7:00 am

None could ever accuse Ellie Spectre of being lazy on a Saturday morning. In fact, she was usually up far earlier than any other teenager on a weekend, usually ready for the world the same time she usually would be during a school day. However, this weekend, the spikey haired teenager had very specific plans. She had already cleared everything with anybody involved. Her parents had been told that she'd be going to Jared's house for the day. It was very unlikely that her parents would call and check up on her, since both were working all day Saturday, and with the commute, they always had to leave early and come home late. However, just in case, she had cleared it with Jared.

"I don't mind coverin' for ya, but what the heck are ya doin'?" he asked when she asked him on Friday after school.

"It ain't any of yer business," was Ellie's prompt reply.

Obviously that wasn't a good enough answer. "Come on, it must be something big. Why can't ya tell me?"

"Look, stop askin' and we can hang out all day Sunday." There was a pause. "Dude, it's totally like a freebie, since ya know my parents don't exactly call t'check up on me ever!"

Even though curiousity still seemed to be touching her blonde friend's features, he seemed to grudgingly nod to the arrangement.

With a heavy sigh, the girl looked through her backpack. Sure, she had recently broken the handles, but that didn't mean she couldn't bother her friend's mom to fix it. She wasn't about to throw out a backpack that had at least 5 years worth of doodles on the outside denim. Just for this special occasion, the tomboy had cleaned out her backpack of any junk and filled it with essentials. There were several bottles of water, along with several frozen microwave burritos (she had been known to each them cold before, so it wasn't a big deal). She estimated it would be enough food for one day. Not 24 hours, but for a day long excursion. There was also a pad of paper and a pen. Tossing the backpack on her bed, she ran downstairs and grabbed an extra burrito to claim for a hasty breakfast. It was already unwrapped by the time she ran back up the stairs, and halfway gone by the time she was back in her bedroom.

Tossing the wrapper to the floor in her room (she could pick it up when she got back), the teen uttered "Let's do this sh*t!"

With a sigh and a pause, the girl couldn't help but think how stupid it was to do this every time.

"Iris Eternal, MAKE-UP!!"

Though she had done it so many times, she could never get over how strange it was to suddenly find herself wrapped up in colorful lights, and then suddenly in an outfit that was as fruity as a gay man. Yet there she was, no longer Ellie Spectre, and instead, in her place, was Eternal Sailor Iris, senshi of Rainbows. Having done her little dance (so to speak), she snatched up her backpack of supplies, slung it over her shoulder, and then whipped out her rainbow cellular phone from seemingly nowhere. The little pixelated cat face on the screen seemed to be mocking her silently. With a slight growl, the senshi complained "I hate cats..." She punched the proper buttons, then closed her eyes. The moment she heard the hint of laughter that seemed to be the call of the asteroid, Iris, she pushed the final button.

Today was the day that Sailor Iris really explored her homeworld of the past.

8:00 am

It might have been morning on Earth, but as was expected, the moment the yellow-suited senshi arrived on the asteroid of Iris, the whole place was completely dark.

"Would it really be too difficult to get some light 'ere? Seriously..." she groused as she wandered only a bit, pacing back and forth until her eyes had adjusted to the best of their ability. Her skin felt the nips of cold against her thighs, but being the tough teen she was, she ignored the temperature.

Slowly, as the world began to take shape in front of her, the darkness seemed to soften, until the senshi could see the usual rocks and sand in the surroundings. she even waited long enough this time to be able to see further into the distance and spy several familiar structures she usually saw up close. Heaving in a large breath, the senshi then stated to nobody in particular (since she was the only one there) "Alright, let's do this!" Hiking the backpack up her shoulders, she began to walk.

