Alright, let’s see how this whole thing goes…

She turned the lights on in her room, nerves flickering for just a moment with the light overhead. She placed her backpack down on the ground by her bed, and removed her jacket. The house was quiet; her family wouldn’t be home from Kaylee’s soccer game for another hour or so, giving her plenty of time to test out the latest function of her senshi cell phone.
She pulled out the white and red phone, pushing the top piece open, but she didn’t press any buttons. She simply stared at it. This one little button was supposed to take her to another planet…?
This couldn’t be right. But then again, talking cats, monsters –youma?-, and super suited people shouldn’t be right either. And yet, the kitty had appeared to Castille while she was in danger, and given her the means to transform into someone else…She had battled with and against others in a war that many still had no idea about, a war that apparently was being battled all over the world. Her ind couldn’t grasp that there were more like her, yet she had met them. The good, the bad, and the corrupted. Her memories come forward. One of Kallichore, the Super Senshi that had saved her, The General that had killed a man before her eyes, and left her with bruises that her father looked over and doubted that they were from volleyball. And then the Corrupted Senshi, the boy with the long hair that felt like her, but wrong at the same time.

Now it was her job to protect people, from the Negaverse, and the Chaos that inspired them.

Castille glanced around her room, tossed the phone on the bed, and pulled out the pen that the strange talking cat (*********> she reminded herself) had given her. It was also a red to white gradient, and had a tiny feather etched in the gold, coin-sized circle on the top part of the pen. Such a simple thing turned her into a different person, and led her into a different life. She took another deep breath. Hopefully the neighbors will think the flash was the tv or something. Castille closed her eyes, and practically whispered the phrase she was told to recite.

“Grus Power, Make up!”

The light was bright! She blinked as her regular clothes melted away in the transformation. She felt warm and tingly as shiny feathers and blinking white lights like fireflies circled her body, and the rush of power distracted her from the billowy skirt unfolding from her body. Red, feathery shoes followed the skirt and as she turned in a circle, the rest of her fuku sprang to life, complete with black chest bow and red collar that spread across her back like a pair of small, useless wings. The red tiara settled on her forehead, and she smiled as she did a final turn, the magical feathers falling into nothingness. She wanted to pinch herself. “I can’t believe this is real.” She murmured, picking up the phone again, still smiling. “If this is a dream, please God don’t let me wake up.” Her finger remained suspended over the button, her nerves failing for a moment even as the power of the transformation settled into her bones. She held her breath.

And pushed the button.

She gasped as the movement and power took her deep into space. ********* hadn’t told her about how freaking strange this was going to feel! Her body felt like it was tumbling out of control. She closed her eyes and gulped, and then it was over. She stood still on wobbly legs for a moment, feeling a breeze and sunlight on her body. She opened her eyes slowly, and gasped again. Her whole body shook as she took in what she saw.

It looked as if she had flown into South America. Great trees towered over her, blocking much of the sun, except for the occasional break like the one that dappled her skin right now. Beneath her feet was a great wave of greens, yellows, blues…every color imaginable, thrown before her like a lush carpet. There was a low buzzing as unseen insects flew somewhere nearby. Flowers nearly the size of her hand were to her right, their vines climbing up the side of the tree. She turned and sniffed them, feeling the petals in her hands and marveling at the smooth texture. This discovery led to another; these flowers were purple and small, nestled in the forks between deep green leaves streaked with the same purple color. A small toad with bright red and yellow spots lay next to a bunch of the flowers, and it hopped away with a small squeak as she drew near, fascinated. It really worked! She laughed out loud, hearing something take flight to her left, frightened by her outburst. She took an involuntary step backward, and her butt bow caught on yet another kind of plant. This one had large green thorns that curved upward, and she grumbled as she struggled to remove the fabric of the bow from its grasp. Once free, she began to explore past her little sun patch, finding the rainforest strangely welcoming. The appearance of a lizard the shade of emerald made her jump, adrenaline coursing through her body.

“So this is Grus huh?” She wondered aloud, finding it hard to focus on one thing at a time. Everything demanded her attention! The trees, the flowers, the sound of water nearby. And the strange sounds and calls she heard in the distance. She stepped lightly, trying to avoid the flowers and brush underneath her boots. Once she got fifty yards away from her landing spot though, she realized that it might be wise to mark her way back…then she noticed red fruit hanging from a tree nearby. It looked like a tomato, but with pale yellow spots. She picked a few of these, and examined them, wondering if they were good. Did her people eat them? She wiped the fruit on her skirt, and stuck out her tongue, touching it to the fruit skin.

Her mind prickled, and she saw a flash of someone biting into the very same fruit. She gasped and dropped it, staring at the bush where the fruit disappeared.

