Chapter 19: A Helping Hand

Six months later . . .

“Get off of me!” Sol shouted, struggling to get free.

The creature she was fighting was the weirdest yet by far. While it still looked somewhat human, like all the other creatures had, this one resembled some kind of squid or octopus. At that moment, Sol was encased by two of its tentacles, which were tightening their grip on her.

The creature grimaced, its version of a twisted smile, as it raised Sol higher in the air. As the tentacles tightened once more, Sol moaned in spite of herself. If this kept up, her ribs were going to break and she would slowly strangle.

“Sudden Revelation!”

Roaring in pain, the creature dropped Sol and turned to face its attacker. Sol scrambled to her feet and tried to ignore the pain in her chest as she breathed. If she was lucky, her ribs would be mainly bruised, but she couldn’t think about that now. She quickly realized that her rescuer was Sailor Athene, complicating the situation further.

“Sol Celestial Wind!”

The attack surrounded the creature, inflicting additional but minor damage. The creature roared once more, but it hesitated. It looked back and forth between Sol and Athene, unsure of which one to attack first. Deciding Athene was the weaker of the two, the creature moved toward her.

With an air of determination, Sailor Athene stood her ground against the monster. She lured the creature further and further away from Sol while nimbly managing to stay out of the range of the tentacles. While Sol did have some grudging respect for the girl’s abilities, the older woman wanted to end the battle now and picked up her Sun Staff.

“Sol Corona Flare!”

The creature turned away from Athene in time to encounter the attack head-on. With another roar, it glowed orange and then exploded into dust. Sol made the Sun Staff disappear and walked over to Athene. However both women were stunned by sudden applause.

“Quite an impressive show,” a strange woman with gray hair complimented, slowly emerging from the shadows of a nearby alley. “I didn’t realize you had a partner, Sol.”

Sol placed herself in front of Athene. “I don’t recall us being properly introduced the last time we met.”

The woman smiled. “Yes, I know. Such bad manners on my part, really. You may call me Boreas. Again, you both did well against my latest little creation, surprisingly well.”

“We aim to please,” Athene muttered, drawing a censorious look from Sol.

“I’m sure you do,” Boreas replied, studying the two intensely for a moment before shaking her head. “Well, as much as I would love to stay and chat, I must be going. It won’t be long until we have what we need. Not long at all.”

Sol placed a restraining hand on Athene before asking, “What is that precisely?”

“That’s for us to know and for you to find out,” Boreas replied and still giggling, disappeared in a blast of icy wind.

“The last you met? How do you know her?” Athene demanded, her dark eyes flashing angrily.

“I encountered her once several months when she attacked Mara,” Sol explained reluctantly. “I haven’t seen Boreas or learned anything else about her since then.”

“Why did she attack Mara?”

‘You don’t know what she is. She belongs with us.’

Shaking her head to clear away the memory, Sol said, “I don’t know. Selene and Setsuna are unable to tell me anything concrete about our enemy or about Mara. They just warned me to protect Mara from them.”

“Well, it looks like they haven’t been able to find her,” Athene replied, her tone a little hopeful.

“Yet,” Sol muttered, not bothering to hide her weariness. Her entire chest hurt and breathing was only aggravating the situation. “I doubt they'll give up the search anytime soon.”

Athene nodded. “We’ll be ready.”

“I don’t remember saying you could fight yet,” Sol stated.

The younger woman glared. “You looked like you needed some help. I’m a Sailor Soldier, too. I should be fighting with you.”

Sol shook her head. “You’re not ready yet.”

“I’ve been training with you for months,” Athene countered. “Besides, I helped you tonight and nothing happened to me. I can do this, Celeste.”

“Nothing happened because we were lucky,” Sol said. “It may not be that way next time.”

With an angry huff, Sailor Athene detransformed. The dark-haired girl crossed her arms as she glared at Sol. “Even after tonight, you still don’t think you need my help?”

Sol sighed. “There is nothing I could do to stop you really, is there?”

Sofia smiled. “No, not really.”

“All right,” Sol said, fighting a sinking feeling. “You can help.”

“Good,” Athene replied, “now tell me everything about this Boreas person.”