To start her journey, the blonde figured it would be best to look over what she was already somewhat familiar with. Being nearly 6 foot tall even now had its advantages. Like having a longer stride and making it easier to get from place to place. As she approached the usual spot, she paused and shrugged her backpack down off her shoulders and to the crook of her left elbow. Her right hand, in turn, took to unzipping the bag, then reaching in to grab the pen and the pad of paper. Even though there was nobody there, the senshi couldn't help but feel the need to talk. The silence was overbearing at times. "I ain't much of an artist, but I wanna see if I can figure out what ya used t'be..." The tall girl tucked the pad of paper beneath her arm and stuffed the pen between her teeth as she fiddled with the zipper to close her backpack again. She once more put the backpack in its place, then approached the ruins again.

There were several wooden beams that had rotted through, which every so often, Iris paused to sketch. Nothing graceful or beautiful. The drawings were simply functional. Basic shapes, occasional notes about the pieces. However, there was only so much to note about wooden beams.

9:00 am

The senshi paused for a moment as she passed the 9th wooden beam. There was something slightly different about this one. There was a single band of metal that could be seen, though it had rusted to a point where the color almost matched the wood itself. Once, she would have just touched the structure without thinking about it. Yet, she had done it once before, and the ending result was the structure completely disintegrating after the lightest of touches. This asteroid was a giant puzzle for Sailor Iris, and if she accidentally destroyed the pieces to the puzzle, it wouldn't do her much good in the end. So instead of attempting to touch the metal portion of the beam, she crudely sketched it in her pad, then moved on.

Once satisfied with all of her work, the senshi looked over what she had surveyed, then to the sketch itself. "...wood shop was never my thing..."

Not wanting to idle about for too long, the girl moved on. She kicked her feet through the dark sand, noting this was the direction she had gone the previous week. Sailor Iris was on a mission to at least find the wheel she located before. The blonde wanted to find anything familiar on the asteroid. Anything at all. Initially, her efforts were not directed, since it was hard to tell with the darkened landscape which direction was which. However, she eventually found herself drawn into one direction. It was almost like there was a magnet in her heart, pulling her across to the landscape to meet the only charge she was attracted to. She had been trying to conserve her energy, but soon enough a streak of yellow was rushing across the land, her feet running of their own accord. When her feet finally decided to stop, there it was again. That same large wooden wheel.

"...Why do we keep meetin' like this, eh?" Iris chuckled almost breathlessly. She couldn't explain what she was feeling, but it was overwhelming her senses. The pen that was between her fingers eventually dropped to the sand, burying itself partially, but she didn't seem to notice. Her golden eyes just remained focused on the wheel.

10:00 am

It was impossible to pinpoint what exactly had snapped her out of this inexplicable trance, but when she finally noticed her pen was no longer between her two fingers, she bent down to pick it up again. "God... what th'heck was that 'bout?!"

Of course, nobody was there to answer that question for her.

"Alright," her voice sighed out. "Let's at least sketch this thing out..." She paused, then added "Wheel." It felt off calling something so blatantly identifiable as a thing. It almost felt disrespectful. She tapped the tip of her pen against the paper, but didn't start drawing yet. There was just something about this. It was like she wanted to make a good drawing rather than a hurried sketch.

"This is so weird..." Why the hell would she worry about how a drawing looked? It wasn't like Sailor Iris or even Ellie was an art fairy. Yet, instead, her hand eventually started to draw in a slow, almost methodical manner. It still wasn't an amazing drawing, but as the picture seemed to form itself on the white spread of the paper, it definitely seemed to have a different quality from all the other sketches from before. When she finished the drawing, it amazingly looked like a wheel.

"...seriously... what secrets do ya have fer me, wheel?"

The wheel was silent, as was expected. The senshi sighed, then attempted to turn away. Yet, that strong feeling that had drawn her to the wheel seemed to still have a hold of her, keeping part of her body in the same direction as the wooden wheel. Shaking her head sharply from side to side, she attempted to put things into perspective. "Alright... I came from that direction..." her golden eyes glanced to where she had come from prior. "And now... there's still all of that t'check out..." Her eyes moved to the uncharted territories. Then her body moved in that direction, taking a few steps away from that god damned wheel. She stopped once more.

