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"Luke! Luke, wake up, Heero and Branda are here! Lucas T. Guarudeanu, I will not call you again!"
Seventeen-year-old Lucas rolled over and groaned, blinking open his emerald-colored eyes. He pushed his royal blue bangs out of his face and sat up, his hair rolling over his shoulders like a sheet. "I'm up, Mom!" he yelled groggily and stood up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He grabbed a pair of oversized pants and pulled them on, fastening his belt. He tucked his undershirt into his pants, then pulled a skin-clinging longsleeved shirt on over it. He pulled on his favorite Plasteelica shirt on as a finishing touch and trudged barefoot downstairs. His mother insisted on no shoes in the house, even for his friends.
Heero Kretal and Branda Makol sat on the couch, Heero with his arm around his girlfriend. Lucas - Luke to his friends - and Heero had been best friends since only the Force knew when, and they were the same age. Heero had spiky black hair with red tips and dark orange eyes. Branda, Heero's crush since age ten, had short, yellow-blonde hair and bright blue-green eyes, and was about a year younger than the boys, but she was literally one of the guys. The three had formed a band called Ezekial, with Heero on drums, Luke playing his guitar, and Branda playing a synthboard and singing.
Heero saw his friend come down the stairs. "Hey! The dead has arisen!"
Luke laughed mockingly. "Oh ha-ha, very funny, Heero. It's only ten!" Luke dropped onto the couch beside Branda and mussed the girl's hair. "Hey babe."
"Don't," Branda warned, batting his hand away, "call me that. So what kept ya?"
"Aw, my little sister and I were sitting on the roof all night."
Heero chuckled. "You mean Sutaru? She's crazy... what were you two doing?"
"Suta talked me into playing my guitar and watching the stars. We did have fun, though; she's turning into a little me, I swear." Luke shook his head and laughed.
"Hey Luke? You want that mop braided before you go anywhere?" Sutaru slid down the banister, wearing a pair of dark, baggy khakis, an orange tank top, and her green wool duster. Luke nodded.
"Might as well. It'll only get in my way if you don't." Luke turned so that his hair hung over the side of the couch, and Sutaru set to work braiding the nearly meter-and-a-half of blue. She tied it off with a rubber band and flung it over his shoulder.
"Done. That'll be fifty decicreds." Sutaru giggled.
Luke handed over the plastic half-cred chip to his thirteen-year-old sister. "Fine, here. Go buy yourself a Zippy bar or something." He stood up and held out his hands to his friends. "So what've we got planned today?"
"Don't know," Heero said with a shrug. "Wanna go hang out at the mall?"
"Yeah. Lemme go ask my mom. She'd go postal if I left without telling." Luke strolled out onto the porch, where his mother Jaina was working on some piece of componentry. "Hey, Mom? Is it okay if I go to the mall with Heero and Branda?"
"Sure. Think it'd be too much torture to take Sutaru? You two seem to get along, and she's been begging me to take her anyway." Tenshi pushed her goggles up onto her forehead and stared at her oldest son.
Luke sighed. "All right. I'll take her. But if she does one thing to tick me off, it's home she comes, okay?" He got a nod in reply and half-trotted back inside. "I can go. But Mom says I gotta take Sutaru with me. That okay?"
"Sure, it's your hovercar."
They never got to the mall.
The four teenagers had piled into Luke's small hovercar, Sutaru in front, next to Luke at the controls, and Heero and Branda in the back. Sutaru sat with a datapad in her lap, working on some project or another. Her brown hair had been coiled into a pair of buns on the top of her head, and decorated with little green and orange sticky-back jewels. She looked cute, in the words of Branda.
"Hey, Luke? When you think we're gonna get there?" Branda piped up from the back-seat.
"Well, this stupid traffic is going as slow as a -" He cut himself short as a guy in ramshackle stormtrooper armor pounded his fist on the hood of the engine compartment and yelled something unintelligible. Sutaru's head jerked up, and her emerald eyes grew wide.
