Brigadier Sor'en smiled to herself as the canopy of her tactical fighter
closed around her, sealing her off from the outside world. The flight deck
ahead of her was already cleared, the ramp lights for the number one and three
lanes flashing in the outbound pattern.
"Flight bridge to Thunder-1, you are cleared to taxi to the number one
boost point," she heard in her helmet. "Spectre-7, you are cleared to taxi to
the number three boost point."
Sor'en sighed heavily as she powered up the hover jets and guided her
fighter over to the designated pad. "Thunder-1 is rolling," she said as she
thumbed her microphone.
"Spectre-7 is rolling," came the voice of the other pilot. "Good evening
to you, Brigadier Sor'en."
"Go away, Chance," she grumbled.
His soft laughter echoed over the circuit. "But I thought a lovely lady
such as yourself could use some company on this cruise," Lieutenant Commander
Chance said in his usually charming tone.
Sor'en rolled her eyes at the darkened sky. "I have a headache, Chance,
and I'm out here to get away from it all. Thunder-1 to flight bridge, I am in
position and ready to boost."
"Spectre-7 is also in position," Chance reported.
"Copy that, prepare for launch," the duty officer replied.
Sor'en checked to make sure the thrust-brakes were fully engaged before
she brought her main engines up to flight velocity. In front of her, a series
of magnetic fields started snapping on in a cascade, starting from the very
end of the carrier's flight deck and making their way towards her fighter. She
waited until the second-to-last field had energized before she released the
thrust-brake, her fighter surging forward just as the booster field directly
in front of her went active.
The angled magnetic field grabbed onto her fighter and thrust it forward
into the next screen, which repeated the process down the chain. The end
result was that the fighter effectively became a railgun projectile, hurling
across the length of the flight deck at a hyper-velocity before being flung
into the depths of the night sky.
Sor'en breathed as best she could, enjoying the sudden rush of the aerial
launch as only a true pilot could while her lungs become pressed against her
inner organs by the sudden surge of gravity.
"Spectre-7 to V'ral, we are clear of the flight deck. Thanks for the
blood rush," the voice in her helmet said as the image of the massive carrier
quickly disappeared from her rear-view monitor.
"Anytime, Spectre-7. Be advised that Ghost-4 will be forming up with you
soon and will be your eyes in the sky. Enjoy the flight, Red Wings. Carrier
V'ral out."
The acceleration finally faded to a tolerable level and Sor'en was able
to breathe easy again. The act of taking off from the airborne carrier never
failed to send a thrill of pure excitement through her blood, and as always it
took her a moment for her senses to reorient themselves to her surroundings.
"So, my dear," Chance said, his voice oozing charm. "What's on your mind
this most delightful evening?"
Sor'en cast an irritated glance over her shoulder. She could barely make
out the muted running lights of his Spectre-class fighter, lazily formed up on
her wing about two ke'shels away.
She thumbed her microphone and left the channel open. "This, that, and
the other, Commander," she said testily, not in much of a mood to put up with
his usual suggestive banter.
There was a soft chuckle. "My lady, you know I would like nothing more
than for you to sit down and tell me your troubles. I am here for you."
"How kind of you," she grumbled.
"No, seriously, my wing commander," he said. "It is a great pleasure to
be serving under you in any capacity, and I would like to continue to do so in
the future."
There was a faint click in her helmet as another channel was opened on the
same frequency. <I'll bet you would like to serve under her,> a metallic voice
echoed. <Especially in bed.>
Sor'en just sighed as Chance laughed softly to himself. "Surely you don't
think a gentleman like myself would have dishonorable intentions toward our
most adored wing commander, now do you, Sirene?"
"Thunder-1 to Ghost-4, so nice of you to join us," Sor'en said dryly.
<Ghost-4 copies, Wing Commander,> replied the computer-enhanced voice of
Major Sirene. <Oh, by the way, welcome to Central Division airspace. We just
crossed the demarcation line ten seconds ago.>
"Some of us are quite used to crossing lines," Chance replied.
"Tell me about it," Sor'en muttered.
<Ever the scoundrel,> Sirene's voice chided.
Sor'en glanced over her shoulder to see Chance's fighter even with hers,
still two ke'shels away. She frowned and glanced over her opposite shoulder,
trying to spot the darkened outline of the Ghost-class support aircraft. The
large swept-wing craft was operated not by conventional controls but by a very
unique psionic interface that allowed the pilot to control it with her mind.
The design made it unsuited to combat but provided excellent flight stability,
making it quite suited to air-traffic control or other less actively hostile
flight profiles.
"Scoundrel has such a negative connotation to it, my dear," Chance said
in a silken tone. "I prefer to think of myself as a gentleman with rather
discriminating tastes who has no fear of venturing into the unknown."
<Like other bedrooms?>
"I'm wounded, my siren song," Chance said in an exaggerated tone. "What
could I have possibly done to cause you such grievous injury?"
"Seduce her for a night and forget about it in the morning, like you've
done with so many others?" Sor'en suggested.
There was a soft chuckle. "You know so little of me, Brigadier. I'll
have you know that I was quite the gentleman with her all weekend long."
<You were gentle, alright, I'll give you that.>
Sor'en rolled her eyes. "I don't need to be hearing this," she sighed.
"If I didn't know better, Sirene, I would think that you didn't enjoy the
time we shared together," Chance said.
<I've had better, but I've had far worse,> Sirene admitted.
Sor'en winced in sympathy for her wingman. "That was awful cold of you,
Major," she said as she checked her radar display yet again. Chance's Spectre
barely registered on her sensors, even at this close range, and she still had
yet to even glimpse Sirene's Ghost. "Where are you, by the way?"
There was a dry chuckle from the speaker. "She is right where I would
like to be," Chance said in amusement.
<Put it like this, Wing Commander,> Sirene's metallic voice said evenly.
<Don't slow down suddenly or you might end up losing your virignity.>
Chance's laughter echoed in her helmet as Sor'en ignited her afterburners
for a brief moment, doubling her velocity in an instant. She pulled back hard
on the controls and looped the fighter around, coming to a position roughly
twenty ke'shels behind Chance's fighter.
"That was classic," Chance said, still laughing.
"Trying to tell me something, Sirene?" she growled as the finally saw the
broad shape of the Ghost-class support craft. It had apparently been flying
directly beneath her tail section, not even half a ke'shel away from the ends
of her thrusters.
<Yes, you need to relax some,> the voice said lightly.
"I can see explaining this one to your mother now," Chance snickered.
"No, honest, I really did lose it to another woman...."
Sor'en reached down and armed the missiles slung under the wings of her
tactical fighter. The seeker heads immediately began scanning for targets,
missing the super-stealthed Ghost entirely and attempting to lock onto the hot
exhaust from the Spectre.
Spectre-7 reacted immediately, deploying the under-wings and shutting off
the engines completely. The fighter started to descend into a glide as its
wing-surface essentially doubled. The engine mount rose up on a track and
swivelled forward, letting the airflow rapidly cool the engines to mask the
heat signature.
"Hey!" Chance protested as his threat sensors went off. "That's not very
lady-like, Brigadier. A Thunderbolt in my exhaust could really ruin both my
evening and your sterling reputation."
<I don't think it's her reputation you're worried about,> Sirene said
casually as her Ghost aircraft gently cruised higher into the sky.
"Are you finished, Commander?" Sor'en said, her voice laced with acid.
There was a soft sigh. "With you, ma'am. I still have a few issues to
straighten out with our lovely escort."
Sor'en disarmed her missiles and slowly increased her forward speed. She
watched as his engines returned to their normal configuration and ignited,
allowing the Spectre to regain cruising altitude before folding the under-wings
back into their housings.
<I'm listening.>
Chance's voice immediately took on a honeyed tone. "I very much enjoyed
the weekend, my dear Sirene. It is not every day that a man such as I gets to
see past that mask you wear and gaze upon your true beauty, as well as hear
your sweet melodic voice singing earthly tones in my ear."
Sor'en blinked hard at the thought. Sirene's Windslash-class tactical
fighter had been one of twenty aircraft involved in a raid some thirty years
ago as the Renn were making their final stand against Nop'tera's fleet. Her
aircraft hadn't been shot down so much as blown apart around her and it was a
miracle that she had been recovered alive.
She knew that Sirene's flight helmet had kept enough pressure on her head
wounds to keep her from fatally bleeding out, but it hadn't been enough to stop
flying debris from almost literaly ripping out her vocal chords and making a
bloody ruin of her eyes. Surgery could only restore so much, and Sirene ended
up wearing a mask with optical implants and using a vocoder to produce speech.
She refused to accept that such an accident would forever remove her from
flight status, and so after much trial and error the Ghost-class of psionically
enchanced support craft was developed.
<You're a charmer, Chance, but now you're just kissing up.>
"I beg your pardon," Chance replied, all traces of humor and coyness gone.
"I am quite serious, Major. Yes, you have physical damage to your body, but
that doesn't detract one iota from your true beauty. Scars are badges of honor
to some of us, proof that you have done your duty and been prepared to make the
ultimate sacrifice. Such noble things may be uncomfortable to you, but a man
such as I looks beyond the physical. You are a very special woman, my sweet,
and I am very grateful for the special time we shared together, even if you
are not. What other man has been honest with you before about such things?"
There was a long silence on the circuit as both Sor'en and Sirene thought
over his words. Sor'en took the opportunity to gently nudge her fighter
forward until it was flying even with Chance's Spectre, casting a wary eye at
the now almost-invisible outline of the Ghost craft flying high above her.
"V'ral to Red Wings," the circuit crackled. "Be advised that radar is
tracking a flight of inbounds heading towards your position. They are ID'ing
themselves as an escort from the Central Division and state their intentions
as non-hostile."
Sor'en sighed and thumbed her microphone. "Thunder-1 copies."
<Ghost-4 copies, I have them on my scope. Thanks for the heads-up.>
"Spectre-7 copies. Well, isn't that neighborly of them?" he added on the
open circuit. "And non-hostile, they say, how gentlemanly."
<Non-hostile doesn't always equate with friendly,> Sirene observed dryly.
"Tell me about it," Sor'en muttered. "Sirene, what do they look like?"
<One second.... Flight of four, starting to look like Guardian-class,>
the major reported. <Light on the ground weapons, distinctly heavier on the
aerial weapons. They're too far away for a definite scan, but I'm not picking
up any signs of poppers.>
"That's always a relief," Chance observed dryly. Poppers were usually
small thermonuclear or fusion weapons, which as a rule were never loaded onto
tactical aircraft unless they were prepared to be used.
The report of the V'ral having been briefly targeted by a particle-wave
cannon suddenly came to Sor'en's mind and she frowned. "Keep a very hard eye
on them anyway," she ordered. "I don't care if they're an escort or not, I
don't want them anywhere near the carrier."
<Acknowledged, Wing Commander.>
"That's a bit harsh, now, isn't it?" Chance observed as his Spectre-class
fighter dipped to the right, putting some space between the aircraft. "Or are
you concerned that they might be trying to pull a fast one?"
She cast a quick glance out of her cockpit. "And you're not?"
"Of course I am, my most glorious wing commander," he said in a honeyed
tone. "However, I have a bit of faith in our aerial brethren over there to
have the good grace to behave. Put yourself in their position, wouldn't you
send up an armed escort to keep a casual eye on us? And with the very clear
instruction not to overly piss off the carrier again?" he added lightly.
<He has a point, for once,> Sirene observed with a note of humor in her
metallic voice. <I'm not sure I agree with the message your mother sent the
other day, but I believe the point was sufficiently made.>
If that's the case, Sor'en thought darkly, why did someone try to crater
the carrier from orbit? "Your opinions are noted," she said over the circuit.
"I still want them kept them away from the carrier regardless."
"Understood, ma'am," Chance replied smoothly. "Sirene, my dear, how long
until we're in intercept range? The fighters, not you and I," he added with
an obvious smile in his voice.
<Twelve minutes,> the metallic voice replied dryly.
"Chance, do you never let it rest?" Sor'en sighed as she briefly rubbed
the bridge of her nose.
There was a soft chuckle from the speaker. "That all depends, my dear.
It has to rest between rounds of passion and pleasure, but I try to make sure
that the fun never compeletely stops."
<Brigadier Sor'en, you have my permission to shoot him down,> Sirene said
casually. <I won't say anything to anyone.>
"Shoot what down, his fighter, his mouth, or his ego?" Sor'en muttered.
<All three, please?> the computer-enhanced voice replied.
"Ladies, please," Chance chuckled. "I can't help it if I find indulging
in such verbal play is almost as entertaining and as satisfying as making love
to a most delightful woman. Like our most illustrious Major here...."
"Commander, if you don't quit bragging, I WILL shoot you down," Sor'en
growled flatly.
There was a slight pause from the speaker. "Sor'en, I don't mean to be a
thorn in your shapely backside, but what exactly has you so edgy tonight?" he
said in a quiet tone. "You're usually not like this."
<Indeed, Wing Commander,> Sirene observed as she angled her Ghost into a
higher flight path. <Would it be reasonable to presume that some matter of
importance is weighing upon you?>
There was more silence on the speaker before Chance spoke up again. "If
I may be so bold, my dear, I would like to point out that both myself and our
mentally gifted escort are very much here for you should you desire to talk
about things. As with all such conversations that take place way up here, you
know that whatever happens to be said will remain between us and the celestial
beauties that dot these darkened skies."
Sor'en grunted quietly. "Your poetry needs a little work, Commander, but
the sentiment is appreciated."
<I like his poetry,> Sirene protested. <At least when it's in the proper
setting and context.>
"Why thank you, Major," Chance cooed quietly. "Surely you realize that
such words can only be inspired by the company I keep. And I should like to
point out, Wing Commander, that sometimes company can have quite the calming
and relaxing effect on the mind, body, and spirit."
"You're depressing me, Commander," she said in a faintly edged tone.
A soft sigh was heard across the circuit. "Very well, my dear, I shall
seal my lips for the moment. Preferably to Sirene's lips, of course, but all
in due time," he said gently.
<The inbounds are five minutes out,> Sirene warned. <Sensors confirm no
poppers present, and at the moment they don't have any scanning or targeting
systems activated.>
"Okay, so maybe they are going to play nice tonight," Sor'en mused. "I
still want a wide buffer between them and the V'ral. What's their current
flight profile look like?"
<Standard paired-intercept formation, their velocity is consistent with
the cruising speed of Guardians. All four look to be equipped with orbital
booster units, but they don't appear to be in any big rush to make contact,>
she observed.
"Orbital boosters?" Sor'en wondered aloud. "What for?"
<They have several uses,> Sirene reminded her. <The first is obvious, to
help achieve a low planetary orbit. Another use, however, and one that is not
exactly very common, is as a combination hyper-booster array and external fuel
tanks. The array is a moderate hindrance if you need to take any radical or
serious evasive action, as the tail module has to be folded down before they
can be mounted, so I don't think they're up here to pick a fight. If I had to
make an educated guess, I'd say that they're using them more for the extra fuel
capacity than the boost ability.>
"Perhaps we should be nice and introduce ourselves to them?" Chance asked
lightly. "Just so there are no early misunderstandings?"
Sor'en pondered it for a moment before shrugging. "What the hell, it's
worth a shot," she said as she dialed open a broadcast frequency. "This is
Brigadier Sor'en of the Imperial Red Wings, hailing the Guardian flight. You
are on an intercept path to our carrier, please identify yourselves, over."
There was a slight burst of static from the speaker. "Hail, Red Wings,
this is Guardian-3 of the Central Division Air Command. We are ordered to
provide aerial escort to your carrier until it reaches the Imperial Castle.
Please advise on a suitable flight path and arrangement, over."
"Straight down to the ground like a brick, heading back to your own base?"
Chance suggested casually over the Red Wing circuit.
Sor'en blinked at the unexpected comment and chuckled, ignoring the harsh
burst of electronic static caused by Sirene's laughter briefly overloading her
vocoder. "And here I thought you were supposed to be a gentleman, Chance," she
teased her wingman.
"I thought that was a rather polite response, to be honest," Chance said
with an audible grin. "Or would you have preferred I had used language that
would have made your chief mechanic wince?"
"It's the thought that counts, Commander. Major, you can handle this as
you're the one with the traffic-control authority," Sor'en added.
<Copy,> Sirene replied as she switched circuits. <Guardian-3, this is
Ghost-4. Your flight is advised to come around to bearing two-six-eight and
match altitude. You may assume a port-and-starboard positioning, but you are
required to maintain a one-mile separation distance from the flight deck as we
have operations pending, over.>
"Guardian-3 copies flight instructions and pattern limitations," the other
pilot replied crisply. "Central Division Air Command sends their regards, and
welcome to Central Division airspace. Guardian flight out."
"Well, that was painless," Chance mused.
Sor'en shrugged inside her cockpit. "You were expecting an incident?"
"My dearly beloved wing commander," he said, his voice oozing charm, "It
has always been my personal philosophy in this mortal existence to try to make
love instead of war, but to remain thoroughly prepared for both at all times."
<That's probably the first smart thing he's said all week,> Sirene said
with a quiet chuckle. <The Guardians are splitting up and changing course.
They look to be coming around to an inverted-heart intercept pattern, still at
cruising speed. If they maintain their flight path and cooperate, they will
form up off the V'ral's beams in ten minutes.>
"Go ahead and advise the carrier," Sor'en ordered. "Don't need them to
get their shorts in a knot."
<Copy, Wing Commander.>
"Speaking of unknotting one's shorts, Brigadier...." Chance said slowly.
"You're not sleeping with me, Chance, so forget it," she said sternly.
There was a slight pause on the circuit. "I beg your pardon, my dear,
but I had no such intentions. I was merely attempting to prod my leading lady
into relaxing a touch and perhaps aiding in the removal of whatever weight you
have burdening your chest."
Sor'en sighed heavily. "Don't you ever give it a rest, Chance?"
<Not this one again,> Sirene said sullenly.
"Would you feel better if you were on top next time, Major?" he asked in
a casual tone. "I would be more than willing to accomodate you...."
<That's a pretty blatant assumption, Commander.>
"Do I have to shoot both of you out of the sky?" Sor'en demanded.
"Of course not, Wing Commander," Chance replied in a neutral tone. "With
your permission, I shall go ensure that our fellow airmen from the Central
Division are doing as they agreed. Spectre-7 out."
Sor'en blinked as Chance's fighter banked to the right and curved away in
a graceful turn. "Sirene...." she said slowly over the open circuit.
<Don't look at me, I don't understand him either,> the metallic voice
replied. <Not that I blame him one bit, though, you are in a mood tonight and
apparently don't care for the present company.>
Sor'en sighed. "I warned him earlier, you know."
<Repeatedly,> Ghost-4 assured her. <Now then, do you feel any better, or
should I let you sulk on your own?>
The brigadier blinked hard. "You're out of line, Major."
There was a muffled snort from the other end of the channel. <I doubt
you'll put us on report for being concerned about you, Wing Commander. He's
right, you're usually not this tempermental when flying.>
Sor'en sighed and gazed out at the landscape far below, only partially
visible beneath the patchwork-quilt of low-level clouds. "You ever see any of
this world before?" she asked, keeping a trained eye on her instruments as she
examined the environment around her. "Seen any constellations in this world's
sky? Or got a good look at that moon over there?"
<No, but I have been looking around,> the metallic voice assured her.
<This world isn't very different from the Renn's homeworld. Okay, so the sun
is red and the atmosphere is more purple than blue, but the air doesn't smell
any different to me. At least, not from the flight deck. I sense that you
haven't asked the question that's really bothering you.>
Sor'en reached down and shifted her Thunder-class fighter into stealthed
cruise mode, drastically expanding the wing surfaces while idling the engines
down to a mere whisper. Her velocity dropped by nearly half as she started to
tilt to one side, her flight profile now more sensitive to thermal currents in
the air around her.
"What's your idea of home, Sirene?" she asked quietly as she leveled the
fighter and settled into a very shallow glide, using her thermal sensors to
scan for an updraft to maintain altitude without resorting to thrusters. A
large heat bloom to her right looked promising, and so she banked her gliding
aircraft towards it.
<Truthfully?> the psionicist replied. <My quarters on the V'ral. I know
it sounds a bit pathetic, but I've been with the Red Wings ever since I was of
age to join. Not that I had many options, really, being a denizen born to
military parents while on the proverbial road to victory in another world, but
I don't have any regrets.>
Sor'en thought about it carefully as she felt a surge beneath her wings,
the thermal lifting her up higher into the cold night air. "So do you think
you'll be able to make yourself comfortable in this world?" she inquired.
<Not at first. We all come from the same blood and we might be able to
speak the same language, assuming we didn't warp the accent in three thousand
years. But we're used to our own society, our own culture and ways of doing
things. Adjusting won't be easy in the least, and I for one don't think that
everyone will be able to cope with it.>
"So what are you going to do?" she asked idly as she leaned back in her
seat, trying to relax. She looked up above her as a swath of darkness was cut
from the glittering sea of twinkling stars, the invisible outline of Sirene's
Ghost support craft blocking the dim light.
<I honestly haven't thought much about it,> Sirene replied after a moment
of silence. <I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens. I don't
expect everything to be changed in a day, of course, simply for logistical
reasons if nothing else. But if things do change, I'll just go with the flow
like everyone else in this division has done as of late.>
A gentle sense of peace surrounded her as the speaker fell silent and she
continued to glide through the air, only needing to make minor adjustements to
her flight profile every now and then. "What about Chance?" she asked on an
impulse.
<I don't know, Sor'en,> the metallic voice replied, sounding tired. <He
certainly has a way with words, or at least I think so. He really made me feel
special those nights we were together. Yes, I know he is an absolute rogue,
but there's just something about him that I can't pin down.... or seem to let
go of,> she admitted. <Just between you and me? I think I would honestly try
to keep him for myself if I thought he could be kept on a leash, but you know
how he is.>
Sor'en grunted quietly to herself. "Isn't it still worth a try?" she
asked absently as her fighter slowly tilted to the left.
There was a long pause from the speaker before Sirene's metalic voice was
heard again. <Are you asking me, Wing Commander, or are you really asking
yourself that question about whatever it is that is bothering you?> she said
quietly.
The question drew a hard blink of realization from the brigadier. She
thought about it for a few moments before sighing softly. "As always, Sirene,
your level of insight can be truly disturbing sometimes," she observed.
<As Chance tried to point out earlier, we are here for you when you need
someone to talk to,> Sirene replied calmly. <Bearing back to the carrier is
zero-nine-nine from your present course. Pleasant evening, Wing Commander.
Ghost-4 out.>
Sor'en said nothing as the invisible shadow above her seemed to drift to
the right before disappearing completely, revealing the thin red crescent of
the Negaverse's second moon, simply called the Moon of Blood. Mother's moon,
she thought to herself, wondering what sort of influence it might have on the
group of denizens who had, willingly or unwillingly, been subjected to her
mother's vampiric hunger.
I guess we will find out, she mused as she ramped her thrusters back up
to flight velocity and returned her fighter's configuration to normal. The
soft roaring in her ears was both strange and familiar, an unnatural sound
disturbing the veil of peace that only seemed to envelop her when she was out
flying. And I guess that, yes, it is worth trying to see for ourselves what
is going to happen, and what this world is going to be like....
