S.C.O.U.T.S.: The Prologue
S.C.O.U.T.S.: Special Citizens Obliged and United To Save began with a group of girls raised in seclusion away from outsiders and the modern world. Only those few people who were trusted to raise them to be the warriors and defenders that they were destined to become were allowed to know about the existence of the 8 girls were masters or either combat or academics and were willing to live a life of seclusion in the mountains and forests of Japan. Not a lifestyle many or racing to take up, but the Priestess raising children found 3 teachers willing to live on the hidden compound with them, and together the 5 preistesses and the 3 teachers raised the 8 children to become lethal in Combat and have genius intelligence. Each girl had their own power and personality and was trained to be able to expertly hone their own skill.
Between their uniform levels of combat and academic intelligence partnered with their own unique abilities, it is no surprise that competition between them began to grow, for years the girls would get in trouble for using their powers against each other, they were raised to be sisters yet treated very differently which caused a lot of tension. The preistesses and the teachers gave up one night and kicked the girls out of the compound, none of the girls stuck together until someone screamed. The scream was deafening and in these parts of of the forest belonged to no stragglers. Every girl thought that itwould have been one of the other girls. Scared and alone going further from the compound seemed like a mistake but going back at the moment also seemed dangerous. Each using their own abilities to protect themselves and find others the girls slowly began to pair and group up. All 8 girls eventually found each other and tried to account for the scream, they all claimed that they didn’t scream. After about a minute of looking around for potential threats and possible plans of action all the girls began running back to the compound. The closer they got, the louder crying noise they heard. When they get to the opening before the compound they see the Gate is opened, which means that it was never closed behind them, beyond the opening was a preistess on the ground and a pool of blood and other preistesses fretting around her. She was dead, murdered and the compound was no longer secure, was no longer home. Someone knew they were there, what they were, how to kill them, and how to leave without being seen. So girls began to lean into their training and began their real world excersises it wasn’t long before they were global news assisting in global issues outside of Japan. Some say they came from the pits of hell, some say they came from the heavens, those who say otherwise frankly don’t have much of an imagination.
The real truth is that 8 girls raised in solitude, descended from long forgotten Galactical folklore of Gods, Godesses and Warriors becomes heroes for the planet they called home using the powers given to them from beyond. They saved the world. This is the thing about war it’s never really over and with a crew of only 8 against an entire universe or bad and evil, victory is a fairytale. Peace does not exist.
They are dead, all of them are dead. I was there, I witnessed it and I still cannot believe it. I am not sure if I ever will be able to bring myself to begin to understand what happened.
“We are ready for you now miss,” the guard says bringing me back to reality and out of the past.
He guides me into the room where all the leaders of the United Nations are sitting staring at me as I approach the podium in the center of the floor. The room is big, but not as big as you would think. Every time is was here before, there were about 50 cameras and 100 microphones around the podium and room recording everything that is said. But this is not a normal situation. Nothing about today is protocol. Instead of formal requests and events planned, and UN represntatives in place taking notes and translating the meeting while it is also being recorded, this meeting was not preplanned in fact as far as I know it was planned about 10 minutes ago when I was yanked off of the sidewalk here in New York. That is when I met this guard who walked me in after asking me to wait in the lobby. I didn’t wait long, I wouldn’t have waited at all but when he eberered the room two more guards flanked me and blocked the door. I was meant to stay. And as stated earlier, actual world leaders are here and not their chosen cabinet members. Before approaching the podium I stop about halfway taking in the room and fully noticing the differences. Once I get there I make eye contact with the current leader of the United Nations and the President of the United States of America. They make eye contact with me. The Leader of the UN speaks to me first.
“Identify yourself” he says. His tone was calm the only normal part about whatever was happening.
“My name is Harper” I say say nervously.
“Full name please” same tone.
“My name is Harper Leilani Stone” I say plainly, shaking the nervous tone.
“Please read what is on the podium out loud for the room to hear Ms. Stone” the President of the United States says.
