Chapter 2: Introductions

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Shana sipped her mug nervously and looked around the kitchen. Jacen was slumped over his cup, resting his head in one head. The two women that had saved them were sitting on the opposite side of the table. Shortly after entering the kitchen, they had both done something and after a brief flash of light faded, they were in regular clothes. That in itself had been startling; never mind the light show she had witnessed earlier. The older woman had busied herself making coffee while the younger lounged in a chair, toying with the end of her ponytail and balancing her small bag on her knee. "Well, I guess you're waiting for that explanation," the older woman said, breaking Shana out of her musings. "Perhaps we should start with some introductions. My name is Alida Sireun. It's a pleasure to meet you." She smiled, an oddly comforting sight. "And this is my daughter, J'lein," she continued, nodding towards the younger woman who grinned and winked, then started rummaging in her bag for something.

"Umm...My name is Shana, and this is Jacen," Shana replied, still feeling a bit floored. "And, not to be impolite or anything, but just what the hell is going on? I mean, thanks for saving us," she added hastily, "but who was that? And why was he trying to kill us?"

"The man that tried to attack you goes by the name of Restuz," Alida replied. "As for where he comes from, well, that requires a bit of history I'm afraid. How much do you know about the Magi?"

Shana frowned in concentration. "Wasn't he some guy that tried to take over the country several centuries ago?" she asked, cupping her hands around her mug and trying to remember her history class from a couple years ago.

"There's a bit more to it than that. You see, he didn't really want to control any country. He tried to destroy the world."

"What do you mean, destroy the world? As in, blow it up?"

"Not precisely," Alida answered, neatly folding her hands in front of her. "The Magi was from another planet. We don't know all the details, but it seems he was defeated there and was trying to establish a base here. He wanted revenge for his defeat, but he needed to consolidate his power first. In order to do that he needed a world that was similar to his own, and close enough to strike from when his power had recovered. That's why he chose our planet. He wanted to destroy the people living here in order to create his own world. Once that was done, he calculated that he could strike against his home planet at his leisure."

"So what stopped him then?" Jacen asked, a bit of interest showing in his eyes.

"The guardians of this planet," J'lein replied, looking up from a small notepad she had been doodling in. "Which is who we are now."

Alida smiled. "You're getting ahead of the story, my dear. You see, each planet has guardian solders. They're called different names on different planets, but all have the same function: to protect their planet and solar system from threats that the people living there can't."

"What kind of threats are we talking about here?" Jacen asked. "I mean, I can understand if this Magi tried to use space-traveling technology back then, that would've been threatening, but how can that be a problem now?"

"The threats I'm talking about have nothing to do with technology. The Magi and his followers have some abilities that could be considered, well, magic if you want a general term."

Shana scoffed at that. "Illusion, maybe. But magic? Like, charms and wands and stuff? That's the stuff of folktales."

"Perhaps. But those tales had to come from somewhere." Alida leaned forward over the table and focused her gaze on Shana. "You saw what Restuz did to your brother. And what we did to him. Can you really call that an illusion?"

"Well....no," she frowned, toying with the edge of her mug.

"Exactly. There are many words for it depending on where you live, but as we can't really explain it, we tend to lump all those abilities and call it magic. It's as good a term for it as any."

"I see your point," Shana sighed. "But what does all this have to do with Jacen and I? And what about the 'solders' you mentioned earlier?"

"That comes back to the story," Alida continued, leaning back in her chair. "Each system out there that supports intelligent life has a type of guardian solder that can counter these special abilities. When the Magi first appeared here, there were three such guardians, each with a Warden to provide support. Up until then, they didn't have much to do really; after all, this side of the galaxy had been very peaceful, so they weren't called on to do anything. They were more for show than anything else. The coming of the Magi changed that. He didn't bring much in the way of followers with him, but he found several of our people that were willing to help in exchange for power. He also managed to open a portal to another reality."

"Another reality?" Jacen asked, looking rather confused. "You mean, like another solar system?"

"No, another plane of reality. There are other planes of reality out there, overlapping this one."

Shana tilted her head to the side. "Sounds like one of my fairy tale books I used to read."

