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I was piloting my new Corellian freighter, Yume no Tsukikage, around the space near Coruscant with some Senshi buddies of mine when it happened. Annika found out Obi-Wan was leaving for a new Jedi peace mission with Anakin. Her wails pierced my fragile ears.
"Annika, he'll be back soon--" I began.
"BUT HE'S NOT HERE RIGHT NOOOWWWW! WHAAAAA!" she cried.
Solai hopped onto her lap. "Calm down, baby, its all okay," he purred. Annika sniffled and scratched Solai behind the ears. He purred very loudly.
"See? He's right, it's all okay," Mara said happily.
"I want a cat," Annika said suddenly. Solai gave her a sly wink.
"I'll be your cat, baby," he said. Annika shoved him off her lap.
"I know what you mean by that! No way!"
I giggled. Annika looked at me.
"I'm serious. A pretty little white kitten with pink paws and all... to keep me company while Obi-Wan is away," she explained. Mara nodded solemnly.
"I have always wanted a cat, as well as Ben," she said.
This sounds like a job for the Senshi of kitty cats! But FIRST...
"Please Ippin? Pretty please?" I made a sad face at the Time/Space Gate keeper.
She crossed her arms and sighed. "I really shouldn't. It takes so much power and... who is this for again?" she asked.
"Annika! She wants a cat, and she's so unhappy, I just have to--"
"Wouldn't making someone happy be the job of the Senshi of Happiness?"
"But this involves CATS, Ippin, cute little kitty cats! PWEASE?" I gave her my best Bambi eyes.
She shook her head sadly. "Fine. Just go, but BE CAREFUL. If you need help fighting anything you might find there, such as a Sailor Sith who somehow follows you, don't be afraid to call."
I laughed. "Me, afraid to call for help? Don't worry about it!" I waved goodbye and hopped through the time/space vortex to Earth.
She sat quietly, waiting for her chance. She had just arrived in this past time and was waiting for her mother to jump through the space gates. It should happen any time now... THERE! She was through. She followed her mother.
"I will get rid of you," she said quietly. "That way, I won't exist."
I walked around the streets of Wisconsin in my home town, looking for little stray cats to take back to the Snickers Galaxy. I decided it would be easier to find a cat if I was a cat myself, so I turned into my cat form. I saw the sweetest little kitten, a bright, clean white and light tan feet, tail, and ears, and a small tan heart on its forehead. I don't know how, but I sensed it was a girl kitten. She looked scared. I went up to "talk" to her, but a huge truck went by and stopped right in front of her. A huge man stepped out.
He walked up and picked up the kitten by the scruff of her neck. She mewed weakly. He looked around nervously, then practically THREW the kitten in the trunk of his truck before driving off. What a meanie! He wouldn't get away with this. I began to run after the truck.
"MEEEEEEOW!" A blue blur ran in front of me and made me trip.
"Wha--oh, my, my kitty--Naoko!" I wailed. My cat didn't budge. It was my little kitty from home, before I knew I was a Sailor Jedi! "What are you doing here?"
To my surprise, she talked back. "Looking for you. Don't follow that truck, you'll get hurt and maybe even die."
"How did you know I would come back? And how do you talk?" I said quickly. I was getting confused, like when I first found out I was a Senshi.
"I was supposed to come with you, but Kyoko forgot..." She trailed off. "Anyway, there are more important things at paw--"
"Like that kitten! Follow me, Naoko!" I ran off, with Naoko following behind reluctantly.
About ten minutes later, we found where the man had taken the kitten.
"A laboratory....how awful!" I mumbled. "How CRUEL!"
"Which is precisely why we should get out of here!" Naoko whispered hoarsely.
I shook my head, whiskers hitting my face. "Let's go in," I said. I ran into the crack in the doorway, Naoko following me.
We were in a huge lab with wires and all sorts of horrid looking torture devices. I nearly cried. All those poor cats... I ran towards the sound of the kitten's mewing. I found a small room with cages, only four of which were filled. The little kittens, of course, was at the very top.
"Naoko, keep a look out, I'll go get her," I said. I began to scale the cages.
"But--"
"No arguments! Do it!" I was halfway there.
"Mika, he's coming--"
"What?"
THUMP THUMP THUMP CRASH SLAM. The man stomped in and slammed open the door. Naoko barely got out of the way. The man saw me and looked shocked. "A purple and green cat! What an anomaly! I will have to test you, little dear..." He laughed slowly. "Come here, little one..."
"RRRAOW!" Naoko screeched. She clawed the man's hand that was reaching for me. That gave me some time.
