is Iowa" Skyler laughed. "Field of Dreams. Actually, we've never been there. I don't think it's that far. I know Iowa isn't. Hey, what was it like in Montana?" "No offense, but I think the city was much better. My dad dragged me out here because of the apartment construction. We live there now, you know. My dad was in charge-" "Really" Skyler replied. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Orion spying from the lone bush at the corner of the house. "So back to the ghost thing. Are there really ghosts in the cornfields? Has anyone seen them?" "I haven't seen any." "Hey" Jillian whispered, narrowing her eyes. "I got an idea. Let's go out after dark and look in the fields." "Um- well, I dunno. My parents might say no-" "Just tell them you have to show me back to the apartments. I'm new here, they'll understand. Skyler hesitated, but she heard a whisper from the communicator. "Go with her. I'll make sure you don't get in trouble." She grinned, and Orion flapped off, startling Jillian. Fortunately she didn't turn around in time to see him. "Huh- did you hear that?" Without missing a beat, Skyler came up with an explanation. "Probably a bird's nest in the bush- they're all over this place. Crows, they get in the corn. C'mon, let's get going. It'll be dark soon." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Ow" Jillian whimpered as she quickly stepped over a small rut Skyler had warned her about. "You know, corn stalks are a lot sharper than they look-" "Just use your arms" Skyler instructed. "Push them away. They won't bother you. But don't break them, that gets the farmers mad." "Really?" Jillian cocked an eyebrow. "And you know this- how?" Skyler stopped in her tracks, allowing a cornstalk to snap back over and hide her expression. "Yeah- 0 0() well, if you must know, it was our own field. We made a little fort inside a square of corn." "'We?'" Jillian questioned. "Um-" Skyler's voice softened. "Me and my brother, Oriole." "Oriole?!" Jillian giggled. She stopped when she saw Skyler's eyes gleam dangerously. Her face had hardened to a shadowy anger- but only for a moment. "Sorry-" Jillian said, moving back down a couple stalks. "How old is he? How come I didn't see him today?" "A tornado took him away last month." "Took him-" Jillian repeated. "Oh, I see." "They didn't find him yet, but I know he's not coming back." Skyler took a seat on the ground. Eventually Jillian did as well, deciding that she could always wash the mud out of her new clothes. "I know what that's like, kinda. No tornado, though." Skyler at her in question. "My mom. It was a long time ago, though. My dad's acting way too happy, too- even I know that you shouldn't bottle up feelings like that." Jillian pulled something out from under her shirt- a golden chain. Attached was a small but incredibly striking white locket, in the shape of a star. "This was my mom's. Kewl, huh? We can't find out what it's made of yet, though." "I got something-" Skyler showed her the silver bracelet. "See, I'm not sure where this came from-" A blast of cold wind suddenly rippled the corn, coming unusually strong through the leaves. Skyler put her hands up to shield her face, but Jillian stood up. "Sky, c'mon! Cold air means ghosts!" That got her up. They moved in the direction of the wind, squinting against the cold blast and their tossing bangs. Then, they pushed out to an open field. Skyler recognized it. "How'd we get out by the airport?" she mumbled. "Oh- LOOK!" Hovering in the field, blowing in the wind right towards them, was a ball of light. A glowing tumbleweed of sorts, rolling right towards them. The girls' screams carried in the wind, but not far enough for anyone to hear. Jillian didn't seem to mind the corn's leaves slashing at her face this time. "Is it following us?!" she shrieked. Skyler caught sight of it in the corner of her eye. "Uh, yes!" The light made shadows of the corn and their pounding foot- steps as the tumbleweed drew closer, bouncing off the cornstalks. Skyler turned a different way in the corn and dragged Jillian with her, but tripped over a fallen stalk. "Get up!" Jillian yelled. "I can't run anymore-" Skyler panted. The light intensified behind Jillian's head- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Orion watched Jillian disappear into the darkness again. "Sky, are you sure there's nothing suspicious about her?" "Not really. She's like any other sixth grader I know." "Why hasn't she invited you to her house?" "Give her a break! She just moved in there-" Skyler leaned back on her bed. "Hope she doesn't try to run through the cornfield again. I doubt she will-" "Why?" Orion questioned as he scanned the floor for any grapes he dropped this morning. "There was a ghost yesterday." "Ghost?" he laughed. "There's no ghosts here. You said this yourself." "But we saw one" Skyler insisted. "It was weird, too. It was just a ball of light, kinda floating at us." "Stop trying to scare me." "It's true! It landed on Jillian's head and it disappeared!" "Tell you what" Orion chirped, jumping to the windowsill. "Show me where you saw this 'ghost', and I'll see what it really was. 