"That's one way of looking at it," Alida replied with a smile. "Except this is real. The Magi tapped into a smaller reality, populated with various demon-like creatures. No one really knows much more about it than that. We call them demons, simply because they are evil. They like to maim and destroy, and were perfectly willing to work for the Magi when he promised them a great deal of freedom to do what they wanted to in our reality. The guardians of this world rose to the challenge, however, and were able to defend our people. The leader was also able to learn how to control the Portal, and they tried to use that fact to force a confrontation before the Magi was really ready."

"But they underestimated him," J'lein interjected quietly, setting her pen and pad in her lap.

"Exactly," Alida replied, gazing at the two sitting across from her. Jacen was clearly fascinated with the story, leaning forward on the table and hanging on her words. Shana, on the other hand, looked politely sceptical; yet seemed interested in spite of her self. "When the Magi originally created the Portal, he tied himself to it," she continued, locking gazes with Shana. "Even though the original leader was able to control the Gate in the Portal, she didn't realize the Magi was still tied to it, and after they tracked him down to his castle, he used it to unleash the creatures locked behind the Gate, with no restraints. The leader eventually managed to regain control of the Portal, as she had tied herself to it in the short time she held it, and was forcing the Magi through it when he attacked. That attack destroyed everything in his castle, and killed the leader."

"What about the others?" Shana asked, leaning forward a bit. "Didn't you say there were two others?"

"Yes. One of which was my great-great-great grandmother."

Shana blinked in surprise at that, and the polite skepticism faded a bit as she realized that this had happened with real people. "Ok, so now what? I mean, if the Magi person was forced through the portal and it's closed off, which I assume it is as I've never heard anything about it, what does this have to do with us?"

"Just what J'lein said earlier: we are now the Guardians of this world, as are you. The Magi didn't die, and the fact that Restuz actually came out and attacked somewhat openly means that he's probably found a way to return to this world."

Shana and Jacen shared an uneasy look at that; both twins clearly feeling a cold foreboding fall over them. "How can I be a Guardian?" Shana asked, trying to see how it related to her. "I mean, I've never felt anything like that, and I know my great-great-great grandmother was a professor at the college we're going to, not some magical heroine."

"No, you're right, you're not a descendant of the original Guardians. But that doesn't matter. What does matter is this." Alida pulled out a small box from her pocket and slid it carefully across the table.

Shana picked up the box with a bit of trepidation, and slowly opened the lid. Inside, nestled in on a small piece of blue velvet, was a silver chain and pendant. She blinked in startlement, and carefully pulled the pendant out. Once she had it cradled in her hand, it became warm and glowed a faint teal color for a moment. She looked back up to Alida, who smiled with satisfaction. "What is this?" she asked, feeling a bit confused about the comfortable feeling she got while holding the pendant.

"That is the pendant the original Sailor Centuris wore; the leader of the original Guardians and the one that lost her life in the battle to save this world. That pendant is how we knew to find you, and how I know you're the one that has been chosen to bear her power." She leaned forward again, lightly closing her hand over Shana's. "I don't know why you've been chosen, dear, but it is obvious that you have. That pendant is yours now; keep it safe and keep it close."

"I...well...I...," Shana stuttered out, unable to think of what she needed to say or do. She looked over at Jacen, hoping for a bit of help.

"Would you give us some time to talk about this?" Jacen asked. Shana's confusion had him a bit uncentered, but he had a feeling this was something they would both have to do.

Alida nodded; she remembered when she found out about her Guardianship, and she had been told the true story many times growing up. "We need to go home ourselves. Our lives don't stop just because we're guarding!" She smiled to hopefully take the shock out of the young twins. "I'll call you tomorrow, Shana. We have a lot to discuss, especially about what your abilities could be." Shana nodded slowly, trying to pull her scattered wits together. "Now you get some rest, dear, and we'll talk tomorrow!" Alida continued, standing up. She and J'lein both said their good nights, and slipped out the back door.

Shana and Jacen looked at each other again. 'Well, we seem to be in for it now, keisha,' he mind-spoke to her. 'The question is, what are we going to do about it?'