Sara skipped across the sand at the beach toward where Dani, Lilia, Michelle, Daphne, and Chrysta were sitting. They, along with Ryan and Shiloe, had gone to the beach for the day.
 "Hey, guys!" Sara said, sitting on the beach towel next to Daphne.  "Anyone want to go swimming?"
 "Sara, you’d better put on some sunscreen, or something," Michelle said.  "You’ll get sunburned otherwise."
 "I don’t care if I get sunburned," Sara replied.  "Hey, anyone seen Shiloe or Ryan?"
 "They’re over there," Lilia said, pointing down the beach to where Shiloe and Ryan were walking along hand in hand.
 "Hey," Daphne interjected, leaning forward.  "Do you think those two like each other, as in they _like_ each other?  You know, as more than friends."
 "I think so," Sara giggled.  "See how they’re holding hands?  I think they’re like boyfriend and girlfriend or something."
 Dani made a face.  "Oh, give me a break."  Sara only laughed in response.

 "NOVA!" a voice echoed through the chambers of the Death Ladies’ lair on Darkdeath.  "Nova, where are you?"
 Nova walked into the Death Ladies’ room and knelt before them.  "I’m right here."
 "Nova," Esprita began, "have you found the identities of the Astros yet?"
 "No, ladies, I haven’t," Nova replied.
 "Well, how do you plan to find out?" Muerta demanded.
 Nova smirked.  "I’m planning on going to what the people of Earth call a beach," she explained.  "A lot of people are always there, especially young people.  And even if I don’t find the Astros there, at least I can get a lot of energy."
 "Good," Diabla agreed.  "Then go ahead.  If you find out who the Astros are, let us know when you get back."
 "Of course," Nova agreed.  She then disappeared, teleporting to Earth.
 
 

 Nova, in her human form of Moira Black, walked down the beach.  It was, to her, unbearably hot outside, so she immediately ducked under the shade of a tree.  She then looked around the beach, trying to find someone who might be a Sailor Astro.
 After not seeing anyone, Nova was about to give up when she spotted a group of girls who were sitting on beach towels talking.  Nova thought they looked a bit familiar, so she crept forward to investigate.
 "These girls could be Sailor Astros!" Nova whispered to herself.  "Maybe…"
 "Hey, it’s Moira from school!" one of the girls, the one with purple hair in a ponytail, said.
 "Oh no," Nova muttered.  "Those stupid human girls from the high school that I attend."
 "Hey, Moira!" the purple haired girl said again.  "Come sit with us!"
 Nova sighed, going to sit down with the others.  "Hello," she said, trying to be as polite as she could.
 "Moira, you remember me, right?" the girl with purple hair said.  "I’m Sara.  Remember?  We sat with you at lunch."
 "Oh…yeah," Nova said, recalling her first day at school when the girl named Shiloe and her friends had sat with her for no reason whatsoever.  "But where’s Shiloe?  Is she with you?"
 "Shiloe?" Sara repeated. "Oh, she’s with Ryan.  You know, the tall guy?  That’s Ryan.  They’re…over there," she said, pointing to where Shiloe and Ryan were walking along the beach.
 "Oh, okay," Nova said, being as human as she possibly could.  "So I’m not sure I know your names…"
 "Oh yeah!" Sara giggled.  She introduced everyone, and Nova remembered them as the ones who had sat next to her that first day.
 "I think they might be the Astros," Nova thought.  "I’d better get out of here, transform to my normal form, and confront them."  Thinking quickly for an excuse, Nova stood up.  "Um, guys?  I really have to go now," she said to the girls.  "I’ve got…um…I’ve got errands to run and stuff."
 "That’s okay," the girl who had introduced herself as Daphne said.  "Bye, Moira!"
 "Bye!" Nova said to them, as she turned to leave.  She walked down the beach a while, then ducked under a pier and reverted to her normal form.  Then Nova went back to where the girls were to confront them.
 "Oh girls…I’m back!" Nova exclaimed, standing over them.
 "Nova!" Lilia whispered to the others.  "We’ve got to transform."
 "Io Astral—" Sara began.
 "Not now, airhead!" Lilia hissed.  "Now we’ve got to get to somewhere that we can transform without her seeing."
 "Come on then!" Dani shouted.  They raced across the sand with Nova following closely behind.  But Nova wasn’t used to running in the sand, and she tripped and fell a few times.
 "In here!" Daphne said to the others.  She jumped up onto a pier and went into an abandoned shack.  "Come on!"  The others followed her into the shack, all six of them barely fitting into the small space.
 "We’re supposed to transform in here?" Chrysta complained.  "We’ll be squashed!"
 "Oh well," Sara said.  "Io Astral Star Power!"
 "Zephyr Astral Star Power!"
 "Vega Astral Star Power!"
 "Inferno Astral Star Power!"
 "Andromeda Astral Star Power!"
 "Arcturus Astral Star Power!"
 Once transformed, the girls raced out onto the pier.  Nova was running as best as she could across the sand toward them.  Io was about to jump off, but Zephyr stopped her.
 "Wait, Io," Zephyr said.  "We’ll attack her from up here when she gets here."
 "There you are, Astros!" an out-of-breath Nova cried, running towards the pier.
 "Now!" Zephyr ordered the others.
 Vega, Inferno and Arcturus jumped off of the pier, kicking at Nova.  Zephyr, Io, and Andromeda jumped as well, attacking while they jumped.
 "Star Wind!"
 "Io Thunderbolt Shock!"
 "Andromeda Star Symphony!"
 "Nova Snow Blizzard!" Nova yelled out.  A flurry of snow clouded everyone’s vision, and when it settled, the six Astros were frozen in blocks of ice.
 "Finally, I have defeated the Astros!" Nova cried triumphantly.
 "Guess again," a voice said.  Behind her were Sailors Orion and Spica.
 "Darn it," Nova muttered.  "I guess I’ll have to freeze you too.  Nova Snow—"
 "Orion Speed Arrow!" Orion interrupted, shooting an arrow at Nova.  Nova dodged the arrow and instead it hit the block of ice that Inferno was trapped in.  The ice melted, and Inferno was released.
 "Hey, thanks Orion," Inferno said.
 "No problem," Orion replied.  "Can you free the others?"
 "Sure!" Inferno agreed.  "Inferno Lava River!"  The stream of lava snaked around the blocks of ice, melting them and freeing the Astros.
 "Okay," a now-unfrozen Zephyr said.  "Time to finish you off."
 Nova looked scared.  "I don’t think so.  Maybe later, Astros!"  And she disappeared.
 "Darn her," Vega muttered.
 "She’s just scared of us," Arcturus announced proudly.
 "And she has a good reason to be too…" Spica added.