It had taken a bit but Natalie had finally been left to her own devises in the palace, sort of. Jupiter had to stay with her but other than that she could come and go as she pleased. There was a part of her that wanted to explore the palace but then she still wasn’t exactly fully trusted yet so maybe wandering about was a bad idea. But outside the palace wasn’t out of the question.
“Jupiter, is it alright if we go outside of the palace?”
“I don’t see why not. Besides, the Queen asked me to show you around a bit.”
“Do we change or…”
Jupiter chuckled. “It doesn’t matter. The people are used to seeing us so we can go with whatever makes you more comfortable.”
Natalie thought about it then blushed a bit. “Well I’d like to change but I just remembered that when I came I was dressed in my Sailor Pluto costume from the convention…”
Jupiter looked at her a bit strangely. “Oh yeah, that disguise you were wearing when you got here. That was a cosplay costume?”
“Yup. I made it myself, well most of it. I’m actually rather proud of it. But anyway, I don’t think it’s a good idea to go out in that. I’m pretty sure the people don’t know about Pluto… and I know they don’t know about me…”
“You’re right. We need to get you something to wear first before we go. Here, come with me.” Jupiter took Natalie’s hand and led her down a hallway to a room. “This is my room here in the palace. I have a decent sized wardrobe so you’re welcome to wear anything you like.”
Natalie smiled. “Thanks Jupiter.” She paused before going to look for something. “Um, how do I transform back?”
Jupiter couldn’t help but to laugh. “Probably would be helpful to know huh? Here I’ll show you.” She put her hand to the jewel in the center of her bow and in a flash of light she had transformed back, her transformation pen in her hand. “Easy,” she said with a smile.
“OK, here goes.” Natalie did just as Jupiter had shown her. She put her hand to her jewel and in a flash of light she was back in her Sailor Pluto costume but her staff was completely gone. “What the heck?”
“What’s the matter?”
“My staff is gone. I had a replica of Pluto’s staff when I got here and when I transformed it did too. Why didn’t it go back to normal when I did?”
Jupiter thought about it for a moment but the unsure look told Natalie that she didn’t know, not for certain anyway. “The only reason I can think of is that maybe when you transformed it actually became your new staff. I could be wrong though. Maybe ask Neo Queen Serenity later when we see her again.”
Signing heavily, Natalie nodded. She was actually pretty disappointed. It had taken her so much effort to make that staff and she was really proud of it. Hopefully Jupiter was wrong but she really didn’t think so. It was probably better to not dwell on it for now.
Natalie picked out a simple t-shirt and jeans from the closet and looked for a place to get changed.
“You want me to step outside, give you a little privacy?” Jupiter asked.
“Please?” Natalie replied, blushing a bit. She was used to changing in front of Amy and Katie but they were her friends. Getting dressed in front of a stranger, even if it was another girl, made her a bit uncomfortable.
Jupiter chuckled. “No problem. I think you can be left alone long enough for that. Besides, I don’t think you’re really any danger to us any way.”
Well at least someone trusted her, at least a little. It didn’t take her long to change and join Jupiter in the hall. She looked a little embarrassed since she still had on her boots from the costume. They didn’t exactly go well with the t-shirt and jeans look. “Um, I tried to find a pair of shoes too but none of yours fit…”
“Well then a shoe store should probably be our first stop. You ready to go?”
Natalie nodded and they made their way out of the castle. It didn’t take long for Natalie to be mesmerized by the city that surrounded the castle. “Wow, this is so much more than I expected. Is the whole city made from the crystal too?” Natalie had no idea of this. The manga and the anime had never gotten into the places outside of the castle save showing the wasteland that the Black Poison Crystal monoliths had made the place. She’d already figured out that she had arrived before that had all happened. She made a mental note not to mention it either. Natalie had no idea what would happen if she did tell them. She just hoped that she wouldn’t be here when it did actually happen.
“No, just the few buildings close to the palace are but the rest of the city is pretty sturdy even if it isn’t made of the Silver Crystal like the palace.”
As they walked along, Natalie couldn’t help but to notice how peaceful everything was. Everyone was so friendly. It certainly wasn’t like this back home. Even the lady in the shoe store pretty much fell over herself to help them.
“Is everyone like this all the time?” Natalie asked.
“Well, ever since Neo Queen Serenity became ruler and their life spans were increased, people generally became happier. They tend to go a little more overboard for us though even though we insist they don’t have to,” Jupiter replied.
“Yeah but I’d rather have them this way. Back home…” Natalie was cut off by the sound of an explosion that came from the direction of the palace.
“Oh no, the palace!” Jupiter exclaimed grabbing a hold of Natalie’s arm. “We have to go! Transform!”
“What? Huh?”
“No time! We have to go!” Jupiter took her pen from her pocket and held it up. “Jupiter Star Power Make Up!” In a flash of light, she had become Sailor Jupiter once more.
“Charon Star Power Make Up!” Natalie yelled as she held up her own pen. She had no idea what was going on but she knew she would soon find out.
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