Chapter 8: The Rebirth of Sailor Earth
“I’m so happy to see that you’re doing better,” Jen said. “You’ve been so depressed all week.”
Jacey smiled. “I didn’t think breaking up with Mike would hurt so much,” she lied. “But I know it was the right thing.”
Jacey had spent the entire week as a recluse. She hadn’t spoken more than two words to anyone since she first saw the cats. Griffin and Jen were so worried about her.
***
“Jace, do you want to go out for some ice cream?” Griffin asked the day after Jacey’s encounter with the cats.
“No,” she said shortly, turning over in bed.
“No? Jace, I have never known you to pass up ice cream. What’s wrong with you? It’s a beautiful Saturday. You need to get out!” Griffin said ripping the covers off the bed.
“Leave me alone!” she protested, her eyes welling up with tears. “You don’t know anything about what I’m going through!”
Griffin sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. “I would if you’d tell me,” he said softly, putting his hand on her shoulder.
She looked up at him with despair in her eyes. “Oh, Griffin!” She broke down into hysterics and Griffin held her tightly. He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead.
“Jacey, you haven’t cried once since you’ve been here. This must be serious.” She nodded, still heaving with sorrow. “Whatever it is, it’ll be okay,” he whispered, holding her.
***
“Aunt Jen, you really shouldn’t worry about me,” Jacey said grabbing a Pop-tart. “I bounce back fast.” Jacey kissed Jen on the forehead and walked outside to meet Griffin.
Jacey walked out of the house smiling. “Jace!” Griffin said, hugging her. “Has your dark cloud disappeared?”
“Yup,” she said kissing his cheek. “Jacey is on the fast road to recovery.”
“Good,” he said starting to walk. “You were boring when you were depressed.
***
“Jen’s not gonna be home for a while after school. Would you mind stopping by after rehearsal?” Jacey asked Griffin as they walked out of study hall.
“No problem. I should swing by a little after 4. Is that okay?” he said walking her to the front of the school.
“Thanks bunches! I’ll see you in like 2 hours,” she said hugging him. He turned to go back into the building and Jacey took off down the stairs.
Jacey happily walked towards her house. She approached the ally and her insides did a flip-flop. “There’s no more cats. There’s no more cats,” she told herself as she ran across to the other side of the ally. “See, you made it!”
Confident again, Jacey strolled up to her front door and went in. She grabbed a chocolate chip muffin from Jen’s “Fresh Baked” box, but the stuff in it was usually “fresh bought.” She picked up the Times and went up to her room.
Enveloped in her muffin and paper, Jacey went into her room and turned on the stereo. She dropped her backpack on the floor and looked at her bed. Jacey froze in her tracks. There stood the two cats she saw arguing in the ally. Once again, she fell to the ground and screamed, but this time, there was no one around to hear her.
“Jacey! Stop that noise,” the feminine sounding cat said leaping off the bed.
“My name is Apollo, and this is my twin sister Athena,” the masculine sounding one said.
Jacey blinked in disbelief. “You can talk! Cats don’t talk! What’s going on here?!” Jacey sniffled. All of a sudden, she burst into tears and the sign appeared on her forehead.
“That’s why we’re here,” Athena said pointing to Jacey’s head. “When you cried the other day, you showed the symbol of Earth. We’re your guardians, sent to train you to be a warrior.”
Apollo and Athena touched paws and a blue and green key appeared, glowing and hovering above their paws. They moved their paws in a throw and the key was catapulted at her chest. Jacey flinched as it disappeared into her body. “Where is it? Where’d it go?” she asked frantically.
“The Transformation Key is inside you,” Apollo said grinning. “Hold up your hand and shout Earth Scout Power.”
Shaking, Jacey raised her hand. “Earth Scout Power!” Brown, green, and blue ribbons came out of the key that was glowing inside her body. Her arms directed the ribbons around her body from her head to her feet, spinning around. She jerked her arms above her head, throwing the ball of ribbon high in the air, and the ribbon around her body turned in to her Sailor outfit. The ball of ribbons turned into a tiara and fell onto her head. She spun around and landed with her feet shoulder width apart and her arms crossed in front of her chest.
“Very impressive,” Athena said nodding at Apollo. “We’ll do fine with her. She’ll make a great Sailor Earth. All we have to do is work on the crying thing a little. Other than that, we shouldn’t have a problem.”
“I have a problem!” Jacey screamed. “I can’t be this Earth person or whoever!” She shook her head violently.
“That’s SAILOR Earth. And you don’t have a choice. It’s your destiny.” Apollo said hopping down from the bed. “You’ve been Sailor Earth for over a thousand years, though you never knew it.”