"There's a Sith here..." she muttered to Luke. He and Sutaru were the only ones in the car with Force talent, and both had their lightsabers on them at all times. Luke reached under his seat and withdrew his, while Sutaru reached into the specially sewn-in pocket in her duster to get at hers.
"Heero, Branda, hang on!" The two barely had time to react when Luke veered off the road and zoomed toward the ocean. The mock-stormtrooper ran back toward the traffic and disappeared, most likely calling for backup. Those had to have been pirates.. who else would go looking for Jedi? We're the only ones on this planet, that we know of, Luke thought.
We are. Master Corran and his family are on Yavin IV, and the others have long since thinned their Jedi blood, Sutaru thought back to him.
"Stay outta my head, Suta," Luke muttered to her, taking a backroad back toward home.
"Next time don't think so loud," the girl said cynically, grinning at the speed they were going. Sutaru loved speed, especially the effect it had on her adrenals. Unconsciously, she dropped her lightsaber into her lap and imitated Luke's motions at the controls.
Luke screeched to a halt behind his house and popped the hatch. "Everybody, c'mon! You guys don't know the trouble we're in!"
The four ran through the back door, Sutaru shutting and locking it in one swift move. "Luke, you can't stay here! I know what those guys are looking for! I felt it in their minds!"
"What? What are you talking about, Sutaru?" Luke asked skeptically. Sutaru couldn't possibly have sensed that specific of information. She's only thirteen.. how can she possibly be that strong?
"Luke! They're looking for the one who can make Dad snap! And right now, that's YOU!" Sutaru shoved a tiny silver key into Luke's hand; it was encrusted with blue and red crystals. "You have to get out of here! Go to the time gates, Coru-sa - I mean Sailor Yavin will meet you there! I'll hold 'em off! Corellia Star Power, Make Up!"
Luke watched in astonishment as his little sister transformed into something he thought was only a legend. A Sailor Jedi! He didn't even try to stop her when she ran out the door, her much-too-short skirt flipping around in her wake. Luke looked back at Heero and Branda, the latter wrapped in the former's arms, shivering.
"Heero, Branda, I think it best if you guys go hide somewhere. I don't want you hurt. Go!" The two nodded and left the room eagerly. Luke studied the key in his hand. It sparkled a little, the sparks reflected in his eyes. Somehow, in his subconcious, he knew what to say. He lifted the key into the air.
"Guardian of Time and Space, guide me to a time where I can be safe! Help me, Sailor Yavin!" He was enveloped in a blue aura and transported to a place full of... nothing. Nothing, that is, save a large, intricately carved door in the middle of the nothing.
"Welcome, Lucas."
Luke spun around, his braid slapping his chest lightly. There stood a young woman with flaming red hair and a matching uniform, similar to his sister's. She smiled at the teenager.
"You must be Sailor Yavin. Sutaru told me you'd be here. Call me Luke."
"Hi, Luke. Sutaru told me you were coming. Your Sutaru."
Luke cocked his head to the side. "Meaning...?"
Yavin sighed and began. "In this universe there are countless billions of different realities, each one affected by the daily choices we make. The Sutaru from your reality is different than the Sutaru in mine. Do you know who Nijihoshi is?" From Luke's blank expression she knew the answer was no. "Well, in my reality, Nijihoshi is Sutaru's future daughter. You'll meet her where I'm sending you. Right now we're traveling through the nearly fifty years between our times."
Luke blinked. "F-fifty years?"
"Fifty years," Yavin repeated. "In this reality you will meet more family than you knew you had, plus lots of people you need to meet to fulfill your destiny. Your mother, father, and two of your sisters are already there." The gate opened suddenly, and Yavin smiled. "We're here. Step through the gate and embrace your destiny."
Luke thanked Sailor Yavin, bowed quickly, and stepped through the gate.
Luke felt like his skin was going to fall off. He was surrounded by pure white light and searing heat. Then, as quickly as it had come, it disappeared, and he landed flat on his back somewhere. Faintly at first, then louder, he heard a male voice calling to him.
