(NOTE - Make sure to read "Politically (in)Correct As Always" 1-3 (Original Fiction) section to get up to speed on a situation concerning Keiko/Eve before reading onward, thank you.) Eve woke up surrounded by green liquid. Her eyes blurred as she found herself floating in water, tightly packed into a narrow cylinder with one window looking out into a dimly lit room. Her hands pounded the case in a panic, until she realized that her hands were not the same. They were smaller, and her punches weaker -- then, realization set in. "Nooooooo---" she thought to herself, panic gripping her, "It can't be!! It can't be!!" Her eyesight cleared enough so she could see her face, and saw Hotaru staring back at her -- she was back in hell again. The cylinder was a suspension pod, and she was being put in hypersleep against her will. She pounded her fists against the canister, feeling steadily sleepier and sleepier. "NO!! KEIKO!! GODDESS!! SOMEBODY GET ME OUT OF---" What she saw before her stopped her heart cold. The scene before her was too carnal and perverted to even bring to words, but what she saw scared her. Keiko, bloodied and beaten, was being tortured and raped by her friends. The other Sailor Soldiers. They were naked, bruised and beaten, and looked demonic as they lashed out with wicked glee. She couldn't hear their words, but it scared her nevertheless. Then two arms wrapped around her, and something behind her whispered in her ear, "Why don't you love me anymore?" Pink hair floated into her eyesight, and a hollow face with empty eye sockets stared at her from the glass. ---- Eve woke up in a cold panic, her sheets gripping her nude form as she held herself tightly. She had thought that was behind her. Year after year had passed since that world, that pain she left behind when her and the other Soldiers were rescued from their personal hell. Only ChibiUsa didn't make it, because she was killed and dumped into a shallow grave, her soul ripped from her body and cast to the four winds unable to be "reborn" ever again. "Why am I dreaming about that now -- why --?" Eve whispered to herself, her eyes glancing over at Keiko's side of the bed. She slept rather soundly, her face calm as she slumbered. She didn't seem to notice Eve waking up, and that was for the best. She carefully got out of bed and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her and locking herself in. As she washed her face she felt different, everything seemed bigger than her -- she stared into the mirror, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and stared into Hotaru face, with ChibiUsa's eyeless hollow tortured face behind her, blood flowing down like tears across her cheeks. "Don't leave me alone---" With a yelp Eve spun about, only to find nothing behind her, but that's when realization hit. She spun back around and found herself still staring at Hotaru's face. She reached up, and panic once again took over. "I -- I changed back --?!?" There was a knock at the door. "Eve? You OK? What's wrong??" She dropped to the floor, gripping herself tight, sweating, "Oh no! No! No! No!!" "Eve? Come on, this isn't funny. Don't lock yourself in there, what's going---" "Uhh--- I have to go to the toilet! I have a stomach ache!" "Oh." Keiko responded from the other side of the door, "Well, hope it comes out alright in the end. Come to bed when your done." "OK!" Eve called out, rolling over on her side as tears flowed down her face. "I can't be Hotaru. I can't be Hotaru. I can't be Hotaru. I can't be Hotaru." she chanted over and over again, holding herself tightly in the fetal position. "I can't be Hotaru. Please, go away! Go away, go away, go away---" ---- The first thing Haruka thought when she heard the phone ring was whether or not she could get away with killing the telemarketer on the other end if she claimed it was self defense. Then she thought it was probably Ami-chan with yet another awkwardly embarrassing question about her sexual relationship with Mako-chan. It seemed that even though they've been an item for a few years she still called her, being that they was the only "real" lesbians Ami-chan knew personally, and riddled either her or Michiru with embarrassingly intimate questions since Mako-chan apparently had too much pride to admit that she needed help in those situations. True, in recent years two new couplings had sprung up yet somehow Ami-chan has yet to feel comfortable asking for advice from either coupling. The first, Minako and Artemis, have been a pair ever since he became human, though since two years ago when he became a "she" Minako had been flaunting their relationship as now being lesbian in nature (mostly in a vain attempt to take Ami under her "wing" and become the "wise role model figure" she felt Haruka/Michiru were to her... though technically Artemis was more Amazonian than human female considering--) at this point Haruka clenches her teeth and shivers abit, the rest Haruka usually blocks out since she's about as apprehensive about thinking about Amazonian sexuality as Keiko Yamanaka was. Couple #2 was one that even Haruka thought would never happen. Usagi and Rei, with Rei filling the void in Usagi's life since Mamoru disappeared. Apparently while they seemed to be working out rather well, it seems Rei felt just as irked as Minako since Ami didn't take her advice to heart as she didn't take