“I don’t care who I am or who I’ve been for the past thousand years! Just get this thing off of me!” she shrieked.
Athena sighed. “Maybe if you just give it a chance.”
“I don’t want to give it a chance! I want it off!”
“Take your tiara off and drop it at your feet,” Athena said in defeat. Jacey took the tiara off and the Sailor outfit turned into ribbons again. Then, she dropped it to the ground and the ribbons turned back into her normal clothes, the tiara disappeared in a puff of smoke.
She looked at herself and smiled.
“That is you now, Jacey,” Apollo said. Jacey turned and glared at him. “No matter how much you want to fight it. You can’t shirk your duties.”
Jacey turned and looked in the mirror. “Why is it always the one who’s happy that gets their life changed?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Athena said. “But I can guarantee this time we’re not going to disappear, Jacey.”
Jacey closed her eyes and brushed away a falling tear.
***
“How’s my favorite aunt?” Jacey asked giving Jen a huge hug as she walked in the door later that night. Jacey took her coat and briefcase and escorted her to her favorite chair.
“Fine,” Jen said suspiciously. “One of our reporters didn’t come though on a story. It was the 5th time, so I had to fire her. That kid, Max Froid, won’t be coming back to school next year, most likely.”
Jacey hung up Jen’s coat. “That’s a total relief. So, did anything else happen today?”
“Not really,” Jen said. “Tell me, what do you want?” she came straight out and said.
“What?” Jacey played innocent. Jen stared her down. “Okay. I found these two really adorable kitties today!”
Jen rolled her eyes. “Cats?”
Jacey nodded. “Apollo! Athena!” The cats came running down the stairs and hopped up on Jen’s lap.
“Jacey, you sneak!” Jen laughed as Athena licked her hand. Apollo purred loudly. “I can’t believe you!”
Jacey put on a pouty face and clasped her hands together. “Pleeeeeease?”
“All right! I give up,” Jen said. “Just don’t let them get in my way.”
Jacey hopped up and down and kissed Jen. “They won’t be a bother at all!”
***
“Now Jacey,” Athena said when the three of them were alone in Jacey’s room. “Luna and Artemis have mentioned much evil over in Tokyo. You have to be plenty prepared.”
“You will undergo some extreme training,” Apollo said typing something into Jacey’s laptop. An elaborate schedule popped up on the screen. “Here,” he said pressing the print button.”
Jacey picked up the paper from the print tray and read it over. “You have me running four times a week! And I have to have sessions with my powers and a theory class on my potential?” She looked at the cats in disbelief. “Are you nuts?”
“No, we’re quite serious,” Apollo said looking blankly at her.
“Where does my life fit into all of this?” she said pacing around her room. “You have me starting all of this tomorrow after school.”
Athena sighed. “I wish there was another way. But until we feel you are ready enough to fight like a true warrior, this is your life.”
Jacey began seething with anger. “You have some powers the other Scouts don’t. You can’t afford to wing it like they do. And you’re psychic, although your abilities aren’t functional right now. You’ll have the upper hand in every way if you buckle down for a few weeks,” Apollo said.
“But I don’t want to buckle down! I want to be normal!” she screamed.
“Quiet!” Apollo hissed.
“Sorry,” she said. “But why is this so important? What can New York offer this big evil?” she walked around thoughtfully, looking at pictures of the Tokyo heroines, Sailor Moon and the Scouts. “Are they real Scouts like me?” she asked.
“Yes. But training starts tomorrow morning,” Athena said. “Be prepared for anything.”
***
“Okay, I thought you were crazy before, but this does it!” Jacey said as she paced around her room two days later. “I mean telling me about all my powers is one thing. But a textbook?”
Athena dropped the book on her desk. “It’s not a textbook,” she retorted.
“Then what is it?” Jacey asked skeptically, crossing her arms across her chest.
“It’s a manuscript,” Athena corrected.
“Oh, I see,” Jacey said sarcastically. “Big difference.”
Apollo hopped up next to Athena. “Hush up you two. We only have a few hours before Jen gets back,” he said swatting them both.
“Yippee,” Jacey said unenthusiastically. “Can we get this over with?”
Both cats frowned at her. “Jacey, this is so important!” Athena said. “The whole world is counting on you and you have to learn this. Do you want to let everyone down?”
“Yeah, this is serious business. We’re up against some extreme evil,” Apollo frowned.
“Really?” Jacey shrieked mock-frightenedly. She glared at the cats. “Because I haven’t noticed any evil recently,” she said coolly, folding her arms across her chest.
“It’ll come!” Apollo said. “Trust me, it’ll come.”