"Hey! Hey man, wake up! Come on, time travel didn't affect me this much! Up!" the voice said, and as Luke's vision cleared he saw a guy his age looming over him, purple hair falling in his face. This face seemed familiar, and he finally placed the face with a name.
"Ben?" Luke sat up, shaking the aftereffects off.
Ben sat back on his haunches, blinking. "How do you know my name? Do I know you?"
"Ben! Don't you know me? I'm Luke! Suta's brother, your cousin, remember?" Luke got a negative response for his queries.
"In the reality Ben comes from, he's born when your mother is seventeen. You don't even exist."
Luke turned, and set his eyes on Megami Hisui, his aunt Mara. "Hakubo Mara?" Luke stood up and looked around, taking in his surroundings.
"You must be this Luke that Sutaru's been talking about. Yes, I'm your aunt Mara, but please, everyone knows me as Megami Hisui here. Might as well keep up the tradition." Megami winked and walked away, leaving Luke to ponder her meaning, and Ben to stare at Luke in confusion.
"Well, I guess I should ask where we are?" Luke's voice brought Ben out of his haze.
"Oh, right. We're on Coruscant, in the Jedi Temple. It's about thirty years before the battle of Endor right now."
"Whoa, no kidding? That Sailor Yavin chick was right." Ben nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Luke say this.
"You mean... you're really from the future? You mean my mom's not playing another silly trick on me?"
"No way! So tell me, where's my little sister at?" Luke was getting a little antsy to find Sutaru, for some reason.
Ben sighed. "Follow me." Geez, if I didn't know better, I'd say he acts like Dad...
Ben led Luke to a room on the other side of the Jedi Temple. It was a huge room with what looked like a thousand waterfalls in it! Luke had no time to gawk, though, because Ben walked on, and to Luke's surprise walked through one of the waterfalls, using the Force to part the water. Luke followed his lead and found himself in another big room, this one looked like a big family room, with a few couches and stuff all over the place. This room teemed with life, and Luke's Force sense went berzerk with all the female Force signatures he read here. It was overwhelming.
A little girl looked up from her coloring book and her face lit up. Luke noticed that she must've been part Omwati, since her hair was the same pearlescent hue and her face and shoulders dotted with blue freckles; "angel kisses," his mother called them. She dropped her book and crayons and ran over to him.
"Unky Luke!!"
Luke flashed a lopsided grin. "You must be Nijihoshi. Yavin-sama told me about you. What's up?"
Nijihoshi shrugged. "Not much. Mama-san ran me outta her room 'cause she said she needed 'her' time." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "She's writing in her journal."
"Ah. Thanks, kid." He patted the five-year-old on the head.
Nijihoshi pointed to the couch. "Wanna go sit with me? It's a really comfy couch!" Luke nodded, and the little girl grabbed his hand and nearly dragged him to the couch. Luke flopped down, tired from the day's exertions, as Nijihoshi snuggled up beside him and started coloring again. Luke reached out through the Force, searching for his sister. He soon found her, deep in concentration, instantly recognizable by the bright "glow" of her creativity. Luke touched her mind, told her he was there, and waited for the results.
Ten minutes later, Sutaru stood dumbfounded in front of Luke, her expression reading confusion and surprise.
"How'd you get here?" Sutaru finally sat down, situating Nijihoshi between her and her older brother.
"You told me to. Well, another you. Yavin-sama explained it to me."
"Who? OH! You mean Ippin-sama. Oh well." Sutaru shrugged. Then she got a funny look on her face. "Are you hungry? I'm hungry." She got up and walked into the kitchen, only to be shooed out by a tall woman with green-tipped black hair. She sat back down and muttered something about Nom and her cooking.
Meanwhile, Luke had been counting the people he saw. So far he'd counted twenty, all with one thing in common - female. "Sutaru, how many people live here? In this part of the Temple?"
"Oh, I'd say about ninety-one of us..."
"My gods!! Are there any guys around here?"
