03-21-2008, 06:37 PM
Scene 9: It was also Kassandra’s twelfth birthday, and she was on her way home too. She had a longer way to walk though, since she lived in another district.
Suddenly Queen Lily was there in front of her.
“Whoa,” Kassandra said, stopping. “Who are you, and where’d you come from?”
“I am Queen Lily. I’m here to take your star crystal.”
“My what? You’re psycho. Go back to the circus where you came from. And button up that vest; it’s unsightly.”
Lily slapped her across the face.
“I am the most beautiful girl in the universe, and I will be queen of it as soon as I collect all the Star fragments.”
Kassandra raised her eyebrow, rubbing her cheek. “Oh yeah? Then what’ll happen, Queen of the Universe?”
“Then the star crystals will all come together and form the Nova Crystal! The ultimate crystal of destruction!”
“Uh huh, well until then, I’ll be going. See ya around, Queen Lily.”
She pushed her aside and continued walking. Lily kicked under her feet before she could go. Kassandra tripped and fell.
“Hey,” Kassandra said. “What’s your deal?”
Lily shook her head slowly, staring down at her. “You are one sad girl. You have no friends and no morals. You cover up your insecurities by making enemies, acting all tough. But you’re nothing. You’re plain pathetic. What’s wrong with your mother? Didn’t she teach you anything, Kassandra?”
Kassandra looked down, her bangs covering her eyes. “I don’t have a mother.”
“Oh, that figures. No wonder you’re so messed up. Your mother probably took one look at you and gave you up for adoption.”
Tears formed in her eyes. “You know nothing.”
“Oh yeah? Then why are you crying? I’ll do you a favor by putting you out of your misery.”
Lily shot golden light into Kassandra’s chest, extracting the second star crystal. It wasn’t a full piece though.
“Hey,” Lily said to herself. “This is only half a shard.”
“Stop right there!” a voice shouted.
Lily looked up. It was Sailor Aries and Sailor Taurus.
“For love and justice, we are the beautiful Sailor Suited Soldiers!” Aries shouted, posing like a true Sailor Soldier.
“Sailor Taurus!” Taurus cried, posing too.
“Sailor Aries!” Aries exclaimed. “On behalf of the stars and planets, we’ll punish you!”
“You’re a little late,” Lily replied. “I already got the star crystal. But you’re lucky you caught me before I left; now I can use my newest card demon on you!”
She pulled out a card, kissed it, and threw it at the ground.
“Five of Hearts!” she summoned. “Antares!”
The card glowed yellow. Its aura grew larger and materialized into a giant scorpion with a red heart on its head.
“Heal Kastor,” Aries told Taurus. “I’ll try to take care of this monster.”
Taurus went over to Kastor and put her hand on her chest. She closed her eyes and began healing her.
“Fire Cremation!” Aries shouted at Antares.
The scorpion’s eyes widened and glowed yellow. Somehow it stopped the fire from coming towards it.
“Fire Cremation!” Aries repeated.
Antares did the same thing. The fire disappeared.
Kassandra was getting up off the ground.
“What happened?” she asked Taurus. “What’s going on?”
“Just leave. It’s dangerous here.”
Taurus led her past the street corner, and then went back to help Aries.
“It keeps on stopping my attacks!” Aries told Taurus.
“Energy-Switch Blast!” Taurus shouted.
Antares was weakened, and Taurus’ power was restored.
“Fire Cremation!” Aries tried again.
Although Antares was weakened, it still stopped Aries’ attack.
Meanwhile, Kassandra was still where Taurus had left her. Tuxedo Star was coming up from behind her. He stopped running when he saw her.
“I promised myself I would never cry again,” Kassandra whispered. “But that girl said those awful things. . . . She reminded me of my mother . . . and Kioshi. . . . I haven’t thought about them since they left. . . .”
She remembered back when she was six years old. That was the last time she saw her mother and Kioshi. Kioshi was Kassandra’s older brother; he was sixteen then. Kassandra remembered how Kioshi would always find time to play with her. He always knew how to make her laugh when she was upset. But sometimes when she would peek into his bedroom, she would see him crying.
