Sailor Moon: Hidden Memories

Chapter 6

Close to the midnight hour, Tanya calmly walked out of the bathroom and slowly walked towards the large bedroom she shared with her cousin. As she stood before the bedroom door, she thought she heard some soft sniffles and sobs from inside. She then knew that Anna had woken up since she had left the bedroom. She knocked softly on the bedroom door and stood waiting for an answer; she was met with a disturbing silence. From since Travis's disturbing transformation into their enemy Onyx, Anna had been very withdrawn and quiet, barely saying anything at school, the dinner table, or to her father and stepmother.

They had returned to New York from Boston a few days after their first encounter with Onyx, and two days after that, Anna's father decided to at least try to have dinner with them on his first night back home from his business trip, feeling guilty for missing his daughter's competition....even though it was postponed. For the whole time at the dinner table earlier that evening, the air as so filled with tension, one could have cut it with a knife. Tanya was glad when it was finally over. She had always hated when Anna and her father didn't see eye to eye, but both of them giving the silent treatment to each other was much worse. At least when they argued, they talked! The shorter dark-skinned girl hoped with all her heart she would find out what was troubling her cousin so.

After a moment when no answer came, Tanya took a deep, calming breath and pushed open the door. The room was nearly pitch black in the late hour, and Anna's tall from showed under the light blankets on her bed.

"Anna, are you okay?" Tanya asked nervously. The only reply was Anna sniffing sadly and turning her body to face away from the door. Tanya's eyes misted slightly at the sad scene, and she moved forward to sit on the edge of Anna's large bed.

"Anna, I know this has been very hard on you, but you've got to get over your slump if we're ever going to find the truth about... about ...Tevra.."

"No! No, that's not Tevra! It can't be!" cried Anna, sitting up quickly and cutting Tanya off. "If... if it is, then something must have happened to him...something to make him evil, I just know it!" Suddenly, a lumped formed in Anna's throat, and unable to say anymore, she rushed into Tanya's arms and cried sadly. Memories of Tevra's warm and loving embrace long ago made her heart ache for those times long lost. To her, it was almost like yesterday. She could almost see herself in the past being comforted by the strong and brave warrior that protected her family and home. Oh, what she would give just to be in his safe arms again, at least one more time!

"Shhh, don't worry Anna, I'm sure something like that happened too. He would never really do such things on his own," Tanya said softly, stroking her cousin's hair to comfort her. In her heart, Tanya knew that must be the only explanation. From what she knew by the information that Marco and Dief helped them look up, the past Tevra had cared deeply about the former Lady of Polaris, and Tanya just couldn't believe that the handsome young man would want to hurt her. Tanya's eyes narrowed, and leaning her cousin softly off her, she looked her in the eyes. "But I know if we stick together and find out what really happened, we'll be able to bring him back to us, I promise!" Tanya winked mischievously to cheer up Anna.

The taller girl smiled gently and wiped the tears from her eyes, "Thanks Ti. You always manage to somehow make me smile through a crisis."

"Yep, and that's why you love me so much!" said Tanya, pointing her finger at her and winking playfully again. "Just what would you do without me?"

"Oh PLEASE!" chuckled Anna, playfully pushing Tanya away with a light punch on her shoulder.

But a serious look came over Tanya's dark face then as she once more looked deep into Anna's eyes. "I mean it Anna. I'll always be there for you. Whatever pain you feel, I feel, and I'll do my best to protect you. We'll always be together, forever." She reached over and took Anna's hand in her own and intertwined their fingers, signifying she meant every word she said from the bottom of her heart.

For a few moments, Anna just stared at her cousin, her eyes full of tears and gratitude. She nodded and smiled in appreciation, feeling more loved than she had in a long time.

Just then, when Anna was about to say something, the door opened a little more and Marco and Dief softly padded in.

"Is everything alright now?" Dief asked, going over to Anna and sniffing her hand gently.

"Yes my friend, everything's fine," replied Anna, smiling at her trusted mentor and stroking his black fur. "Thank you all so much for being there for me. This is all so...confusing. First about Alexi, now...Tevra.." Her green eyes misted once again.

"It'll be fine, Anna. We've managed through Meerage's evil, and we can definitely go through this," nodded Marco, standing along side Tanya. "Now, I think you'll all agree with me when I say we need some much needed rest if we're to be ready to fight our enemies if they attack again."

Everyone nodded, and after another short hug to Anna, Tanya slipped back into her bed next to Anna's. Soon, Tanya and Anna went into a troubling and restless sleep, dreams of Tevra and Alexi going through their minds.

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"Are you a fool?" asked Valera, glaring at Onyx as he stood before her in the space ship in the North Pole. "How could you have transformed before them? Now our cover is blown, and we'll never be able to get the upper hand!" The woman's voice blasted angrily over the whole bridge of the ship.