Minako's advice to heart. Just as well, considering Rei often came to Haruka/Michiru for advice herself and had no real advice of her own to give other than what she got from the two and "claimed" as her own "advice". The last time the phone rang it was Michiru who answered, and after a few affirmative answers and a few nods of the head, she simply replied "Tell Mako-chan the taste will eventually go away and she didn't damage her taste buds for eternity by giving you a --" (Haruka's pissy _expression gave Michiru a clue to cut it short) "--bye." (smiles at Haruka) "Wanna know what she did?" Haruka rolled over and covered her head in response. "Guess not." Minako and Rei, it seems, were the least prepared for the way their hearts turned, but moreso for Minako since she had the double twist of falling in love with a very humanoid Artemis, then having him turn into a "her". But this all happened in the span of five years.... Five years. Of all the Soldiers, only Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna remember the horrors of the world before the Realm of Dreams, and each year that they lived there the horror became less and less until it faded into a footnote in their past and nothing more. Eventually they moved on with their lives, and for these two the chance eventually came to fulfill a dream of theirs that they only had once they found peace in the Realm of Dreams. Haruka/Michiru had a Winterian style wedding two years ago, finally becoming one in an official sense. They even kept a photo album of the event, with pictures of everyone who attended. Highlights of the ceremony included Usagi volunteering to eat the high priced leftovers (and costing Rei 1000 Credits because she bet Usagi could never eat all the leftovers), Minako stealing the spotlight at the reception afterwards by dancing up a storm with every Priestess in the room, and the pre wedding "last night" ritual (a Winterian ceremonial ritual where it's believed that all temptations to wander from one's appointed love can be swept away with a last "night" of sex with the priestesses of the temple) which left a dozen priestesses exhausted and wiped out physically from the ordeal of the ritual (substitute priestesses had to be brought in just for the wedding ceremony). (As a side note of the event now the two have standing invitations at several Winterian temples in Japan in case they ever want to "renew" their last night vows.) Also, by the way, this is how Artemis became female. The story goes that Minako wanted to sneak Artemis into the bachelorette party because she heard it was going to be a blowout orgy and wanted her lover there. She convinced him to take these pills that made him into a woman so he/she could go, but during the party Artemis kept hitting the drink table, which turned out to be a mistake. Bad planning had put blue Gatorade and Winterian Blue Ice on the same table and Blue Ice was a strong drug used to keep Winterian body temperatures lowered (as the wedding was held during the hot summer the Winterian guests needed it to keep their body temperatures at a comfortable lowered rate). In short Artemis hit the Blue Ice more than the Gatorade, and the two chemicals (the sex altering one and the temperature one) screwed his DNA up and made him permanently "female", with a few minor--- well, you get the point. As Haruka picked up the phone, ready to tell Ami, Rei, Minako or whoever off, she heard a wheezing soft cry and a voice whisper in her ear "---mama---" Haruka froze for a second, her hand finally moving to nudge Michiru awake as she spoke in a hushed whisper, "Hotaru? What's wrong?" "It's me -- Eve -- papa --" ----- So how did it all begin for Eve/Hotaru, with Haruka and Michiru I mean. Five years ago they were all brought to this world. But Hotaru, the one from their world, broke free of the entourage passing between worlds and threw herself into ElseSpace in a vain attempt at suicide. Unable to live without ChibiUsa by her side she only wished for death -- what she found was life, and something more. She ended up going back 25 years (in Waking World terms) and coming to an earlier time in the Realm. Time in a Realm of Dreams? True, while time had no meaning here, some semblance of order between linear timelines were still kept and maintained to almost a meticulous precision. If not for the residences of the Realm itself, then for the waking worlds that touched in dream moons so that linear infection didn't occur and those in the past who dreamed did not prematurely discover technologies that had yet to be invented. It took 20+ years for her to finally be reunited with her friends, but when she did she found herself wanting something she hadn't had for a long time, parents. Still, some time bleed still occurred, 23rd Century tech existing in 16th century setting and so forth, but not to such an extent that it constituted linear damage of the timelines, and it never made an impression on anyone but fiction writers anyway so it was not that big a deal. But I digress, we're talking about the once and former Hotaru. When she arrived in the past she was taken prisoner by cannibals, who threatened to eat her alive. This seemed to be blessed justice to her because she never forgave herself for how ChibiUsa died, and felt it was just irony that her death would be in such a manner. But then she was saved, and