The Thunder-class aircraft tilted to one side as it banked around and
headed back to the carrier that was home to both the aircraft and the pilot.
* * * *
Susan looked up from her magazine as a middle-aged man in a very sharp
business suit walked up to her. "Miss... Meow, is it?" he asked quietly with
a very steep London accent.
"Meiou," she corrected him as she rose to her feet, her own voice taking
on a soft but distinct British accent. "There's been a fair amount of Japanese
influence on my ancestry."
"My apologies," he replied. "Edgar Bloom, Esquire. The floor manager has
told me about the nature of your visit, but I'm afraid I've missed the boat on
the exact substance of the request."
Susan smiled gently. "The short story is that I've become an heiress to
a few disturbingly well-kept family secrets, and one of them happens to be a
lock-box kept in one of your vaults. I should like to examine its contents,
but I understand it might no longer be available given its age."
"Ah, so that's it," he mused. "Michael had me thrown for quite a loop
when he was talking about an account that dates back almost two hundred years.
We do have a number of.... well, relics, if you'll pardon the phrase, still
stored in the basement vault, and one of the might indeed be yours."
She nodded her head in understanding. "I should hope so," she said as she
held up an iron key. "I would rather not think that this key had been passed
down in my family for generations for naught."
He blinked as he focused his gaze on the key. "May I?" he asked as he
gestured to the key. She handed it to him and he withdrew a small magnifying
glass from his pocket, peering intently at the markings cut into the edges.
"Bloody marvelous," he breathed quietly as he glanced up. "Your family
certainly has taken good care of this. I can still make out the box number and
the original vault code. Thirty-seven-H, vault twenty-three. Hmm, that most
definitely sounds like one of ours.... Madam, would you be so kind as to come
with me?"
"But of course," Susan replied with a faint smile. She was wearing one
of the more popular styles of 'power suits' for business women, giving the
impression of being moderately successful in her endeavors. Her dark green
hair was pinned up in a tight bun, only adding to the impression that she was
well on her way to achieving a degree of nobility in English society.
He led her through a small rabbit warren of cubicles, each one occupied
by a minor official dealing with the countless business transactions that an
international bank like this one went through on a daily basis. He paused in
front of one and stuck his head in, waving his hand to get the attention of a
rather elderly gentleman conversing on the telephone. The man nodded back in
understanding before refocusing on his call and typing away on the computer
located in the corner of his desk.
"This way, please," Mr. Bloom said as he ushered her across the room and
into a rather tastefully decorated office. "Please, have a seat, James will
be with us in a moment," he said as he gestured to one of the leather chairs.
"Thank you," Susan replied graciously as she sat down.
"So if I may ask, Ms. Meiou, what do you do for a living?" he inquired as
he turned to the computer on his desk and accessed the historical archives,
occasionally glancing at the engravings on the key.
"Small business administration," Susan replied. "Nothing on a scale as
grand as this bank, of course, but I've managed to make a reasonable profit for
all of my clients."
He nodded as he waited patiently for the computer to retrieve the records
he was looking for. "Jolly good. Just between you and me, young lady, I am
quite pleased to see more women such as yourself at the helm of businesses and
corporations these days. And, I might add, doing a right smashing good job of
things. Ah, do you by chance happen to know who initially signed for this
particular lock-box?"
"Let me see...." she said slowly as she glanced up at the ceiling for a
moment. "I believe it was Countess Marie D'Avenant of Eldevier, but I could be
wrong. The family legends aren't what they used to be," she added with a hint
of a blush.
He chuckled quietly. "You're quite right, it seems. A number of years
ago we went through all the old paper records in the archives and had them
analyzed by all this digital gadgetry. According to this report, your lock-box
was indeed chartered two-hundred and six years ago by one Marie D'Avenant, and
with quite unusual instructions about its retrieval...."
There was a soft knock at the door as the elderly man poked his head in.
"You wanted to see me, Mr. Bloom?" he said in a deep, gravelly voice.
Mr. Bloom looked up from his terminal. "James, old boy, you're going to
be floored by this one. Our lady guest here has come forward to lay claim to
one of the lock-boxes we have in the basement."
James nodded his head. "So what's the Alfred Hitchcock?"
Mr. Bloom chuckled quietly. "The surprise twist to the story, believe
this or not, is that the box is one of the antique Steel Pete's. Number 37H,
to be precise."
"Surely you jest," James replied, blinking hard and looking at Susan.
"It appears to be a well-kept family secret that only came to light after
an aunt passed away and left me the key in her will," Susan replied.
"Bloody amazing," James observed. "Very well, I shall go retrieve it at
once. I may need a small lorry to haul it up here if it's one of the bigger
ones, however," he cautioned.
Mr. Bloom nodded. "In that case, just send a ringer up here and we'll
come down to it instead."
"Jolly good," James replied and withdrew, muttering something to himself.
Susan smiled to herself as her hearing picked up most of the comment. "I
don't believe he's overly thrilled about this one," she observed.
He chuckled quietly. "The old Steel Pete's have been known to weigh a
right hideous amount, depending on the size and what was stored in them. We
had a safe stored here a number of years ago, filled to the brim with platinum
and gold ingots. We had to empty it out completely before we could even move
it to the other side of the vault, and even then we had to replace a lift that
gave out on us halfway through the evolution. Bloody heavy beasts, the Steel
Pete's, but utterly secure."
"I should imagine so," Susan said demurely.
He looked back at the computer screen and furrowed his brow. "I must
confess that this is probably the most unusual case I've seen all my years of
working for this bank," he admitted. "There are instructions here that are
quite explicit about how to go about determining who can open this."
Susan nodded. "The story is that my ancestor wanted to make quite sure
that the contents were only given to someone who was directly related to her,
and that proof of identity would need to be rendered beforehand."
"Quite right," he confirmed. "There are three criteria.... well, four if
you count physical possession of the key. First, the supplicant has to be a
woman, which I believe is quite obviously not an issue. The second is that she
has to have dark green hair.... that's quite unusual, as I thought that all
this hair color stuff was a recent development. Sounds like someone has been
reading a particular Sherlock Holmes story, what?" he quipped, giving her a
slightly amused look.
Susan gave him a reassuring smile. "There has been dark green hair in my
family for countless generations. I'm led to believe that my ancestor might
have been the first of her family to have the rare coloring, but it has been
quite dominant in the female bloodline since."
He shrugged in dismissal. "Well, that certainly doesn't seem to be an
issue in this case. The third criteria, however, is that a star-shaped mark
must be present somewhere on the body."
A delicate blush rose to Susan's face. "I do possess such a birthmark,
but it is in a rather.... less-than-visible location," she said demurely.
"Oh?" he inquired as his eyebrows rose up. "If you like, I believe I can
accept a notarized letter from your personal physician attesting that such a
mark is indeed in existence."
"No, that's quite alright," Susan said quietly as she stood up, a soft
smile tugging on her lips. She walked over to his office door and closed it
gently, crossing the room to sit on the edge of his desk next to him.
He blinked hard. "Miss Meiou," he said nervously, "I am a professional
and there are ethical rules...."
"I know you are," she said quietly as she unbuttoned her blouse. "Which
is why I have faith that you're not going to act inappropriately." She opened
her blouse and lifted up the cup of her black-lace bra, baring her breast and
the small star-shaped freckle below her hardened nipple.
His face flushed a dark red as he briefly examined the freckle. Susan
couldn't help smiling to herself as she noticed his attention wandering back
and forth between the freckle and her nipple. "You can take a closer look at
it if you want," she said in a quiet but subtle tone, taking a deep breath to
expand her chest. "Just to make sure that everything is quite real and that
the location isn't a deliberate distraction. I don't mind...."
He visibly hesitated for a moment before he shook his head. "No, no," he
stammered. "That's quite alright, I have no reason to doubt their reality."
She nodded and slowly eased her breast back into the confines of the bra,
taking slightly longer than was necessary before rebuttoning her blouse. "I
trust I've proven my identity well enough?" she said lightly as she ran her
hands over her blouse before resuming her seat in the leather chair.
He glanced at her chest for a split-second before shaking his head to
himself, his face still flushed with embarassment. "Oh, yes, yes, quite so.
In fact, Miss Meiou, you may wish to pay a visit the Office of Genealogy, as
you might be in a position to lay claim to your ancestor's hereditary title of
Countess of Eldevier."
Susan shook her head. "That already belongs to a distant cousin, I'm
afraid, but I believe I am fourteenth in line at the moment for the title."
"Ah, well," Mr. Bloom said with a faint cough as he tried to refocus on
his computer screen. "As soon as James returns with the lock-box, we can have
a go at opening it. Oh, that must be him," he added as there was a hard knock
on the door. He quickly got up and crossed the room to open it, oblivious to
the look of amusement on Susan's face at his dignified haste.
"Not as heavy as it looks," James said as he wheeled a small push-cart
into the room. "It was a bit dusty, but I've taken the liberty of running a
cloth along it and squirting the lock with grease. Let me know if you have a
problem opening it and I'll fetch a locksmith."
"Splendid work, James," Mr. Bloom beamed. "Thank you so much."
"A pleasure, Mr. Bloom," James replied. "The look on old Martha's face
alone when I told her what I was trying to get from her precious vault was
well worth the effort. Here's the bank keys," he added as he held up a large
ring of antique iron keys that had been well-maintained over the decades.
"Marvelous," Mr. Bloom chuckled to himself. "I might have to return them
to the old dragon myself, just to hear her fuss about it. Thank you, James,
jolly good work as always."
"Good day, Mr. Bloom. And a good day to you, Miss," he added.
"Thank you," Susan replied as she stood up and walked over to the cart.
The steel lock-box was roughly the size of a large unabridged dictionary,
the metal tarnished with age. The locking mechanism appeared to be in decent
condition, a thin sheen of lubricating oil visible around the edges. "Well
then, shall we see what's inside?" Mr. Bloom said brightly as he passed her the
customer key and picked up the ring of bank keys, sorting through them one by
one until he found the matching key. "Yours on the left, mine on the right,
both have to be turned in unison. Ready?" he added as he inserted his key.
"Of course," Susan replied as she slid her key into the slot.
"Right then, a full quarter-turn to the left on the count of three, if you
please.... one, two, three!"
Both keys were turned at the same instant and the lock popped open with a
heavy click. Mr. Bloom very slowly lifted the lid, his eyes burning with mild
curiosity and wonder at what could possibly be inside that had lain dormant for
over two hundred years.
Susan smiled gently at his obvious state of excitement. She, of course,
knew exactly what should be in there, as she had made the deposit herself one
idle day during a time-travelling expedition. The nature of time-travel made
it far easier to set up an event eight centuries into the future than to try
to change something two hundred years in the past, and so as a precautionary
measure she had long ago set aside minor fortunes in very safe locations.
"Bloody hell," Mr. Bloom breathed as he set the lid aside and examined
the sheaf of yellowed papers inside. Several small black velvet bags were in
one corner, each bulging at the seams with various types of coins and small
gemstones. "This is incredible! Those look like Spanish doubloons, and I'll
shave my head if those aren't pieces-of-eight coins!" he babbled excitedly.
He looked up at her with wide eyes. "Dear lady, this has to be worth an
incredible fortune here!"
Susan's eyebrows arched up to her hairline. "Surely you jest, sir!" she
protested incredulously. "My aunt swore on her life that the only things in
this lock-box were old family heirlooms and souvenirs, things with sentimental
but little other value...."
"Wait, wait," he said quietly as he brought his magnifying glass out and
examined the topmost piece of paper. "This here is a bond note, stamped with
the sovereign seal of the King of England.... That this note, marked with the
royal crest, shall serve as a deed of debt upon the crown, and that all monies
and interests accumulated by the passage of time shall be paid in full whence
redeemed by the Royal Exchequer.... Dear God, do you know how valuable this
has become? It is over two hundred years old!" he gasped.
"Mr. Bloom, perhaps you should sit down and explain this to me?" Susan
suggested, lightly placing a hand on his shoulder. "I am a business woman and
am quite familiar with economics, but I must confess I am not as educated about
the more subtle nuiances of non-liquid commodities and hard currencies."
He breathed deeply as he walked over and sat down hard in his chair, his
eyes slightly wide. "One moment, please," he said quietly as he picked up the
phone and dialed a four-digit number. "This is Edgar Bloom, I need an armed
security guard in my office. Oh, no, it's nothing like that, I just need an
escort for some valuables, that's all. Right, thank you," he added before
hanging up.
"Miss Meiou...." he said slowly.
"Please, call me Susan," she replied with a warm smile.
"Very well, Susan," he said, still breathing deep. "I will have to have
someone independantly verify a few things for me, but you are apparently now a
substantially wealthy woman."
Susan let her eyebrows arch up again. "By how much?" she asked, mentally
doing a few compounded-interest equations in her mind and reaching a sum that
would put a smile on anybody's face. "I am already a woman of comfortable
means, but a little extra is always something to savor."
He let out his breath quietly. "You will have to settle the Inheritance
Tax with the Treasury, of course, and I am far from knowledgeable in the exact
value of those coins and gems, but I would put it in the range of somewhere
between three and seven hundred million pounds. Before taxes, mind you," he
added with a sobering look. "The after-tax value should be between two and
five hundred million."
Susan nearly fell out of her chair in shock, having figured the value was
far less than that. "Are you serious?" she said as her jaw sagged open, her
reaction entirely unscripted for once. "Between a quarter and a half BILLION
pounds?"
"As I said, I will have to have a few qualified and trusted professionals
assay the value of the contents of the lock-box first, but I am confident that
it will pan out to be a very tidy sum," he said.
Susan blinked hard, realizing that she had seriously underestimated the
value of this particular reserve account. "Mr. Bloom...."
He smiled at her. "Please, you may call me Edgar, if you wish."
She smiled back warmly. "Thank you. I have to say this is a bit of a
broadside salvo for me. I only returned to England for my aunt's funeral and
will be flying back to Japan soon, so I am at a bit of a loss to think of how
I would be able to deal with this at the present."
"Well...." he said slowly. "This isn't a simple matter of making a lump
sum deposit into an account. These items have to be appraised first, and then
if you so desire, a buyer found willing to purchase them. Cashing out the
bonds should be the simplest matter, but that will still take a fair amount to
fully authenticate and liquidate. Again, only if you so desire to."
Susan stood up and started to slowly pace the room, her face a mask of
deep concentration. "I take it this means I'm going to need someone with a
power of attorney to oversee things?" she said in a slightly weary tone.
He nodded. "Yes, I believe you will if you will be leaving the country
soon. Perhaps you have a relative here you could trust?"
She blinked and gave him a stunned look. "Oh, bloody hell," she muttered,
her country accent momentarily thickening. "I'm not sure I want any of this to
be made public just yet. I need to do a bit of legal research about my aunt's
will and family heirlooms, as this might not be solely mine. And having a few,
shall we say, less-than-savory branches on the family tree, I would rather not
have anyone trying to attempt a legal looting before this is sorted out."
"I understand perfectly," he assured her. "You can rely upon us for the
utmost discretion, as that is one of the principles this bank was founded on."
She smiled and visibly relaxed. "I know, I think that's why my ancestor
went with you in the first place," she replied. She sighed and looked towards
the shuttered window, tiny ribbons of light playing across her face. "Would it
be possible to have a sort of estate-trust established to oversee this for the
present? I will, of course, endeavor to return to England as soon as I am able
to in order to manage it myself, but it could be quite some time."
"I believe that setting up such a trust would be a fairly simple matter,"
he explained as he turned to his computer and called up several documents. "In
fact, I can even lay out the groundwork for that this very afternoon. You will
need to find someone you trust to serve as an executive, however."
She turned from the window and gave him a soft smile. "I think I already
have found someone I can trust with this," she said lightly.
He looked up at her and blinked hard. "Madam, surely you don't mean me,"
he protested.
She shrugged gently. "You are a certified account manager, I believe, as
well as a respected gentleman in the financial community. Besides, I am quite
serious about keeping the knowledge of this rather substantial windfall as
quiet as possible."
He blinked hard again. "I'm not sure the rules will allow me to oversee
a private account like that," he hedged.
"You would know more than I would," she replied. "If they do not, surely
you would know someone in the region whom you or your bank would feel would be
a suitably trustworthy and knowledgeable individual to handle matters."
He sat back as his breath left his lungs in a soft exodus. "What you ask
is not a trivial matter, Miss Meiou," he warned.
"Susan," she corrected with a gentle smile. "And yes, I understand the
depth of trust behind such a request. I am a business woman, after all, and I
would think that I would be able to recognize an honest man when I see one,"
she added lightly. "The mere fact that you have yet to even show any interest
as to the question of compensation for your time managing such a trust speaks
volumes in my book. Most other people would have eagerly inquired about the
matter by this point."
She walked over to his desk and sat down on the edge again, a soft smile
on her lips. "I realize it is probably quite cavalier to walk into your bank,
access an account that has lain dormant for two centuries, discovery a literal
fortune inside, and then just leave it in your hands while I fly back halfway
around the globe for an undetermined amount of time."
"Madam, cavalier is not the word I would use," he admitted bluntly.
"As I said before, I am already a woman of comfortable means," she said
slowly. "I run a business, manage several accounts, and quite understand the
value of money. This has been quite unexpected, and at this point I am not
prepared to independently deal with it. As such, I have no choice but to seek
outside help and experience. You have struck me as being quite an experienced
and professional financial manager, and both my ancestor and my aunt apparently
felt quite comfortable with the level of service and trust this bank has given
them. I will, of course, understand if you don't feel comfortable with this
situation, but I have no reason to doubt either their faith or my own in both
you and this institution's ability to safeguard and manage my assets with the
utmost integrity."
It took several long seconds for Edgar to find his voice. "Madam, I sit
before you in awe," he said quietly. "Phrased in such a way, I have no choice
but to accept your request with the sincerest humility."
She smiled and patted his hand lightly. "I've learned over the years to
trust what my instincts tell me about people," she said demurely as she stood
up and walked over to the push-cart. "I will, of course, leave instructions
as detailed as possible about how to manage these," she said as she picked up
a single gold dubloon. "But I also know that micro-managing is not the best
way of ensuring your will and desires are executed accordingly. Tell me, your
rules don't permit personal gifts, do they?"
He shook his head. "No, they don't."
She smiled and walked back over to him. "I suspected as much. Here," she
said as she placed the ancient coin in his hand. "If you yourself are unable
to accept gifts of gratitude, then perhaps the bank itself can?" she suggested
as his eyes widened. "If nothing else, it can be kept on guarded display in
the lobby. Think of it as a small gift of prestige, a token of repayment for
your vigilance in guarding my ancestor's wealth."
"Madam...." he breathed, utterly speechless.
She chuckled quietly at his reaction as she moved back over to her chair.
"There is one small matter I would like to have taken care of before I have to
fly back to Japan," she said carefully. "Seeing how I have found myself in
possession of more money than I know what to do with, at least for the moment,
would it be possible to set up an account here and secure a line of credit to
take care of any immediate financial requirements I might encounter?"
He looked up at her in surprise. "Surely you must be joking," he said
with a faint smile. "I can have an account set up in ten minutes for you if
you like, and believe me when I say that the contents of that lock-box would
more than definitely be sufficient as collateral for any loans."
She nodded in understanding. "So how large a line of credit, if I may?"
He paused and took a sobering breath. "As I said earlier, what you have
cannot very easily or quickly be liquidated. The bonds should be, once they
are properly authenticated, but I honestly don't forsee any great difficulty
in that. I'm afraid I will have to limit any line of credit to seven digits,"
he said with a slight air of apology. "At least until we get a more solid
estimate of the true net value."
Susan blinked at his casual offer. "I don't believe I should be needing
immediate access to several million pounds," she protested with a faint smile.
She quickly reworked the numbers in her mental workbook and recalculated the
results. "Two-hundred and fifty thousand should suffice, but I will probably
end up wiring the bulk of the funds to a bank in Japan where I can manage it
easier. Do you by any chance have any recommendations?" she asked on impulse.
"In Japan?" he mused, thinking carefully. "We do regular and frequent
business with a few institutions over there, so I'm sure I could get you the
name and contact information for one of their more respected agents. Do you
mind if I inquire about your intent for the account over there?"
"My aunt's will contained a number of requests that were non-binding, and
I think that I would like to see them executed," she explained. "One of them
is setting up a series of college and trust funds for several friends of the
family that were dear to her. She specified they were non-binding because she
knew her estate wasn't sufficient to provide the requirements. At least, she
didn't believe her estate was sufficient," she added.
He nodded in understanding and started typing away on his computer. "Ah,
I see. In that case, I think I know who I can direct you to. Never met the
man myself, mind you, but he is regarded as highly trustworthy over here. I'll
be sure to give you his information before we're done here. Ah, yes," he said
as there was a knock on his door and a uniformed security guard walked in.
"This needs to be secured, sir?" he asked with a gesture to the lock-box.
"Not just yet, my good man, but please don't let anyone else near it,"
he instructed the guard. "Aside from myself and Miss Meiou here, of course.
Now, my dear, I presume you wish to dive right into all this bloody paperwork
we have to suffer through now?"
Susan smiled at him with a twinkle in her eye. "There's no time like the
present," she murmured as they both settled in for a very long afternoon.
* * * *
The entire upper half of Darian's body came up off of the recliner as the
sound of a scream registered on his brain, piercing the shroud of dreamy fog
that, until moments ago, had him smiling in his sleep. His conscious mind woke
up a half-second later, but was suddenly pre-empted by the searing feeling of
pain as of four sets of claws dug into his chest. He reflexively grabbed the
panicked kitten as she tried to keep her balance, a distant part of his mind
realizing that he was now bleeding in roughly twenty different places.
"Sorry," he said hastily as he stood up, none-too-gently tossing her in
the empty chair and rushing across the room to his bedroom door. He paused to
listen and was about to knock when he heard another scream, followed by the
sound of Michelle's urgent voice calling Alex's name.
He opened the door without hesitation and charged inside, coming to a
sharp halt as he saw Alex writhing around on the bed in a frenzy. Michelle
was trying to rouse her from the nightmare, one hand keeping the sheet tucked
under her chin while she shook the blonde's shoulder hard. "Alex, wake up!"
she pleaded. She looked up at Darian's entrance, her eyes wide. "Darian, do
something, she's not waking up...."
He quickly crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, grabbing both
of Alex's wrists as she flailed around. "Alex, snap out of it!" he shouted,
surprised by the strength of her resistance. "Alex!"
"Get away, you bastard!" Alex cried out, her eyes open but not focused,
glazed over from a terror only she could see. "Get your hands off of me!"
"Alex, wake up!" Michelle sobbed as she shook her again.
Darian made a quick decision and let go of one wrist, drawing his hand
back to deliver a sharp slap to the blonde's cheek. She rocked to one side
from the blow, her whole body suddenly going as limp as a rag doll.
"Darian!" Michelle gasped, her eyes wide with shock.
"Alex, wake up," Darian said he gently took her wrists again.