"It's jus' one foot in front of the other..." It was so simple! Why couldn't her feet just cooperate?! Frustrated with the simplest of things, the girl kicked up sand five different times. After the final kick, she managed to move forward another 2 steps. It had been ten minutes and all she had managed were a few steps at best!

Her fingers ran through the longest strands of hair on her head and pulled in aggravation. "Just do it already, Iris!!!" Taking a huge breath into her lungs, she then just ran. She ran away from the wheel and away from that magnetic feeling in her chest. More wooden chunks and structures were scattered along her path, but now they just didn't seem nearly as significant as escaping that feeling. She only stopped when her heart seemed to no longer feel that pull and her legs were absolutely sore from all the distance she had run. The cold air no longer seemed to bother her, for her blood was pumping, heating her up to the point of sweating.

"God... okay... I'm takin' a break..."

With that, she plopped her butt down in the sand.

11:00 am

Pressing her arms back against the cold sand, the senshi slid the backpack off of her body. Iris pulled against the handles and dragged it up in front of her, stuffing the bag between her legs almost possessively. Her fingers made quick work of the zipper and soon enough had pulled out a bottle of water.

Well, partial water, partial ice. "Sh*t!! Is it really that cold?!!" With wide eyes, the senshi peered into the plastic at the partially frozen bottle of water. A gloved finger tapped the bottle even. "Wow... well... um... bottoms up!" Shrugging it off, she chugged down what she could from the bottle. Sadly, it didn't seem like the water would be melting any time soon. Not until she was back on earth.

"Oh yeah... how long have I been 'ere anyways?" Vaguely curious, the teen pulled out her phone again and hit any button she could. The magical rainbow phone lit up for a moment. Just long enough to display the time after another touch of the button. It was several minutes past 11. Almost lunch time.

"...I guess I could eat somethin' too... f*ck... wonder how solid frozen those burritos are now..." The senshi pulled out the staple to her teenage diet. With a finger, she flicked the burrito to find it was practically rock solid.

"...great..." She sighed before unwrapping the food. It really wasn't the first time she had eaten a frozen burrito when it was in this state. Freezer burn had been known to occasionally attack her beloved microwaveable burritos. Sulkily, she opened her mouth and closed it over the rigid tortilla, not daring to try and use her teeth yet. It was like eating a Mexican Popsicle in all honesty. Slowly. So slowly.

She sighed again, but it was cut short as something strange happened. It was as if the surroundings were beginning to transform. In front of her, a large, yet controlled fire emerged to light up the area. As the flames danced, they caused the light to also dance about wildly, bouncing from the various surfaces. There were large wagons surrounding the area. The senshi spun her head about to look and she noticed the wagons were almost forming a large semi circle.

About her, people were laughing and chatting. She didn't really listen in at first, just merely taking in the sights. All the faces in the crowd seemed happy, almost eager in some senses. The blonde slowly began to notice more details to the vision. Some of the faces were painted. Some of the outfits were fancier, almost like some sort of costumes. Definitely fancier than the street clothes she had seen last time when she remembered Babba. A couple of the people were on their feet, stretching and bouncing about energetically. Many faces turned to look at Iris, looking at her with wide grins and proud expressions.

Next to Iris, a familiar voice called out rather loudly "It is time to welcome our very special guest!" The teen turned to face the voice only to find Babba there. She was wearing a brilliant purple dress with a white sash about her waist, and several bracelets lined up her arms. Giving the older woman a look up and down, the senshi also noticed that she had just as many anklets clinging to her ankles.

Eternal Iris knew nothing of the woman, yet now, she felt drawn to her with how powerful her voice was. It demanded attention. Though Iris knew the woman was someone she knew in the past, the blonde still wanted to know who this woman was. What did this woman mean to her? The girl shifted in place and moved her jaw slightly as she finally dug into the softened spot of burrito in her mouth.