found someone who made her forget her pain and eventually eased her soul and became her lover -- that being Keiko Yamanaka. The first time she, who was now named Eve, saw Haruka/Michiru they were at the mall with Hotaru. Hotaru, a new Hotaru which Catherine warned the once and former Hotaru would exist if she didn't fill the void she was leaving behind. This one was untouched by the world she knew, and the horrors she lived through. This one had something else, she still had her ChibiUsa with her as her lover. Weeks passed, and Eve took time every so often to spy on them, feeling pangs of loneliness for a family. When she was finally caught by Haruka she did something that even caught her off guard -- she let her true form resurface of her own free will, and held her arms out to Haruka looking for acceptance. Somehow she found it in her heart to accept this older Hotaru, and the two adopted her as their second daughter. The other Hotaru knew of her, and called her her "twin sister" when she'd visit from time to time without Keiko), and retook her old form to spend time with family. As far as the other ChibiUsa knew, they were indeed twins and she never knew the truth. She couldn't tell Keiko what was happening, she couldn't even bear to let Keiko see her in this form as Hotaru. She needed someone to comfort her, and the only person she could think of in this situation was mama and papa. Which brings us to where we are now. ----- "I changed to Hotaru! I can't change back to myself! I can't be like this -- help me. Help me." "But you are Hot--" "No! No! I'm Eve. I'm Eve. Please! You promised me you wouldn't do this. Don't do this... just help me! I don't know what to do... help me! Help---" Michiru takes the phone from Haruka, overhearing the conversation, and begins to sing in a soft melodious tone. Slowly but surely Eve calms down on the opposite end, still rolled up in a fetal position but less frightened. It takes a few minutes but as she calms she slowly regains enough control to become "Eve" again. Before the phone disconnects Michiru makes Eve promise to visit in the morning. As she hangs up she's greeted by Haruka's frowning visage. "She can't hide from herself forever, yet your encouraging her." "She doesn't need speeches, she needs to find it in herself to accept who she is, even if she believes that accepting her true self will destroy her relationship with Keiko." "She isn't deserving of Hotaru's love if she can't accept her for who she is." Haruka growls, rolling over in bed much to Michiru's dismay. "Obviously your not going to listen to a word I have to say on the subject, so I won't bother trying to defend myself." "It's wrong." Haruka countered, eyes narrowing, "Why can't she let go? Accept what she is and live as Hotaru and not this tall blonde woman she molded herself into." A mischievous smile crosses the mistress of water's lips, "Hypocritical since you're the tall blonde woman in my life that I fell in love with." "That's different, and you make it sound like I'm blonde blonde the way you talk like that." Haruka shot back, feeling Michiru's persistence wearing her down. "Is there a point to this?" "When she's ready she'll embrace her true self. When that happens she'll find her lover to be far more understanding and accepting than she gives her credit for." "We'll see, Michiru, we'll see." As the lights shut off Haruka grumbles beneath her breath, "The phone better not ring again or so help me..." The phone rings. "---argh---" (answers phone) "WHAT?!?" (silence) "It's way too early in the morning to even think of such an absurd thing! Go to bed! Or let nature take it's course! Just shut up and leave me alone!" (slams phone down and rolls over in bed grumbling) "Who was it?" Michiru asks, to which Haruka growls "Go to bed." Michiru - "Mako-chan is having a hard time getting Ami to go along with it, isn't she. And after you went through all the trouble to buy the right one that fit Mako-chan like a glove and---" Haruka - "---I don't care--- go to bed." Michiru - "You were the one who recommended that to them but you know how Mako-chan is so overtly energetic when she's---" Haruka (rolls over and gives Michiru a dirty look) - "I don't care! Now GO TO BED!" Michiru lies down and closes her eyes. "You started it." The frustrated yelp from Haruka side convinces her not to push her luck any further. ----- In the dimly lit room he paced about his associate, watching the sitting man as he did. With every step his armored boots clanked against the metal flooring, making an odd click-clack-click-clack noise as he walked. Holocaust regarded his "associate" as he spoke. "The world stands at a crossroad. With this "CLAMP School" occupying the sky above, and the threat of Clow Cards about the land, this would have been an ideal time to launch a subversive assault." he smiles as, he continues to pace, eyes never leaving his still silent companion. "Bringing us Assassin Guilders' together and offering us just about anything imaginable just to retrieve your little Sailor Soldier girls so you and your remaining associates could once again enjoy their "company" was quite an proposal. We take them down, you have the fun of making babies with them and putting them in little tubes to freeze until you wanted to make more babies in them -- or was it just the sex and torture that was the fun? I could