'K?" Skyler scowled at him. Guardians were supposed to help out, she knew that, but she couldn't tell if he was making fun of her or not. "Fine." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jillian hair caught on the cornstalk again. She ran her fingers through it in frustration, and continued on. "It's gotta be around here somewhere. Maybe I should have asked Skyler to come with-" Her hair flew up as that blast of cold wind came through again, but she stood her ground and kept her eyes wide open. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~Golden stars, silver moon~ ~The past I will never forget~ ~The links of the galaxy have been strewn~ ~It's time to reconnect~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jillian blinked rapidly. "What were those words?!" she wondered out loud. "Something weird's going on-" "Who are you?" a growling voice asked. A tall silhouette stepped out from some stalks. "You're not supposed to be here" it hissed. Jillian froze, realizing it was most likely the owner of the field. "I-I'm sorry. I'm new here. I didn't know-" "You are not the one." "Huh?" "No- but your Harmony glows bright-" "Oh no you don't!" In a flash of silver, Jillian felt herself lifted away from the ground. She was staring into a pair of determined gray eyes. "Skyler?" she whispered. But when the figure set her down, it didn't look like Skyler. In fact, it looked like- "A Sailor Scout?!" she gasped. The Scout winked. "Yep, Sailor Aquila! I gotta take care of this, OK?" Sailor Aquila disappeared into the stalks again. Jillian watched, but didn't know what to do- "You!" A voice had come from above her. Orion hovered there. "You're talking-" Jillian breathed. The Scout alone was enough to stun her frozen. "You're a Sailor Scout." His words didn't have any impact on her at first, but when they finally did, she almost fell over. "How do you know?" "There's a horn on your head-" Jillian crossed her eyes upwards, but couldn't see anything. "I'll take your word for it. What do I do?" "Aquila, this is the last time you're haunting us!" Orion heard Typhune proclaim. The five Harmony seekers had surrounded Aquila, knocking down cornstalks as they closed in. She was going to warn them about the farmer- but there were probably more important things on their mind. "Back up" Aquila warned. The five all pulled out mirrors at the same time. "Oops-" Suddenly everyone got a strange sensation that something was moving. Something was pulling the air around them, up into the sky, building energy- -into a white-gloved hand. "COSMIC SOUL MELODY!" An explosion of white light shattered the mirrors to bits. The five jumped back away from the falling glass. "Looks like someone's going to get the farmers mad-" Aquila smirked. "-but you won't get away with it." Another Scout stepped into view. Her wavy blond hair was streaked with pink, the same bright pink that was splashed across her skirt and sailor collar, and the four-point star on her white choker. Her bow gleamed a pearly white, her white high heels shuffled the dirt loudly. Two ribbons extended from the back bow, each with a spiral horn on the end. "In the name of unity, I am Sailor Monoceros, here to bring harmony back to the world!" "Another one?!" Inpherno groaned. "We don't need this-" "Well, I like a challenge, but I don't get into battles I'm not prepared for" Enygma sighed. "I guess we'll be seeing both of you around-" The five teleported away. "You scared them" Aquila beamed. "It was nothing-" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "So your dad didn't really build this place?" Skyler asked. "Yeah" Jillian's eyes were locked to the ground. "He's a psychiatrist. I guess I didn't tell you- well, I like my dad, really, but I hate psychiatrists. They always think they know every single move you make, my dad's always analyzing things, you know- that's why I never brought you to my apartment. He'd probably start in on you." "^_^() That's all right" Skyler replied. "But you're a Scout too!" she said in a more excited, but quieter tone. "Yeah, I thought they were ghosts once-" "Umm, hey Skyler" Orion cut in. "You know, about that tumbleweed-" The girl's screams were heard all across town.