There was a blood-chilling moan from the blonde as she closed her eyes,
her breath heaving in her bare chest. "D... Darian?" she whispered hoarsely.
"I'm right here," he replied as he let go of her, holding one hand in his
and using the other to bring the sheet up to cover her.
"Alex, are you alright?" Michelle said quietly, sniffing hard as tears
spilled down her cheeks.
"Mich?" she replied quietly. "Oh, dear god.... honey, I'm so sorry...."
Darian breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back slightly, trying not to
pay any attention to Michelle's state of undress as she leaned over Alex and
kissed her softly. "Are you awake now?" she whispered.
"Oh, dear christ...." Alex replied sourly as she opened her eyes and did
her best to focus on the ceiling. "Oh, god, tell me I didn't.... Darian?" she
said with a blurry blink.
"I'm right here," he repeated, lightly squeezing her wrist. He blinked
as she bolted upright and wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug. "H-Hey, easy on
the lungs...." he protested.
"Darian, just shut up and hold me for a moment," she whispered, her whole
body starting to shake again. "Mich, honey, I'm so sorry...." she sobbed.
"It's alright, Alex," she said as she sat up, one hand keeping the sheet
tucked beneath her chin and the other lightly stroking Alex's bare back. She
looked up at Darian with a deep sadness in her eyes, acutely aware of the depth
of pain in the blonde's soul.
Darian blinked again before he hesitantly put his arms around her, giving
Michelle a slightly apologetic look. He got a warm smile of understanding in
return as she reached up and briefly squeezed his hand. He nodded fractionally
and started to slowly pat Alex's back, holding her as she continued to sob on
his bare shoulder.
"Darian?" Alex quietly asked after a moment. "Can I ask what you did to
wake me up?"
He sighed quietly. "I had to slap you," he replied, his cheeks turning
pink. "I'm really sorry about that, Alex."
"No, no, it's fine," she said, sniffing quietly. "I was just wondering
why my cheek was hurting, that's all. Trust me, I appreciate it. I just....
oh, hell," she said as she started crying again.
"Hey, just let it all out," he said quietly as he brought his hand up to
stroke her hair. He looked up at Michelle, slightly surprised to see a look
of approval on her face as she sat back, grabbing a pillow and hugging it
tightly against her chest.
He blinked hard as Alex shifted positions slightly and he felt the sheet
fall into her lap. A delicate blush slid across his cheeks as he was able to
feel the nail-hard points of her nipples pressing against his chest, moving
slightly with every breath she took. Oh, crap, he thought as he felt his
anatomy start to react, why now? Damn....
There was a sharp intake of breath as Alex suddenly tensed and pushed
herself away from him, her blue eyes wide. He blinked hard as he reflexively
glanced down, realizing that she was entirely naked and that the sheets were
barely covering her lap. "Uh, Alex...." he said slowly.
"You're bleeding," she interrupted sharply, either unaware or uncaring of
how much of her feminine anatomy was exposed as she stared at the marks on his
chest. "What happened?"
"Myst woke up when I did," he said quietly as he edged back from her, one
hand dipping down to tuck the sheet around her in a more modest fashion.
"HEY!" she protested before she realized what he was doing. "Oh," she
breathed in a far softer tone, a pale blush infusing her cheeks. "Darian, we
can worry about that later, you're really dripping blood."
"What?" Michelle asked as she leaned to one side to see past Alex. Her
eyes went wide as she gasped. "Darian, what happened? Look at you!"
He glanced down at his chest and grunted as he saw four neat sets of claw
marks, each one easily an inch long and oozing profusely. He looked back up
at Alex's bare chest and blinked, seeing several blood stains on her as well.
"I'll just go clean this up," he stammered. "Umm, I can get you a washcloth
for that as well," he added a subtle gesture.
"What?" Alex said, blinking as she glanced down at her chest. "Oh, joy.
Thanks for sharing, D. Tell you what," she said as she tossed the sheet aside
and stood up. "I've got to take a piss before my bladder explodes. You stay
put for a moment, I'll grab the peroxide or iodine or whatever the hell is in
your cabinet on the way back," she said as she brushed past him, not noticing
the look on his face at seeing her completely nude.
He blinked hard and looked over at Michelle, feeling a burning heat on
his face and noticing a vivid crimson blush on hers. "Question," he asked in
a quiet tone. "Am I blushing as badly as you are?"
"Probably," she replied as she glanced away. "Darian, I am really sorry
about all of this...."
He shook his head as he heard the bathroom door slam shut. "It's okay,"
he assured her. "At least, for the most part. Is she always this brazen?"
"Unfortunately," Michelle muttered sourly, hugging the pillow tighter.
"I love her dearly and it can be quite charming under in the right situation,
but.... not like this. You sure you're okay?"
He sighed softly as the stinging sensation finally began to register on
his mind. "Bah, it's just a bunch of cuts," he replied. "I've had worse. I
just hope they won't get infected and scar or something. Umm, listen, I know
you two are.... you know, lovers and all," he said slowly, the burning feeling
in his cheeks growing stronger. "I just didn't want you to think I was trying
anything by holding her like that...."
A small smile tugged on the corners of her lips as she wiped a stray tear
away. "It's perfectly fine, Darian, I trust you. We both do, which is most
likely why Alex didn't go ballistic a few moments ago...."
Both their heads whipped around as there was a sharp cry of pain from the
bathroom. Darian was about to turn around and run down the hall when he felt
Michelle's hand grab his wrist. "Wait," she said quickly. "I think she just
stubbed her toe or something, that didn't sound like a flashback. Give her a
moment," she urged him. "She probably feels bad about waking us up as it is."
"Are you sure?" he said dubiously.
She sighed and let go of him. "No," she admitted, "But I don't think she
needed to use the bathroom. I think she just needed a moment to try to get a
grip. She's very touchy about such things. Just give her a moment, please?"
she pleaded softly.
He nodded and relaxed a bit. "If you say so."
She gave him a soft smile and scooted back, resting her bare back against
the wall and running her free hand through her hair. "Darian, do you have any
idea how we can help her?" she said, her voice a soft whisper. "She's been
having nightmares ever since.... not too often these days as earlier, but...."
He shook his head slowly. "Not really," he admitted. "We talked about
it earlier, and I was getting the impression that she thought she knew of a
way to ease the nightmares, but that it wasn't something easily discussed."
"Oh, that," she said quietly, staring down at the sheets wrapped around
her. "Susan once suggested that she.... that she should try to find a man she
could trust enough to make love to her, the idea being that what happened then
would replace the memories etched into her nightmares. Alex.... didn't react
very well to that suggestion," she admitted with a soft sigh.
Darian blinked hard as a wave of ice flooded his veins. So that's it, he
thought with a slight shiver as Alex's words about trusting him surged into his
mind. Oh, boy, this one could get very ugly.... He blinked and tensed as he
felt something warm and wet brush up against his back, his spine arching in an
uncontrollable reflex.
"Easy, it's just me," Alex said quietly from behind him. "Lay down and
close your eyes so I can get those cat-marks cleaned up."
"What?" he said, blinking in surprise. Across from him, he noticed the
way Michelle also blinked in surprise, her eyebrows arching up to her hairline.
There was a soft sigh behind him. "Look, just cooperate," Alex grumbled.
"Close your eyes because I'm stark naked, and lay down so I can get at those
marks without having the rest of you in my way."
He sighed quietly to himself. "You need to put some clothes on," he said
in a faintly edged tone, giving Michelle a sour look. He blinked hard as he
felt a hand on his shoulder and was forcefully shoved flat on his back. "Ow,
hey, what are you doing?" he demanded.
"Darian?" Alex said in a dangerously soft tone as she sat on the edge of
the bed and started to wash his chest with the washcloth. "Just bite your
goddamned tongue and hold still while I do this. Damn, you got clawed good."
"Alex, please get dressed," Michelle pleaded softly.
Alex paused and closed her eyes, her teeth seeming to grind together as
her jaw set firmly. A faint tremor started up in hand as her breathing became
unexpectedly labored. "Darian, am I really that bad that you can't stand the
thought of seeing me naked?" she said, her voice cracking with emotion.
He sighed and placed his hand over hers. "It's not that and you know it,
Alex," he said quietly.
Her eyes opened and fixed him with a piercing gaze. "Then what is it?"
"Lead me not to temptation, for I can find it myself," he said softly.
"You're right about me in the sense that I'd rather rip my own dick off before
I would ever remotely think about taking a woman by force, but at the same time
you must keep in mind I am still a man who shares certain weaknesses with most
other men when it comes to willing women. Now you can either get dressed and
remove any hint of temptation that way, or I can get up and walk back into the
living room, but the bottom line is that I really don't need to be tempted in
the slightest. Now do you understand?"
Alex's eyes widened with shock and tears immediately flooded her eyes.
"Darian, I'm sorry!" she gasped as she stumbled back from him, her eyes fixed
on the bulge in his sweatpants. She blindly started grabbing for the sheets,
trying to hide herself from him in a panic.
He just sighed heavily and sat up, burying his face in his hands. "Alex,
there is a robe behind you," he said quietly. "Just put it on and relax, I'm
not mad at you or anything, I promise."
"Darian, please don't," Alex sobbed as she curled up in a ball, her whole
body wracked with tremors. "I didn't mean to, honest...."
He lifted his head up from his hands and gave Michelle a pained look, the
corners of his mouth tugging downward in a dark frown. She gave him a saddened
look in response as she rose up from the bed and walked over to the sobbing
blonde, still clutching the sheet around her. She lightly stroked Alex's back
and glanced back up at him, angling her head towards the door.
He took the hint with a measure of relief, rising to his feet and leaving
the room in silence. He closed the door behind him and returned to the living
room, feeling a dark cloud settle around his soul. This is going to be a very
long night, he thought to himself as he cast a quick glance at the VCR clock.
"Are you alright?" Myst asked quietly, still perched on the recliner.
A hollow grunt of a laugh emerged from his throat. "Compared to everyone
else, I'm fine," he said quietly. He paused as the stinging senstion in his
chest reasserted itself and he gave her a sour look. "You need to be careful
with those claws of yours, by the way."
She blinked hard as he moved close enough for her to make out the bleeding
cuts in the dim light. "I did that?" she said incredulously.
"Yes, you did," he replied as he looked around for something that was both
absorbant and disposable to wipe off the blood. He blinked and turned around
as Alex walked down the hallway, wearing a pair of panties and the tank top.
Her expression was thoroughly haunted as she pointed at him, then pointed to
the couch. "Sit," she said quietly as she set the bottle of hydrogen-peroxide
down on the coffee table.
He blinked hard at her request, acutely aware of the biological reactor
still trying to jump-start itself in his pants. "Uh, Alex, I...."
"Sit," she repeated, giving him a level look.
"You alright?" he asked as he complied with her instructions, trying not
to look at her shapely legs or the angle of the cut of her panties. C'mon, be
a good boy and cooperate, he thought to himself. Down, boy, down....
She shook her head, sniffing quietly. "No, but I'll make it. Damn, she
made a mess of you. Lean back," she said as she sat next to him and gently
ran the damp washcloth across his chest.
"Alex, I can take care of this later," he said quietly as he studied the
haunted look in her bloodshot eyes. "You don't look too good."
"Thanks a lot," she grumbled quietly as she avoided eye contact. She
carefully wiped the worst of the blood off, a stray tear falling from her eye.
"Darian, I really am sorry if I.... sent the wrong message or something."
He shook his head. "It's okay, really, I'm not mad or upset."
She sighed quietly and sniffed again. "Yeah, well, still.... I just....
Hell, I don't know anymore," she groused. She cast a look over her shoulder
as Michelle came down the hall, wearing the same dress shirt she had borrowed
earlier. "Hon, you want to grab some cotton balls from the bathroom, please?"
Darian grunted quietly to himself as Michelle nodded and wordlessly turned
around, disappearing into the bathroom. "I think we need to sit down and have
a talk about things," he said quietly, wincing as the claw marks on his chest
protested at being rubbed by the rough terry-cloth fabric.
She nodded. "Well, we've got the sitting down part happening just fine,
so feel free to talk," she replied as she continued to lightly clean the cuts
still oozing blood.
"Michelle made mention earlier about how Susan had given you some advice
awhile ago," he said neutrally. "Something about how to replace the memories
of the past with something more.... amicable."
Alex froze in mid-motion, her eyes going wide in surprise. Her reaction
quickly changed as she sat back, her mouth setting in a flat line and a dark
blush creeping across her face. "Oh, yeah?" she said in a flat monotone, her
head turning around as Michelle stepped out of the bathroom.
Michelle came to a sudden halt, looking like a deer caught in headlights
at the dark look on Alex's face. She whimpered quietly and started to edge
back, not sure of what was going on but not liking it in the slightest.
"So, your Highness, she tell you anything else?" Alex said softly, her
voice as cold and as flat as arctic tundra.
Darian frowned and lightly grabbed her wrist, gently pushing the washcloth
away from his chest. "She, like everyone else, only has your best interests
in mind," he reminded her in an edged tone. "Getting mad at someone trying to
help you is not going to make things any easier on anyone."
"Some help I can do without," she replied, casting a final glance towards
Michelle before returning her focus back to Darian's chest. She tugged her
wrist free from his grasp and resumed her task, slowly trying to wipe away the
rest of the blood.
He looked up at Michelle, sighing quietly at the mortified look on her
face. He made a subtle gesture towards the other end of the couch and she
wordlessly complied, giving Alex a deeply hurt look as she edged past her and
sat down. She blinked as she was suddenly reminded of the cuts on his chest
and she leaned forward, setting the pile of cotton balls down on the coffee
table next to the small brown plastic bottle.
"So back to what you were saying earlier," Alex said in a flat tone.
Darian sighed quietly, wondering just how exactly he was going to go about
dealing with the situation. "What exactly do you want from me?" he asked in a
guarded tone, trying to stall for time.
She blinked and looked up at him. "Who said anything?" she inquired, her
expression changing to one of puzzlement.
Let's try it like this.... he thought as he took a deep breath. "So you
just want to be friends, I take it?" he said slowly.
"Of course," she replied, blinking in surprise. "We've been friends for
years, why would I want to change that?"
"Excuse me, but I only met you yesterday," he reminded her archly. "I
really don't know what went on in.... a past life, I guess you'd call it, but
I really don't know you. Certainly not well enough to be comfortable with you
waltzing around stark naked," he added.
She blinked hard again and sat back, her eyes wide. "But.... but I know
you," she protested. "I've known you for years. We've practiced with swords
together, went bar-hopping once, I can't even begin to count all the times you
and I and everyone all did something with the Princess.... all the banquets,
the dancing, the times we went racing rovers...."
He shrugged and crossed his arms. "Sorry, I don't know have a clue as to
what you're talking about," he said bluntly. "It might have been with someone
who looked exactly like me, sounded like me, and maybe thinks a lot like me,
but I've never done those things before. I was born twenty-two years ago here
on Earth, and aside from those trips to the Negaverse which I really don't even
remember for myself, I've never left the planet. In fact, I really can't say
I've ever been to the Moon Kingdom before," he added, ignoring the expression
crumpling on her face. "I know the others have once, but that was only because
Serenity sent them there."
"H-How can you say that?" Alex demanded, tears welling up in her eyes yet
again. She blinked as an idea hit her and she gave him a deeply concerned
look. "It's the Negaverse, isn't it? Whisper said something about how your
memories were being blocked, I'll bet that's it...."
"Alex, please," Michelle said very quietly, huddled in the corner of the
couch. She glanced over to her side as Myst hopped up next to her, and she
reached out to scoop up the silky gray kitten. "None of the others remember
anything, either, it's not just him," she whimpered quietly, nervously running
her fingertips through Myst's fur.
"We can't remember what never happened to us," Darian said quietly.
Alex sighed quietly and sat back, running her free hand through her short
blonde hair. "Okay, so what?" she countered. "Does that change who you are?"
"It just might," he replied, drawing a surprised blink. "People are who
they are because of their memories and experiences, Alex, because of what they
were taught and what they've learned over time. I'm not a prince, contrary to
what you keep calling me. My parents died when I was five and I grew up in an
orphanage, and I'm willing to bet that I certainly didn't lose my parents in a
car crash a thousand years ago, right?"
Alex blinked hard and exchanged stunned glances with Michelle. "What the
hell?" she breathed. "Of course you're a prince, your father was the King and
your mother a noble woman from a distant land he took as his queen."
"A thousand years and another lifetime ago," he said slowly. "If that is
truly the case, your Earth prince died during the invasion along with everyone
else. His life is over, he's gone now."
"Alex...?" Michelle said very quietly. "You remember seeing our.... our
corpses when we died, right?"
"Oh, dear lord, did you have to remind me?" Alex replied sourly with a
full-body shiver. "Here's the problem with your logic, Darian. See, we died
as well, and as Mich so kindly pointed out, we have the bodies left behind in
the Moon Kingdom to prove it."
Darian cut her off with a gesture. "There's a difference between being
reincarnated and being resurrected. You were resurrected. I was not. Go ask
the others about it, they died in the Negaverse during their attack on Queen
Beryl," he said, drawing shocked looks from both Alex and Michelle. "The only
reason they're still around to tell you about it is because Serena was able to
resurrect them. They can tell you that being raised from the dead is not the
same as being reborn again, and they've been both."
"Holy crap, are you serious?" Alex breathed.
"Dead serious. Err, pardon the pun," he added sheepishly.
Alex just shook her head and set the washcloth down on the coffee table.
"We'll ignore that one. Okay, so let's just say for the sake of argument that
you're absolutely right, that everything I know about you is nothing more than
a puff of smoke from one of Sue's herbal cigarettes. So," she said slowly as
she uncapped the peroxide, "What does that really mean?"
Darian raised an eyebrow, not overly thrilled at what was to come next.
"It means that you don't know me well enough to try to show some skin and not
get a reaction," he muttered darkly. "None of the others have even considered
trying something like that, and we know each other quite well."
Alex paused to take a sobering breath as she grabbed a cotton ball and
soaked it in the peroxide. "Okay. Mind if I ask who you've seen naked, if
anyone at all?"
He blinked hard before sighing. "Only Serena. Rei flashed everyone by
accident one day when we were in a fight and her suit tore, but that's it."
"Huh," the blonde said quietly. "Had to have been one hell of a fight to
have torn those suits. Hold still," she added as she started to dab the claw
marks with the peroxide-soaked cotton ball.
"Still.... yeow!" he hissed, his face contorting from the pain.
"Oh, don't be a baby," Alex fussed as the cuts started to fizz fiercely,
the antiseptic strongly reacting to something inside. "Mich, honey, grab a
cotton ball and clean her claws, okay? I don't think they should be fizzing
this much unless she's gotten dirty. So, Darian, backtrack just a step or two
for a moment. You saying we can't trust you?"
"Truthfully?" he said slowly. "No."
Both women froze in mid-motion and looked up at him. "No?" Alex echoed,
her eyes widening.
He sighed quietly as he plucked the cotton ball from her hand and tended
to the cuts himself. "Don't get me wrong, I have every intention of behaving
like a gentleman, but you probably shouldn't trust me to behave how you think
I should simply because I'm not who you think I am."
Alex have him a blank look, one eyebrow arching up. Michelle sighed very
quietly and nodded. "We understand, Darian. At least, I do," she added as she
cast a glance at Alex. "He's not going to hurt us, Alex, that would be against
his basic instincts. We just have to get used to how he would think and react
to various situations."
"Okay," Alex said very quietly, her expression turning haunted again.
Darian blinked at the mood swing and exchanged glances with Michelle,
getting a saddened look in response as she tried to clean Myst's claws with a
soaked cotton ball. Myst, however, had a very distateful expression on her
face and kept wrinkling her nose.
"Alex, look at me," Darian commanded softly as he gazed into Alex's blue
eyes. "As I said, we only met yesterday and under very unusual circumstances.
Have I done anything since then that would make you think I have any bad or
less-than-honorable intentions?"
"Of course not," she whispered.
He nodded. "So you can trust me not to harm you or Michelle or anyone
else. I know you're Sailor Scouts, which means I can probably trust the both
of you like I trust the others, and I am more than willing to give you the
opportunity to validate that trust. However, trust can only go so far between
friends before it crosses a line, before they quit being friends and become
something else. There isn't room in my life for more than one such person,
and that person is Serena. You understand what I'm saying here, right?"
She nodded sullenly. "Yeah, I do now."
"Good," he said as he leaned forward and hugged her. He felt her body go
rigid with tension at his embrace before very slowly starting to relax, one
hand coming up to squeeze his shoulders. He pulled back and looked into her
eyes, relaxing himself as he saw some of the inner darkness seem to lift from
her spirit.
"Thanks, Darian," she said very quietly.
He gave her a soft smile. "Now that is what friends are for."
She nodded and gave him a wan smile in return, glancing over at Michelle
and sighing very softly. "Myst, hold still," she said as her smile faded into
a slight frown.
"It stinks," Myst said flatly, her tail lashing back and forth as the
peroxide solution was rubbed against her claws.
"Deal with it," Alex muttered dourly as she grabbed a fresh cotton ball
and soaked it. She looked up at Darian and sighed before returning her gaze
down to his chest. "Hold still, I'm not done yet," she protested as he edged
away from her. "Or do you want this to get infected?"
The next ten minutes seemed to pass in a blur of quiet grumblings of mild
pain and generic suffering as both claws and claw marks were disinfected, the
pile of used cotton balls growing larger with every passing minute. "I think
you're done," Darian said archly as a cut was swabbed for the third time.
"One sec," Alex promised as she squeezed a few drops of hydrogen-peroxide
from the cotton ball and dripped it onto the scratch. The liquid started to
fizz violently for several seconds before settling back down. "There, that
wasn't nearly as bad a reaction as the last time," she observed. She looked
up at him and sighed. "You're a wuss, Darian," she grumbled at the expression
of pain on his face.
"This hurts, okay?" he protested with a faint growl. "Have you ever been
clawed by a cat?"
There was a short bark of laughter from the blonde. "Honey, you have to
be kidding me. Here, this is from yesterday," she said as she held up her
forearm, showing him the small scratches Myst had given her when she had first
tried to pick her up at the mana pool.
"Please," Darian scoffed.
"I ain't finished," Alex countered as she tossed the cotton ball into the
pile and stood up. She brought her leg up and leaned forward, presenting him
with a close-up view of her thigh. "See these?" she said as she gestured to
the faint network of scars. "Now what do these look like to you?"
He gave her a slightly pained look as he studied her leg. There had to
have been at least forty such marks, criss-crossing her leg in an unsteady
pattern. "Okay, now that looks like it hurt," he commented, trying not to let
his gaze wander further up her leg or otherwise admire the muscular curves of
her thigh too much. "So what happened, and who won?"
She shrugged casually. "I was a little kid and wanted to play with one
of Luna's siblings. Problem was, he was sleeping at the time and didn't take
too well to being picked up without warning. I think he won, but he ended up
being punted across the courtyard."
"That's mean," Michelle protested sourly as she tried to clean a set of
Myst's rear claws with only moderate success.