"Ten or eleven... most of 'em are Jedi Knights or Paddies and such... All of us share one thing in common: We're all Sailor Jedi or Knights."
"So that's what Sailor Yavin meant..."
"Right! C'mon, I'll introduce you to a few of us!" Sutaru hopped off the couch, grabbing Luke's hand. "Come on!!"
Luke allowed the girl to lead him around the rather large complex, occasionally stopping to introduce him to people they met. Luke now knew that the girl Sailor Yavin was Fuukou Ippin, and met Annika Nesicha, Shicchi Kairiku, and quite a few others, including a few of the rare Jedi Padawan boys that were allowed in the realm of the Senshi. Sutaru and he finally found themselves in a medium-sized room filled with computers and the like. A young woman sat at one of the terminals, the viewscreen's blue glow reflected in her eyes. Luke noticed a semiprominent swell on her stomach under her tunic.
Sutaru tapped the lady on the shoulder. As she turned to face him fully, Luke recognized her as his own mother, from a picture taken before his birth. She stood up - she was about an inch taller than he - and smiled, her amber-brown eyes sparkling with newfound life. Luke had no idea why this glitter was there; he'd never seen it in his mother's eyes before.
Sutaru, a literal bundle of energy, wasted no time in introducing Luke to the woman, whose name was Tenshi, Luke's mother's alter ego. Tenshi laughed at the girl's enthusiasm, but somehow Luke caught a glint of sadness in her eye. Sutaru suddenly explained that she had to go, and that Luke and Tenshi should get to know each other. Then she retreated, her footfalls echoing back at the pair.
Tenshi stood quietly for a few minutes, her gaze falling to the floor. Luke asked softly, "Why are you so sad, Mama-san?"
Tenshi's eyes darted up. "What did you call me?" Apparently she hadn't made the connection between his last name and her own; her full name, he was told, is Guarudeanu Chikarano Tenshi.
"I called you Mama-san. You're my mama." Luke smiled. "And I wanna know why you're so sad. It's not good to put a sad look on a pretty face," he complimented.
"Well," Tenshi began, "One of my dearest friends has died, and I guess I still haven't gotten over it. But... this guy I met looks nearly exactly like him and has the same name. I have a lot on my mind." Her left hand instinctively caressed the bulge under her tunic.
"I'll bet," Luke agreed. Then he nodded to the bulge. "Guess you're really gonna be a mommy, huh?"
"Yeah. Of course, it bothers me how you can be here, in the past..." She trailed off, her eyes glazing over in thought.
Luke cocked his head to the side. "How do you mean?"
"Well... Sutaru says that... this is her big brother, Luke T. Guarudeanu. Meaning that, if you are Luke T. Guarudeanu, this is you." She tapped the bulge. "Wonder if Ippin realized this?"
"Oh. I think she did, otherwise she probably would've sent me further back in time..." Luke sweatdropped. "Anyway, is it okay to ask who this dear friend was? That you lost?" He fiddled with the end of his braid.
Tenshi sighed. Guess I'd have to tell him at some point... she thought. "Your father, Souru. He died about a month ago."
Luke's expression saddened. Somehow when he'd entered the Temple it seemed a bit quiet. He was too used to his father's crazy antics. "Gomen ne. I know how you feel." A tear rolled down his mother's face, which he caught with a finger. "Don't cry, Mama. I'm here with you..." He hugged Tenshi, allowing her to bury her face in his T-shirt. He slowly rubbed her back reassuringly as she let out the tears she'd been holding back for a month. "It's all right, it's all right," he cooed softly. Eventually, Tenshi gathered her emotions.
"Thank you, Luke. You're more like your namesake than you realize."
Later that day Luke was introduced to Peetie, a purple-haired boy his age. Well, his hair was purple, but the roots showed signs of nearly twenty different shades from recent dyeings. Luke and Peetie became pretty good friends, talking about music and guy stuff. The boys had a lot in common.
Guess this isn't gonna be so bad after all. I just hope Mom's all right...