never tell. I know you would emphasis all the joys of whipping, beating, slicing and raping young women --" he said, walking forward to stand next to the man as he plucked his head from his limp shoulders, "If you weren't already dead. But that's what you get for being sick retarded bastards who thought more with their penises than their heads." He held the head aloft, staring into the shocked _expression on the face at the moment of death. "I wonder how it must have hurt you so to realize that we only went along with your lovely schemes if only to gather you all together. But, then again, you did believe that nothing is more valuable than a den full of 12-14 year old girls stripped naked and willing to please." He spins on his heels, chucking the head back into it's body which knocks the whole ensemble into the flooring with a loud thump. "Strictly speaking I'm not a loliconer, even if Code 8 forbade rape. But just between you and me? I think it was the 1 million credit's a crotch reward by the Winterian forces that purged your world of your filth that made all the difference to me." (smiles as he looks at the body) "Fun is fun, but money makes the galaxy rotate." With a slight salute he taps a button on the wall, and makes his exit. As he does the floor slowly yawns open and drops the body into the darkness below. "Well I have work to do. Our advance units have been on the ground for a week now and have been receiving resistance from a very interesting source. That I should check on, but you be a good boy and feed the sharks, will you?" (as the body falls away, plummeting towards the ocean below, Holocaust waves slightly as the lift doors closes behind him). "Now there's a good lad." ----- Rei woke up to find herself sitting in the middle of a destroyed Tokyo, with a familiar face staring at her. "Lazarus." He looks at her as if hurt, if only in jest, and taps her shoulder, "Lazarus. Is that all you have to say? I bring you out to see the end of Tokyo and all you can say is "Lazarus"?" Rei smiles a little bit, if only to get Lazarus to get to the point, which he does. "It seems your path, as well as the others, are about to intercept with someone else's destiny. I can't say yet since even I don't know the full details, but everything is coming up in threes in my visions." "Threes?" Rei repeats, "How so?" "Three suspects in the matter concerning the events of late, including CLAMP School's arrival in the sky." Jack said, eyes narrowing as he spoke. "Three powers that be which bring darkness. Three powers that be which bring light. Three who are the answer to one riddle, three who are the cause of another, and three who are the salvation of this Tokyo. Not ours but---" Behind them loomed a building Rei had never seen before, with the words "CLAMP School is HELL" written in red scrawled across the face of the building. "I see." "Not yet. But you will---" With a gasp Rei wakes up, sweating abit as she caught her breath. "That wasn't a dream." Rei muttered, eyes working hard to focus in the dark room. It wasn't hard to do a fire reading. From experience she knew that Usagi could sleep through anything and everything, so her crawling out of their bed and doing a fire reading was the easiest thing she could do. In fact she could set half the house on fire to do her reading and still not wake Usagi from her slumber. Inside her private shrine room, one she had built just to meditate and get away from Usagi's occasional "Get on Rei's nerves until she snaps" days she read the fire. As she read the flames she felt a presence nearby, and sighed. "Why don't you just come out with it and tell me already?" she whispered, eyes turning to face Jack Lazarus, the Raven. "If I could, I would." he admitted, the fire illuminating his black uniform as he looked straight at her, "But I can't because what information I have is purely hearsay, and the rest is conjecture until more info is gathered." "Then what does it all mean?" "You tell me." he countered. With that he vanished, leaving her behind to ponder his words. ----- The one thing Rei hated the most was mornings. Especially when it came to rousing Usagi from sleep. "USAGI WAKE UP IT'S EIGHT O'CLOCK!!" she yelled one final time, hitting Usagi in the head which finally jolted her from slumber. "We have to get to classes!!" Usagi, already up, rushed to get ready. "WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME?!?" "Why did I have to feel sorry for you anyway---" Rei mumbled, walking into the kitchen in a really bad mood. "We'll miss our first class at this rate." "That's because Usagi never changes. She's ALWAYS going to be a child." ChibiUsa shot, chewing on her toast as Hotaru watched her from her place next to her, "I HEARD THAT YOU PARASITE!!" Usagi screamed from the next room. "WHY'D YOU LET HER IN?!?" "She brought hot food for breakfast, which is more than I can you do when it comes to meals!" Usagi screams again as the shower comes on, leaving Rei to chew her food as Hotaru turns the TV on (mostly to calm the air between the two. ChibiUsa had grown, the Realm of Dreams being a positive thing to her physical development. She was now a fully grown healthy young woman physically, as was Hotaru who now resembled a woman of 16 (same as ChibiUsa). The two had been lovers ever since they can remember, though that was for five years -- what came before they