Babba didn't seem to skip a beat though. "Everyone, please welcome our guest of honor, Sailor Iris!"

The teen almost choked on the small bite she had finally managed to tear out of the burrito.

12:00 pm

Coughing out rather loudly, the senshi couldn't help but ask "I'm th' guest of honor?!!!" It was not really something she had expected. Nor was the sudden explosion of cheering from the crowd, all eyes seeming focused on the Senshi of Rainbows while she attempted to recover from near-death experience by burrito.

A very familiar laugh echoed in the air. In fact, it was her own voice that laughed, despite it not coming from the real Sailor Iris. It was almost like her past self was mocking her present self for nearly choking.

Babba once more spoke out, loudly to try to get the audience's attention again. "Let us welcome our guest and give her an excellent show!"

A pair of fellows who had been limbering up earlier stepped forward. Despite how cold it was, they were wearing no shirts. The darker haired lad of the pair did have a vest, both had baggy pants and sashes tied about their waist. They bowed before the direction Iris was facing before pulling out 3 clubs each. They dipped the clubs into the large fire, causing the ends to suddenly have flames dancing upon them. They parted so they were a decent distance away from each other, then stopped, facing each other. Beside the paler haired one, a girl with a coin tipped shawl stepped forward, her movements accented with a subtle jingling sound. She held a large jug, and rather carefully she set it up behind the young man before dipping back into the crowd.

Having finally recovered, Sailor Iris placed the burrito back into her mouth so she could maybe get to eat this bite. What were these two going to do? Curiously, her golden eyes fell upon the duo.

The pair leaned forward and bowed once more before they threw their clubs towards the other. Iris, never knowing how to button her lip, stated the obvious. "Oh, they're JUGGLERS!!!" The senshi watched as the two young men caught the clubs without touching the fire, then sent the clubs going back to the original owner. The pair worked without any errors, the flames whipping back and forth to each other, forming a sort of figure eight in the darkness. Iris' eyes glanced about curiously, but quite frequently, she couldn't help but look back to the act. Babba seemed to be beaming proudly, despite the fact she had only been the announcer in a sense. Various members of the crowd hooted and hollered excitedly. Whenever either of the pair did any sort of extra daring trick, the crowd simply got louder and rowdier. Eventually, the pair ceased to juggle to each other and began to solo juggle their clubs. The dark haired one seemed braver, occasionally switching from juggling at the front to swaying between the back and the front. The pale haired one laughed and paused in place, waiting for his partner to cease. When both seemed to be done, the senshi had managed to pull off a bite or two of burrito. Both bowed, but the pale haired one handed off two of the three clubs to the girl who had stepped forward again. He picked up the jug and took a large swig before pulling the final club up in front of him. Turning towards the flames, he then spewed out the liquid. It looked like he had spewed flames from his mouth, breathing fire nearly like a dragon.

"HO SH*T!!! THAT WAS AWESOME!!!" The tomboy almost seemed to forget what was actually going on. Swallowing down some of her food, she continued to eagerly watch.

As the duo backed away, a new team seemed to step forward. Their clothing was brilliantly colored and rather festive. Every single one had painted faces.

Sailor Iris turned to the vision of Babba and merely asked "...so, what are they goin' t'do?" Babba didn't even seem to hear her.

"...oh... yeah..." With a sigh, the senshi sat and waited to see what would happen. In the crowd, the sound of music began to play. All of the instruments sounded like they were made of natural materials. There were no metallic wind instruments. She could make out some string and drums, but in all honesty, Iris was no musician. As the music started, the team began to perform. It seemed like they were a combination of clowns and acrobats.

Slapstick wasn't really Iris' cup of tea, but it apparently used to be. She could hear her own voice laughing at the various stunts that were pulled off. It was a bit annoying, since it was like having an overly obnoxious laugh track haunting her own ears.