“Onii-chan (big brother),” she would say. “Why are you crying?”
Kioshi would manage a smile and tell her that it was nothing for her to worry about.
Kassandra remembered when she was visiting her mother in the hospital:
“Oka-san, what are you going to name my new baby sister?”
“Her name will be Alexandra.”
“Why that name?”
“I’m naming her after myself, just like I did with you.”
“Oh yeah! Your name’s Sandra, huh? Why can’t I call you your real name and not by Oka-san?”
Her mother smiled. “Because!”
Then Kassandra remembered the bad memories: Kioshi had come home from visiting Sandra in the hospital one day, and he wasn’t his normal self. He seemed angry.
“Onii-chan, what’s wrong?”
Kioshi knelt down to face her and spoke seriously. “Oka-san has done something bad. She has kept things from us, and now our whole family is going to be torn apart. Oto-san is going to get a divorce, and Oka-san is taking Alex-chan away.”
“Forever?” Kassandra had asked sadly. “Will I ever get to see her?”
“Probably not. I’m sorry, Kastor-chan.”
Kassandra had crossed her arms and stomped her foot. “Hmph! From now on I won’t be called Kassandra anymore! Kassandra is the name Oka-san gave me, and she is ruining our family! She doesn’t deserve to name me after herself! Kastor is not just my nickname anymore, it is my name!”
Kassandra then remembered the news her father gave her that same week:
“Sweety, I have some bad news.”
“What, Oto-san?”
“Kioshi . . . died. He killed himself . . . I’m so sorry, Kassandra.”
He reached out to hug her, but she stepped back, tears falling down her cheeks.
“My name is Kastor! Kassandra is Oka-san’s name! This is all Oka-san’s fault! She broke up our family! Kioshi’s nickname for me was Kastor, and as long as I go by that name, he will live on!”
She ran to her room and slammed the door.
[back to the present:] As Kassandra was remembering all this, Tuxedo Star saw it all too. They weren’t his memories, yet he saw them happening in his head as if they were his memories. And even more oddly, he knew two of the people in her memories—Sandra (AKA Sandy), who was his mother and Kioshi, the boy he saw at the hospital six years ago when Alex had just been born. Seeing Kioshi in Kassandra’s memories brought memories of Kioshi that Tuxedo Star himself had:
Pollux (who is Tuxedo Star, if you haven’t figured it out yet) and his father, Paul, were visiting Sandy in the hospital. They were sitting at her bedside, talking with each other pleasantly. It was then that Kioshi walked in. They all looked at him.
“Who are you?” Kioshi asked Paul. “Are you related to Oka-san?”
Paul looked at Sandy, confused. “Do you know this boy?”
Sandy swallowed thickly. She didn’t answer.
“He called you Oka-san,” Pollux told Sandy. “You’re not his mother. . . .”
Kioshi walked forward and looked down at Pollux. “Yes she is. Who are you?”
“No you’re not!” Pollux protested. “I’m her only son!”
“What’s going on here, Sandy?” Paul asked. “You have another son?”
Kioshi stared at Sandy, horrorstruck.
She looked at Pollux. “Son, I need to talk to Paul—Oto-san—alone. Please wait outside until we’re done.”
“Why, Oka-san?” Pollux sneered. “Am I not good enough to hear your secret?”
“It’s not a secret!” Sandy yelled, sitting up. “This isn’t the time for your smart aleck remarks! Now get outside!”
Pollux walked to the door slowly. He stopped by Kioshi and looked up at him.
“Whoever you are,” Pollux said. “I’m not letting you take my mother.”
He kicked Kioshi’s leg and ran out of the room. Pollux leaned against the closed door and crossed his arms.
“Hmph,” he mumbled. “I’m her son; I have the right to know whatever she won’t let me hear.”
Suddenly an idea occurred to him. “Ha, I’ll just listen through the door.”
He pressed his ear to the door and listened. [scene changes to the hospital room]
“Sorry about Pollux, Kioshi,” Sandy’s voice said. “He can be so troublesome sometimes.”
“My leg is fine,” Kioshi replied coldly. “So who is he? My brother?”
“Half brother. . . .”