"Well, he wouldn't let go of my arm," Alex protested as she stepped back,
much to Darian's relief, and examined her wrist. "I'm surprised I don't have
scars on my hand from that as well. Speaking of which.... I hate to break this
to you, Darian, but I think you're going to end up with a perfect set of such
scars," she said sourly as she studied his chest yet again. "They're just a
little on the deep side, you know?"
He shrugged. "It was an accident."
"Still," she muttered as she cast a glance at the upset Shinma.
"So you feeling any better?" Darian asked quietly, scooting over slightly
to make room for her as she plopped down next to him.
She sighed and leaned back, resting one arm on the back of the couch. "I
suppose so," she said after a few moments. "At least I'm finished crying for
one night. Or should be, at least. Hey, this still mine?" she asked as her
gaze fell on the forgotten bottle of water sitting on the edge of the coffee
table.
He glanced over to what she was looking at and nodded. "Of course."
"Thanks," she said as she leaned forward to grab the bottle, leaning back
again once it was in hand. "Damn, what a night," she muttered before she took
the lid off and up-ended the bottle.
He waited until she was finished draining the bottle before pointing to
the pale-green display on the VCR. "We're not out of the woods yet, it's only
two-thirty in the morning. Hey!" he protested as she swatted his leg with the
empty plastic bottle.
"Don't remind me," she muttered.
"There," Michelle proclaimed as she let go of Myst, a wry grin forming on
her face as the kitten promptly leapt out of her lap and onto the floor. "Oh,
don't look at me like that, I know it smells strong up close, but you'll be
fine. No, no, don't lick it, it's not good for you!"
"Bleagh," Myst coughed, her tongue protruding between her teeth. "What
is this foul stuff?"
"Hydrogen-peroxide," Darian replied. "Two hydrogen molecules bonded to a
pair of oxygen molecules. Not overly stable, but it's very toxic to germs and
bacteria and the like. A disinfectant."
Alex smirked. "I'll have to see if I can talk Sue into giving you a bath
soon," she teased at the look on Myst's face. "You should enjoy that."
Myst shot her a dark look before she suddenly turned as black as night,
her body seeming to melt into a pool of darkness that soaked into the carpet
and vanished. The disappearing act caused everyone to suddenly sit up and
exchange somewhat wary glances.
"I don't think she liked that," Alex observed after a moment.
Darian shrugged and relaxed a bit. "I wouldn't worry about it."
She shot him an odd look. "Darian, the cat first pops out from my shirt,
then she claws the crap out of you, and now she just dissolves into the floor
like water into a sponge. And you're not worried in the slightest?"
"So she's a demon who looks like a kitten," he replied with a decidedly
casual shrug. "Accident aside, she hasn't done anything to make me think she's
dangerous or evil or a threat. Come on, there are four aliens from another
world sleeping in a forgotten cathedral not too far from here, one of which is
a giant owl who can speak with her mind. There's also a giant crystal spider
who thinks it's a chameleon that ate a windchime.... Oh, sorry," he added as
Michelle whimpered quietly to herself.
"Mich doesn't like spiders," Alex observed lightly as she glanced up at
the ceiling. "Speaking of which, hon, you might want to move, there's a tiny
one on the wall behind us."
There was a strangled yelp as Michelle darted off the couch and whipped
around, her aquamarine eyes wide. Her eyes got even wider as she saw that Alex
hadn't been making a twisted joke, a sharp whimper of fear emerging from her
throat.
Darian craned his head to see and blinked. "What, that little thing?" he
said as he studied the spider that was maybe a half-inch wide.
Alex shrugged as she stood up and grabbed one of the used cotton balls.
"Yup, this itsy-bitsy little thing," she said as she reached up and casually
smooshed the spider, wiping the stain away with a flick of her wrist. "It's
dead, dear, you can unkink your panties now."
Michelle whimpered quietly again as she glanced around, trying to see if
there were any others lurking about. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, a faint
blush appearing on her cheeks.
Alex smirked as she sat back down and tossed the cotton ball back into the
discarded pile. "It's okay, babe, I still love you. Anyway, Darian, you were
saying something about Myst and aliens and the like?"
He shrugged and stifled a yawn. "I'm just saying that between all the
stuff the Negaverse and the Sailor Scouts have put me through, there probably
isn't a whole lot that bothers me once I get a chance to really check it out.
Don't get me wrong, I'd be tripping out over something that looks or otherwise
blatantly acts dangerous or hostile, but I'm still willing to give the other
side a moment to prove their intentions."
"Huh," Alex said quietly to herself as Michelle came over and sat on the
end of the couch next to her. She sighed and reached up, pulling her into her
lap and giving her a soul-searing kiss. There was a soft sigh of contentment
from Michelle as she yielded to her lover's embrace, running her fingertips
through Alex's blonde hair.
There was a soft laugh from Darian as he stood up and headed back over to
the recliner. "You two should go back to bed," he suggested quietly as he sat
down and proceeded to get comfortable again. "It's still the wrong end of the
morning to be getting up."
Alex gently eased Michelle away from her embrace, drawing a quiet whimper
of protest from the other woman. "Darian, you've got to be kidding," she said
sourly. "After the nightmares I just had? Nope, I'm not going back to sleep
tonight."
Darian raised an eyebrow. "I don't think the nightmares are going to be
coming back to you tonight," he said in a level tone.
Alex blinked and shot him a look. "And why not?" She blinked as he sat
up and fixed her with a piercing gaze, his eyes seeming to grow cold as they
bored into her very soul.
"Because I said so," he said calmly. His voice was gentle and even, but
something in his tone sent a dark shiver through her for some strange reason.
"You're not going to have any more dreams of being raped tonight, because this
is my apartment and you are safe while in here. Understand?"
"I w-wish it was that simple," she replied breathlessly.
"Trust me," he said quietly.
Their gazes locked and held for what seemed like a minor eternity before
Alex nodded slowly, a strange feeling surrounding her. She had no idea what
the feeling was, but at the moment she really didn't care to find out. She
stood up slowly, taking a small measure of comfort in the warmth of Michelle's
presence at her side, holding her hand tightly.
She allowed herself to be gently pulled towards the bedroom, stopping in
her tracks as something seemed to tug on her soul for a moment. She blinked
and turned around, ignoring the confused look on Michelle's face. "Darian?
What if the dreams do return...?"
"They won't," he assured her.
"But...."
He sighed and closed his eyes. "If by some chance they do, Alex, then I
guess we'll just have to deal with them in a little more decisive fashion," he
said quietly, his words sending another unexplained dark shiver through her.
"But they won't. Good night."
"Night, Darian," she said quietly as she yielded to the gentle tugging on
her wrist, following Michelle back into the bedroom and praying that her trust
in him would not be misplaced. The door was closed behind her, and it wasn't
very long afterwards until the mantle of sleep folded over her mind once more,
drawing her back into the realm of subconscious dreams.
* * * *
Leda awoke with a pounding headache, a feeling she first thought was a
visit the "old friend" who usually waited until she had reached the bottom of
a bottle of alcohol in one sitting before dropping in to say hello.
Crap, forgot the water again, she mentally moaned as she struggled to sit
up. She knew that a hangover was really an alcohol-induced state of moderate
dehydration, and that the best way to ward it off was to drink plenty of water
before going to bed or otherwise passing out. That usually resulted in being
rudely awakened a couple of hours later by a bladder begging for mercy, but it
usually beat having a monster headache.
She blinked as her senses promptly reoriented themselves on her immediate
suroundings. On the couch, that's not new, she thought as her brain woke up
and ran down a checklist of the obvious. Wearing just a robe, still not new.
Call it a factor three headache, that's a bit on the mild side. Still dark
outside, not relevant. Empty bottle on coffee table, expected. Brain works,
now that's a first. You know, I don't think I had enough to be drunk, so....
She blinked again as a low moan registered on her fully-functional mind.
What the hell? she thought as she glanced around, her eyes going wide as she
realized that Ami was curled up in a ball in the armchair. Okay, yeah, so she
was here last night, and I let her borrow my robe, which she is.... only half
wearing, oops. Damn, she's cute like that.... and she's having a bad dream,
oh hell....
"Ami," she called out as she sat up and tried to stand. The world began
to whirl around her madly and she was forced to quickly sit back down. "Ohhh,
my head," she whimpered as she waited for things to quit spinning. "Ami, wake
up," she called out in a loud tone as she heard another deep moan.
A frown crossed her face as Ami failed to react, her body still twitching
gently. Her head tilted to one side and her lips pulled back, revealing the
tiny pair of vampiric fangs fully emerged from her gums. Another deep moan
slipped past her lips, her face contorted into a mask of pain and suffering.
"Aww, crap," Leda breathed quietly, knowing that whatever subconscious
dream she was locked in was not a very pleasant one. She took a deep breath
and summoned the willpower to stand up again, this time with only a mild case
of dizzyness. "Ami, c'mon, wake up," she urged as she slowly made her way
across the room, her balance dangerously unstable. "Ugh, don't make me fall
down on you, that'll hurt the both of us...."
She reached Ami's side and did her best not to collapse, one arm holding
onto the back of the armchair for support. Damn, this sucks, she thought with
a dark sigh, suddenly remembering why she felt so weak and unstable. Okay, so
maybe that was phrased badly, but still....
She leaned over and grabbed Ami's shoulder, shaking her gently. "Ami!"
she said loudly. "Wake up! C'mon, girl, wake....!"
Leda gasped hard as Ami's eyes snapped open, the steel-blue irises wide
with shock and horror. Her breath was suddenly cut off in her throat as she
felt a hand grab her by the neck in an iron grip, pulling her towards a pair
of widening jaws as if to sink the tiny but lethal fangs into her veins.
Ami blinked suddenly and refocused as Leda struggled, her eyes going even
wider as she realized what she was doing. "Leda!" she gasped as she let go of
the brunette, catching her in her lap as she fell down. "Oh, my god.... Leda!
Are you alright? Say something!"
Leda coughed harshly and tried to speak, her voice a faint wheeze in her
chest as she greedily sucked in air. "D.... Damn...." she gasped.
"Oh, god, Leda, I'm sorry," Ami said, on the verge of tears as she gently
rubbed her back. She blinked as Leda coughed hard once again before lifting
her head up to fix her with a dark glare.
"Gee, thanks," she rasped. "You were having a bad dream, so I tried to
wake you up. See if I try that again."
"Leda, I'm sorry," Ami whimpered as she took her by the wrist and checked
her pulse. She didn't need to try to get a count as the strong and distinctly
rapid vibration beneath her fingertips told her all she needed to know.
Leda sighed and knelt down in a more comfortable position, trying to ease
the gentle roaring sound in her ears and the heavy but hollow pounding feeling
in her skull. "Hey, no real harm, only a minor technical foul," she muttered
as she laid her head on Ami's chest.
Ami blinked as she realized that the borrowed robe had slipped open, both
sleeves barely hanging onto her shoulders. She sighed and ignored it for the
moment as she cradled Leda's head against her bare breast, the slow and steady
flow of warm breath across her skin bringing an odd measure of comfort to her.
She closed her eyes and did her best not to shudder at the memory of the dark
dream that had once again torn at her very soul.
"You awake now?" Leda asked quietly as one arm slid inside the open robe
around Ami's waist, her fingertips gliding against bare skin. She sighed to
herself and surrendered to her desires, sliding the other arm around the other
side and hugging Ami tightly.
"Yes, thank you," Ami replied with a faint shiver, her fingertips absently
running through Leda's hair in a slow, relaxed motion.
Leda listened to the heartbeat directly beneath her ear, feeling it pulse
against the ultra-soft skin pressed against her cheek. "How bad was it?" she
asked softly, suddenly having no desire whatsoever to move from her present
position and somewhat intimate embrace.
"One I would not like to experience ever again," Ami whispered.
Leda blinked and lifted her head up to look at her, seeing the depth of
pain in those steel-blue eyes. "You've had this one before, I take it?" she
ventured as a slight chill crept down her spine.
Ami nodded slowly and sighed. A sudden hiccup caused her to twitch, a
pale blush of embarassment coloring her cheeks. She blinked as Leda stood up
and took her by the arm, gently pulling her to her feet. She allowed herself
to be led over to the couch and sat back down, idly tugging the robe back into
a more modest position.
Leda gingerly knelt on the cushions next to her and stretched out, one
hand reaching down to grab hold of Ami's sleeve and pulling her down next to
her. She sighed softly and slid her arms around Ami's waist, adjusting her
position so that Ami's back was tightly against her chest and that they could
converse without needing to raise their voices.
"Tell me about it?" Leda asked quietly in Ami's ear, giving her a gentle
squeeze. She heard only silence and sighed silently, resting her head against
Ami's and hugging tighter. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but you
know I'm here for you."
It was a long time before Ami finally spoke up. "It usually comes to me
whenever I take someone's blood," she said in a very soft whisper. "Most of
the time, the dream is of.... of you, of taking too much blood and killing you.
And when everyone finds out, I become.... hunted, captured, tortured, and then
slain, usually by Mina."
Leda blinked as a dark chill enveloped her. She said nothing and snuggled
tighter against Ami, one hand brushing across the edge of her robe and gently
moving the fabric aside to touch bare skin.
"Sometimes you like it, you beg for more," Ami continued, her tone brittle
and hollow as the repressed emotions tried to spill out. "Other times you cry
and struggle and beg me to stop. And always, I can't stop, I can't fight this
dark hunger inside of me, I just keep on drinking until I can feel your heart
stop entirely, drained dry of blood and life...."
"Hey, easy," Leda murmured quietly as Ami's body started to shake. "It's
just a bad dream, Ami, it's not going to happen."
"Leda, what just happened earlier tonight?" she asked quietly, the tears
starting to form once again. "And what just happened a few minutes ago? I
could have seriously hurt you."
Leda sighed and twisted her head slightly, brushing her lips across the
side of Ami's neck. "But you didn't."
"This time," Ami replied, her voice barely audible. "I'm scared, Leda,
scared that the next time might be different. I've been scared about doing
that since I first tasted your blood, that I might not be able to control this
hunger inside me one night...."
Leda very softly nuzzled her throat again, her fingertips lightly stroking
the smooth expanse of Ami's abdomen. "I have faith in you, Ami, even if you
don't believe in yourself."
"I don't," she replied quietly, feeling a dark shame start to burn inside
her heart. "I don't believe in myself, and that's why I have the nightmares,
the dark dreams of hurting you and being hurt by my friends...."
The brunette sighed quietly. "You really believe we'd hurt you?"
"You, never," Ami said with a shake of her head, sighing softly as she
felt the gentle embrace tighten around her. "I'm not exactly worried about
Serena, but I know her aura is both powerful and very defensive. If she does
lash out, it won't be a conscious effort. No, it's Rei and Mina that scare me
the most, they're the ones in my dream.... buring me alive, stabbing me with
their blades, their voices, their taunts, their laughter echoing in my head,
over and over and over again...."
"Enough," Leda whispered fiercely as one hand came up to cup Ami's chin,
gently twisting it to one side as she leaned over.
Ami closed her eyes as Leda kissed her, a soft but deep kiss that she knew
was meant in several ways. The genuine warmth of concern and emotion was like
a blanket, surrounding her body in a feeling of safety and security. It was
almost impossible for her not to respond, her lips softening as she yielded to
both the kiss and the tender embrace.
Leda moved her head back to gaze into Ami's eyes, gently studying the odd
steel-blue coloring caused by her vampiric nature. She brought one hand up to
very lightly move Ami's lip back, exposing the tiny fangs. She studied them
for a brief moment before she leaned forward for another soft kiss, letting her
lips brush against the razor-sharp points.
A faint noise of protest rose up from Ami's throat as she felt the dark
part of her stir slightly. She looked up into Leda's green eyes as she moved
back again, the depth of concern and caring quite evident in their depths.
"You worry too much, you know that?" Leda said very softly. "As long as
I'm around, no one is going to lay a hand on you, least of all them."
Ami sighed and glanced away. "I'm not really worried about them," she
replied in a quiet tone. "I'm worried about what I might do. What happened
when you woke me up is proof enough."
"Yeah, proof that you can stop yourself if you happen to slip," Leda shot
back in a gentle tone. "Look, we all have things we have to sit on or keep on
a leash or otherwise keep under tight control. Look at me and my temper, or
look at Rei and her temper. Hell, Serena has a temper when she really gets
going. My point is that we all have stuff we try to control, and we all have
days or nights in which it sometimes slips a bit. Happens to everyone, Ami.
It just means you're human like the rest of us, and don't you dare start in
with the 'I'm not human anymore' self-doubt. That's a bunch of nonsense and
you damn well know it."
Ami blinked and looked up at her. "I'm scared," she whispered. "I don't
want to hurt anyone, least of all you."
Leda smiled softly at her and lightly ran her fingertips through Ami's
short blue hair. "Don't be scared, Ami. I'm not, and if anyone has the right
to be paralyzed with fear, it's me. After all, it seems I'm the one you're
most likely to kill by accident, right? It's not a thought I'd like to dwell
on, of course, but I'm not losing any sleep over it. And neither should you."
Ami sighed and looked away, her thoughts darkening once again as Leda's
words started to replay themselves in her mind. She looked back up at her as
she felt Leda's hand idly tracing a small circle on her stomach, a gentle look
in the brunette's eyes.
"Speaking of lost sleep, you should probably try to go back to bed," she
said in a very soft tone. "Yeah, I know you're probably not overly thrilled
with the prospect of dreaming again, but the morning sun won't rise for quite
some time and you don't strike me as the kind of person who writes off sleep
very easily."
Ami wrinkled her nose reflexively. "True," she admitted. Unlike most of
the other Sailor Scouts, she had no qualms about getting up as soon as the sun
rose above the horizon.... provided she had been able to get a decent amount of
sleep the night before.
Leda smiled softly at her and kissed her cheek before standing up. "Come
on," she said quietly as she took Ami's hand in her own and lightly tugged her
to her feet.
Ami paused as a faint chill swept through her. She looked up at her and
sighed, realizing what exactly the brunette had in mind. She opened her mouth
to say something when her vampiric hearing picked up a series of soft clawing
sounds, as if something was trapped somewhere and was trying to get out.
"What is it?" Leda asked with a slight frown as she noticed the change in
Ami's expression.
"You hear that?" Ami asked, turning to look towards the kitchen.
Leda blinked and tried to listen, her eyebrows arching up as she made out
the nearly inaudible sound of something metallic being scratched. "What the
hell is that, a mouse?"
"No," Ami said after a moment. Wary but curious, she quietly walked in
the general direction of the kitchen, pausing in the short hallway as the noise
got louder. She edged her way closer to the front door, blinking in surprise
as she realized that the sound was definitely coming from something inside the
pantry. "It's in here."
Leda stepped over and listened, blinking hard as the scratching became
more pronounced. "What the hell? It sounds like it's in the dryer, whatever
it is. Stand back," she added as she looked around for something suitable to
use as a weapon. She settled on a meat tenderizer hanging from a hook on the
wall, picking it up and holding it at the ready with one hand. Taking a deep
breath, she reached in and grabbed the dryer door handle, yanking it open with
a sharp tug.
"Finally," a soft voice breathed from within the dryer.
Leda blinked hard and nearly dropped the tenderizer. "What the hell are
you doing in there?" she demanded as she reached inside and grabbed the silky
gray kitten. "And what's that smell?"
"Hydrogen-peroxide," Myst grumbled as she was gently set down on the edge
of the kitchen counter. "Alex thought I needed to be cleaned."
"How did you get here?" Ami wondered, peeking into the dryer to see if
anything had happened to her clothes.
Myst sneezed hard and shook her head. "I left a marker earlier, in case
I had to return to Leda for some reason. I couldn't find Susan awhile ago and
I wasn't able to use this marker, so I returned to Alex for a period of time.
It was a bad idea, as you can tell."
"Huh," Leda said quietly. "Strange. You teleport or something?" she
asked as she closed the dryer and returned the tenderizer to the wall hook.
"Dimensional shifting," the Shinma replied.
"Same difference," the brunette grumbled. "You have bad timing, as Ami
and I were getting ready to go to bed."
The kitten blinked and studied Ami very carefully, her pale red eyes
narrowing slightly. "I can feel the dark energy surrounding you from here,"
she said after a few moments of silence. "Are all humans filled with such
energy?"
Ami sighed quietly. "Probably not," she admitted. "I just woke up from
a nightmare not too long ago, so that might be it."
"Curious," Myst replied softly. "Alex woke up not too long ago from a
nightmare of her own. How often does this happen to humans?"
Leda snorted quietly. "Whenever we have really bad days, which isn't as
common as you would think from hanging around us too much. Yeah, so we're an
emotional lot, but you get used to it. You going to stay here the rest of the
night or what?"
The kitten blinked and looked back at Ami, her tail slowly swishing back
and forth. "May I absorb some of that dark energy?" she asked cautiously.
"Like you did with me?" Leda asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Exactly," Myst confirmed with a nod, still observing Ami intently.
Ami blinked and glanced over at the brunette before looking back at the
gray kitten. "Umm.... let me think about it?" she said slowly.
Leda sighed as she walked over and picked up the kitten, cradling her in
one arm. "Like I said, girl, you worry too much. Come on," she said as she
gently took Ami by the hand again.
"Leda...." Ami sighed softly. She blinked as Leda turned around and gave
her a soft kiss, squeezing her hand tightly.
"I don't think you truly want to be alone tonight," Leda whispered. "And
to be perfectly honest, neither do I. I just want to hold you, that's all."
Ami sighed again and yielded, allowing herself to be led by the hand into
Leda's bedroom. She looked around as the door was closed behind her, making
idle note of the state of casual organization of things. It wasn't perfectly
neat, as there was a pile of clothes casually clustered together next to the
laundry hamper and a couple of books were visible under the edge of the bed,
but she had seen far worse bedrooms before. So much for the princess theory
of inherent neatness, she thought to herself as she thought of Serena and her
bedroom's state of perpetual disorganization.
She looked up as Leda set Myst down on the edge of the bed and moved over
to her. Steel-blue eyes met green as Leda untied the sash on her robe, letting
it spill to the floor in a slow rush of maroon fabric. Her hand then reached
out to Ami's robe, pausing for several moments as she looked into Ami's eyes
for permission.
Ami felt the dark part of her shiver ever so lightly as she sighed and
nodded. The sash came undone and a pair of hands glided up to her shoulders,
gently pushing the black robe off of her. A very gentle smile came to Leda's
lips as she edged forward to wrap her in a soft hug, savoring the warmth of
their nude bodies pressed against one another.
She took Ami by the hand again and led her over to the bed, pushing the
covers aside to make room for the both of them. She climbed in and scooted
over, making sure that there was plenty of space for Ami. She settled back
and waited patiently for Ami to settle in as well, visibly uncomfortable with
the current situation.
She looked up as Leda reached down to grab the sheets, pulling them up to
their waists and dragging a slightly surprised Myst along as well. They both
blinked as Myst began to purr softly, lightly making her way across the rest
of the bed and settling down on Ami's bare chest.
"Ooooh," Ami breathed quietly as Myst began to purr harder, making her
nipples vibrate and her eyes go wide. "This feels strange...."