"Yavin IV Force Power, Make UP!" I shouted. I morphed into Sailor Yavin IV. The man, seeming not to notice me, went to smack Naoko over the head. "Stop right there!" I shouted. He glared at me.
"Who are you?"
"I am the Protector of Cats everywhere! And you are hurting them! In the name of the feline species, you are PUNISHED!" I shouted.
"No, you are," a voice almost exactly like mine said. "Yavin IV Vines Entangle!" Snake-like black vines slipped through the doorway and wrapped up the man. I was getting scared -- I needed help! I went to call Ippin on my communicator. "Stop right there!" the voice shouted. I looked up.
I was looking right back at me, it felt like. A senshi my age was standing in the doorway. She had deep blue eyes and blond odango hair with black streaks. Her fuku was black and blue, like bruises.
"I am Chibi Yavin IV, and I am the Sith Senshi of Sorrow and Wonder! You will pay for turning me out, Mother!" the girl shouted.
"M-m-mother?" I stuttered. The girl put her hands in front of her face.
"Yes, and now you won't have time to have a daughter to give away without guilt. Sorrow Forever MORE!" she screamed. A wave of bluish light hit me.
I felt rather sad... Why am I fighting? I don't want to fight... I'm too depressed to fight... maybe I should just go away forever, no one really needs me....
"Yavin IV, snap out of it!" Naoko yelled. She did a loop, and a large light blue wand with a green jewel appeared. It flew to my hand.
"Cat's eye scepter," I whispered. It looked so familiar. "Cat's... Eye... GLARE!" A large green ring shot out and hit Chibi Yavin IV. She froze, paralyzed, but quickly began moving again. She glared at me, then the scepter.
"I cannot fight that... until we meet again, mother," she hissed. She yelled, "Cat Senshi Power, Make UP!" and turned into a small black kitten and skedaddled out of the room.
My daughter...
"Mew?" a little kitten said. "M-m-miiiika?"
I whirled around. The little kitten had spoken! I took her out of the cage. "Aw, you're so sweet!"
"Thaaankss, Miikaa," she said, her speech a little off. I rubbed her back. I wish she had that pink instead of tan...
As if by magic, while I petted her, her tan points began to change to a light pink. All the way until her little heart on her forehead. "Pink, aw, what a SWEETIE!" I said. I scratched her head, and she hopped on my shoulder.
Naoko jumped on my head. "While we're here, why don't you get the other cats?" she suggested, nestling into my hair like she always used to. I slowly picked out the other three cats, one a green and gray Siamese, another a lavender tabby, and the last a black short hair, like... like Chibi Yavin IV. I set them on my shoulders and called for Ippin. She sent me back to the Star Wars galaxy.
"Oh, dangit anyway!" Ara reprimanded herself. "You were a scaredy-cat, Ara!" She took a second to see that no one was watching, then allowed herself to laugh. "No pun intended." She turned serious again. "Anyway, I will get her back soon. Scepter or no scepter!"
Ara, aka Chibi Yavin IV, turned into a cat once again and trotted down the streets of Coruscant unnoticed.
It was a happy occasion back at the Room Behind the Waterfall. Annika screamed with delight at her talking kitten, who was quickly learning how to talk normally rather than so slurred, and Mara and Ben were happy when I brought them Korin and Puaru, the lavender tabby and black shorthair, respectively. The Hev-chan came in and saw the little Siamese kitty. She scooped up the cat and laughed happily. Naoko was pleased that I took her back with me and immediately bonded with Solai, Schylar, and Pinku. The little Russian blue cat also found a spot in my room to sleep -- on top of my head.
Naoko also told me that I could help other Senshi turn into cats as well. Minae, Priire, Shuoro, Suta, Miyu, and Annika were all victims of my test. I was bombarded by six cats before I changed them back. I guess us seven could now be called the Cat Pack!
Then Ippin began reprimanding me. "You should've called, it was dumb luck finding Naoko there! You could've been hurt by that man!"
She didn't know about Chibi Yavin IV, and I wasn't about to tell anyone that I had a Chibi. A Sith Chibi at that. I was happy on the outside, but inside I was so sad. I knew that somewhere in the future, I would have a daughter. And that I would fail in raising her so bad that she would want to wipe out her own existence.
I slept that night with Naoko to keep my head warm from the cold breeze. I sighed and began crying inside. I knew that somehow, I had to fix this. I couldn't allow this to happen. My own daughter... I decided to put it out of my mind. But it still hung there, a horrible omen of what was to come.
Naoko shifted on my head. I sighed once again.
I'd fix this somehow, someday. But not tonight.