“This Kioshi here is too old to be my son,” Paul said tensely. “Were you married before?”
“She still is married,” Kioshi told him. “To my father, Yoshin Keitaro.”
“You’re married, Sandy?” Paul asked in shock. “So this is why you turned down my proposal. . . . I always did think it was strange that you wouldn’t marry me when we were already living together and had a son together. . . . Is Pollux even my real son?!”
Sandy hesitated. “Yes. I’ve been married to Keitaro for well over ten years. Kioshi here is his son, but Pollux is yours.”
“I don’t understand, Oka-san,” Kioshi said, his voice on edge. “How could you have another son without Oto-san and I knowing? The only time you were pregnant after I was born was when you gave birth to--”
“Yes,” Sandy interrupted. “Pollux was born at the same time. They’re twins.”
“Are you saying that I have another child?” Paul demanded. “And you never told me? How could you keep this from me?!”
“I had to, Paul,” Sandy said, her voice wavering. “I couldn’t keep my pregnancy from neither you nor my husband. I was afraid that I would have to choose between you and him. But when I found out I was having twins and not just one child, it was a miracle! Pollux could be yours and his twin could be Keitaro’s.”
Paul stared at her icily. “So why did I get Pollux and not the twin?”
Sandy swallowed hard. “Well . . . Pollux had your blue eyes, and his twin had my green eyes. Keitaro didn’t have blue eyes, so if Pollux was to be his son, Keitaro might wonder where Pollux got his blue eyes. I didn’t want to give him any reasons to be suspicious about his child’s paternity. So I let Pollux be your son.”
“You let him be my son?” Paul said in rage. “He is my son! His twin is mine too! There shouldn’t have been any question about who my children went to!”
“Now wait just a second, Mister,” Kioshi spoke up. “Oka-san is married to my father. Even though the twins are yours biologically, she is still married to someone else. How do you think my father would like it if he found out his second child isn’t his, and that that child has a twin he didn’t even know existed?!”
He looked at Kioshi. “You’re right.”
Paul turned back to Sandy and stared at her harshly. “Did you realize the deceit you committed when you did this, Sandy?!”
“It was the only way,” she insisted pleadingly, tears forming in her eyes. “Can’t we just forget about all this? I know I made a mistake, and I regret that now. Paul . . . you will forgive me, won’t you?”
“When were you planning to tell me and your other family?” Paul asked coldly.
“I knew I would have to tell you and Keitaro soon,” Sandy answered. “Because this time I only got one child and not twins. I was dreading the day I’d have to confess because I knew you both would be upset. But I didn’t want it to be this way, Paul. Please understand.”
“How can you ask me that?” Paul asked sharply. “The least you could have done was be honest. You could have either divorced your husband or broken up with me. I didn’t even know you were married! You weren’t faithful to your husband, and you weren’t faithful to me! I can’t believe you’ve been living this lie for so long. And now you’re asking me to ‘understand.’ There is no excuse for what you did. It was plain selfishness.”
“Paul,” Sandy pleaded. “You have to understand. I couldn’t choose between you and Keitaro. I truly loved you, but I couldn’t just abandon my husband and our family. This way I didn’t have to choose! Please . . . just forgive me.”
“A relationship is based on trust, Sandy. What you did was serious, and I can’t just forget about it. It’s not that simple. And I certainly can’t go back to living with you like nothing happened. I’m disgusted just looked at you.”
“Are you saying you’re leaving me?” Sandy asked in shock.
“I won’t live with someone who lies to me.”
“What about Pollux?!”
“I love him, but I have no claim to him. We’re not married, remember?”
Tears rolled down her face. “And Alexandra?”
“I would love to raise her, but you’re too selfish to give her up. Besides, how do I know she isn’t Keitaro-san’s daughter? He deserves her more than I do. He’s your husband after all.”
“I can’t believe you’re doing this. . . .”
“Goodbye Sandy.”
Meanwhile, Pollux was still listening outside the door. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His mother was married, his father was leaving them, and Pollux had a twin he never knew about.
He heard footsteps coming towards the door. He backed away and sat in a nearby chair, pretending not to have heard.
