Chapter 5: Battle by the Lake

Leda ran down the hall to her room. “PAUL!” she yelled. Immediately he appeared in the hallway. He ran to her, desperate to find out what was wrong. She grabbed him by the shoulders.

“My family is being attacked by the lake or will be soon. Transform into Ganymede and buy me sometime to transform and get there.”

Nodding, he shot past her, heading to the lake. “Good luck,” she called after him. Flying into her room, Leda searched for the wooden box.

Opening the lid, she was relieved to find her brooch among her sisters’ transformation pens. They would have to be awakened if she and Ganymede couldn’t stop the enemy alone. She hoped that it wouldn’t come to that.

Hastily grabbing the brooch , she decided to become Sailor Jupiter Moon. “Jupiter Moon Crystal Power!” As soon she transformed, she grabbed the other transformation pens and a small bag. Stuffing the pens in the bag, she ran to the lake.

* * * * *

“It’s nice to have my daughters home,” Rand said, as the five of them walked along the shore of the lake.

“It’s nice to be home,” Elara replied, which was seconded by her sisters.

“I just can’t see how Leda and Paul can stay in the house and miss this glorious sunset,” Caitlyn commented. The group paused, admiring the brilliant oranges and yellows the setting sun painted the lake. Gradually, the dense forest on the other side of the lake hid the setting sun.

Sighing, Rand turned in the direction of the house. “I hate that Paul and Leda missed that,” he said.

“Yeah,” Caitlyn mused.

“Leda just hasn’t been herself lately,” Lysia observed.

“She is so withdrawn it is as if she had experienced some sort of trauma,” Elara commented. “Did something happen to her that we don’t know about?” Elara looked anxiously at her family.

“No,” Ilene said, shaking her head firmly. “It’s probably an after-effect of the illness. After all, she was the one with the longest recovery time. It’s just taking her a while to bounce back. You know that Leda has never liked being sick or weak under any circumstances.”

Caitlyn and Lysia nodded in agreement. Elara looked at her father, who seemed content with Ilene’s explanation. Grudgingly, Elara forced herself to dismiss the concern.

“You’re probably right, Ilene,” Elara said, still not totally convinced.

“Come on, girls,” Rand called, giving Elara an encouraging hug. “It’s time to head home.”

With a final glance at the colorful sky, the group began the walk back to the house. Elara was still worried about Leda. It just wasn’t like her to shun everyone, Elara thought.

While it was obvious that Leda felt uncomfortable around Rand, she usually made an effort to spend time with him. No, Elara decided, there was something else besides a long recovery from a virus.

“What a charming picture!” a voice called, the tone rich with sarcasm. Every head turned to the direction of the voice and watched as a woman appeared. “An old man spending time with his lovely, but weak, human daughters.”

“Who are you?” Rand demanded, pushing Elara behind him.

“What do you want? This is private property,” Caitlyn added.

“My name is Atalia,” she answered, a twisted grin spreading over her pale features. “And what I want won’t take long.” Gesturing with a her hand, a light blue ball appeared in her hands. Without further warning, she threw one at Rand.

* * * * *

Ganymede did not like what he saw as he approached the shore of the lake. A weak Elara was supporting a badly wounded Rand. Ilene and Lysia were slowly getting to their feet. Caitlyn was desperately fighting a tall woman with aqua-color hair.

Yawning, the woman grabbed Caitlyn’s fist. “Is that all you have?” she mocked. “I really expected better.” Then she threw the girl to the ground.

Caitlyn rolled unto her back, using a leg to knock the woman’s feet out from under her. Surprised, the woman almost fell to the ground. Caitlyn gaped as the woman hovered about six inches above the ground.

“Better, but not good enough,” the woman said, slowly sinking to place her feet on the ground. Seeing the appearance of another ball, Caitlyn got to her feet in time to dodge the attack.

A flash of gold appeared in front of Atalia before Ganymede’s star exploded inches away from her. Furious, she turned until she found him standing a few feet away.

“Who are you? The fairy cape boy?”

“The name’s Ganymede and I will not let you harm this family further.”

“Quite the little do-gooder. Well, I was getting bored anyway.” A series of balls were thrown at Ganymede.

Dodging the balls, Ganymede flung several stars at the woman, one hitting her in the leg. She stared at the wound in disbelief. With her eyes focused on Ganymede, she began to form a large energy ball between her hands.

“Jupiter Moon Electrical Eruption!”

The attack got Atalia by surprise. Even more angry, she turned and faced the new arrival. She watched as the girl in the sailor outfit entered the clearing.

“What’s the matter? Nothing left in the closet?”

“I am Sailor Jupiter Moon. In the name of Jupiter and her satellites, I will punish those who do evil. And that means you.”

“How long did it take you to memorize that?” Atalia threw another energy ball at Ganymede, then immediately threw one at Jupiter.

Ganymede began to attack with his cane, allowing Jupiter to get to her family.

“Get out of here now,” she ordered, keeping herself between Atalia and her family. “Now!” she repeated.

Nodding, Elara began to carry Rand toward the house. Slowly, the others followed. Jupiter watched them go for a moment, praying that the family would be safe. A crash and a groan drew her attention back to Atalia and Ganymede.

Ganymede was slumped against a tree, cuts and burns covering his body. Atalia was forming a huge energy ball to finish him off. Jupiter couldn’t let that happen.

“Jupiter Moon Thunder Tsunami!!”

As the attack wounded Atalia, Jupiter ran to Ganymede. Gradually, he began to regain consciousness. Without speaking, he pressed a star into her hand.

Jupiter turned to see Atalia recovering from the attack. She realized that she had to keep Atalia away from Ganymede. He needed time to recover.

“Ganymede Love Strike!”