1:00 pm

The team finished up their act, and once more the crowd burst out into applause, hoots, and hollers. By this point, Sailor Iris had managed to finally finish off the one single burrito she had started eating almost an hour and a half ago. Even though she had managed to fill up her stomach and was ready to move on, she didn't. This celebration where she was the guest of honor had caught her interest. Somehow, the blonde senshi would have felt bad abandoning it now. So she buckled in and waited.

The next to step forward was a paler skinned chick with a large dark braid with three large metal rings woven through her locks. Some sort of small animal perched upon her shoulders, with large eyes looking to the audience curiously. Iris glanced around to the crowd curiously. Certainly, a majority of the group were darker skinned, but occasionally a lighter skinned person seemed to sneak into the crowd. However, light hair didn't seem to be too exotic in comparison.

"Alright Tets! Jump!" With a rather fierce motion, the girl whipped her hair around into a circle. The animal (it looked like a monkey mixed with a ball of lint in all honesty) obediently just sprung up. As the hair reached its maximum height of the swing, Tets had managed to land in the lowest of the three metal rings. It remained in her hair for the downward swing and then suddenly sprung up again, once more skillfully catching onto the ring as it reached maximum height again.

"...wow... that's kinda weird... uh... cool... but weird..." Ellie had some long hair, but at the moment she was glad she didn't have hair that could be used as a jungle gym for a lintball. The act continued for a while before the young lady stopped to take a bow.

After the crowd quieted down a bit, Babba spoke up again. "How are you enjoying the show so far, Sailor Iris?"

The teen glanced over and found a hand resting upon her shoulder. She couldn't feel any weight to it. Yet another reminder this was all a memory. She didn't speak, because she knew someone else would speak instead.

"Oh Babba, you know I always love coming back here. I always feel so welcome every time! You honestly spoil me."

The woman laughed kindly, a much gentler cackle than the teenage audience was adjusted to. "Well, it is such a rarity that we get to see you, Sailor Iris. We all miss you. You are important to all of us."

"Well, it is about that time."

Babba's brow seemed to quirk slightly as she leaned in close. Her voice hushed, as if trying to keep a secret. "Is it that time already? To the north?"

"Yes Babba." Iris' disembodied voice sounded vaguely serious.

The woman turned away and looked to the performers that were preparing for the next act. "Well, it is part of your duty as the Senshi of this Asteroid. You will be fine, Sailor Iris. You are strong and you know what you are doing. None of us have anything to worry about. The Sacred Lands are in good hands."

"...Sacred Lands... to the north?" Sailor Iris looked to the elderly woman, as if asking for her to answer the question. Instead, a subtle laugh that sounded like her own echoed through her ears. Applause began to sound, and once more her golden eyes were drawn to the performers.

It seemed like everyone was focusing on a large man with turban upon his head and loose robes draped over his form. He had a large sword at hand and paint upon his face that almost reminded her of the Jester from the Catman series. "Sh*t, I want one of those..." Sharp objects were always cool. The man seemed to almost strut about in front of the fire, his motions all exaggerated. Then he stopped all of a sudden and opened his mouth as wide as it seemed humanly possible for a man like him. The sword soon enough edged towards the new opening.

The modern Sailor Iris screeched out excitedly "SH*T, SWORD SWALLOWER!!!! THIS IS SO EPIC!!!!"

And just as the sword began to enter the man's mouth, everything seemed to fade. The flames, the wagons, the crowd of people, and Babba. Having been in the fake light for so long, the world itself seemed to fade to dark again.

"Damn..."

2:00 pm

The blonde senshi had plenty to digest. What had all of that been about? As her eyes attempted to adjust to the lack of light again, she couldn't help but chime in with questions as they touched her mind.