After that day, Pollux had lived with Sandy and Alexandra alone. He never understood why his father had left the family, and he never met Keitaro or his twin. Sandy never told him anything, so Pollux didn’t give it much thought. He kept pretending he never knew about them, and soon he forgot all about it. But now he remembered everything, and understood. He had a twin his mother had kept a secret, and Kassandra was that twin. His mouth hung open as he realized that.
“Kastor’s my twin sister,” he said softly, still looking at her as she cried.
His eyes were revealed through his mask, confirming that Tuxedo Star’s true identity was Pollux.
Meanwhile, Kassandra was wiping away her tears scornfully. She was sad and angry, but she felt something else too. She was filled with resolution. She felt a new power surging through her. The memories of Kioshi reminded her of all the feeling she had kept inside until now. She realized now how much pain she still felt. It made her angry to know that she was still vulnerable, even now, six years later. A silver sign of The Twins glowed on her forehead.
“These memories wouldn’t have surfaced if that broad Lily hadn’t shown up,” Kassandra whispered angrily. “I’ll make her pay for reminding me of the past! Gemini Power, Make Up!”
She thrust her hand in the air as her fingernails turned silver. Her Shibakouen school uniform disappeared and was replaced with a Sailor Soldier fuku with a light grey bow, a jungle green skirt, and low jungle green platform shoes.
“A Sailor Soldier,” Tuxedo Star muttered, even more shocked.
Sailor Gemini turned the corner, going back onto the street where Queen Lily and the other Sailor Soldiers were.
[scene changes to that street; Tuxedo Star is no longer shown]
Sailor Gemini saw Aries and Taurus still trying to attack Antares. She looked past them. Her eyes fell on Queen Lily. Gemini strode to her. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Gemini.
“The next Zodiac Sailor Soldier. . . .” Aries murmured in amazement.
Gemini ignored the other Sailors and continued walking to Lily.
“You,” Gemini growled. “You need to pay.”
“And who’s gonna make me pay?” Lily scoffed with a smirk.
“I am,” Gemini replied. “I’m Sailor Gemini.”
“You’ll have to get past my monster first! Antares!”
The scorpion looked at Lily, ready for command.
“Come over here and protect your queen from this next weakling! Make her sorry for challenging me!”
Antares charged at Gemini.
Gemini suddenly didn’t know what to do. She froze, watching motionless as the scorpion came towards her, raising its poison stinger above her head.
“Gemini!” Aries shouted, running up to her. “What are you doing?! Don’t just stand there!”
[commercial break]
Aries tried to push her out of Antares’ way, but she didn’t get there fast enough. Instead, Antares was stopped by a red rose.
Gemini blinked, out of her trance.
They all looked in the direction of where the rose came from. Tuxedo Star was standing in a nearby tree.
“Tuxedo Star!” Aries said.
“Sailor Gemini!” he shouted. “Look into my eyes. We are one.”
Gemini stared at him. Then she realized that he was Pollux. Her eyes grew wide with surprise.
“But . . .” she began. “I’m confused. I don’t’ know what I’m doing. Everything is happening so fast!”
“You’re a strong girl,” he told her. “Yet confusion stopped you in your tracks. This monster is strong too. But maybe if it gets confused, it wills top in its tracks too.”
Gemini thought for a moment, swallowing hard. Antares, Lily, Aries, and Taurus were all staring at her curiously, wondering what was going to happen.
“Trust me,” Tuxedo Star told Gemini. “Believe in yourself.”
“That’s it!” Lily yelled. “All this mindless chatter is making me bored! Finish her, Antares!”
Antares started charging at Gemini and raised its stinger again.
“I got it,” Gemini told Tuxedo Star.
He nodded approvingly.
Gemini turned to Antares.
“Confusion Doubt!” she shouted.
Antares stopped suddenly and looked around uncertainly.
“What’s wrong with you, Antares?!” Lily shouted. “Kill her!”
Antares gave Lily a quizzical look.
“What did she do to you?!” Lily demanded.
Sailor Gemini’s determined expression returned.
“Now!” Gemini shouted in the direction of Aries and Taurus. “Finish it!”