"If you would just calm down, you would know that there was a reason I did that!" screamed back Onyx. At the boom and deep annoyance in the big man's voice, Valera backed down and simply stared at him. "Now, even though I have many questions, I choose to set them aside until a later date, but I WILL have them answered!" Onyx started. Valera was about to say something, but the man cut her off. "It seems that somehow, this...Sailor Polaris, remembers me from somewhere. I transformed because I want to use her weakness for me as an advantage. If I'm going to fight the Sailor Senshi, I'm going to fight with them no secrets, no pretense. I sense confusion in Polaris...as well as sadness, which could be very useful to me, understand?" He looked into the Valera's eyes for some hint that the annoying woman did indeed follow what he was trying to do.

"I don't like it," snarled Valera, her eyes narrowing. "But I will let you use this... "plan" of yours. And just to make sure it goes right, I'll going along with you. No discussion, no negotiations." Valera managed to smirk at the tall dark-skinned man.

"Fine," Onyx snarled back, "Just remember to stay out of my way...

"And you remember that I am in charge of this mission, got that?" interrupted Valera, her voice like a hiss of a snake.

The two glared at each other for a few seconds, then with a snap of their fingers, disappeared in a shimmer of air.

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A two days later:

"Hey, guess what, Anna!" Mr. Kendon said enthusiastically as Anna and Tanya came home from school that evening.

"What?" Anna asked, pulling off her book bag from her shoulders and setting it on the floor living room floor. Tanya did the same beside her, hoping that this would be good news...something that Anna would be as happy about as her father seemed to be. Although Anna had been a lot better since her talk with Tanya a couple days before, Tanya could tell she was still a little depressed.

"It seems that whatever danger there was in Boston has subdued," James said, "So that means the gymnastics tournament is back on. And what's better- they've decided to hold the next few rounds here in New York so they can do renovations at the gymnasium in Boston, which means..." Mr. Kendon paused to build up the significance, "It means I'll be able to see you perform!" The tall man smiled proudly.

Everyone waited with baited breath to see how Anna would react. She stood quietly for a moment, then whispered, "That's great, Dad. But...I don't think I want to keep in the tournament."

Tanya gasped in shock as Mr. Kendon's face took on a very angry look after he realized what Anna had said. Oh no! Oh please, don't let them argue AGAIN! Tanya thought desperately. It was getting so much better, and now it'll just fall apart again. Tanya sighed softly and bowed her head in defeat as she saw her uncle just get madder and madder.

"What do you MEAN you don't want to KEEP IN THE TOURNAMENT!" he yelled. He was so sure Anna would be excited, so happy that she would finish her tournament. Now she was saying she didn't want to. James couldn't help be feel as though he was betrayed as well as underappreciated.

"It's just...lately I haven't felt very good. It's so much work, and I got so...uh... scared in Boston, I think I need a break." Anna lowered her head sadly. She didn't want to disappoint her father, but she knew she just couldn't go through with it. Not with all that things going on with her life. Especially not since she found out about that Tevra...or that Onyx man.

"Anna Lynette Kendon, you are FINISHING that competition!" The big man balled his hands into fists, trying hard to control his anger against his daughter.

The taller girl looked up at her father in an almost pleading way, "No! I'm-"

"Anna?" Tanya interrupted. "I think...I think you should finish it." The smaller girl hated to see her cousin and uncle fight, and she did everything she could to put some peace between them. It hurt Tanya sometimes that Anna was not as close to her father as she was to her own. She was often the one to have to calm things down between the two, and even that hurt her. Every conversation was like walking on egg shells, so to speak, when it came to those two.

Now it was Anna's turn to be shocked, although her father looked pleased at Tanya's statement. "You do? But...you KNOW what happened in Boston! I don't know if I can, if..."

"Please Anna, let's talk, okay?" Tanya asked with a helpful smile. Anna gave in and nodded, thinking of all the times her cousin had helped her. She knew Tanya would only tell her to continue if she had a good reason. The girls headed to their room under Jame's watchful eyes and sat down on Anna's bed.

"Okay, what's up?" Anna asked after taking a minute to calm down. Dief and Marco also entered the room and sat down, listening calmly.

"It's just... I think I have a plan on how to deal with Onyx, but we need to find him. I'm sure he'll come to the gymnastics competition, so..." She shrugged. "Besides, even if he doesn't, I bet you'd feel a lot better if you won another gymnastics competition, and I KNOW you can win this one!"

Anna smiled, encouraged by her cousin's confidence. "Okay, Ti, what's the plan?"

"Well, you have that new power, right? It says it can purify a soul. So, if we can lure Tevra out in the open, you can...well...use it on him. We both think that something must have happened to him to turn him evil, so maybe that can cure it."

"Hey, that sounds very good!" said Marco, his eyes lighting up. "See, I told you if you took your duties seriously, the solutions to your problems will come to you!" Besides him, Dief nodded in agreement with the golden-furred dog.

Anna gave her cousin a strange look. "That's the whole plan?" she asked skeptically.