"...Was I some sort of f*ckin' celebrity before? Why th'hell would I be so important? Seriously?!" Her hands fumbled around with her backpack and located another bottle of partially frozen water. With a bit of work, she managed to loosen the cap and drink the contents she had available to her.

"...and what th'hell are th'Sacred Lands?" Babba had mentioned that it was north. However, just thinking of that only seemed to remind her of another question.

"Who th'hell is Babba?!" Her wrist jostled the bottle, checking to see how much liquid was left. There was still a bit left. With a quick swig, Sailor Iris fixed that problem before tucking the frozen contents back into the backpack.

By the time her eyes had adjusted again to the lack of light, about twenty minutes had easily passed by. The teen took in a rather deep breath as she then relocated her pen and pad of paper. She scrawled out the questions she had on a paper before pushing back up to her feet.

"...God, I think my a** is numb..." Running a hand through her wild hair, she then began to continue forward. Though she passed more wooden ruins, she didn't stop, merely just noting the differences in the pieces she saw.

3:00 pm

Sailor Iris was hoping the rest of the visit would be normal. Yet, this was not destined to be. She walked, but eventually her heart felt a strange yearning again. It was just like before with that wheel, but the senshi could have swore she had gotten past the wheel.

So what could it have been this time? Sailor Iris felt her feet once more take off without her willing it, and when they came to a stop, she found yet another piece of wood. It was long and thin. It was definitely at the end of its natural lifespan. "Okay... so what's so important 'bout ya?" Her fingers twitched against the pen she held.

"...well... I guess I ain't got any choice..." With a sigh, she settled to doing what her body wanted to. As before, she began to sketch out what was in front of her. She really hadn't been paying much attention to what was in front of her, but as she formed it on paper, something began to settle into her mind.

"...It's an axle..."

Considering the previous object to give her such a feeling as a wheel, it made plenty of sense. The tall blonde stood there for a while, just taking in everything. Ten minutes, and all she could say was "...Wow..."

4:00 pm

Yet again, it was time to abandon the newest discovery. Though her heart was telling her to stay, she stubbornly told her feet to move forward. There was more to see on this asteroid. She couldn't stop now. Curiously, as she tucked that pad of paper under her arm and placed the pen behind her ear, she seemed to summon out the rainbow phone again.

"...4:11...wow... I should probably head back soon..." Her voice faltered off, but her thoughts continued on with one more word.

...but...

Her legs were feeling a bit tired now. They weren't getting lifted up nearly high enough now and her feet were trudging through the sand heavily. There had to be more to this asteroid than dark sand and dark skies. How could people live in such an environment? Yet, that was all she saw, far as the eye could see.

That was all she had seen any time she visited prior. She shouldn't have doubted what she saw, yet somehow, she still did! Her legs were aching, her slower movements now allowing the cold to once more bother her senses.

"Jus' a bit longer... jus' a bit further..."

That was all that kept her going. There were plenty of people who would have stopped hours ago, but that wasn't how the Senshi of Rainbows worked. Eventually her eyes managed to see something new. Something her golden eyes had sorely missed.

"...Is... is that a sunrise?" Her voice stopped, then she added "...or a sunset?" She almost collapsed to her knees as she said those words. There was a huge, stupid grin upon her face. "God damn, there is sun... god damn!" With all of the rest of her remaining energy, she shouted out wildly. Her world, her asteroid just had to know how happy she was. There was light on this asteroid after all. It had taken a rather long journey to find it, but she had found it.

Having found what she had been looking for all along, the Senshi pulled out her phone after basking in the glory of that vague hint of sunlight. It was exactly 5:00 pm.

"I'm goin' home..." she laughed out weakly. She shifted to put all of her items back in her backpack, then ran a hand through her hair with a sigh. With eyes closed, she vanished from sight.

10 hours. Sailor Iris had spent 10 hours of her life on her home world. And in all honesty, that was more time than she'd ever spend on the asteroid ever again in the future.