Having a huge insecurity about reading outloyd in public I try and skim the pages before I begin to read aloud, but my eyes can’t leave the top of the page, and the words cannot come out.
“Is there a problem Ms. Stone?” The President asks me.
“No” I say but that isn’t meant to be the answer to his question but a response to the document before me.
“So start from the top for us Ms. Stone.” He says his patience is beginning to dwindle.
“No, no,no, no,no,no,no,no,no” I said shaking my head as I step from behind the podium nauseous at the idea that these crazy politicians are planning something like this.
“Excuse me?” He says, his patience has left the building at this point. That is why I didn’t vote for him. Ya know I always had that vibe that he was not as mild mannered as he ran out. Wasn’t the only reason but just a reason.
“Are you insane?” I say as I look at him. I look away from him and face the other leaders in the room, “Are you all insane?Do you not remember what happened the last time?”
They all look away from me like I am the crazy one.
“You are the only one who could do this, we need you to be on board” the leader of the UN says.
“Then I guess it isn’t happening” I say curtly.
“S.C.O.U.T.S.” He says, “Do you remember what that means?”
“You cannot be serious? How can all of you well educated democratic leaders think let alone fully support this idea this trash?” I go back to the podium and grab the paper and hold it up in the air. “Have you all forgotten?”
“Have you, Ms. Stone?” Says the President. “You were asked a question please answer it.”
“S.C.O.U.T.S., never heard of her” I say throwing the document in the table in front of the the In leader and the President as well as a few other leaders sitting with them.
“Mia Young, Shadow Park, Carmen Santiago, Tiffany Ellis, Heather Dudnst, Prim Hashimoto, and Jazmine Chatterjee” someone yells from down the table. It’s the Queen of England Next to her Prime Minister, I guess they both got invited. “7 of the 8 original scouts who stood with the message and principals to defend the world against evil. No one has forgotten the tragedy that happened, no has forgotten the tragedies that happened before or after it either. But evil has not rested with them being gone. We need help.” She said he tone less harsh toward the end then it was in the beginning. I make eye contact with her and walk down toward her seat and stand in front of her.
This was always the plan, not a plan I made or had any part in making, but a plan none the less. And not following through with it would be a disservice to the ones lost. I look down at the table and see the words on the paper upside down. A part of me was hoping that I would never have to do this, like something would change so I couldn’t or didn’t need to do participate or keep up my end of a bargain. But that isn’t the case and my word must be kept especially in this thing called private politics.
“Secret Citizens Obliged and Unite To Save” I say back to the men who has asked me my questions earlier. “I have never and will never forget the meaning nor will I ever retract from duty.” I say centering myself back at the podium. I am looking at the room one last time before focusing back on the President and UN Leader.
“It is with Great Honor Ms. Stone, that we have this ability to reactivate the Scout project. And we have decided that now is the best time to do that. As you are the sole survivor of the original scouts you will recruit and train the next group of scouts and prepare them for what is ahead of them. You will have two years.”
“Sir with all due respect the first group was given 18 years of trialing and they still lost.” I say offended by the time limit, no way was that a realistic expectation.
“As the sole survivor frontbe original 8 you know first hand what will work for trainings and what won’t, use that to your advantage to speed up the process.” He says, clearly he no idea what it really takes to do what he is asking.
“With all do respect it can’t be done” I say, “I am on my own and I won’t have any resources available to me how do you expect me to do this?”
“That is where we come in” he says confidently. “You and the scouts you recruit will have access to all resources and locations needed to train, survive, develop, learn, play whatever. If we have it” He says featuring towards everyone in the room, “you have it.”
“Will you try?” Asks the Queen.
“Yes” I say hesitantly. By the time I am leaving the building with a fancy top secret passport and some secret stash weapons and money, I am already developing plans A-K on how I could possible do this all in two years... hopefully o succeed and if I don’t, hopefully no one else dies in the process.