Tanya sweat dropped and nodded. "Umm...yeah. It...just came to me."

For a moment or two Anna just stared at Tanya. Then, with no warning, Anna tackled her cousin heavily on the bed with an enthusiastic hug. "Cool!" she said. "I'll bet that Tevra- my Tevra, is still under there!"

Tanya grinned. She could feel the old Anna back again, and laughing, she grabbed a pillow off the bed when she playfully pushed her off and whacked Anna softly on the head with it. Anna dissolved into giggles, grabbed her own pillow, and the fight was on! Marco and Dief looked at each, then sighed in resignation as the girls continued their pillow fight, giggling all the while.

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The Next Day:

Onyx and Valera stood with their hands clasped behind their backs in the gymnasium of the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School, watching the poor human victim change into a beast, thanks to the poison Onyx injected into her. It was so easy to lure this student alone into the gym, promising her an easy way to make extra money. The student continued screaming as they looked on, and soon, her body morphed into a large dog like creature. When the transformation was complete, Onyx's lips curved into a sinister smirk, his handsome dark face as full of malice and anticipation as the green-haired woman next to him. For days they have been trying to track and find Sailors Sirius and Polaris since they followed them here from Boston, and now, Onyx was very sure that this was the place that they frequented based on the energy signatures he felt. Soon; soon he would have Sailor Polaris in his grasp, and find out the answers he needed.

"Mission accomplished," smirked Valera, then licked her lips with greed. The man next to her nodded and narrowed his eyes as he turned to the now transformed monster.

"Now, my faithful servant, do your worst." Onyx's deep voice was full of excitement at the thought of the mayhem this beast would create. The human and dog hybrid creature roared loudly and rushed off to ransack the whole gym. The dark-skinned man and green-haired woman laughed evilly, and with a shimmer in the air, both disappeared.

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At the sound of the final bell of the school day, the doors to almost all the classrooms in the medium-sized Catholic high school burst opened, letting out a flow of students eager to go home and relax after a grueling day. Winding her way easily through the crowd with her cousin, Tanya sighed in aspiration. "Oh man, school was so hard today! I can't believe I failed that math test!" sighed Tanya, both hands clasped behind her head with her book bag. "Why did that old hag Sister Mary have to spring that surprise test on us?" Tanya took a deep breath and sighed again.

"Tanya, if you recall, Marco did tell you to get off the Playstation video game and study last night because he figured you'd have a surprise test today, didn't he?" smiled Anna. At the crestfallen look on her cousin's face, Anna couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle as she approached her locker. They had just finished their last class of the day together and were headed to the gymnasium where Anna could get an hour or so of practice.

"But still, that was so unfair of her!" pouted Tanya. "Besides, I didn't want to spend the whole night studying. It's like what Minako-chan always says,.." The shorter girl pointed a finger in the air in a dramatic pose and did her best Aino Minako voice impersonation; "We are young girls, and we shouldn't waste our youth just studying. One day, when we are old, we'll cry, saying how much of our youth was wasted away in studying..."

"Oh please Ti!" smiled Anna as she took out her duffel bag and dropped her book bag inside the locker. She giggled at her cousin's misquote as she closed the locker door. She quickly donned the thick Winter coat she took from her locker, Tanya doing the same when she took her coat out from the locker next to hers, and grabbed the shorter girl by the crook of her elbow. "No matter how you try and justify it, you still failed! Now come on, before the gym gets too full!" With a sweat drop over her head, Tanya allowed her cousin to drag her through the crowded Catholic high school halls.

They rushed through the cold Winter air, their hair blowing behind them, towards the school gymnasium. Just as the two approached the large double doors, they began to hear roaring screams and crashes coming from inside. The two looked at each other in curiosity for a moment, then pushed opened the doors and walked inside. Almost immediately they had to duck down out of the way of a flying chair, which flew over their heads and crashed into the wall high above them.

When they straightened up, both girl's eyes widened in horror at the sight before them; it was a large, dog-like creature with grey and black fur all over, standing on two legs and snarling loudly at them.

"W... What in the world is THAT?" breathed out Tanya, her heart beating wildly in her chest. The monster stared at them for a second, and with a loud roar, charged them. The girls screamed and jumped away from each other. They stared in shock as the monster landed on the spot they were just in. Anna and Tanya quickly regrouped and looked around to see if anyone else was inside. When they saw it was empty, they nodded to each other.

"It looks clear. Time for us to get into action!" said Anna, feeling for her henshin stick.

"Yeah!" said Tanya, nodding her head but still a little fearful. She passed her hand over her necklace, raised it into the air, and yelled "Sirius Emerald Star Power! Make up!" A bright violet light erupted from the jewel and began traveling down her body slowly. Then, she was engulfed in the bright violet light, and a few seconds later, it exploded in tiny stars. When it dimmed, Super Sailor Sirius stood in a fighting stance, ready to fight.

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To Be Continued.

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