did not know, and somehow felt that they never really wanted to know. The news was on, and filled the room with talking that didn't concern Usagi/ChibiUsa insulting each other. "Once again our top story--- yesterday an unidentified armored being was seen in New King Penguin Park, attacking students from the Starlight College campus in a strange incident before it was stopped. Witnesses say that a girl wearing blue and green uniform colors fought the creature to a standstill---" the reporter stops as he listens to his earpiece. "This just in. Reports of attacks on children near the King Penguin slide are coming in -- yes, it appears to be another Clow Card attack. Camera crews are now on the way as we continue to cover the late breaking events." ----- Somehow Eve only prayed that the morning would be easy on the both of them. If she was hoping for a lax day then she was sorely disappointed. Keiko jumped back, backpedaling as she slashed at the shots of sand coming straight at her, taking as much sand in the hair and face as she reflected away with gusts of wind. The huge King Penguin slide shook as the sandy ground beneath it liquefied and began to suck it in. Sakura barely had time to leap onto the back of the huge slide and climb up to the two trapped kids on the top. Eve, hands full protecting three young girls with a shield spell, turned her attention towards Nina. "Give Sakura some cover fire!" she yelled, continuously fortifying her NovaShields spell with her willpower. Nina, lugging her pulse rifle upwards, carefully took shot after shot, clipping each sand tentacle as it tried to latch onto Sakura to drag her down, all the while slowly dragging the huge penguin slide downward into the now liquid sand beneath it. "Nina! Behind you!" Eliza suddenly yells out, just as two sand tentacles attack Nina from behind. She barely manages to dodge them as the whoosh over her, her rifle firing blindly upwards as she tries to nail them. Tomoyo, filming Sakura's heroic acts, cringes inwardly as she watches. 'All the trees are too far away.' she thinks to herself, 'I can't use Gaia's ring to help Sakura-chan -- but maybe --" Tomoyo's free hand raises upwards, Gaia's ring pulsating with energy, "Trees! Use your roots to cut down Sand's tentacles!" Almost instantly long strings of roots shoot out from the ground near the trees, whipping through the air hacking into each sand tentacle that rises from the ground. As the tree roots keep Sand occupied, Sakura reaches the two children and grabs onto them, using Windy's ring to give her a boost over Sand and onto the grass in one long jump from slide to safety. As she sends the children to Eve for protection, she turns and regards Sand, her hand bearing the Water ring rising into the air. "Umi! Give me your strength in the form of a waterfall to restrict Sand!" From above a shimmering disc of blue begins to form, the air growing dry as moisture is drawn into the circle and condensed. From that circle a powerful blast of water shoots into the sandy ground, soaking it through and through making the entire sandy pit into a dense clump of sand. From the quagmire, Sand's true form appears, covered in the sandy gunk and bogged down by it's weight. Quickly Sakura rushes up and slams her staff down, "CLOW CARD RETURN TO YOUR POWER CONFINED! SAND CARD!!" Tendrils of energy shoot out, encapsulating the card's physical form, transforming it, and turning it back into a card. It shoots into the air, and lands in Sakura's hand. Nina, dazed and dirty, turns and claps from her resting position on the ground, "You did it!" As everyone gathers around Sakura, whose blushing, Tomoyo taps her on the shoulder, "Now all we need to do is retrieve King Penguin." "What?" Sakura asks, confused, "What do you---" (stops and looks) "---hooooeeee!!!" King Penguin rested half trapped in the sand, tilted at an awkward angle. Nina, putting her rifle down, moves in a mock stumble towards the slide and screams "Damn you!!" "Yeah, yeah, Planet of the Apes. Figures." Keiko grumbles, annoyed by Nina's antics. "Get a life." It takes a little effort, and the tech shuttle of Nina's which she summons to the park via remote, but eventually the penguin is dug out and set upright again. By the time the news crews arrive everyone had already left and the situation was resolved. ----- Eve, however, did not go home with Keiko. Not yet. She had an appointment to keep first. "It's me, let me in." Eve whispered, standing outside of Haruka/ Michiru's apartment door waiting for a reply. From inside she could hear Michiru say "Not until you change into something more appropriate." Eve sighed. She knew what was coming. "Let me in and I'll change, but not out here. Somebody could see me change." "Promise me you'll change?" "Yes, mama, yes! Just please -- let me in." Eve cried out, feeling the nerves in body wrack together from the tension of having to change back into Hotaru. As she's let in she digs deep, and changes her form again. For over 20 years she remained the tall blonde Eve, but after she reunited with Haruka/Michiru she slowly began to reassume her old form in their presence, mostly because they wouldn't allow her into their apartment unless she was Hotaru. The first time they made her do it Haruka was very dead-set on the reason why she had to be Hotaru when she visited them. "I'm not going to have Usagi