Leda smiled and leaned over to kiss her shoulder. "Told ya," she said,
yawning quietly. She scooted close and snuggled up, one arm slipping behind
her head and the other grasping her lightly by the hand.
"You are saturated with dark energy," Myst whispered very softly, her eyes
closed and her purr not missing a beat. "I don't think I've ever encountered
a source this strong before. You humans are quite amazing creatures."
Leda chuckled. "Oh, so we went from strange to amazing now? Hey, Ami, I
think we just got a promotion."
Ami giggled briefly, her breath catching in her throat as her movements
caused Myst's weight to jiggle in a most delightful fashion. She reached up
with her free hand to gently stroke the kitten, slightly embarassed to have her
nestled between her bare breasts but otherwise content to leave her be.
"Mmm, I'm getting sleepy just listening to her purr like that," Leda said
quietly as she adjusted her position and laid her head down on the pillows.
"And something tells me you're not going to have another bad dream again, at
least not tonight."
"You're probably right," Ami said as she closed her eyes, listening to
the gentle purr rippling across her chest. She sighed softly as Leda gave her
hand a gentle squeeze, relaxing as she realized that she wasn't going to try
anything further tonight.
Her senses began to numb as she thought about it, how she had felt when
Leda had kissed her on the couch, or had held her in the armchair after she
brought her out of the nightmare. The thoughts only lasted for a few moments
before starting to fragment, each shard drifting away in gentle peace as she
slipped into a shallow slumber and started dreaming once again.
* * * *
K'tal sighed softly as he drifted back into consciousness once again. He
had been drifting in and out of sleep for awhile now, seeming to be caught on
a gentle current that ebbed and flowed at random. He opened his eyes as he
felt a gentle brush against his mind, the faintest of psionic probes along
the link he shared with the woman lying next to him.
He glanced over at her and saw her hazel eyes looking back at him, a soft
look of emotion stirring in their depths. Her expression was one of gentle
disturbance, as if a feeling of peace and tranquility had been interrupted by
something.
He opened his mouth to say something when he felt a pair of fingertips
lightly pressed against his lips, keeping them still. The psionic link seemed
to flare briefly at the contact, a soft feeling of unknown emotions flowing
along the bond. He kissed her fingertips and relaxed slightly, not really sure
of what he wanted to say anyway.
The current of emotions seemed to grow stronger, gently coursing through
the telepathic bond as her fingertips lightly traced the contours of his face
and came to rest on his forehead. He blinked as the link seemed to expand,
opening his senses and his mind to both her touch and her own mind.
<Ael?> he thought softly as he yielded to the gentle probe. He got only
silence in response as she slowly expanded the probe, very gently sifting his
immediate memories for something. A faint sense of unease filled him as he
realized what she was looking for, and it took him a few seconds to decide if
he should help her or not. <Here,> he said quietly, guiding the mental probe
to the memory.
His senses seemed to swirl around him as the probe took solid possession
of his memories and peeled them open as one would a piece of tropical fruit.
The sensations suddenly rushed back to him, the feel of her skin, the taste of
her lips, the warmth of her touch, the tingle of anticipation, the wonder at
being inside her mind as he slipped inside her body, the sheer exhilaration of
physical release, and the deep comfort of emotional satisfaction.
He blinked as the probe withdrew and his senses reoriented on his current
surroundings. He gave her a wide-eyed look as he struggled to slow his pulse
and his breathing, his blood seeming to be on fire. He slowly reached up to
touch her, his fingertips lightly gliding across her face.
She reached up and took his hand in hers, guiding his fingertips up to a
specific spot on her forehead. Her eyes met his for a brief moment before he
felt his senses swirling again, a sense of profound shock ripping through his
very being as he saw and felt her side of the experience, the hesitation, the
desire to know for certain, the desire, the passion, the need, the fire, the
ice, the water, the wind, the storm, the calm.
He gasped hard as his senses returned to normal, a searing pain running
through his side as his heart faltered for a brief instant. His mind was in
chaos, attempting to cope with feelings and sensations that his nervous system
hadn't been designed to handle. A gentle spark of warmth bloomed from within
the center of the whirling maelstrom and he tightly clung to it, holding on
with all his might as the madness slowly made sense once again, one agonizing
moment at a time.
<Ael?> he thought once he was certain of his sanity.
<I'm sorry....>
He sighed and laid his head down on the pillow, his body shaking lightly
as he brushed his fingertips through her hair. <My father once told me that I
should always try to open myself to new experiences,> he thought slowly as his
blood pressure seemed to return to normal levels. <Somehow, I really don't
think that is what he had in mind. How can you possibly cope with that?>
The psionic bond resonated with a feeling of gentle comfort. <I'm sorry,>
she repeated very softly as she stroked his back. <I just....>
<Just wanted to make sure it meant something to me?> he suggested.
<Something like that,> she said, her telepathic voice barely a whisper.
He huffed quietly. <And you couldn't tell that through the bond? I'm
just a little insulted, Ael.>
He could feel a slight hint of exasperation through the link as her chest
heaved in a silent sigh. <You have any idea how hard it is to passively read
a state of emotion when your own is in turmoil?> she replied quietly. <Given
the flood of hormones at the time, I'm surprised I could even feel the link.>
He chuckled quietly to himself. <Okay, now that one I'll take the blame
for,> he thought in reply, surrounding the link with his sense of amusement.
He felt the feeling draining out of the bond as he looked into her eyes, a
silent plea for him to be serious about the situation.
He sighed and brought his hand down, lightly brushing his fingertips over
the ultra-soft curves of her breasts. He explored them very slowly, studying
them with both his fingers and his eyes. He could feel her react to his gentle
touch, both physically and mentally. <I could really get used to this,> he
thought very quietly.
<Used to what, being in bed with me?> she inquired with a soft sigh.
<Being with you,> he replied as he leaned forward, letting his lips meld
with hers for a minor eternity. He could feel the bond between them expand at
the contact, conveying their emotions with increasing intensity. He paused as
a dark shiver resonated through the link, not entirely sure which end it had
originated from.
<For how long?> she asked, unable to conceal the icy dread of apprehension
at what the reply might be.
He sighed quietly, realizing what she was truly asking and not entirely
sure he knew the answer himself. He felt her unease deepen with every moment
that he remained silent and reached out through the bond, trying to offer a
sense of reassurance. <I don't know, Ael,> he thought with honesty, trying to
open himself to her so she could see for herself. <But for the moment? For
however long you want to keep me around.>
He felt the bond start to quiver as she wrapped her arms around him and
pulled him against her, burying his face in the crook of her neck. The link
was dampened for a moment as she struggled to keep her emotions in check, but
finally relented as she was unable to completely contain them. They flowed
across the link like a gentle river, washing against his mind and bathing him
with a myriad of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him.
<Easy,> he protested gently as she squeezed him tightly.
<K'tal, I'm sorry, I just.... I....>
He kissed her ear lightly as words failed her, a cascade of emotional
needs and desires surging around him. <Yeah, this is new to me too,> he said
gently as she tried to settle her emotions down. <We've been friends all this
time, Ael, and never imagined we could be together like this. I'm still a bit
on the shaken side myself, you know, so don't think I'm fully confident I know
what I'm doing here.>
She almost smiled at him. <Now that's the K'tal I'm used to,> she teased
gently, a warm feeling filling the psionic link.
<Oh, listen to you,> he groused good-naturedly. <You literally blow up my
lunch, pepper my arm with fragments, glue my mind to yours, drag me across half
the region to visit a friend, in spite of all this I give you what you want in
bed, and now you have the gall to give me grief?>
She sighed and patted his shoulder. <Whiner,> she replied. <I didn't
hear any complaints earlier.>
<I thought you said you could barely hear yourself think earlier?> he
inquired casually as he moved off to one side to ease the strain on his arms.
She mentally blinked and shrugged. <Okay, that's true.>
<Amazing what happens when you stop and think, hmm?> he teased.
<Don't start with me,> she grumbled as she stretched slowly, a soft yawn
building up in her chest.
He studied her curves for a moment before glancing around the room. <So
what time is it, anyway?> he wondered, looking for some sort of clock. He felt
a faint shiver of resignation along the link and looked back at her.
<Probably close to dawn,> she thought sourly. <We've got a lot to do in
a few hours, you know.>
<Nop'tera can wait,> he replied with a shrug of dismissal, letting his
sense of contempt flow through the bond. <I've got more important matters to
worry about.>
The drew a physical blink from her as she tilted her head to look at him.
<What do you...?> she started to think before her mind was interrupted by the
feel of his lips on hers again, gently exploring and probing. She couldn't
keep the shiver that ran through her body from echoing down the link, drawing
a sense of rising heat in response.
<Or would you rather we save the world first, then worry about what to do
with one another?> he suggested casually as their lips broke apart.
A walnut-brown eyebrow arched up. <Save the world, hmm? Think things are
really going to be that bad?> She paused as she felt his end of the link turn
deathly cold for a moment. <What is it?>
He sighed quietly and laid his head on her shoulder, his eyes casually
studying every curve and contour of her bare chest. <Part of the conversation
I had with Al'vexi. It's.... something I'm hesitant to talk to anyone about,
as it could get me executed. Yes, it is that bad,> he added as her end of the
link chilled briefly.
<I don't suppose you're going to trust me and talk?> she ventured.
He laughed very softly as he cupped her breast, running his thumb lightly
over her nipple. <Might as well. I've been in contact with Tolaris on Earth
recently, mostly to get his views and opinions on this nonsense with Rune and
Nop'tera. He thinks we're in for it. What's worse, Al'vexi said pretty much
the same thing when she discovered what I knew and decided to show me a little
something she had learned on her own.>
She sighed softly as he gently teased her nipple into hardening. <To be
honest, K'tal, I don't care if you're talking to Tolaris or not. I know the
two of you were on good terms, despite what he did.> Her breathing quickened
as he leaned over and captured her nipple between his lips, lightly flicking
his tongue across the ultra-sensitive surface. <So what did Al'vexi tell you
that has you so worried?>
He nipped her with his teeth lightly, causing her to gasp from the raw
feeling of almost electrical pleasure running through her nerves. <Something
that will tear this world apart,> he thought quietly as he sat back, his eyes
darkening slightly.
She blinked as the shift in his mood sent a deep undercurrent of worry
along the bond. <K'tal, tell me,> she asked softly.
<It appears that Sailor Moon is only half-human,> he replied quietly. He
nodded slowly and sat back as her eyes widened, easing herself up on her elbow
and staring hard at him. <Yeah, and you can guess what the other half is.>
<What?> she thought, the light fog of pleasure that had started to form
around her mind abruptly dissipating. <But isn't she supposedly the Princess
of the Moon Kingdom? That would mean her mother....>
<Was the Queen who got to know a denizen rather well,> he finished the
thought for her. <It gets better. You remember Prince Darian, right?> He
blinked as she unexpectedly blushed, a faint smile springing to her lips. <I
presume that is a yes?>
<He had an interesting mind,> she replied demurely. <What about him?>
<Well, he's been named Crown Prince by the NegaForce. Ow, not so loud,>
he protested as a surge of shock flooded the bond. <And as we know they are
both still on very, very good terms, it seems to be quite likely that in about
a decade or so, we might have a new heir to the throne. Hey, easy,> he added
as she flopped down on her back with a heavy sigh.
<How many people know this?> she asked wearily.
He thought carefully. <I haven't told Tolaris this yet, so odds are that
leaves out anyone on Earth. I'm not sure Darian even remembers his visit, as
it is my understanding that his memories are still sealed. As for on our side
of the equation.... I'd honestly put it at only five or six that I'm aware of,
and Al'vexi already agreed to try to keep it as quiet as possible for the time
being. And guess what, the story gets even better.>
She quit rubbing her forehead and cast a stunned glance at him. <You have
to be kidding me,> she thought slowly.
<You want to know who the father is rumored to be?> he said lightly as he
sat up and straddled her hips. He leaned forward and started slowly running
his hands up and down her chest, gently massaging her soft skin and the compact
muscles beneath.
She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, yielding to his touch. <Let me
guess, that's the part that will really trigger an uproar?> she ventured.
<That's putting it mildly,> he assured her with a gentle squeeze of his
hands. <How's the legendary Dragoon Captain himself strike you?>
Her eyes promptly snapped open as another wave of icy shock echoed through
the link. <You're not kidding, are you?>
<Nope,> he replied with a sigh, gently kneading her breasts. He felt the
sense of shock fade and slowly become replaced with a gentle feeling of warmth
and tender emotion. <Don't ask me how that might have happened, but Al'vexi
apparently has every reason to believe that it's true, and that both Shar-Tei
and Rune herself were there when it was revealed. And Ts'ani,> he added.
She gave him a sour look as she closed her eyes again. <That p'tai,> she
grumbled. <He deserved whatever Whisper gave him. Mmm, don't stop that.>
He chuckled as he continued to gently tweak her nipples. <You don't seem
to be overly upset or concerned about this development,> he observed.
<K'tal, why should I care?> she telepathed bluntly. <So someone who is
worshipped as a legend had a child with a human. What's that mean for us?>
<It means nothing by itself,> he admitted. <Unless, of course, you are a
Dragoon who believes very strongly that Raijen's daughter is someone we should
pay very close attention to in regards to what she has to say about relations
between our worlds. Also, keep in mind that if anyone is liable to be the
mother of Prince Darian's child, it's her. And as I just pointed out a few
minutes ago, he is the Crown Prince, so his daughter will be our Queen.>
<And that's a bad thing?> she wondered, her mind starting to become foggy
with pleasure again. <We can wait a few years for a Queen to be born.>
<If Rune and Nop'tera don't tear this world apart first,> he reminded her
darkly. <Nop'tera might welcome this development, but you know Rune still has
it out for Sailor Moon. If this becomes public, there might be an outcry for
something to be done, and *that* is where the danger lies.>
She sighed and said nothing as her nerves began to tingle from his rather
intimate attentions. She reached up to him, running her hand along his chest
and down his abdomen before lightly caressing his manhood. <Will this change
anything today?> she asked quietly as he responded to her touch.
<Of course not,> he replied softly, very lightly squeezing her nipples.
<We still have to get dressed in the ceremonial armor and welcome home a long
lost General, still have to suffer through all the speeches and grand-standing,
and if we're lucky maybe enjoy a few hours of the celebration being hosted by
our dear friends in Hospitality.>
<Then thinking about what Sailor Moon and Prince Darian might mean to us
in the future can wait?> she thought softly as the bond seemed to spiral wide
open, allowing her thoughts and feelings to flow more freely along the link.
<It can, but not forever,> he reminded her. He sighed and leaned back a
little bit as she continued to caress him, feeling the passion and lust ignite
in his veins. <Ael, you're going to start something if you don't stop that.>
<I'm going to start something? You started it first.>
He laughed softly and rippled his fingertips across her breasts, causing
her to moan softly. <This is probably a bad time to ask this now, but do we
even have time for this?>
As if on cue, there was a soft knock on the door a few seconds later. He
had to literally bite the tip of his tongue as a very crude mental image came
across the psionic link, accompanied by suitably descriptive phrasing. <Please
knock twice if this is a wake-up call,> she broadcast quietly.
K'tal chuckled quietly as they heard a pair of knocks, followed by a soft
and exceedingly polite response of thanks from the telepath. "Sorry," he said
aloud as he leaned forward and kissed her softly.
"You owe me," she muttered darkly when they broke apart.
He smiled at the look on her face. "It will be a pleasure, Captain, to
repay the debt of pleasure," he murmured, drawing an even darker look. "You
think Al'vexi would mind if we borrowed her shower for a few?"
"Actually, yes," she replied, causing him to blink in surprise. "She is,
if nothing else, a creature of habit and is probably in there herself at this
moment in time. Besides, we need to return to our quarters and get ready for
this ceremony."
"So can I get a rain-check on the indoor rain?" he ventured casually.
She sighed and gently pushed him away from her, lightly cupping him in a
sensitive location for a moment. "And to think I want to put up with you for
a few centuries," she grumbled as she sat up and moved to the edge of the bed.
She paused as she felt his lips brushing against her back, sending a soft
shiver through her nerves.
"The feeling is mutual, Ael, and not just because I think that you are
absolutely wonderful in bed," he murmured softly. "But I'll be honest, that
goes for a lot, too."
"Oh, that reminds me," she said casually. "I need to see a healer to get
the implant checked to make sure it's still working. Hasn't been needed in a
long time, and I can't really remember if I had it replaced lately," she added.
She smiled as a cold chill swept through the bond and his expression abruptly
changed to one of distinct unpleasantness.
"That's not funny, Ael," he said, only half-jokingly.
"I'm teasing, you fool," she said, patting his leg. "It was replaced two
years ago, and it'll be good for another eight."
He shook his head to himself. "The marvels of modern contraception," he
muttered to himself. "Used to be every two years for the implants."
She shrugged as she stood up and stretched, a soft smile tugging at her
lips as she saw how he eyed her nude body. "You don't have to use them, so
what are you griping about?" she teased, lifting up one leg to show him the
spot where the implant was. It was completely undetectable and left no marks
on the skin, but the location was usually enough to draw attention when it was
pointed out to intimate others.
He just shook his head and stood up, his state of desire still glaringly
obvious. "One day at a time," he said softly as he kissed her shoulder before
looking around for where his underwear had ended up. "And for now, we'll just
have to worry about today first. It's a new day, Ael, and after the night we
had, it just might be the start of something new as well. What's that smell?"
he added, sniffing the air.
"Fresh ma'cha," Ael'ien replied, inhaling deeply. "Al'vexi is nothing if
not a very accomodating host when she has guests spend the night."
"Well then, let's not disappoint her then, hmm?" he replied as he found
his clothing. "You know, I'm trying to remember when was the last time I had
to play the hunting game with my clothes. You must have a strong arm to have
pitched them all the way over here...."
"Commander K'tal?" she sighed.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Save your strength for later."
"Is that an order or some friendly advice?"
"That's a polite way of telling you to shut up for the moment."
"Oops. You sure are grouchy in the morning, aren't you?"
"Only when I get an itch that can't be immediately scratched."
"They make a cream for itches, you know...."
"K'tal?"
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Later."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good boy, maybe you'll be worth keeping after all."
"Thanks, Ael, I really appreciated you last night as well."
"I know you did. Now get dressed, it's going to be a long day."
"And a long night, I trust?"
"You won't make it that long if you don't give it a rest."
"That's actually a very valid point, you know...."
"K'tal?" she sighed. "Later."
"Yes, ma'am," he said with a knowing smile, the feeling of her emotions
gently resonating along the bond that they now shared on many levels.
* * * *
Luna sighed heavily as she finished her brief walk around the outside of
the house and couldn't find any open windows. I hate having to do this, she
thought to herself as she walked back to the front door and started scratching
the corner loudly. She's usually very good about leaving a window open for me,
I wonder what was on her mind that made her forget...?
She looked up at the sound of the deadbolt being unlocked from within, a
sense of dread crawling down her spine for some reason. She sighed heavily to
herself as the door opened and and found herself looking at a pair of somewhat
saggy blue pajamas. Oh, no, not this again....
"Oh, there you are," Sammy said with slight distaste as he squatted down
to pick her up. "Stupid cat, we were wondering where you went."
Why me? she thought as she gave him a quiet meow, fighting the urge to
bite him as he somewhat roughly carried her into the house. She still found
it occasionally difficult to deal with the concept of Serena having a younger
brother, as well as having a pair of parents to cope with, but she somehow
managed not to reveal herself as being anything more than a simple black cat
who just happened to have a patch of gold fur on her forehead in the shape of
a crescent moon.
"Guess who came home?" Sammy grumbled as he walked into the kitchen and
set Luna down on the floor next to the water bowl. Luna absolutely hated to
use it, preferring to use something far more civilized and tasty when Serena
was around to help her out. She still had problems using a straw, as her mouth
wasn't designed for it, but it worked well enough by her standards.
Serena looked up from her bowl of cereal and blinked. "Oh, great!" she
said, chewing with distinct enthusiasm. "Thanks, Sammy."
Sammy just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever," he replied as he sat back
down and toyed with breakfast. "I don't see why you keep letting her outside
on her own without a collar or something. She's probably going to end up as a
chunk of road pizza one of these days."
Serena shot him a dark look. "Luna's a smart cat, she knows to stay out
of the road," she said, tossing another spoonful of cereal into her mouth.
Luna just sighed and eyed the bowl of water warily, depressed at Serena's lack
of proper manners and somewhat thirsty after the several-mile journey from the
cathedral.
Sammy blinked and peered over at her bowl. "Hey, sis, c'mon, save some
for the rest of us. That's what, your third bowl this morning?"
She made a face at him. "Leave me alone, I'm hungry," she protested as
she chewed. "I'm still a growing girl, you know, I need all this energy."
He chuckled. "Yeah, we know you still have a long ways to go in growing
up," he teased. He smirked as he dodged a raisin that was plucked out of her
bowl and thrown in his direction. "See? I rest my case."
"Maybe you should rest your big mouth," she grumbled as she added another
spoonful of sugar onto her cereal before resuming her breakfast.
Luna just sighed and leaned forward, discreetly holding her nose shut as
she dipped her tongue in the bowl of water. It was, as she expected, ordinary
room-temperature tap water that was entirely too heavy on the minerals, but at
least it tasted relatively fresh. I'm not sure which is worse, she thought
darkly, listening to her argue with Rei, or listening to her argue with her
brother. Yeech, why can't they put a filter on the faucet or something?
"What, did you eat all the toast, too?" he demanded as he scowled at the
empty plate. "Man, you're a greedy pig this morning."
"Oh, put a sock in it," Serena growled as she finished the bowl and cast
a measured look at the box. "I'm the one who made it, remember?"
"Yeah, but all eight slices?" he shot back, drawing a surprised look from
Luna. She knew that Serena wasn't above going for seconds, but she knew that
three bowls of sugar-laden cereal and a stack of toast was a bit much for this
early in the morning. The realization of time caused her to blink hard as she
glanced at the clock, knowing that Serena was very rarely awake before ten on
a Saturday morning.
"Oh, quit whining and go make some yourself," she grumbled as she settled
for grabbing a slightly bruised banana and ripping the peel off. "We've got
plenty of bread left, you know. Or is the toaster too complicated for you?"
"Nevermind, meatball head," he grumbled, ignoring the venomous look he
got as he left the table and wandered into the kitchen. Luna waited until he
was past her before she walked over to Serena and nudged her ankle.
"Oh, alright," Serena sighed quietly as she picked her up with one hand
and set her in her lap. "Just let me finish breakfast first, okay?"
Luna sighed and meowed softly, glancing around the table. Her eyes went
wide as she realized that Serena had not only finished off the banana already,
but that two other banana peels had been set aside on a napkin. She looked
back up at the blonde and gave her a very uncertain look, trying to decide if
she should risk trying to ask about her suddenly voracious appetite.
"Hey!" an outraged voice protested from the kitchen. "You drank all the
orange juice!"
Serena furrowed her brow. "No, I didn't," she yelled back. "There was
half a carton left!"
"Sorry, honey, that was me," a feminine voice said from the living room.