She hoped that she could hold out long enough.


Battle by the Lake Leda ran down the hall to her room. “PAUL!” she yelled. Immediately he appeared in the hallway. He ran to her, desperate to find out what was wrong. She grabbed him by the shoulders. “My family is being attacked by the lake or will be soon. Transform into Ganymede and buy me sometime to transform and get there.” Nodding, he shot past her, heading to the lake. “Good luck,” she called after him. Flying into her room, Leda searched for the wooden box. Opening the lid, she was relieved to find her brooch among her sisters’ transformation pens. They would have to be awakened if she and Ganymede couldn’t stop the enemy alone. She hoped that it wouldn’t come to that. Hastily grabbing the brooch , she decided to become Sailor Jupiter Moon. “Jupiter Moon Crystal Power!” As soon she transformed, she grabbed the other transformation pens and a small bag. Stuffing the pens in the bag, she ran to the lake. * * * * * “It’s nice to have my daughters home,” Rand said, as the five of them walked along the shore of the lake. “It’s nice to be home,” Elara replied, which was seconded by her sisters. “I just can’t see how Leda and Paul can stay in the house and miss this glorious sunset,” Caitlyn commented. The group paused, admiring the brilliant oranges and yellows the setting sun painted the lake. Gradually, the dense forest on the other side of the lake hid the setting sun. Sighing, Rand turned in the direction of the house. “I hate that Paul and Leda missed that,” he said. “Yeah,” Caitlyn mused. “Leda just hasn’t been herself lately,” Lysia observed. “She is so withdrawn it is as if she had experienced some sort of trauma,” Elara commented. “Did something happen to her that we don’t know about?” Elara looked anxiously at her family. “No,” Ilene said, shaking her head firmly. “It’s probably an after-effect of the illness. After all, she was the one with the longest recovery time. It’s just taking her a while to bounce back. You know that Leda has never liked being sick or weak under any circumstances.” Caitlyn and Lysia nodded in agreement. Elara looked at her father, who seemed content with Ilene’s explanation. Grudgingly, Elara forced herself to dismiss the concern. “You’re probably right, Ilene,” Elara said, still not totally convinced. “Come on, girls,” Rand called, giving Elara an encouraging hug. “It’s time to head home.” With a final glance at the colorful sky, the group began the walk back to the house. Elara was still worried about Leda. It just wasn’t like her to shun everyone, Elara thought. While it was obvious that Leda felt uncomfortable around Rand, she usually made an effort to spend time with him. No, Elara decided, there was something else besides a long recovery from a virus. “What a charming picture!” a voice called, the tone rich with sarcasm. Every head turned to the direction of the voice and watched as a woman appeared. “An old man spending time with his lovely, but weak, human daughters.” “Who are you?” Rand demanded, pushing Elara behind him. “What do you want? This is private property,” Caitlyn added. “My name is Atalia,” she answered, a twisted grin spreading over her pale features. “And what I want won’t take long.” Gesturing with a her hand, a light blue ball appeared in her hands. Without further warning, she threw one at Rand. * * * * * Ganymede did not like what he saw as he approached the shore of the lake. A weak Elara was supporting a badly wounded Rand. Ilene and Lysia were slowly getting to their feet. Caitlyn was desperately fighting a tall woman with aqua-color hair. Yawning, the woman grabbed Caitlyn’s fist. “Is that all you have?” she mocked. “I really expected better.” Then she threw the girl to the ground. Caitlyn rolled unto her back, using a leg to knock the woman’s feet out from under her. Surprised, the woman almost fell to the ground. Caitlyn gaped as the woman hovered about six inches above the ground. “Better, but not good enough,” the woman said, slowly sinking to place her feet on the ground. Seeing the appearance of another ball, Caitlyn got to her feet in time to dodge the attack. A flash of gold appeared in front of Atalia before Ganymede’s star exploded inches away from her. Furious, she turned until she found him standing a few feet away. “Who are you? The fairy cape boy?” “The name’s Ganymede and I will not let you harm this family further.” “Quite the little do-gooder. Well, I was getting bored anyway.” A series of balls were thrown at Ganymede. Dodging the balls, Ganymede flung several stars at the woman, one hitting her in the leg. She stared at the wound in disbelief. With her eyes focused on Ganymede, she began to form a large energy ball between her hands. “Jupiter Moon Electrical Eruption!” The attack got Atalia by surprise. Even more angry, she turned and faced the new arrival. She watched as the girl in the sailor outfit entered the clearing. “What’s the matter? Nothing left in the closet?” “I am Sailor Jupiter Moon. In the name of Jupiter and her satellites, I will punish those who do evil. And that means you.” “How long did it take you to memorize that?” Atalia threw another energy ball at Ganymede, then immediately threw one at Jupiter. Ganymede began to attack with his cane, allowing Jupiter to get to her family. “Get out of here now,” she ordered, keeping herself between Atalia and her family. “Now!” she repeated. Nodding, Elara began to carry Rand toward the house. Slowly, the others followed. Jupiter watched them go for a moment, praying that the family would be safe. A crash and a groan drew her attention back to Atalia and Ganymede. Ganymede was slumped against a tree, cuts and burns covering his body. Atalia was forming a huge energy ball to finish him off. Jupiter couldn’t let that happen. “Jupiter Moon Thunder Tsunami!!” As the attack wounded Atalia, Jupiter ran to Ganymede. Gradually, he began to regain consciousness. Without speaking, he pressed a star into her hand. Jupiter turned to see Atalia recovering from the attack. She realized that she had to keep Atalia away from Ganymede. He needed time to recover. “Ganymede Love Strike!” She hoped that she could hold out long enough.


Chapter 6: The Carrier Revealed Jupiter's Gone