Word Count: 2074

Candice sat in on her bed with Cotton by her side. It had been a few month since she became ‘TianGuan’, but she still felt like she didn’t know very much. She knew that her Henshi pen helped her power up, and when she was TianGuan, her physical abilities were enhanced as well as her getting powers! All in all it was amazing, but what about her name sake?

The first few days she was ‘powered’ up, Candice had spent a lot of time researching her name. TianGuan, meaning ‘celestial gate’ was the Chinese name for ‘Zeta Tauri.’ It was a bright star in the night sky, even visible with the naked eye. Candice was no astronomer, so she wasn’t able to find it herself, but she was determined to learn more about it. Even if she was not looking at information on the star itself, TianGuan was the name of one of the rulers of heaven! It made Candice feel like she had to live up to a lot, and really hoped she could do so and do it well.

It was weird for her, mostly because all the time she was growing up, Candice always thought that no life could exist outside of planet Earth. Of course, many places were beyond human reach to explore so some people were not closed to the idea of other life-forms. When Candice travelled out to the Surrounding the first time, it proved to her that there were inhabitable places that were not Earth… It was just a matter of fact of knowing how to get there in the first place!

“Hm…” She sat there thinking as she petted Cotton. Her Henshin pen was sitting on her bed in front of her as well as her cell phone. The only number she had on there was page she had met, Sutai, at the moment, but there was something she felt like was interesting as well. The phone had different capabilities like being able to contact other people, Senshi included, as well as having a GPS and being able to see who was around with radar, but what about going to her ‘home’ planet? It was definitely possible, but how?

Glancing at the clock, Candice noticed that it was nearing the time that she would normally wander out of her apartment. Tonight, however, she felt like it would be better to understand her cell phone more. It already held her fuku colors and she had changed the background of it to a lovely mask she had bought before for a masquerade. All the buttons though! She wanted to learn about all the buttons!

For the most part, the phone seemed like any other cell phone; she could send and receive text messages, make and receive calls, add contacts… The ones that she thought were cool were two buttons that led her to a database as well as a GPS function! The GPS function was pretty cool. It only really sensed the people in her building and there seemed to be no one near her, thank goodness. For the database, Candice quickly scanned through the names. There wasn’t really anyone she knew on it, at least not that she could recall at the top of her head.

It seemed like she had met a lot of others, but not those that fought alongside her as a Senshi. There were pages that were also Order aligned that were friendly enough. The on the Chaos side the Dark Mirror Court Senshi and the Negaverse agents. “What others have I not met yet?” Of course, she knew of the Princess that existed. There was some memory of one from her time at the Surrounding, but it wasn’t like they met or anything so the memory was fleeting.

Then there was Sutai telling her that she could someday be a princess herself.

The idea baffled her to like no tomorrow, but Candice felt like that was something she didn’t want to dwell on. She would rather protect the people now as TianGuan and continue studying so she could heal people as just Candice. Candice couldn’t help but feel that they were both just as important and be the best she could be for both.

Candice stood up carefully, making sure that Cotton would not wake up with her getting off the bed. She picked up Cotton’s blanket, which was a baby blanket Candice had bought for her, and wrapped the little one in the blanket. The dog was growing a little bit bigger each day and Candice’s love for her grew just the same. Candice let out a sigh as she turned around, again looking at her phone.

She picked up her Henshin pen with her other hand. “TianGuan, Make Up!” Her powers rushed around her and the nightgown she was wearing disappeared, being replaced by her fuku.

TianGuan took a deep breath. She loved the feeling that powering up gave her. It was refreshing, something that pushed her to be more besides just her mind when it came to school. So far, she felt that she’d done some good, whether it be just watching over the streets at night or taking down a youma. Of course, she had done a fair amount volunteering at hospitals alongside school. Everything kept her really busy, but she felt like it was worth it.

Finished with her Henshin pen, she tucked it into a pouch that she had made with scraps of cloth she had bought. The pouch would keep it safe as well as her phone. “The phone…”

She twirled the phone for a little while, examining it. The only thing that she hadn’t tried yet was the large center button on the front. “Maybe this is what will lead me to my home star?” Tian closed her eyes and thought about the general location of the star, the size, how bright it was. She reached inside of her, causing the desire to see her home, to understand everything that she’s gotten into so far. It took a few seconds, but she could feel an energy building around her.

It was slightly bright in the room when she opened her eyes again. The feeling was surprising, but she quietly opened the door to her balcony and stepped outside. The door closed just as silently as it was opened, in fear of waking Cotton. After that, the energy flowed out of her, eventually causing her to vanish off of the balcony.