"I'll pick some more up when I go grocery shopping. Try a glass of milk."
"Thanks, Mom," Sammy replied sourly as he started digging around inside
the refrigerator.
"Serena, are you okay?" Luna said very quietly as Serena reached for a
large apple.
The blonde nodded as she bit into the apple. "I'm just a little hungry
this morning, that's all," she replied equally as softly. "C'mon, you and I
need to talk about last night," she said as she carefully picked up the cat
and set her on the floor. She then quickly cleaned up her dirty dishes and
banana peels, depositing the former into the dishwasher and the latter into
the trash can. She returned to the table only long enough to grab both Luna
and the apple before heading upstairs to her bedroom.
"So why didn't you and Artemis stick around?" Serena inquired after the
door was closed and she sat down on the edge of her bed.
Luna sighed. "Well, Artemis and I felt that heeding Susan's advice about
staying away from the Crystal while you and the others took care of business
was rather prudent," she explained. "So we went with Ra'vel for awhile, and by
the time we realized how much time had passed, everyone had gone home for the
night. And rather than try to run home in a downpour, we waited until it had
stopped raining in the morning before trying to return home."
Serena sighed as she munched on the apple. "You really missed a lot, you
know," she muttered. "We got the others to transform, but the only thing that
kept us from serious embarassment was the fact that Darian wasn't paying close
attention to what was happening with our suits. Oooo, and I got scratched in
a tender spot, too," she groused as she rubbed her chest. "Why can't he ever
take the thorns off of his roses?"
Luna sat back, watching in slight amazement as Serena made significant
progress in eating the apple. "Slow down, Serena, you're going to choke on
something. So what else happened?"
The black cat blinked hard as Serena sighed glumly and swallowed, her mood
becoming visibly depressed. "I'm not sure what's going on, but it seems that
Darian has been.... I think she said imprinted.... anyway, imprinted by the
NegaForce, so now he has this really weird sigil on his forehead like we do."
"What?" Luna demanded, her fur spiking in shock.
"It gets worse," Serena sighed, her shoulders drooping. "Rei quit on us,
she said she's done being a Sailor Scout and left. Mina went after her, but I
think she said she wanted a break too or something. I don't know, Luna, it's
all a mess now. Alex and Tolaris got into a fight and she got kicked out, so
she and Michelle are with Darian at the moment, and I don't know where Susan
went to, she just disappeared in a flash of light."
Luna shook her head hard, trying to clear the cobwebs. "Serena, you're
going entirely too fast. Slow down and start from the beginning."
It took her the better part of an hour to explain what exactly went on
both during and after they had reactivated the Scout powers of the others. The
apple was reduced to a core halfway through and was idly nibbled on the rest
of the time, something that distantly bothered Luna for some reason.
"...And then I left to come home," Serena finished with a heavy sigh. "I
don't know what to make of things anymore, Luna."
Luna sighed and started to preen her tail. "First of all, I think Mina
is right in the sense that Rei just needed to let off some steam. I'm sure she
will be just fine after she calms down in a day or two. The same should apply
to Alex, although I expect that to take far longer."
"And what about Darian?" Serena blurted out. She blinked and grimaced as
her stomach started to cramp up mildly, almost as if in protest to the volume
of food she had just eaten. "I'm worried about him..... ow."
Luna blinked. "Serena, are you alright?"
"Ugh, just a gas cramp, I think," the blonde replied sourly.
"I'm not sure what to make of Darian's situation," Luna said slowly, her
whiskers twitching lightly as she sensed something was amiss. "I know that a
lot went on during his kidnapping, and that they might have done something to
his memories. Serena, are you sure you're alright?"
Serena sighed and waved a hand around. "Yes, I'm fine," she said with a
faint edge to her voice. "I was just really hungry this morning, so I probably
ate more than I'm used to, that's all. Ahh, see?" she added as she visibly
relaxed. "It went away now. Told you it was just a gas cramp."
Luna shrugged helplessly. "I was just concerned, that's all."
There was a soft sigh and a nod of understanding. "I'll give Darian a
call in an hour or so," she promised. She wrinkled her nose as another twinge
started to take up residence in her abdomen, this time far milder than the
previous gut-wrenching cramps. "Bleagh, I hope the orange juice wasn't spoiled
or something."
The black cat decided to skip the comment about who was truly spoiled at
the moment. "I'm somewhat hesitant to disturb Rei at the moment, seeing how
she has a lot on her mind, but we may need her spiritual powers to ascertain
what has happened to Darian."
Serena sighed and laid down on the bed. "I don't know, Luna, I thought
Rei seemed pretty serious about wanting to quit," she said quietly. "And for
some reason, I can't stop thinking about Mina's reaction, either. She seemed
to understand what Rei's problem was, but at the same time she seemed to agree
with the idea of us.... not being a team anymore."
Luna rolled her eyes. "That's nonsense, Serena," she replied with a sharp
flick of her tail. "The five of you have been a team for quite some time now,
and at the moment it appears that it will be the eight of you. I'm sure that
it will all work out soon enough. You just have to give each other a chance
first, that's all. You are all Sailor Scouts, after all, it's your destiny to
become a team once again."
Serena sighed as she studied the ceiling. "I suppose so...."
"There you go," Luna said cheerfully. "That's the spirit."
The blonde cast her a slightly unamused glance. "So why doesn't it feel
like it's real to me?" she wondered. "Why does it feel so.... so fake?"
"It's just your imagination," Luna persisted gently. "Listen, I know how
you and the others seemed to have had a horrific day yesterday, and I have to
be honest when I say I'm still bothered by a few things, but you simply can't
let yourself feel down over one day. After all, that was yesterday, today is
a new day and a new chance to become friends again."
Serena sighed again and looked back up at the ceiling. "I guess so."
Luna just shook her head, knowing that she was fighting an uphill battle
at the moment. "Can you do me a favor and remotely access Ami's computer for
me, please? I want to use the tracking function to determine her location so
I don't have to run across half the city to find her. She should be awake by
now, but I don't want to disturb her on the communicator if she's getting some
extra sleep for once."
Serena blinked hard and sat up. "Uhh.... how do I do that?"
"Oh, nevermind, just let me borrow your communicator," Luna sighed as she
hopped up on the bed. She waited as Serena pulled her communicator out of her
Lunar Space pocket and laid it down where she could reach it. She carefully
extended a claw and began to lightly tap out a display instruction.
<SYS - OK MEM - 64MB OK FREQ X-117/Y-234/Z-003 OK MODE - OPEN>
<MOON - HOST OK>
<MERCURY - OPEN OK>
<MARS - PRIVACY OK>
<JUPITER - OPEN OK>
<VENUS - OPEN OK>
<EARTH - OPEN OK>
<LIGHTNING - PRIVACY OK>
<STAR - PRIVACY OK>
<DRAGOON - PRIVACY OK>
<PSI - PRIVACY OK>
<COMPUTER - OPEN 51.2KB/READY>
<SENSHI - DIAGMODE FAIL/NO CARRIER>
<EMERGENCY - CLEAR>
"Huh," Serena said as she peered over Luna's shoulder at the tiny screen
display. "I don't remember seeing that one before. What's that Senshi line,
anyway?" she inquired.
Luna blinked. "I don't know," she admitted. "Perhaps it's something Ami
is trying to do. I vaguely remember her saying something about trying to put
some sort of communication link together that talked to the computer in the
cathedral. I'll have to ask her about it later," she said absently as she
opened a link on the Computer channel. She was rewarded with a simple menu of
pre-defined options and commands that could be run on the miniature computer
that Sailor Mercury kept with her.
"Here we go," Luna said as she typed in the command to locate and map all
known users of the network. It was several seconds before the computer came
back with a short display.
<VER 2.1.4 MEM - 512MB OK ACCESS: MOON TRACKING MODE [ENABLED]>
<MOON - HOME/ST>
<MERCURY - HOME/LK>
<MARS - HOME/RH>
<JUPITER - HOME/LK>
<VENUS - HOME/MA>
<EARTH - HOME/DC>
<LIGHTNING - CATH>
<STAR - CATH>
<DRAGOON - CATH>
<PSI - CATH>
Serena blinked hard and shot a confused look at Luna. "Uh, I hope you
understand all of this, because I have no idea what it just said...."
Luna felt a twinge in her own guts that had nothing to do with whatever
was in her stomach. "It's simple," she explained slowly. "Ami took the time
to pre-program certain coordinates into her computer. Cath, for instance, is
the denizen cathedral, and the home locations are for each of the others. You
can tell which one is which by their initials."
"Ohh, I get it," Serena said, blinking in surprise. "So that Home/ST is
here, right?"
The black cat felt herself relax as Serena caught on. "Exactly," she said
with a soft sigh of relief. "So it looks like Ami is over at Leda's house at
the moment."
"Huh," Serena said as she examined the display again. "I thought Leda
hated guests this early in the morning. You think Ami spent the night?"
Luna blinked before shrugging. "It's possible, but I don't see why it
would really matter."
"Well...." the blonde said slowly, her cheeks turning a light pink.
"What is it?" Luna inquired as she noticed Serena's change in mood.
Serena sighed and just shook her head. "I don't know, Luna, I just....
I've gotten the impression that Leda really likes Ami," she said, her blush
darkening by a shade.
Luna looked at her in confusion for a moment before she finally caught on
the blonde's meaning. "Oh...." she said very quietly. "I really don't think
that's the case, Serena. Remember, Ami is very much in love with Tolaris, and
while I know that she views you and Leda as her best friends, I really can't
see her with another woman like that."
"But what about Leda?" Serena asked, staring at the stuffed animal propped
up in the corner of her bed. "She's told us about having a girlfriend before,
and apparently she and Mina did something together once...."
It took Luna a great deal of effort to keep the shiver crawling down her
spine from reaching the tip of her tail and sending it lashing around in an
uncontrolled frenzy. "Be that as it may," she said in as even a tone as she
could manage, "I still don't believe Ami would have any part of it. Are you
really that bothered by it, Serena?"
Serena took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Not really," she said
after a moment of silence. "It's just something I can't quite understand for
myself. Mina seems to understand it perfectly, and she tried to explain it to
me awhile ago, but I just don't get it," she admitted.
Luna chuckled quietly. "I wouldn't worry about it," she reassured the
still-blushing blonde. "You don't seem upset about Alex and Michelle."
Serena sighed softly. "No, I'm not, but that's probably because Alex acts
like a guy. At a distance, she could probably even pass for one."
"Serena!" the cat admonished her.
"What?" Serena protested. "I'm being serious, she probably could. Even
her name sounds like a guy's name, and I thought Susan called her Alexis a few
times. That's a pretty name, I don't see why she would want it changed...."
Luna just sighed and started to preen her tail. "What's in a name?" she
replied gently. "She's not the only person to use a nickname or a shortened
version of their name, you know."
Serena blinked and gave her mentor a wary look. "Was there something in
particular you had in mind?" she said slowly. "I don't know of anyone else
going by a nickname or anything...."
The cat froze in mid-motion as she realized what she had said. "Oh, um,
well.... This is something Artemis mentioned once, and it's not something he
said he would like to have spread around, but he said that Mina's name is a
shortened version of the name that appears on her birth certificate."
That drew a blink of surprise from the blonde. "It is? What was it?"
"I don't know," Luna replied with a flick of her tail. "Artemis wouldn't
tell me, and I didn't think it was worth bothering Mina to find out."
"Huh," Serena said quietly. "Maybe something like Minerva, perhaps?"
"Now there's a thought," Luna said with a thoughtful expression. She let
her mind wander for a few more moments before dismissing it. "No matter what
it is, she's still Mina to the rest of us."
"That's the truth," the blonde muttered quietly.
Luna shot her a dour look. "Oh, now what?"
"Nothing," Serena sighed heavily. "She just strikes me as having a very
loose screw or two, that's all. And people think I have a problem with too
much sugar?" she grumbled, drawing an amused look from the black cat.
"You're still good friends, though," Luna reminded her.
"Yeah, I know," Serena sighed again. "She's a great friend, actually.
That is, when she's not getting into a fight with Ami...."
"Nobody's perfect," Luna said gently. "And even best friends don't get
along all of the time. Look at you and Rei, you two are still good friends
despite the constant sniping and bickering...."
"Thank you, Luna," Serena grumbled as she became depressed once again.
Luna sighed and curled up in a ball, not sure what else to say that would
be of any comfort to the blonde. She glanced down at the communicator and
blinked as she realized that the reading for the Earth channel was changing.
"Well, it looks like Darian is awake," she said as she studied the display.
"It seems like he's leaving his apartment."
"This early in the morning?" Serena said, blinking in surprise.
"Yes, I know it's a little unusual, but no more unusual than you being
awake this early," Luna said absently. She watched the display change again
and she suddenly switched communicator modes on an impulse, tapping out a
command with a light touch of her claw.
"What are you doing?" Serena asked cautiously.
"Asking a few questions," Luna replied calmly as the channel opened up,
displaying Darian's image on the tiny monitor. "Good morning, Darian...."
* * * *
Darian yawned as he stretched and opened his eyes, feeling only somewhat
refreshed from a few hours of broken sleep and slightly distateful dreams. He
paused in mid-stretch as something caught his attention and tried to focus his
eyes on the dark shadow looming over him.
"Good morning, your Highness," Susan said quietly.
"Whoa!" Darian yelped in surprise, bolting upright as his nervous system
seemed to pulse in unison for one icy instant. "You scared the daylights out
of me," he panted as he tried to slow his breathing.
A soft smile tugged on her lips. "My apologies, Darian," she said in a
soft tone. She blinked hard as he pushed the blanket away from him and she saw
the barely-healed claw marks on his chest. "Wait, what happened to you?" she
asked suddenly, leaning back over him.
Darian sighed and gently pushed her away so he could stand up. "We had
Myst pay us a visit for awhile," he explained. "I fell asleep with her on my
chest, and she panicked when I woke up in the middle of the night."
Susan winced and lightly brushed her fingertips over the marks. "Are you
okay?" she asked. "That looks like it might end up scarring."
He shrugged in dismissal. "I'm fine, it's just a bunch of scratches," he
assured her. He paused as he looked around the room, something tugging at the
back of his conscious mind. "Where were you last night, anyway? Oh, and what
is that smell?"
She chuckled quietly as she moved over to the couch and sat down, picking
up one of the steaming mugs laid out on the coffee table. "I was visiting a
bank in London," she explained as she sipped her mug. "I have several small
caches of resources hidden across the globe and throughout time for just such
a need, and I was putting one to use. Would you care for some tea?"
"What kind?" he inquired as he paused to stretch again before groggily
making his way over to the couch, trying not to pay too close attention to her
dark brown and quite form-fitting exercise suit.
"English Breakfast," she replied, her voice adopting the same 'English
country' accent she had used earlier. "I was in the City for a number of long
hours, and I must confess I've rediscovered my taste for a good spot of tea."
Darian blinked at her accent and gave her a bemused look. "How much of
that is faked, and how much of that is real?" he wondered as he grabbed a mug
and gingerly sipped it.
Susan chuckled quietly. "I've spent more than a few nights in and around
the British Empire throughout time, and after awhile their manner of speech
tends to grow on you. Besides, it is a rather civilized dialect to cultivate,
so I have to admit at having actively practiced it more than most."
"Mmm hmm," he said, surprised at how good the tea was. He was usually a
coffee person for the most part, especially in the mornings, but caffeine was
caffeine, and the tea was rather pleasant. "Just out of curiosity, how many
other accents and languages do you speak?"
Susan blinked and sat back. "Oh my, let me think. How many do I speak?
King's English, German, Arabic, Gaelic, French, Mandarian Chinese.... I can
speak Spanish as well, but I'm led to believe I have an unpleasant European
accent. I used to speak fluent Latin, but that was two hundred years ago...."
Darian's eyebrows rose up. "That's quite an assortment," he said in mild
awe. "I know Ami's mother is from Germany and speaks the language fluently,
and that Mina has family in the United Kingdom that she visits on a regular
basis, but that's about it for the international experience for us."
She looked at him for a moment before shrugging. "Any desire to travel
and see the world?" she asked with a sip of her tea.
"Maybe one of these years," he mused. "A trip to some tropical island
would be nice. Make an interesting vacation, if nothing else."
They both looked up as Michelle came down the hall, wearing a dark blue
jogging suit and tennis shoes. "Morning," she said quietly as she walked over
to the coffee table and picked up a mug of tea.
Darian blinked in surprised as he eyed her suit. "Please tell me Susan
brought you that and you didn't dig that out of some long-forgotten corner of
my closet," he said warily.
Michelle blinked in response. "No, she brought it to us. Why?"
"Whew," Darian said as he sighed in relief. "I just hate to think that I
had something like that in my closet and had completely forgotten about it," he
said with a faint grin. "You sleep well?"
"Yes, thank you," Michelle said with a gentle smile as she sipped her tea.
"Whatever you said to Alex about must have struck a chord, as she fell asleep
rather quickly and hardly stirred the rest of the night. At least, up until
Susan woke us up," she amended.
Susan frowned lightly and set her tea down. "Did something happen last
night, aside from Darian having a most unsavory encounter with Myst?" she asked
in a slightly worried tone.
"Not really," said a sleepy voice from the hallway. Everyone turned to
look as Alex walked into the room wearing a sky-blue tank top and a pair of
black running shorts. "Had a bad dream, talked to Darian about it, he set me
straight, I went back to bed, end of story. What's that?"
"Tea," Michelle replied as she picked up the last mug and held it out to
her. "I'm not sure what kind, but it tastes pretty good."
"English Breakfast," Darian offered.
"Ahh, yes, the Brits," Alex replied as she sniffed the tea. "A bunch of
really stuffy snobs, if you ask me, but I'll admit they know their way around
a mug of tea. You going with us like that or what?" she inquired casually.
"The bare-chest look suits you, D, but not with those claw marks exposed."
"What?" Darian blinked in mild confusion.
Susan sighed quietly. "I haven't asked him yet, Alex, be patient. I was
going to take them on a bit of a light jog this morning," she explained. "It
might be a thousand years later, but we're still Sailor Scouts and still need
to keep in physical shape. Besides, it gives me an opportunity to introduce
them to what Earth culture is like in this era. Would you be interested in
coming along?"
"A jog, huh?" he said, giving the idea serious consideration. "That's
probably not a bad idea. I try to keep in shape on my own, but I know that
running is not exactly my thing."
A sly smile crept across Alex's face. "Oh, relax, we'll go easy on you,"
she teased. "Or do you think that you're not up to a bit of a run with three
girls leading the way?"
"Alex, please," Susan replied with a roll of her eyes.
Darian chuckled as he finished his mug of tea. "I get the idea. Sure, I
might as well tag along for the ride. Give me a moment to get dressed first,"
he added as he headed towards the bedroom.
Michelle sighed and gave Alex a wary look. "We should remind him," she
said sourly to Susan, drawing an impish smile from the blonde.
"Nah," Alex said lightly, "I want to have fun with this one. C'mon, hon,
relax a little. Darian will learn fast enough, you'll see."
Susan just sighed quietly as she finished her tea and set the mug down.
"If you insist. So how bad were the nightmares?" she asked gently.
Alex blinked in surprise, caught off-guard by the question. "What makes
you think I had any? Alright, alright," she sighed as she got a level stare
from the succubus. "Okay, so I woke up screaming, which is probably what woke
Darian up which in turn spooked the hell out of Myst, but anyway. He and I
talked about it for a bit, and I guess I felt a bit better about it. Nothing
new to say, Sue."
Susan sighed quietly and decided not to press the issue. "So where is
Myst now? I returned to the cathedral early this morning to get your clothes,
but I couldn't find her in the area."
"Who knows?" Alex grumbled. "She popped out of my shirt without any sort
of warning, then hung around for a few hours, then decided she didn't like the
smell of hydrogen-peroxide, and the next thing we know she's a puddle on the
carpet and vanishes. What kind of insanity is that, anyway?"
A hollow grunt echoed from the hallway. "If you want insanity, you're in
the right neighborhood," Darian muttered as he stepped into the bathroom and
gently closed the door.
Alex blinked and cast a questioning look at Michelle. "Should we ask?"
"Probably not," Michelle muttered as she finished her tea.
Susan stood up and flexed her shoulders. "Before we go on this jog this
morning, I need the two of you to keep several things in mind once we leave
here. First and foremost, this is not the Earth you know anymore, so be on
guard for anything. I would strongly prefer that you remain within visual
contact at all times, so that means no running ahead."
"Spoilsport," Alex muttered as she crossed her arms.
Susan sighed and continued. "Also, be alert for traffic, both pedestrian
and vehicular. There are a number of machines that often move around at very
high velocities, so you have to keep an eye out for them as they may not be
watching for anyone else."
"Yes, mother," Alex grumbled.
"Alex, please," Michelle said softly, rubbing the blonde's shoulder.
"C'mon, let's just go," the blonde replied as the bathroom door opened.
"You all set now, your Highness?"
Darian shrugged casually, dressed in a somewhat shabby workout suit. "I
think so," he replied. "If not, we'll find out. Come on," he said as they
all headed for the door. He stopped suddenly as a thought occurred to him,
making a slight detour into the kitchen to grab his keys and a pair of water
bottles. "Keys are important," he explained as he returned to the door.
"Usually," Alex agreed as he stepped into the hallway, locking the door
behind him and slipping the keys into a pocket. "Stairs are which way?"
"That way," Darian replied as he pointed to the far end of the hallway.
They all started walking towards the stairwell, idly stretching neck and arm
muscles as they went. They had only gone down half a flight of stairs when
Darian paused for a moment, almost causing Alex to plow into him.
"Hey, careful," the blonde protested as she took a quick hop back.
"Sorry," he replied with a sigh as he dug into his other pocket and pulled
out his Sailor Scout communicator. "Huh, she's up early," he observed as he
saw the Moon sigil blinking at him, the communicator suddenly vibrating hard
again. Shrugging, he thumbed the channel open and was surprised to see Luna's
face appear on the display.
"Good morning, Darian," the speaker crackled in greeting.
He chuckled dryly. "Leda has a point," he replied with a lop-sided grin.
"That really is an opinion instead of a proper greeting. Hey!" he protested as
Alex suddenly grabbed his wrist, tilting the communicator in her direction.
"What the hell is this?" Alex said, her eyes wide as she stared into the
tiny communicator display. "Luna, is that you?"
The corner of the cat's eye seemed to twitch. "Yes, Alex, it is, now can
I talk to Darian for a moment, please?" she said archly.
Alex grumbled something beneath her breath and let go of Darian's wrist,
letting him hold the communicator straight again. "I know, Luna, you want to
see me as soon as possible, right?" he said warily.
Luna blinked before she nodded. "Well, that certainly wouldn't hurt. I
was actually calling to see what you were up to at this hour of the morning."
"Perhaps we should invite her and Serena along?" Susan suggested.
Darian blinked and looked over at her. "Uh, that wise?" he asked softly.
"The Princess could probably use some exercise, I'm sure," Susan said with
a faint smile. "In fact, I'm sure the others could as well. Do you think we
can get in touch with them as well and arrange for us all to meet somewhere?"