and the others think one of us is cheating on the other with you in here in that tall blonde form!" Haruka grumbled, already getting an earful from Minako earlier that day because she saw the two together at the mall. "It's only whenever you visit so stop acting like it's such a hardship and change already." Haruka said sternly, her position not changing since the last time she talked about it. At first, when Eve started to do it, she didn't think she could -- but as time passed she found it was easier and easier to shift between form -- "Maybe too easy." Eve concluded, sitting at the kitchen table as Michiru watched Haruka cooking. "Maybe I'm beginning to shift without meaning to -- I should never have reopened this part of me, never should have become Hotaru again -- it's going to ruin my relationship with Keiko." "I'm sure your butch bad-ass lover won't ditch you because you're a different girl than she thought." Haruka grumbled, checking the eggs again, "You sure this is right?" "It's exactly the way Mako-chan taught you. Now flip it on the plate and start the next one." Michiru chided, bringing Eve/Hotaru her breakfast as Haruka started another omelet. "I don't see why your so disturbed about her finding out. She's 400+ years old, nobody knows what kind of things she's slept wi---" "PAPA!!" Eve/Hotaru cried, looking disturbed, "Don't talk about Keiko that way! She's not that kind of woman!!" "Do you know what kind of woman she was before you met her?" Haruka shot back, which received a deafening silence as Eve set down to eat without replying. "I thought so." "You don't have to be so mean, you know." Michiru whispered, to which aruka hissed back "I'm just telling her the truth. What's with her and old women anyway? If it's not Keiko whose 400+ years old it's our other little girl and ChibiUsa. What is she? 1000?" "927 this year." Eve said, head lowered. Michiru shot her love a dirty look and mouthed the words "Now you've done it" before going back with her breakfast to talk to Eve. Haruka simply started on another omelet and mouthed "What would you know." in a bit of a huff. For a few minutes nobody spoke, until finally Eve muttered "I -- I've been having -- visions of her." "Of ChibiUsa?" Michiru asked. "Yes. For the past few nights I dreamed of the sleep chamber where they were going to imprison us -- I was locked into one, surrounded by the hypersleep fluids -- but outside the chamber I saw all of you out of your pods, raping Keiko -- torturing her like they tortured us. Then, behind me, I saw ChibiUsa standing there, goddess the horrible things they did to her before she died -- her eyes gone -- her --" Eve stops eating and shoved the food away, crying into her hands. Slowly Michiru moves herself over, taking her into a soft embrace and holding Eve/Hotaru tightly. "I can't forget what they did to her! Over 20 years and I still can't forget!!" "I know--- I know--- there, there now. It's going to be alright. There, there---" "She---" Eve whispers suddenly, shivering as she spoke, "She asks me why I don't love her anymore. Begs not to be left alone---" her tears burst outward and rage fills her voice suddenly, "Why couldn't they have brought her back? Made her whole again? This is supposed to be a world of dreams so why did they fail her?!? WHY??" Uncertain what to say, Michiru merely replies "I don't know. I -- I don't know." Eventually Eve goes back to eating, silently, as the two exchange glances wondering what to do next. That's when Haruka breaks in. "And what about yesterday?" At first Eve doesn't understand what she means, until -- "Oh no, you're not still on about--" "Yesterday in King Penguin Park." Eve sighs, leaning back in her chair uncertain what to say. "It's what she wants. Keiko agrees with her--" "You would say that she'd agree to it. It was her idea." Haruka grumbled, to which Eve countered "It was her idea. Keiko just helped her make it real." ---- One day ago. Haruka and Michiru's apartment was located in what the officers that maintained it called the "Tower". The huge complex which once held what would have been Sailor Trooper HQ. You see, once upon a time there was a series in the works about the children and friends of the Sailor Soldiers, who marched to a different beat and did things their own way, called "Sailor Troopers". The title doesn't exist anymore, and most of the "cast" moved on. Keiko Yamanaka, who would have played Trooper Moon, is presently assisting the Mistress of the Clow Cards in recapturing her lost cards. Nina Kotobuki, who would have played Trooper Venus, is also assisting. Trooper Mars, aka Phillip Rhienhart, was back at work at the Alliance. Trooper Jupiter, aka Eve? She was with Keiko, who you met already. Trooper Mercury, the original one, was back at the Alliance happily married. Nothing was left of the old Sailor Troopers but their gigantic "headquarters" which was brought back online to act as a base of operations for Clow Card captures, and recently to monitor the new "moon" in the sky known as CLAMP School. Their apartment was on the private 80th floor reserved for command officers and VIPs, right near a giant Olympic sized pool. Every morning before classes Michiru would swim in the pool, getting her exercise. As she finished her laps she'd listen for the arrival of the new Kaioh-Tenohmaru II, straining to hear the soft whirl of it's