When she reappeared again, Tian saw that she was in space, headed towards a binary star. “That has to be it… That has to be TianGuan.” Her breath caught as she saw all the beauty in the star. It reminded her of the power that let her breath when she was at the Surrounding. It didn’t take too long until she approached the surface of the star and felt the energy bubble that helped her get here disappear. That was the first time she laid eyes on her home.

The feel of the air was of a warmer summer day. Despite it being fall on Earth, Tian realized that the seasons that she knew may not affect her Star. It made her glad though, since she now understood why her fuku wasn’t the warmest; it was too warm here for her to have too many layers and such. With what she wore, Tian felt good being there. She finally looked around to see where she was though, and gasped.

Tian would have never imagined her home looking like this.

The city that stood before her looked like it was barely touched by the ravages of time. There were canals and bridges like Venice, Italy, but the buildings itself were more of a Victorian feel. They were overall stunning though. Tian felt like even if she saw Venice and the Victorian ages separately, nothing could compare to the beauty of the star. It might have been that Tian was highly biased, but every time she looked at something, she would lose her breath.

The biggest thing that Tian noticed thought was that… There was no life. The city was beautiful but eerie, which cause a bottomless sadness in Tian’s heart. Tian put a hand on the railing of a bridge as she walked. Something caused her to pause however. Anyone looking at her would see that her eyes were wide and unblinking.

Through Tian’s eyes, she saw the life that was once on the planet. Her fingers touching the railing caused her to see a glimpse of the past, of the former glory which was TianGuan. There were people all over the place, happy and dancing… lots of dancing… music… elaborate clothing. It was clear to see that her sphere was a reflection of the planet as well; everyone was masked or had masks. There were even stands selling masks. Then, Tian came back to her senses.

She wanted to cry, but nothing came. There was sadness, but she didn’t want to cry about it. Tian wanted to bring life back! There was a brilliant amount of determination in her that drove her to smile as she looked around at the buildings. She laid her forehead against one of the buildings and sighed. “I will do this place proud. I’ll push myself as TianGuan, Senshi of Masks and Dr. Candice Shermon.” She stood there, just smiling to herself, absorbing the smell, sound, and feel of her surroundings.

TianGuan loved it to no tomorrow.

She glanced at her phone and looked at the time. Tian wasn’t sure how long she had been there, but she had to get back soon since she didn’t know how long the travel time was. Even with the magic and teleporting, Tian got more and more tired. Though she had to be honest to herself; Tian didn’t really want to leave.

Wanting to enjoy her last moments on the star, Tian took off her shoes and sat down near the water. Tian’s toes touched the water just gently, enjoying the coolness of the water. “It’s so wondrous here,” Tian whisper to her, looking around. She had just seen a small part of it, but Tian didn’t feel like it was a good idea staying on the star any longer. Cotton was asleep but wouldn’t stay asleep if she looked for her and found no one.

Taking her last deep breath of the area, Tian took out her cell phone. Tian was still reluctant, but there was so much more she needed to do on Earth. “I will be back though,” she whispered to no one in particular. “It’s too beautiful and precious here not to come back and explore more. I hope that you’ll show me more as well.”

Tian pressed the center of her cell phone again, this time thinking about her bed… about Cotton… her room. She felt the sensation again and then was teleported back to near the roof of her apartment. She quickly used the phone again to check for energy readings nearby. When she knew it was clear, Tian landed softly on the roof of the building. Powering down, she became Candice once more.

She tucked the cell phone back into the pouch with her Henshin pen. Before opening the door to the stairway, Candice patted the bag, making sure they were both safe and snug. Candice couldn’t imagine losing either of those now. If she did, she’d lose TianGuan as a part of herself as well as the star she called home.

When she got to her door, Candice quietly and slowly opened it, afraid of waking up Cotton. Luckily, the dog was sound asleep under her blanket, snoring just slightly. Candice let out a small giggle before she was fully in and was able to close the door behind her. She looked at the clock again. 3AM… That wasn’t bad at all and she’d get enough sleep before class tomorrow.

Candice raised her arms above her head and stretched, breathing deep. Not a lot of time had passed, but she knew that a lot of feelings swelled through her. It was her second time in space, but it was the first time Candice was in a place she could call her own. Well, there was her apartment, but that a lease more than anything.

“Maybe I can bring Cotton up there some day… I think she’d like the fresh air and freedom up there!”