Aries nodded with the same determination. “Fire Cremation!”
Antares looked up just as the fireball swirled towards him. Still confused, he didn’t move as the fire penetrated his body and turned it to ash.
“No!” Lily cried. She turned to the Sailor Soldiers. “You haven’t seen the last of me.”
She jumped from tree to tree and disappeared from view.
Aries and Taurus walked up to Gemini.
“Sailor Gemini?” Aries asked.
“Yeah. . . .” Gemini muttered, looking down at her gloved hands and fuku. “I don’t really know what’s going on here, or how I got that power.” She looked at the Senshi. “But you two are dressed like me, so you must know.”
“You’re part of our team now,” Aries replied with a smile. “The Zodiac Sailor Soldiers. We’ve awakened because Queen Lily put Princess Serenity in a coma.”
“Oh, so that’s how it happened,” Gemini said.
“Yeah, and now she seems to be attacking other innocent victims like you, extracting something from their bodies. We don’t know any more than that.”
“Before Queen Lily attacked me, she told me that she’s gathering all the star crystals to make the Nova Crystal so she can rule the world.”
“Oh yeah! The Nova Crystal!” Aries said. “It belonged to Queen Tranquility, Neo-Queen Serenity’s aunt. Tranquility lived on the eleventh planet, Kaido, but Neo-Queen Serenity visited it recently and found out that it was all in ruins. The corpses of Tranquility and her daughter Princess Hoshi were the only people found. We thought Queen Lily killed them all and stole the Nova Crystal, but that can’t be the case if she is gathering star crystals to make it.”
“We should update Neo-Queen Serenity with this information,” Taurus said.
Aries and Gemini nodded. Little did they know, Queen Lily was still hiding in the trees, listening to their conversation.
“Princess Hoshi,” Lily whispered as a smirk curled on her lip.
Just then, she heard a rustle of leaves and felt the branch move under her feet. Turning, she saw Tuxedo Star running across the branch with his black cane raised to hit her.
“Nice try,” she whispered with a giggle.
She blew him a kiss and disappeared just as he swung the cane through the leaves.
“Damn,” he cursed.
“Who’s there?” Aries demanded.
Tuxedo Star jumped down from the tree.
“Oh, it’s just you,” Gemini said as Aries and Taurus sighed with relief.
“I heard everything you guys said,” Tuxedo Star told them. “But unfortunately, so did Queen Lily. I tried to get her, but she disappeared.”
“Just who are you?” Aries asked suspiciously. “If you’re on our team, why did you run off last time?”
“I’m Tuxedo Star,” he answered.
“He’s Pox!” Gemini said at the same time.
Aries and Taurus stared at them in shock.
“Pollux?!” Aries exclaimed.
“Geez, Kasutera,” Tuxedo Star said, knocking her on the head gently. “Can’t you keep a secret?”
“That means . . . you’re Kastor?!” Aries said to Gemini.
“We’re the Gemini twins,” Tuxedo Star told Aries and Taurus with a wink.
“Duh!" Kastor said at the same time. "But who are you two?”
Aries and Taurus stared in silence.
“Sorry about running off last time,” Tuxedo Star said. “We’re both fighting Queen Lily to protect those we love, so I am your ally.”
He held out both his hands. Aries and Taurus each shook one.
“Well then, we should introduce ourselves,” Taurus said to Tuxedo Star and Gemini. “I’m Sailor Taurus, alias Bullock Oushi.”
“And I’m Sailor Aries, alias Ramos Roshiva.”
“Rose?!” Tuxedo Star exclaimed. “Wow, we all know each other. Now that I think about it, it makes sense why you were at Princess’ house that day. . . .”
Aries smiled sadly. “So . . . you and Kastor are related? How’s that?”
“Wait,” Gemini said. “I am? Did I miss something?”
“He just said you were twins!” Aries replied.
“I thought that was a joke!” Gemini said. “I know we act alike, but we’re not related! That’s impossible!”
Tuxedo Star grinned at Gemini. “It’s a lonnnng story.”
“You’ll have to explain it to me too,” Gemini replied.
They laughed.
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