He blinked again in surprise. "If you insist. Luna, we have a favor to
ask of you. Wake Serena up, get her dressed in sports clothes, and drag her
over to the cathedral."
"Why?" Luna said very warily, giving him a deeply guarded look and quite
obviously not thrilled at the motivational difficulty she would most likely
encounter under such circumstances.
Darian sighed, already feeling the black cat's pain. "The four of us are
going to go for a jog, and Susan thinks it might be a good idea if the rest of
the Sailor Scouts to come with us. You know, make it a group exercise."
Luna blinked. "That's actually a splendid idea. Oh, don't look at me
like that, Serena, it's good for you," she said over her shoulder.
That raised Darian's eyebrows. "She's awake already?"
"Obviously," Luna replied dryly. "I don't know if we should try to get
Mina or Rei to join us, but I'm almost certain Ami and Leda will. You said we
should meet at the cathedral?"
Darian nodded. "A good place as any. Besides, I figured Maze would also
be interested, if no one else, and you know how he's said a few times about
wanting to spend a bit more time out and around in the city."
"Hold it," Alex said warily. "So we're dragging the Negaverse along with
us now, huh?"
Darian shot her a flat look. "Nope, just one or two friends," he said in
an edged tone that made the blonde blink in surprise. "What do you think?" he
asked the image of the black cat.
"We will be there," Luna promised him, casting an unamused glance over her
shoulder at something only she could see. "I'll leave it up to you to contact
the others, as I'll be busy on this end."
Darian chuckled quietly. "Not a problem. I love you, Serena," he said,
raising his voice slightly. He laughed softly at her reply, not able to make
out the words but the tone being quite unmistakable. "Later, Luna," he said as
he closed the channel with a flick of his wrist.
"Darian, what are those things?" Michelle asked with open curiosity.
"What, this?" he said with a gesture of the communicator. "It's what we
use to keep in touch with one another over a distance. I thought you used to
use these in the Moon Kingdom?" he asked, giving Susan an uncertain look.
Susan hesitated slightly. "We do, but they never had any sort of visual
capability before," she said slowly. "Perhaps Ami has modified the design in
some way, as I know for a fact that she has essentially rebuilt her tactical
computer to do things it was never intended to do. Quite amazing, really."
"Anyway," Alex said with a shrug. "Let's go."
The jog down fourteen flights of stairs made for a light warm-up, pausing
only once to re-tie a pair of shoelaces that had slipped loose. "Nice place,"
Alex said as she looked around once they exited the stairwell. "Don't get me
wrong, I'm not sure I could live here myself, as it's a bit cramped and I've a
bit of a need for open space, but still...."
Darian shrugged. "You get used to it," he said as he led them outside the
apartment building and over to a small patch of grass and greenery. "Or did
you expect something else living in the heart of a metropolis?" he added.
"Met-what?" Alex said, a blank look on her face.
"A metropolis is a very large city," Susan explained as they all started
to stretch out their leg muscles. "In this case, one of the largest in the
entire region. To put things in perspective, I think the geographical limits
of the city are actually larger than the boundaries of the Kingdom."
"Damn," Alex said, blinking hard. "That's a big city."
"Like I said, you get used to it," Darian said as he turned his attention
back to his communicator and opened the Mercury frequency. It took several
seconds for the channel to open, the small image appearing in the tiny display
causing him to blink hard. "Whoops...."
Alex peered over his shoulder and blinked as well, her eyebrows arching
up to her hairline. "Does the image always angle that low?" she inquired.
Darian sighed, feeling the heat rising to his face. This is going to be
one of those days, he thought as he opened his mouth to speak.
* * * *
Ami woke up to the feeling of something tickling her in the small of the
back. The sensation wasn't very strong, but it was unusual enough to trigger
the slow process of waking up from a sound sleep.
Huh? she thought as a soft trilling sound reached her ears. Even through
the haze of sleepiness, she was able to recognize the sound of her communicator
going off inside her Lunar Space pocket.
A half-hearted grunt of protest emerged from her throat as she tilted to
one side, just enough to edge her hand beneath her back and extract the beeping
device from the quasi-dimensional bubble. She painfully opened her eyes as she
held the device up, opening the channel with a gentle flick of her thumb.
"Whoops...." the image of Darian said quietly as it formed on the tiny
display. Ami grunted and raised an eyebrow as she heard a female voice in the
background asking a question.
"Morning, Darian," she said sleepily.
"Ami, can you pan up a few inches?" Darian asked, his face tinted a deep
shade of pink.
"What?" Ami said, trying to force herself further awake.
"I see Myst decided to pay you a visit," he muttered, glancing away.
Ami blinked and glanced down at the ball of gray fur apparently dozing on
her bare chest. Her eyes went wide as she suddenly realized what else Darian
could see and she hastily tilted the communicator higher up, a deep blush of
embarassment rising to her face.
"I'm sorry," Ami said, deeply mortified.
Darian just shook his head. "Nothing to worry about. Umm, I'm sorry to
have woken you up like this, but we're trying to get everyone together to go
on a bit of a morning jog. Would you be interested?"
Ami paused for a moment, waiting for the rest of her brain to catch up
after being jolted awake by shock and embarassment. "A jog? It might take me
a bit to get ready and all, but I think I can make it. Who else is going?"
"Well, at the moment, it appears to be me, Alex, Michelle, Susan, and
Serena, assuming Luna can get her motivated well enough. I haven't talked to
any of the others yet, and we were thinking of inviting Maze along if he was
interested," Darian explained.
Ami suppressed a yawn as she slowly sat up, using her free hand to hold
Myst in place. "I'm fairly sure Maze would be interested," she replied as she
gently set Myst in her lap. "In fact, all of the denizens should be. I know
Tolaris wouldn't mind a chance to get out for awhile."
Darian's image nodded. "Yeah, that what I was thinking as well. Anyway,
we're going to meet up at the cathedral as soon as possible, so I'll let you
finish waking up and all."
Ami nodded in understanding, her cheeks still flushed pink. "Thank you.
Oh," she added with a quick glance to her side. "Don't bother calling Leda,
as she's not in any condition to be running."
"Hwa'zaat?" Leda grunted quietly from the other side of the bed, still
three-quarters asleep.
Darian blinked in surprise. "Is she okay?"
Ami sighed, her blush taking on a different hue for an entirely different
reason. "She's fine, she's just.... feeling a quart low, such as is were," she
muttered.
"Ah, okay," Darian replied with a knowing look. "Well, we'll see you at
the cathedral. Take care."
"Bye," Ami said as she closed the channel and sighed heavily. A shiver
ran down her spine as she felt a hand lightly brush across her back, gently
scratching her with fingernails. She looked over her shoulder to see Leda's
eyes halfway open and giving her a distinctly fuzzy look.
"Morning," the brunette said softly. "What was that all about?"
"Darian called, wanted to know if we wanted to go for a morning jog," Ami
replied as she absently scratched the yawning kitten in her lap.
"Bleagh," Leda grunted in reply. "Too early in the morning."
"You shouldn't be running anyway," Ami reminded her. "In fact, you really
shouldn't be doing much of anything for a day or two. You're still dangerously
low on blood, remember?"
Leda chuckled and rubbed her face with her free hand. "Yes, I remember.
I remember a lot of last night, too, least of which was your lips on my throat.
Should I ask why you're blushing like a lightbulb?" she added.
Ami sighed, feeling the heat return to her face with a vengeance. "I was
only half-awake when I answered the communicator, and I think I flashed Darian
by accident," she muttered quietly. She glanced over at the brunette as she
made a soft purring noise, lightly stroking her back once again.
"Hey, accidents happen. Besides, you're beautiful," Leda said softly.
"I don't think Darian minded one bit. I know I don't," she added, her voice
growing softer as she sat up.
"It's the thought that counts," Ami muttered sourly as she gently set the
gray kitten aside. She then slid out from underneath the bed sheets and moved
to stand up, trying not to disturb either Myst or Leda as she did so.
"Hey, Ami?" Leda said quietly, causing the blue-haired girl to pause.
"Thanks for keeping me company last night. I know it was probably not the most
comfortable of situations for you, but it meant a lot to me."
Ami sighed softly. "You're welcome, Leda. I guess after the day we had,
I needed the company myself more than I had thought." She paused for a moment
before shrugging to herself and standing up.
"Hold still a moment," Leda said quietly as she climbed out of bed and
walked over to her. She put her hands on Ami's shoulders and guided her over
to the vanity mirror hanging over her dresser. "Look in there and tell me what
you see," she whispered in Ami's ear as she stood behind her.
Ami blinked as she stared at her nude reflection, a faint blush returning
to her cheeks. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary," she said warily.
"My hair is a mess, but that's expected."
"Mmmhmm," Leda purred quietly in her ear as she slid her arms around Ami's
waist, hugging her gently. "Well then, let me tell you what I see. I see a
very beautiful young woman, standing there in all her natural glory. I see a
well-toned body reflected back at me, a body to admire and desire. I see my
best friend, someone who could easily be far more than just a friend if she
ever decided to open her heart. I see someone I love, not in the sense of a
lover, but someone I can trust without hesitation, someone I can feel relaxed
around, someone who makes me happy and content with her mere presence, someone
who means a large continent if not the world to me."
Ami shivered lightly as she looked at the reflection, watching as Leda's
head tilted down at an angle to kiss the base of her neck softly. The warmth
of the kiss sent an odd tingle running through her veins, seeming to warm the
rest of her body in an instant.
Leda looked up at the reflection and gave her a soft smile, slowly gliding
her hands up to cup Ami's breasts. "Perhaps I see things differently than you
do," she whispered quietly. "But then again, it's funny how a mirror can show
show different images of the same reflection. I guess it's a perception issue,
whether you like what you see or not. Do you like what you see?" she inquired
softly, very lightly massaging the ultra-soft skin cupped in her palms.
It took Ami a moment to find her voice. "I don't know," she replied as
she stood there, entranced with her reflection and the sudden feelings burning
in her blood.
Leda smiled and bent down to kiss her neck once more, giving her a final
squeeze before stepping back. "Let me know when you do know, Ami?" she asked
quietly, turning her around to look into her eyes.
Ami blinked as the feeling of enchantment was dispelled. She looked back
into Leda's eyes and tried to find something to say, blinking again when she
realized that she simply had no idea how to reply.
Leda chuckled and gave her a quick hug. "Go get dressed and enjoy your
jog," she said with a faint smile. "I'll probably head over to the cathedral
in a bit myself, just as soon as I grab a steaming-hot shower and scrounge up
something to call breakfast."
"Sure," Ami said hesitantly, still not sure of what else to say.
The brunette raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Or you can always skip the
jog and come back to bed with me," she suggested lightly. "I'm sure we could
find something suitable and acceptable to do...."
Ami blinked hard as her brain snapped back into full alignment. "Uh, no,
that's okay," she said as she edged back towards the door, acutely aware of
their state of undress.
"I'll talk to you later," Leda said with a faint chuckled as she turned
around and started looking for her robe. She wasn't surprised in the least to
hear the sound of the door closing behind her in the three seconds it took to
locate the maroon robe and pick it up.
"You humans are strange," Myst observed from the corner of the bed.
"Bah," Leda replied as she slipped the robe on and tied the sash. "Keep
saying that often enough, you might start to believe it after a few weeks. I
take it you plan on hanging around here for awhile or something? I don't mind
the company, of course, and I wasn't kidding about heading back over to the
cathedral in awhile. I'll take that as a yes," she added dryly as Myst leaned
back and started to preen the fur on her abdomen.
She shook her head to herself and went over to her dresser drawer to find
a clean pair of panties. She paused as she glanced up in the mirror, looking
at her reflection once again. "Interesting way to start the day, girl," she
said softly. "Let's just hope today is going to be just as much fun...."
* * * *
"Wait, so let me get this right," Mina's image said slowly. "You're not
calling me because you or Serena are dead, dying, under attack, or otherwise
are in a lot of trouble, right?"
Darian blinked for the third time at the somewhat hostile reaction he was
getting from the blonde. "As far as I know," he hedged.
"Okay, let me explain this one to you," Mina said flatly. "Unless we're
being invaded by the Negaverse, or something of dire consequence has happened
to either you or Serena, don't bother calling me like this again. I thought I
made this one clear last night, but apparently not, so here we go again: Until
I say otherwise, Sailor Venus is considered on vacation, leave her alone, end
of discussion. If navidshi is hiting the fan, Sailor V will back you up, but
only as a last resort. Got it? Good. Have a nice day."
"Well, that could have gone a lot better," Darian muttered as the channel
was abruptly closed on the other end.
Alex scowled. "What's her problem?" she demanded. "Does everyone around
here PMS at the same time or what? Damn...."
Darian sighed. "I think she's just pissed off about being woken up," he
said with a sour expression as he tucked the communicator back into his pocket.
"I think the only morning people around here are Ami and Rei, and I think Rei
is only up early on the weekends because of her work at the temple."
"I presume you don't intend to contact Rei?" Susan inquired as she leaned
against a tree to stretch her hamstrings.
"No," Darian replied with a shake of his head. "She made it pretty clear
last night that she wants to be alone for a bit, and if I had known Mina would
be this snippy I'd have skipped calling her as well. You guys ready?"
"Sure," Alex said as she bounced on her toes a few times.
"Take a slow, easy pace," Susan reminded her. "This is supposed to be a
light jog today."
"Yes, Chancellor," Alex grumbled as Darian started to slowly jog up the
street, followed closely by the other women. "So how far is it to where we're
going?" she said, breathing slowly.
"A few miles," Darian admitted. "It's a shorter distance if you can cut
through the park and along the lake than having to drive around the traffic
barriers and all."
"So where are we, anyway?" Alex said as she looked around as they jogged,
keeping a casual eye on Michelle. Susan trailed behind the group a pace or
two, letting her senses keep track of everything happening around her.
"Pretty much in the heart of the city," Darian explained. "The lake you
guys went swimming in is about a mile in that direction," he said. "The main
park is further up the road that way, and we're going to be taking a right up
at that large white building over there."
Susan increased her pace slightly to catch up with the rest of the group.
"Where exactly is Rei's temple?" she asked.
"Opposite way," Darian said as he jerked a thumb behind them. "Mina and
her family live on the outer edge of the city that way too, which is why they
didn't go to the same school until very recently. Slow down, crosswalk."
"Huh?" Alex puffed as she slowed her pace to match his.
"We have to cross traffic," he explained as he pointed to the crosswalk
light. "Wait for it to turn white before crossing."
"Bah," Alex grumbled as she jogged in place, looking around. "Looks like
a busy place," she observed.
"What's with all the lights?" Michelle asked, pointing to the string of
traffic lights hanging over the intersection.
"C'mon," Alex interrupted as the crosswalk light changed and she stepped
into the intersection, followed by the rest of the group. Susan began to
explain the purpose of the traffic lights, signs, and road markings as they
continued their way up the street, still moving at a casual jog.
"Crazy place," Alex muttered as they passed several stores, casting very
brief but curious glances through the windows as they went. "Oh man, is that
tacky or what? People actually buy that?" she said as they past a clothing
store with several mannequins in the window. "Or worse, try to wear it?"
"There's never been any accounting for taste," Susan observed casually.
"That has essentially been a given since asthetics were invented thousands of
years ago."
"Yeah, but please.... who wears orange and blue together, anyway?" Alex
replied over her shoulder. "And are those.... shorts or whatever supposed to
hang THAT low on your butt? You might as well wear a thong if you're going to
show it off like that."
"Welcome to the Bermuda Shorts Triangle," Darian said casually, drawing a
lightly amused look from Susan.
"Bermuda is an interesting region to visit," Susan said absently as she
briefly studied the display of clothes in another shop across the street. "I
wouldn't want to live there, however, as the profusion of deep-water ley lines
tends to kink the local magnetic field with disturbing regularity...."
"Alright, topic shift," Alex interrupted. "Speaking loosely of wearing
bad shorts, can I ask you a personal question, D?"
Darian almost tripped but managed to recover without anyone noticing he
had slipped. "I'm not sure I like the intro to that train of thought, but you
can ask. And before you do, no I don't have anything like that in my closet."
Alex chuckled quietly. "Nah, nothing like that. I was just curious about
what you usually wore to bed, that's all."
The question drew odd looks from the rest of the group. "Should we ask
about the origins of such a question?" Susan inquired mildly.
"Nothing bad," the blonde assured her. "I was just thinking about how we
woke up last night and everything, and how it seems Ami apparently doesn't like
to feel constrained at night either. Just wondering who else goes for that."
Darian just sighed as he was reminded of the images. "Usually I wear a
pair of shorts or sweatpants to bed," he replied. "As for everyone else, you
have to ask them. I think we just caught Ami at a bad moment or something, as
she's always struck me as being the modest one of the bunch."
"What happened with Ami?" Michelle inquired, giving him a curious look.
Alex smirked as she side-stepped a utility pole. "Go ahead, Darian, you
can tell her. I just want to see you dig yourself out of this one," she said
with a gleam of humor in her eye.
Darian sighed. "Ami wasn't awake all the way when she opened the channel
and had the camera angled a little too low, that's all. Oh, yeah, Myst was
with her," he added.
"Interesting," Susan mused.
"What was interesting was where she was parked," Alex chuckled as she
swung her arms in a wide circle, not appearing to be winded in the slightest.
"Don't get me wrong, it's a good a place to rest your head as any...."
"Thank you, Alex," Darian interrupted with a flat glare.
"Oh, come off it," the blonde replied. "You liked what you saw."
Darian sighed and slowed his pace slightly. "I thought we already had a
discussion about friendships and limits," he muttered quietly.
"Yeah, and?" Alex shot back. "You can be good friends and still have an
appreciation for their bodies. Or are we supposed to quit being friends if we
happen to like what we see one idle afternoon or something? Hey, Sue, opinion
check, you think Darian's got a nice body?"
Susan sighed as they swerved around a blue postal drop-off box. "Alex,
why do you persist in asking such tactless questions?"
"I'm trying to make a point," the blonde growled. "Just answer me."
Susan sighed again. "Yes, it is my personal opinion that Darian has done
a very good job in keeping himself in excellent physical condition, which is
almost universally viewed as being a desirable factor in a relationship."
"I'll just take that as a yes," Alex grumbled. "So would you think that
you couldn't be friends because you happen to like seeing him wandering around
without a shirt?"
"You have a remarkable gift for twisting words around," Susan observed in
a tone as dry as some desert regions. "I will not waste my breath attempting
to contest your delusional assertions, but I do however agree with the basic
premise behind this whole debate."
"Here," Darian said quietly as he handed Michelle one of the water bottles
he had been carying since they left the apartment.
"Thank you," she replied quietly, a light sheen of sweat already starting
to collect across her forehead.
"So you see my point, Darian?" Alex said, lightly poking his shoulder.
"Just because you got to see a little more of Ami than she might have wanted
you to see doesn't mean you're not allowed to appreciate what you saw. Hell,
after all the times we've bathed together in the bathhouses? Well, at least
us Sailor Scouts," she amended. "Anyway, put it like this, everyone has seen
everything on everyone else that doesn't require a lens or a probe to examine,
so I don't get what the problem is."
Darian just sighed. "It's called principle," he grumbled as he picked up
the pace slightly, starting to feel the sweat collecting in his armpits. Oh,
great, forgot the deodorant, he grumbled to himself. Bad move, Darian....
"What building is that?" Michelle asked, pointing to a moderately-sized
skyscraper as they jogged past the elaborate revolving doors in the lobby.
"Headquarters building of the Bank of Japan," Darian replied. "Nothing
but executives, bureaucrats, interns, bean-counters, and paper-pushers."
Alex blinked and cast him a glance. "You sound bitter about something."
"A few guys in my office used to work for them," he explained as they came
to another intersection and jogged in place. "You never heard so much moaning
and bitching around the water-cooler about how bad the managers were."
"So who do you work for, if we may ask?" Susan inquired as the crosswalk
light turned white and they continued jogging along.
"A minor corporation, no-one special," Darian replied off-handedly. "I'm
a bit of a paper-pusher myself, usually bouncing between handling internal
auditing paperwork for Finance and sorting out various documents and the like
for Public Relations. They tried to put me over in Human Resources once, but
I told them I'd rather quit than have to deal with people all the time."
"Huh," Alex said quietly. "I figured you were a people-person myself."
"Only to a certain degree," he said wryly. "That, and I can only put up
with complete idiots and insufferable fools for so long. Okay, we're going to
want to make a right up at that light. How's everyone holding up?"
"Please," Alex scoffed. "Let me know when you feel like doing some real
running and maybe I'll work up a sweat then."
Darian glanced over at her before looking over at Michelle and Susan. He
could tell that Michelle was definitely getting exercised and that Susan seemed
only minorly exerted at this point. "Let me guess," he said slowly. "You're
one of those sick people who likes to run for fun or something?"
"I told you he'd catch on soon enough," Alex said to Michelle with a wink.
Susan smiled at him. "Alex has won her fair share of marathon races in
the Kingdom," she said lightly. "I assure you that she will not tire very
easily, and I will probably fall off a given pace before she does."
"Great," Darian muttered.
Alex laughed and patted him on the back. "Aww, cheer up, your Highness,
it's not like we're going to race or anything. Not that it would be much of a
race to begin with, mind you, but you get the idea...."
"Yeah, I do," he grumbled as they turned the corner towards the park.
* * * *
<Warning: Sensors detecting an increase of signal strength of shielded
communication source,> the electronic voice echoed in her mind. <Projection:
Source of transmission is mobile and is approaching current location.>
She looked up from her newspaper and glanced around the park casually. A
large dog of decidedly unidentifiable heritage was lounging around at her feet,
the end of the leash lightly resting in her lap. She sighed quietly and turned
the page, not happy in the least with her assignment or the new agent she was
essentially baby-sitting.
She glanced around to make sure no one was near her before she spoke up.
"Identify signal type," she said quietly.
The dog tilted its head at a slight angle. <Signal type unknown,> the
psionic computer implant in its skull replied a few moments later. <Signal
appears to be modulated between several frequencies and is unable to be locked
in by current sensor array. Warning: Signal strength continues to increase.>
She frowned and peered over the edges of her newspaper again, seeing only
a casual assortment of joggers running back and forth along the various paths.
She was sitting in a spot where most of them converged, allowing her to watch
the events around her with reasonable anonymity.
She found herself looking at a group of four joggers moving as a group,
one male and three females. She wasn't sure if she cared for the style of the
exercise clothes they wore, but she sort of liked the dark green hair of the
woman in the back.
Maybe I'll try that color one day, she mused with an absent flick of her
pale blue hair. Her temples were tinted a light purple color, a subtle sign
of her age that always seemed to emerge unless she consciously altered the odd
coloring. She studied the hairstyle of the woman with aquamarine hair before
she turned her attention to the man jogging next to the blonde woman.
Her eyes went wide as she caught a glimpse of his face. "Group of four
joggers, heading north-east," she said quietly but urgently to her companion.
"Scan and identify."
The dog lifted its head up and turned to look, its nose twitching gently
as the implant processed the information. <Scanning. Target One: Human male,
bio-index 100%, respiration above normal, pulse above normal. Beginning alpha
scan.... Danger: Alpha scan pattern match to known life-form.>
She felt a chill form in her blood. "Prince Darian?" she ventured.