What the hell was that!? She thought wildly, pulling her hands close to her body and staring around at the forest, as if expecting someone to come out from behind one of those imposing trees and explain it to her. She picked another one of the fruits, gingerly touching her tongue to this one as well, though nothing strange happened. She took a small bite, feeling the juice burst from behind the skin. Sailor Grus smiled, and took another bite, chewing quickly. It tasted like a mango, with a sweet aftertaste of a kiwi. It even had small black seeds on the inside like a kiwi. She ate about half of the fruit, and then let the rest of it drop to the ground, and roll away. She picked a few more, and found branches that stuck out a bit and were devoid of leaves. She stuck the fruit on the twigs, and she had her path mapped out. She continued on, sticking fruit to trees every so often so she could find her way.

After an hour or so, Castille began to wonder. “Oh where oh where did the people live?” she sang softly, pulling back a large pink and blue leaf. “Oh where or where could they be…..?” It was starting to get hot now, and the sweat was beginning to bead on her forehead. Her hands were streaked with dirt from th leaves she had to move to continue exploring. “No wonder my outfit has…sleeves.” She said, pushing past a large bush. If it hadn’t her arms would look like she had taken a cheese grater to them.

Shortly after, her foot caught on something, and down Sailor Grus went. She grumbled, pulling herself up and dusting off her bare knees and hands before examining what had tripped her. It was a beam, like a two by four only much longer. It extended into the undergrowth, and she pulled a couple vines from it, exposing nails. Her heartbeat quickened, and with trembling fingers, she dropped the vines. She began to search the ground, and found more beams, more nails, and tiny bits of deteriorating rope. Small bits and pieces, but nothing large enough to build a house out of. Sailor Grus sighed and stared up at the canopy, sweating. Her heart stopped.

Above her were the ruins she had spent two hours looking for.

They were wrecked houses in the trees! “Holy Jesus!” She said, taking a step back. They were above her, in various levels of disrepair. Great treehouses built along the trunks themselves. She grinned foolishly, amazed at the size of them. Another step back brought her to the trunk of a tree, and she leaned back against it while she tried to breath. The excitement coupled with the increase in humidity made gasping difficult, and she felt like her lungs were waterlogged. She spent some time, walking around the trees, knocking on them, staring at them, trying to figure out how did they get up there? And more importantly, how could SHE get up there now!? After what seemed like minutes, but was actually another hour of searching, she still hadn’t figured out a way. Their ropes or stairs must have rotted away long ago. She tapped the tree irritably, and was met with a fuzzy voice in her head, quietly speaking. She paused, listening, but the voice went away. “Hello?” She said uneasily, peering into the bright forest. “HELLO?” She sighed, and realized how much effort it was to breathe. The sun had reached its peak, and the humidity was making her hair stick to her sweaty face. Her fuku became highly uncomfortable. Grus decided reluctantly that she would have to leave for now, before she got heatstroke in the muggy forest. She walked slowly back along her makeshift path, looking up and over her shoulder to the ruins. And as she came to the now violently bright spot where she had first started her search, she vowed she would return as soon as she could to explore. She stood in her spot, and pulled out her phone, taking another deep breath of the hot, sweet air. She pushed the button, and the forest whirled into a blurry wall of greens as she was returned home.

Her room was cold. Not just cold, FREEZING! She shivered as her sweat met cold air and she dropped the phone on her bed, hugging herself while she shivered. “Forgot to turn on the heat of course!” But as she concentrated on powering down, Castille’s mind wandered back to the lush forest. And the ruins that she couldn’t reach. And then, as the fuku disappeared, her thoughts settled on the weird incident with the fruit, and when she touched the tree. What had happened in the forest? There wasn’t anyone else there. That she was mostly sure of. There weren’t any footprints but her own, and the tree houses looked like they hadn’t seen an inhabitant for..who knows how long. But there was whispering, she was sure of it!

When she was in her regular clothes again, she grabbed a towel from the floor, rubbing it vigorously over her arms and face, trying to scrub the sweat off. The next time she saw one of those pesky cats, they would have a talk. Maybe it could go with her! And explain what the heck was going on… She gave up trying to get the sweat off, and instead grabbed her robe and headed for the bathroom, the shower her next destination. This senshi business was so…new and confusing. Castille doubted she would ever get it down. But I guess that’s what knowing others is for she thought, turning on the water and letting it run over her hands They can figure it out first, and let me know.

When the water reached the right temperature, she stepped in, and the humidity made her feel like she was in the forest again. She smiled with her face in the water. Oh yes she would return there, as soon as she could. There were far more secrets to be uncovered on the star of Grus.

WORD COUNT: 2,083