repulsorlifts as it passed by the 80th floor for a landed in the upper level hangar bay. Once she and Haruka had separate rides, but these days they shared a ride as they also shared a last named as married lifemates. Haruka kept her last name, but Michiru changed her's to Michiru Kaioh-Tenoh, taking Haruka's last name and adding it to her own. Today however, today was different. As she listened for the Kaioh- Tenohmaru II she heard a soft sad music coming from the balcony outside of the pool area. There, sitting quietly in one of the balcony chairs quietly strumming away at her guitar was Makomi-chan. Her name was Makomi Mizuno-Kino, the daughter of Ami and Makoto, her name derived from Makoto slash Ami. Makomi. As Michiru marveled at her skills with the guitar she heard the soft hum of the Kaioh-Tenohmaru II's engines and knew it was time. With a flick o the wrist she brought the wall commsystem to life. "Good morning. Is that the Kaioh-Tenohmaru?" "Yes Miss Kaioh." the deck officer answered, the sound of the huge tech shuttle landing in the backdrop illuminating the once quiet hangar bay behind him (still calling Michiru "Miss" out of respect as did all of the officers of the Tower). "She'll be ready to go in five minutes." "Thank you. I'll have to go pick Haruka up for classes soon, does she know it's time?" "I called it in when we picked up the Kaioh-Tenohmaru's access link. She's been informed." "Thank you. I'll be up in a few minutes then. Out." As she shut the link off and turned to offer Makomi a lift she noticed the girl was gone. "Ami would never approve." she whispered, realizing how deeply worried Ami would be if she knew half the things Makomi was doing behind her back, even with her special "condition" and all. Knowing Makomi she probably is skimming down the side of the building like a spider, flaunting her "condition" as she went. She put those thoughts behind her though, and got dressed for classes. Suddenly she stops, and for the first time says something even she didn't think she'd say. "The stars are rough today." ----- "I honestly don't know why I bother---" Admiral Keller groans, watching the lift raise the OmegaTech up into the hangar bay, the doors closing behind it. With a stifled groan he quickly moves over to the fighter where it's pilot awaited him. "Dammit this is the LAST time I let someone talk me into letting someone's friend of a friend do the test piloting of new tech! You stressed out the damn Normal Drives didn't you?!" Haruka removed the helmet, smirking a bit as she ran a hand across the smooth black metal of the Gen V OmegaTech, feeling the cool heat resistant metal with only the slightest hint of the heat she poured into the engines as she gave it a workout. "This new model is the best OmegaTech yet. I had to push her to her limits---" she whistled a bit as she walked past the fighter and towards the prep area, "I had to push her to the edge of her abilities. She has so much power---" "You can't, dammit! That'll crack the drive casing -- AGAIN -- and lord knows the last time that happens I was sure the project's financier, Misho Namocatcat, was going to give birth to kittens right in front of me! This is an experimental model and has to be put through it's paces, not beaten to death by it's--" (stops as Haruka vanishes into the prep area to change) "--and your not listening to a word I say, aren't you." "CLEAR THE FLIGHT DECK, PLEASE." the comm. system announced, the lights in the hangar bay turning red, "INCOMING TECH SHUTTLE. PLEASE CLEAR--" "Oh." the Admiral sighs, turning towards the exit, "She's here." As the deck is cleared another drop hatch is opened which admits one shuttle into the bay, which is quickly locked down as the doors swing shut behind it. As Haruka comes out of the prep room dressed for school she scowls a bit, "You're late." "Not soon enough for my taste." the Admiral grumbles, motioning for Haruka to leave as he turns and heads back to the bridge. As Haruka boarded the shuttle the first thing Michiru said was "The stars are rough today." Silent, Haruka sat next to her, and didn't question her. Yet what she said didn't make sense either -- yet. "Please stand by, Kaioh-Tenohmaru II. Lowering into position now -- prepare for drop." The Admiral watches as the shuttle is dropped, moving away from the carrier as it falls away. "Next time let's get a normal test pilot, like other test fighter assigned carriers." ----- The two heard this from Rei. Some of it was useful, some of it was -- ell, not useful. Rei didn't know what was worst. Waking Usagi up, or keeping up with her when she wanted to have fun. She was lethargic at all the wrong times, and hyper at all the wrong times. Definitely not a good combination. As she pranced happily into the Grey Neko Arcade, its owner Felini Mia'shou greeted her, "Hey there, Usagi. Come to play the new games that came in?" She nodded her head vigorously. Apparently college life hasn't changed her one bit -- sad to say. From her sitting position in the eating area, Ami waved at Usagi while holding her book up. "You're late again! I finished a whole book waiting for you." Usagi smiled, then nearly choked. The book in question was the very thick, very wordy (very difficult word type of wordy) Lord of the Rings- Return of the King. She didn't have the heart to ask just how much of the book she read while