A Helping Hand Six months later . . . “Get off of me!” Sol shouted, struggling to get free. The creature she was fighting was the weirdest yet by far. While it still looked somewhat human, like all the other creatures had, this one resembled some kind of squid or octopus. At that moment, Sol was encased by two of its tentacles, which were tightening their grip on her. The creature grimaced, its version of a twisted smile, as it raised Sol higher in the air. As the tentacles tightened once more, Sol moaned in spite of herself. If this kept up, her ribs were going to break and she would slowly strangle. “Sudden Revelation!” Roaring in pain, the creature dropped Sol and turned to face its attacker. Sol scrambled to her feet and tried to ignore the pain in her chest as she breathed. If she was lucky, her ribs would be mainly bruised, but she couldn’t think about that now. She quickly realized that her rescuer was Sailor Athene, complicating the situation further. “Sol Celestial Wind!” The attack surrounded the creature, inflicting additional but minor damage. The creature roared once more, but it hesitated. It looked back and forth between Sol and Athene, unsure of which one to attack first. Deciding Athene was the weaker of the two, the creature moved toward her. With an air of determination, Sailor Athene stood her ground against the monster. She lured the creature further and further away from Sol while nimbly managing to stay out of the range of the tentacles. While Sol did have some grudging respect for the girl’s abilities, the older woman wanted to end the battle now and picked up her Sun Staff. “Sol Corona Flare!” The creature turned away from Athene in time to encounter the attack head-on. With another roar, it glowed orange and then exploded into dust. Sol made the Sun Staff disappear and walked over to Athene. However both women were stunned by sudden applause. “Quite an impressive show,” a strange woman with gray hair complimented, slowly emerging from the shadows of a nearby alley. “I didn’t realize you had a partner, Sol.” Sol placed herself in front of Athene. “I don’t recall us being properly introduced the last time we met.” The woman smiled. “Yes, I know. Such bad manners on my part, really. You may call me Boreas. Again, you both did well against my latest little creation, surprisingly well.” “We aim to please,” Athene muttered, drawing a censorious look from Sol. “I’m sure you do,” Boreas replied, studying the two intensely for a moment before shaking her head. “Well, as much as I would love to stay and chat, I must be going. It won’t be long until we have what we need. Not long at all.” Sol placed a restraining hand on Athene before asking, “What is that precisely?” “That’s for us to know and for you to find out,” Boreas replied and still giggling, disappeared in a blast of icy wind. “The last you met? How do you know her?” Athene demanded, her dark eyes flashing angrily. “I encountered her once several months when she attacked Mara,” Sol explained reluctantly. “I haven’t seen Boreas or learned anything else about her since then.” “Why did she attack Mara?” ‘You don’t know what she is. She belongs with us.’ Shaking her head to clear away the memory, Sol said, “I don’t know. Selene and Setsuna are unable to tell me anything concrete about our enemy or about Mara. They just warned me to protect Mara from them.” “Well, it looks like they haven’t been able to find her,” Athene replied, her tone a little hopeful. “Yet,” Sol muttered, not bothering to hide her weariness. Her entire chest hurt and breathing was only aggravating the situation. “I doubt they'll give up the search anytime soon.” Athene nodded. “We’ll be ready.” “I don’t remember saying you could fight yet,” Sol stated. The younger woman glared. “You looked like you needed some help. I’m a Sailor Soldier, too. I should be fighting with you.” Sol shook her head. “You’re not ready yet.” “I’ve been training with you for months,” Athene countered. “Besides, I helped you tonight and nothing happened to me. I can do this, Celeste.” “Nothing happened because we were lucky,” Sol said. “It may not be that way next time.” With an angry huff, Sailor Athene detransformed. The dark-haired girl crossed her arms as she glared at Sol. “Even after tonight, you still don’t think you need my help?” Sol sighed. “There is nothing I could do to stop you really, is there?” Sofia smiled. “No, not really.” “All right,” Sol said, fighting a sinking feeling. “You can help.” “Good,” Athene replied, “now tell me everything about this Boreas person.”


Chapter 20: The Question of Family Sailor Sol: Homefront