Natalie didn’t say a word as Venus and Jupiter escorted her up to the main hall. Rini followed closely behind. Venus and Jupiter both looked as if they wanted to ask Natalie something, some burning question that they knew they couldn’t ask.
When they arrived to the main hall, the Queen had not yet arrived herself but Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury were standing on either side of the twin thrones at the head of the hall. No one said a word. The silence was deafening to Natalie. If they were going to do something to her, she just wanted them to get it over with.
Venus would be the one to break the silence. “How did you do it?” she asked, looking rather agitated towards Natalie.
Natalie swallowed hard. “Do what?” she asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible. The last thing she wanted to do was set anyone off, especially Venus.
Venus eyed her a bit. “Don’t play dumb with me… How did you get into the Crystal Palace, little own the very bottom most hallways? Only the royal family of the Silver Millennium and the guardian scouts can enter here…”
Just then Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion entered the hall. “Enough Venus,” she said in a stern but calm and gentle voice.
“Yes Your Highness,” Venus said as she bent to one knee. The other scouts did the same then Venus and Jupiter took up their places with Mars and Mercury.
Serenity smiled gently as she turned her gaze to Natalie. “Now, let me have a look…” she said as she walked over to Natalie and smiled. Looking into the girl’s eyes, she nodded. “Ah, yes, I know how you get in here young lady. Don’t worry, you’re among friends here.” She then turned her gaze to Rini for a moment. “Small Lady, would you go back to the gate and bring Sailor Pluto up here for me?”
Rini looked at her mother confused. “Yes momma, but I thought that Sailor Pluto wasn’t supposed to leave her place there at the gate… she always said she wasn’t allowed to leave when I asked her to…”
Serenity bent down and placed her finger to her daughter’s lips to quiet her. “It’ll be alright just this once. Just tell her I asked for her.”
Trusting her mother’s judgment, she nodded and ran off back down the hall to the basement hallways that lead to the Fourth Dimensional gateway door. Once Rini was off on her errand, Serenity stood and went over to her throne taking a seat. King Endymion had already done so. This meant that Natalie was standing all alone before Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion. This was not possible, she knew who they all were yes, but to be here just wasn’t realistically possible.
Taking a deep breath, Natalie finally decided to say something. “Your Highness, excuse my rudeness but this is not possible.”
“What isn’t possible?”
She looked around her arms outstretched. “This, the palace, you, the scouts… It’s all fiction. I’ve read about you guys in books, you’re just fictional characters. It’s impossible for me to be here at all.”
Serenity could do nothing but laugh a bit. “I apologize for laughing but I couldn’t help myself…”
Natalie looked at her exasperated and fell to her knees. She was so confused and scared and here Serenity was laughing at her. The benevolent and kind Neo Queen Serenity was laughing at her. All she wanted to do was go home. Being here wasn’t as much fun as she once upon a time thought it might be. Tears started to stream down her cheeks.
Serenity went over to Natalie and knelt beside her, putting her hand on Natalie’s shoulder. “Oh my, I never meant to make you cry young lady…”
“Natalie…” Natalie whispered.
“Excuse me?”
“My name… its Natalie…”
Serenity smiled and helped Natalie to her feet. As she did, Rini returned with Sailor Pluto. “Oh good, they’ve arrived. Come Natalie, I think we can put an end to your confusion now. I’m sorry to bring you up here Pluto, but what I’m about to reveal effects you almost as much as it does this young lady here.”
Pluto nodded. “It’s alright Queen. I’m sure things will be fine for a few minutes.”
Serenity smiled as she took both of Natalie’s hands in hers. “Natalie, you were able to come to this world, able to set foot within this castle because you are a sailor scout, Sailor Charon to be exact.”
Every jaw in the room, save those of the King and Queen dropped. Natalie looked at Serenity in utter disbelief.
“You’re joking with me right? This is some kind of dream right? If I pinch myself I’m going to wake up back in my hotel room at the convention… Too much pocky and ramune yeah that’s it. I had to have passed out from too much snacking… I knew there was no way this was really happening…”
Serenity shook her head. “No, you’re not dreaming Natalie. This is all very real. Here, let me show you…” At that King Endymion walked over and handed Serenity her scepter. “Thank you.” Taking the scepter in her hands she lightly touched it to Natalie’s hand. In it appeared a pen with a star on the top and within that star was the symbol of Charon . “Now all you have to do as hold that pen up and say ‘Charon Star Power Make Up’ and you’ll become your true sailor self instead of a copy of your twin star Pluto…”
When Serenity said this it caused Pluto to look at Serenity oddly. “My twin star Queen?”
Serenity nodded. “Yes Pluto. As we have come to know, what we once thought was just a moon of the planet Pluto is actually a twin planet, Charon. The two revolve around the sun together as they revolve around each other. It truly is a unique configuration in our system. But because of this, Charon also has a guardian star with special duties very similar to yours.”
“So this is why you wanted me here…” Pluto said softly.
Serenity nodded. “Yes.” She then turned her attention back to Natalie. “Now my dear, if you would be so kind…”
Natalie looked down at the pen then up to Serenity still unsure but then what could it hurt. The most that she figured would happen was that she’d hold this pen up and nothing would happen and the worst she would be is embarrassed in a dream. But what if it did work? What then? Could she really be a real sailor scout? She did have to admit, to have powers would be kind of cool. She had secretly wished that this were actually possible as she’d read about the adventures of Sailor Moon and her guardian scouts.
That was it, she had her answer. She wanted this. “Here goes…” Natalie held the pen high and said what Neo Queen Serenity had told her to, “Charon Star Power Make Up!”
The pen sparked to life covering her in brilliant light. The costume that she had been wearing changed, switching colors. The bows becoming deep blue; the skirt, the collar, and her knee high boots becoming a deep crimson. Her hair slipped from the bun and became a very long pony tail. The staff in her hands changed as well. It no longer looked like a large key with the garnet orb in a heart. Instead it had transformed into what appeared to the pole of a ferryman. At the top was an intricately designed lantern and within the lantern a faint light shown. She was Sailor Pluto’s mirror image with her own staff.
When the light vanished, Natalie stood before everyone as Sailor Charon. She looked down at herself holding the staff in her hands. This was really happening right? She had just transformed into a sailor scout. Her eyes lit up as she looked over to Serenity who smiled warmly at her.
“Go ahead and pinch yourself… if you still feel the need but I assure you, you won’t wake up from any dream…”
Charon shook her head. “No Queen, I believe you but what I don’t understand still is how I got here…”
“That’s your power as a scout. Just as Pluto is the keeper of Time, you are the keeper of Space. Your power allows you to travel to any place that exists. Your own power is what brought you here.”
“But I wasn’t a scout then. How did I activate my power?”
“You’ve always been a scout Charon, the power has always been within you just in a dormant state. When it was time, it activated on its own, all I did was provide you with the instrument to tap into the power you were born with.”
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