waiting. "She messed up again." Rei grumbled, dragging herself in behind Usagi, "As always!" "Rei! How can you say that?!?" Usagi yells, blushing like mad, to which Rei counters "I sleep with you, which is a misadventure in itself." Before everyone could lean forward to listen, Usagi walks quickly over to Mako/Minako mostly to get away from Rei for a few minutes. At this point Rei goes into a minute long disconcerting rant about Usagi's poor bedside habits. "She is such a klutz. She can't even lubricate a simple---" At this point Michiru waves off the rant and gets her back on the arcade. ---- Mako-chan held the "bike"'s controls, which were set up like a real bike, and concentrated on her "driving". Minako was having too much fun and was goofing abit as she played. As they both saw Usagi they waved her over. "You gotta try this! It's great!" Mako-chan grunted and nodded her head, her focus locked on her "bike". "What's this?" Usagi asked, before looking up at the machine itself. It was called BLITZKRIEG RUN and was a hard edged motorcycle racing game through the streets of major cities across the world. Right now the two were tackling the streets of San Francisco. Quickly Minako motioned for Usagi to grab one of the four bike stations and put her coins in, "It's just like real bike racing! Try it out!" It took awhile, but Usagi was soon working the bike rather well for a newcomer to both the game and bikes in general. "It's like a real bike-- creepy though, I keep wobbling." Minako nods her head, teeth clenched as she makes a sharp turn, "It's real hard to master but I got it down pat in nothing flat. I---" A bike blazes past her, leaving her behind. "What the---" On the fourth machine was a young woman. She had short blue hair, wore an ensemble of blue and green pants, top, and long trailing coat with black boots and gloves. Her focus was dead on the screen, and her body relaxed as she played as if she was one with the bike. "Makomi." Usagi cried, already regretting glancing over as her bike cartwheeled over an obstacle and into a building bursting into flames. Makomi didn't seem to mind the speed, and her reflexes were dead perfect as she made each turn with a base minimum of movement which meant no loss time or crashes which cost her more valuable time. "How was classes today?" she asked mildly, making another perfect turn. Mako-chan was flustered that she was practically dead focused on the game, yet Makomi could carry on a conversation while still making perfect moves. Usagi was just plain frustrated that she was so lousy at the game. Minako groaned and hunkered down swerving a little bit from left to right, "Who cares about the race, I'm just enjoying the feeling right between my---" If Mako-chan had a free hand, she would have took a swing at Minako. She really didn't need to hear that from her right then and there since Ami- chan was just a few feet away and she was beginning to feel that way about the machine as she played. That cost them dearly. Mako-chan swung her bike too far in one direction at the final few feet of the race, clipped Minako who spun into Usagi, causing all three bikes to barrel over the finish line cartwheeling end over end until they exploded in a fiery mess. Usagi collapses into her controls and sighed, "The crash felt real too." "Ugh." Minako sighed, "Just a few more minutes and---" "Don't say it." Mako-chan growled. Everyone else was already marveling at Makomi's racing time, she came in a full half a minute before the rest (and in one piece no less). She smiled, got off the bike and helped the three over to the tables so they could catch their breaths. "Your really good at that---" Usagi sighed, to which she replied "It's nothing, really. It just comes from having a "body" like mine." ----- Outside Nina was walking past, checking her readings once again. "Clow Card shows up on radar, then vanishes. Where is it --" She bumps into someone, breath expelling as she gasps, "Sorry! Didn't mean to--" she stops, and finds herself staring into the eyes of a girl wearing a visor. She was a little shorter than Nina, her hair a soft warm sunset glow of yellow and red. The visor Nina recognized instantly, pointing at it. "Your light blind, aren't you." the girl blushes, backing away slightly. 'Brilliant Nina, you just insulted her. Idiot!' she scolded herself, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean---" "You have beautiful eyes." she remarked, looking up at Nina as she spoke, "They're pretty." "Uh -- thanks. I--" Another woman, blue hair wearing blue and green matched with black boots/gloves, walked out catching the soft spoken girl's attention. "There you are." she smiled, wrapping an arm around the taller woman's body as she lets herself be led away by the other woman. ----- "Grace." Eve/Hotaru whispered, remembering the girl from the times she met her and Makomi together. Grace was a lovely, polite and shy young woman. She made friends rather easily, but had glass thin emotions. She was easily hurt, which is why Makomi clung so close to her. She cared a lot for Grace, and only wanted to protect her from harm. She never told the others why they were so inseparable since they became an item four years ago, but their feelings for each other have only grown stronger each day they lived together. To Be Continued
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