<Confirmed. Danger: Detection possible,> the hunter-scout warned her.
"Continue scan," she ordered quietly, keeping a wary eye on the group as
they jogged along one of the trails. The chill in her blood deepened as she
realized that if they stayed on their current path, they would pass within a
few feet of her position. "Prepare for possible contingency evacuation."
<Acknowledged. Target Two: Human female, bio-index 100%, respiration
normal, pulse normal. Beginning alpha scan....> the implant reported.
Normal pulse? she thought as she pretended to read her newspaper. Has to
be a runner. Must be nice to be in that kind of physical shape that a jog
doesn't bother your heart rhythm....
<Alpha scan of Target Two inconclusive, no known pattern match. Target
Three: Human female, bio-index 98%, respiration above normal, pulse above
normal. Beginning alpha scan....>
She blinked and cast a quick glance at the approaching group. "Identify
visual differences between targets," she said quietly.
<Target Two is abreast of Target One. Target Three is behind Target Two.
Target Four is behind Target Three,> the computer voice reported. <Warning:
Unable to conclusively differentiate brain waves of Target Three. Projection:
Psychological trauma possible. Target Four.... Warning: Unable to identify
bio-pattern with 100% certainty, visual estimate conforms to human female.
Unable to establish bio-index, synchronizing with human ranges.... bio-index
57%, respiration above normal, pulse normal. Beginning alpha scan....>
She muttered a curse in her native dialect as the group moved close enough
to hear her if she asked the hunter-scout's implant for more information. I
really don't like this.... she thought, an icy droplet of sweat starting to
crawl down her spine.
"....so both Mich and I are stomping away up to our knees in grape juice,
while Sue is just standing in the corner with this sour look on her face," the
blonde woman was saying as they moved past her position. "We figured that she
must have stepped on a sour grape or three and absorbed it or something, as we
all agree she's been a bit of a sourpuss ever since...."
"That will be enough, Alex," the woman with dark green hair sighed.
"Hey, I'm just saying, that's what it seems like sometimes, Sue. Anyway,
to say the least, we've taken on a different view of wine since. Holy crap,
did you see that dog? That's the ugliest mutt I've seen in years...."
She had to bite the tip of her tongue as the hunter-scout's ears flicked
back against its head, a soft growl of protest barely audible in its throat.
She leaned forward and ran her hand along the creature's back, drawing a sour
look from it in response.
<Warning: Unable to differentiate brain waves of Target Four. Beginning
blood analysis.... Warning: Blood structure does not match any known life-form
in database. Projection: Alien life-form. Warning: Unable to project threat
level from unknown life-form.>
"What?" she said aloud, visibly startled. She cast a quick glance over
her shoulder just as the group disappeared around the corner, the image of dark
green hair swaying in the wind seeming to sear itself into her memory.
<Suggestion: Immediate withdraw from region. Suggestion: Alter identity
to prevent recognition from repeat encounter. Suggestion: Make contact report
as soon as security protocols are assured,> the implant stated flatly.
"I get the idea," she said as she stood up, folding the newspaper up and
grabbing the leash. "I'll tell you what, though, I don't know what the t'zarn
we just saw, but I can bet you that Rune won't like this one bit."
She sighed and looked around to make sure no one was watching before she
turned her focus inward for a moment. Her whole body turned into a pink mass
of protoplasm for several seconds before reforming into the body of a young man
with sandy blond hair. "I hate this job sometimes," he muttered in a somewhat
deep voice as he started to jog in the opposite direction, still holding onto
the hunter-scout by the leash and already lost in thought about just how he
was going to report this one.
* * * *
Maze poked his head up from under the open floor panel as he heard a pair
of rather heavy footsteps. "Morning, Commander," he said, one purple-tinted
eyebrow arched up to his hairline.
"Lieutenant," Tolaris said quietly by way of greeting as he sat down hard
in the chair, a heavy sigh escaping his lips.
"Let me guess," Maze said carefully. "Couldn't sleep half the night, and
the other half wasn't worth the dreams?"
"Something like that," the elder Dragoon muttered as he tried to focus on
the crystal display. "So where exactly are we at?"
"Gimme a sec," Maze replied as he ducked back down into the flooring. A
soft screeching sound drifted up from the open space for a few seconds before
there was a sharp click. "Okay, that's the last of the new conduits," Maze
reported as he stood up and started to ease himself out of the flooring.
Tolaris nodded. "So that just leaves the sensor nodes and the software,
right?"
Maze smirked. "That just leaves the sensor nodes," he corrected. "The
software was the easy part. Whisper and Ra'vel are mounting the arrays on the
roof now. Oh, and speaking of software," he added with a grunt as he finally
disloged himself from the disturbingly narrow crawlspace, "I think you and I
need to have a discussion about your future life-mate."
Tolaris shot him a wary look. "Why, what did Ami do this time?"
"See for yourself," Maze replied as he walked over to the computer and
opened a trace log. "If some cadet had tried this, she'd be in the brig right
now with an awful lot of explaining to do."
Tolaris grunted quietly as he read through the trace logs and reports.
"She's resourceful, you have to give her that," he muttered sourly.
Maze shrugged. "So's Mina, but you don't see her crawling around inside
stuff she knows she has no business being in," he pointed out. "She already
asked us about building a transmission node, which is fine with me. She also
told us about the modifications she made to the translator program, that's fine
with me as well. What I don't like is all this back-door stuff," he grumbled.
"You don't trust her?" Tolaris asked mildly, still reading the logs.
"Trust has nothing to do with this and you know it," Maze said in a flat
tone. "Nobody should have unrestricted and unlimited access to any system,
especially when the tracers don't log certain things. The fact that we don't
permit erasure of Alpha logs, regardless of specified trust level, is a prime
example of what I'm talking about. You'd be pissed if Ra'vel tried something
like this behind your back, right?"
"I'll talk to Ami about it," Tolaris sighed heavily as he rubbed his face
with both hands. "I'm not sure it will do much good, however."
Maze shrugged and crossed his arms. "Put it like this, boss. Either she
plays nice and by the rules like everyone else, or I block her access to the
system. This isn't just a terminal, it's the core that controls this entire
facility. If she starts tinkering around and steps on the wrong module, we
might end up looking at a problem with the reactor. You may be the denizen in
charge, but I'm the one who has to maintain the network."
"I understand perfectly, Lieutenant," Tolaris grumbled. It was a bit of
an irony that even division commanders and queens still were legally bound to
follow rules laid down by chief medical officers and network administrators,
regardless of their literal rank. Of course, the network admins rarely denied
most requests from division commanders and queens, but it was still the thought
that counted.
"I reset the permissions, of course, but I'll let you explain that as I
would probably end up ripping her a new ptanka," Maze groused. "And I had to
go through three layers of protocols to take care of that. You really need to
make sure she understands that Alpha-level commands are not something you play
around with, even during no-navidshi emergencies."
"I will talk to her," Tolaris assured him gently.
The computer bleeped suddenly, the display changing to show a technical
schematic. "Unknown type PS-324-H2 sensor array detected on external circuit,
layer 3," the computer said in a flat monotone. "Initializing parameters for
configuration...."
Maze shrugged casually. "I see they got one of them working."
"How long should this take?" Tolaris asked as the screen display started
to change at a rapid rate, showing various technical and status information.
"Not too long," Maze promised. "I already pre-configured most of the
settings, so the system has a good idea of what to expect. The rest is just
establishing a baseline and fine-tuning the frequencies."
"Sensor array #4 initialized," the computer reported.
Maze nodded to himself as he pulled out his communicator and opened the
Psi channel. "Maze to Captain Whisper," he said.
"Go ahead," Whisper replied as her image formed on the tiny display.
"We've got one of the arrays online right now," Maze told her. "I take
it you connected the western array first?"
Whisper nodded. "Yes, and we're almost finished with the south array at
the moment. We're clear of the first array, so you can go ahead and send it
through the scanning cycles. It should have a forty-degree range of motion
off the centerline and a one-twenty field of view, which should give us a fair
amount of overlap between the arrays."
"Great," Maze replied as he made a move-aside gesture to Tolaris. "Let
me know when you have the wheel array hooked up, as that's going to be the fun
one of the bunch."
"We're saving that for last," Whisper replied with a sigh. "That way we
don't have to worry about getting jabbed in the ankles or anything when you go
to initialize it."
"No rush, ma'am," Maze chuckled as he set the communicator down against
the edge of the crystal monitor and started to type in a series of commands to
the newly-activated array controller. "We'll be here. And make sure you have
Ra'vel tell her friends to quit pooping on the light sensors."
There was a quick snicker from Tolaris as a decidedly flat chirp could be
heard across the open line. "I think she heard that," Whisper said dryly.
"Hey, it's either that or we set up an electrical field to keep all the
birds away," Maze replied casually. "You notice the squirrels left after we
turned Dyvach loose."
"If that's the case, why can I see three of them from here?" Whisper said
as she glanced off to one side. She blinked as she got chirped at by Ra'vel
and sighed. "Anyway, let me get back to work, we're almost finished."
"Copy that," Maze replied as he hit the commit button, instructing the
sensor array's processing node to fully activate and start to ascertain the
limits of its surroundings. On the roof, the small device began to move and
swivel on its mount, seeing just how far it could go from side to side.
Tolaris just shook his head. "I told Dyvach he could chase away whatever
he found living on or near the cathedral, but that he couldn't eat anything he
managed to catch," he explained. "I can deal with small woodland creatures on
the back deck every now and then, but we really need to find a way to keep the
birds off of the roof."
"I'll ask Mina about it," Maze said absently as he watched the internal
sensor parameters establish themselves. "Leda said something about pinwheels,
whatever those are, and I never got around to asking what they were. Okay,
that looks to be it for this array."
"Go ahead and set it up for a constant sweep," Tolaris instructed. "Make
sure the timing and patterns are completely randomized and reselected on an
irregular basis. If it's larger than a squirrel, it gets tracked."
Maze raised an eyebrow. "You're a little paranoid this morning," he said
lightly as he set up the protocols. "What do you want me to set the warning
values for?"
"I'm still working on that," Tolaris hedged. "Are we able to pick up the
signals from the Scout communicators, by chance?"
Maze chuckled and sat back in his chair. "Why do you think Ami was trying
to build a communications node for the computer?" he replied. "The logic was
that once it was up and online, the sensors would be able to determine very
precisely where everyone was in the event of an initial alarm about someone
approaching the cathedral. If it could match a communicator location with our
unknown visitor, the system would essentially ignore him or her and not set off
any alarms."
Tolaris raised his eyebrows. "How precise is the locating mechanism?"
Maze shrugged. "Probably enough to differentiate between my communicator
and yours at this distance," he said. "Call it to within two feet. That's
close enough by anyone's standards. Unless you happen to be a sniper, but we
don't need to get into that one," he added with a soft chuckle.
"Set the warning values for any human-sized life-form," Tolaris said with
a yawn. "The sensor suites have alpha-scan capability, right? Set the alarm
for a silent level-5 on approach, go to level-4 if the alpha doesn't match on
anyone we know. We'll work on the communicator-tracking issue later once Ami
gets around to finishing her project."
"After you talk to her," Maze muttered as he set the warning parameters.
He glanced up as the the computer bleeped quietly, a display window opening in
the lower corner of the screen. "Unknown type PS-324-H2 sensor array detected
on external circuit, layer 3," the monotone voice of the computer reported.
"Initializing parameters for configuration...."
"Two down, three to go," the Dragoon lieutenant sighed. The display
abruptly changed as a flat chime blared from the speaker. "Level 5 Advisory:
Life-form approaching. Beginning alpha scan...." the computer said, causing
both sets of denizen eyebrows to arch up in surprise.
"That was fast," Maze said.
"At least it works," Tolaris observed. "Who is it?"
Maze shrugged. "We'll find out soon enough. Oh, here's a question....
do we even have alpha templates of everyone?"
"Alpha scan completed, user Mercury identified. Level-5 Advisory is now
recinded," the flat monotone reported.
"I think that might be a yes," Tolaris replied with a shrug.
"Well, well, speak of the devil...." Maze muttered, drawing a dark look
from the elder Dragoon. "Don't look at me like that, Commander, you know how
I feel about this one. You go talk to her and I'll finish up here."
Tolaris sighed as he rose to his feet and left the room, walking down the
corridor and heading towards the front door of the cathedral. It opened just
as he reached it, almost smashing into his nose in the process.
"Careful," he cautioned as he stepped to the side.
"Oh!" Ami blinked in surprise. "Tolaris! I'm sorry, I didn't know you
were there."
He smiled as he leaned forward to kiss her softly. "It's alright, love.
Morning exercises, I presume?" he inquired as he glanced over her sweatsuit.
"Actually, we're trying to get everyone together to go for a jog," she
explained as she leaned against the doorway. "You want to come with us?"
Tolaris blinked as he considered it. "I'm not sure that would be a good
idea," he said slowly. "Remember, there's a few people around here who could
probably put an awful lot together by seeing us in a group."
Ami sighed. "What about Maze and Whisper then?"
"Whisper is on the roof with Ra'vel installing some equipment," Tolaris
replied. "And Maze is handling the software side of things."
A delicate blue eyebrow rose up. "Anything important?"
"Call it a security upgrade," Tolaris said off-handedly. "And speaking
of security, you and I need to have a talk about the central computer."
Ami blinked as a tiny droplet of ice seemed to crawl down her back. "Uh,
sure," she said in a slightly wary tone.
"You look suddenly guilty for a reason," he observed. "I don't suppose
that it has anything to do with how you pulled a rather ingenious stunt the
other day that involved wormholes and theta-level access, by chance?"
Ami blinked hard before sighing in resignation. "How'd you know?" she
said wearily, wondering just how much trouble she was in now.
"Trace logs," Tolaris replied. "Alpha-level commands are never purged,
even if ordered to. In fact, that sets off a flag by itself. I'll admit that
you're good, Ami, but you still don't know what exactly you're dealing with."
She glanced away, a delicate blush of embarassment and shame coloring her
cheeks. "So now what?" she inquired softly.
"Well, as Maze pointed out, if you were a cadet in the military and tried
this, you'd be under arrest by now," he said evenly, drawing a surprised look
from her. "Let me make this one clear, Ami, that computer controls virtually
everything in the cathedral, including the reactor. Make a mistake with that
and we'll all be in serious danger. And in case you didn't know, theta-level
commands bypass most of the security checks on the reactor processor, which is
why it is never granted to any user. If a theta instruction to shut down a
process is misrouted or misdirected, it could end up shutting off something of
importance without a safety check, like the magnetic containment fields."
Her eyes went wide as the full implications sank in, her breath catching
in her throat for a brief instant. "Tolaris, I'm sorry...." she whimpered.
He sighed quietly and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "We know you're a
very intelligent and curious young woman, Ami, and we're sure that you didn't
have any bad intentions, but you also know better. If you ever do anything
like this again, your access to the network will be locked out completely, no
exceptions. Understand?"
"Yes, I do," Ami said glumly.
Tolaris sighed and reached out to her, gently taking her hand in his and
giving it a comforting squeeze. "I'm not mad at you, Ami, just a little upset
that I have to remind you of something like this. Maze is in charge of system
administration, not me, so if you have any questions about the specifics of
what you're allowed to do, you'll have to sit down with him about it."
She nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry," she said in a quiet voice.
Tolaris opened his mouth to reply when they both jumped slightly as the
metallic voice of the computer echoed from within the cathedral. "Level-4
Caution: Unidentified life-forms approaching."
"We're adding a layer of external sensors," Tolaris explained at the look
on Ami's face. "If someone approaches, it sets off a level-5 notice and starts
to perform an alpha scan for brain-wave patterns it recognizes. If it finds a
match, it will cancel the alarm and basically ignore that person. Unless it
happens to be someone don't want anywhere near the cathedral.... General Rune,
for example.... at which point we get told about it. Also, if the computer is
unable to identify that person, it goes to a level-4 alarm mode and warns us
like it did just now."
"Okay...." Ami said slowly as she looked over her shoulder, watching the
curve in the gravel road intently. She blinked as Darian's group came into
view, both Susan and Michelle being rather unmistakable at a distance due to
their distinctive hair colors. "Question, though.... why didn't I set off the
alarm earlier?"
Tolaris blinked. "Why would you? The computer knows who you are."
"But how?" Ami persisted. "Alpha waves are a function of the brain, and
I don't recall ever being scanned before by anything in the cathedral. I never
uploaded any kind of medical data from my computer, either," she added.
That caused Tolaris to stop and think hard for a moment, unaware of the
sudden look he was getting from Alex as the group approached. "I'm not sure,"
he said slowly. "I'll have to ask Maze how the computer got that from you."
"Morning, Ami," Darian said as they all slowed to a walk and drew close
enough for conversation. "Morning, Tolaris."
"Fair morning," Tolaris replied. "I presume you're part of the jogging
group Ami is trying to get together?"
"What's your first guess?" Alex muttered, drawing a discreet elbow from
Michelle. "Of course, you can probably smell us from there by now...."
Ami's eyebrows rose up as she saw the sweatstains on Darian and Michelle.
"You jogged all the way from your apartment?" she asked in surprise.
"Please, that was just a warm-up," Alex scoffed.
Darian just rolled his eyes. "Watch out for her, she's a runner," he
said, uncapping his bottle of water and taking a sizable gulp.
Ami cringed slightly and traded looks with Tolaris. She knew she was in
excellent physical shape, but even with the physical enhancements caused by her
vampirism, she was still not really suited to be a runner. "Sure you don't
want to come with us?" she offered.
Tolaris shook his head. "We've got a lot to do today," he apologized,
giving Alex a discreet look.
"And it can't wait an hour?" Ami prodded. She frowned as she noticed his
glance over her shoulder and turned to look, the frown deepening as she saw an
equally flat look on Alex's face. "Or are you still upset with a few people?"
she ventured in a reproving tone.
"Both," Tolaris muttered as he turned to go back inside, only to come face
to face with a rather curious Dragoon Lieutenant Maze.
"What's up, boss?" he inquired as he looked past Tolaris, his eyebrows
arching up as he saw everyone wearing some form of exercise clothes. "Hey,
someone throwing a fitness formation and forget to invite me?"
"We're going to go jogging," Ami spoke up quickly before Tolaris could
form some sort of reply. "We're trying to see if anyone else is interested in
making this a group thing."
"Sure," Maze said, his expression brightening. He blinked as Tolaris made
a discreet coughing noise and he turned to look. "What?"
"We're a little busy at the moment, Lieutenant," Tolaris reminded him.
"Please," Maze replied. "All Whisper and Ra'vel are doing now is trying
to figure out how to set up the wheel array without getting in the way of the
monofiliment webs and they'll be done. The rest is self-automated, and if an
array happens to hit a snag we can correct it when we get back. At any rate,
we all pretty much need the exercise."
Tolaris sighed. "Fine, you go, I'll handle the array."
"Sorry, boss, but you're coming with us," Maze said lightly.
"Lieutenant...." Tolaris started to say.
"Master Fitness command authority," Maze interrupted.
That drew a hard blink from the Dragoon commander. "You're serious," he
said, more as a statement than a question.
"I can cite you chapter and verse if you want," Maze said languidly, "But
I'm sure you know which articles I'd be pointing out. And, last I checked, my
Master Fitness rating is valid for another fourteen months."
Tolaris cast a look at Ami, sighing as he got a smug look of satisfaction
in response. "Very well, Lieutenant," he muttered dourly as he stepped past
Maze and headed towards his room to change.
"Well?" Alex called out impatiently as she started jogging in place again.
"We going to get this show on the road or what?"
Maze chuckled. "Hold your vep'teras, we're working on it," he replied as
he pulled his communicator out of his pocket. "Maze to Whisper," he said as
he reopened the channel.
"Think we should ask for one of those?" Alex quietly asked Susan.
"Ask them later," Susan replied.
"Go ahead," Whisper's voice grunted from the speaker.
"Soon as you're done, we need to get suited up for a jog around the city,"
the purple-haired Dragoon explained. "Master Fitness is being invoked, so we
might as well make it worthwhile."
There was a muffed curse as the sound of something heavy hitting a metal
object echoed quite clearly in the outside air. "Yeah, sure, just.... whoa,
watch out for the...! Okay, nevermind. Look, Maze, give me a few, okay?"
"No rush, ma'am," Maze chuckled as he closed the channel.
"What the hell is going on up there?" Alex said as she took a few steps
back, craning her neck up to try to see the roof.
"I'll explain in a bit, but first I need to change. Back in a few," Maze
promised as he ducked inside towards the residential wing.
Alex snorted in distain. "Better not be a weapon," she growled as she
looked around the landscape. She blinked and looked behind her as a pair of
heavy footsteps could be heard marching along the gravel path.
"Good morning, your Highness," Susan said as Serena came into view, her
hairstyle pinned up in a series of loops on the sides of her head.
"I think.... you're lying.... about.... the good.... part...." the blonde
panted heavily as she stopped and leaned against a tree. She was wearing a
hooded sweatshirt and rather short pink shorts, leaving a great deal of her
slender legs exposed. She cast a sour look over her shoulder as the hood of
her sweatshirt rustled briefly before Luna poked her head up.
"Oh, stop whining," the black cat muttered. "The least you can do is say
hello to your friends."
Alex chuckled as she jogged over. "Oh, give her a break, Luna," she said
as she casually rubbed the cat's nose. "I don't know how far she had to run,
but I'm glad she made it. How you holding up, your Highness?"
"I think I'm okay," Serena panted. "But no more running for me."
"Oh, listen to you," Alex teased her. "We haven't even started yet, and
already you're puffing like a landed fish."
"Here," Michelle said quietly as she walked up and held out her water
bottle to Serena. "Ignore her, we know you're not a runner like she is."
"Thanks a lot, hon," Alex said sourly, giving Serena an odd look as the
cap was almost literally torn off and a good third of the contents downed in
just under four seconds. "You sure you're alright, your Highness?"
"Sure, I'm...." Serena started to say before a sudden belch interrupted
her reply. "Oh, excuse me," she said quietly, her cheeks turning crimson.
"Serena!" Luna admoished her.
Alex chuckled and patted the other blonde on the back, making sure to aim
low enough so as not to accidentally smack Luna in her unconventional sling.
"There you go, just let it all out," she said with a quiet chuckle.
Darian and Susan just traded looks before sighing quietly in unison, much
to Ami's amusement. "So much for the past sixteen years of work," Susan said
beneath her breath, drawing a giggle the vampire and a dour look from Darian.
"Do you mean Alex or Serena?" Darian ventured.
"Both," was the sour reply.
* * * *
"Alright, that everybody?" Alex called out as the denizens emerged from
the cathedral dressed in running clothes. "C'mon, my muscles are starting to
cool down."
"Have a little patience," Susan suggested as everyone started to stretch.
Alex grumbled to herself and started jogging in a slow circle as the rest of
the group clustered together to discuss the jogging route.
"I was thinking just down to the lake and back," Darian said carefully.
"Not too far, we can stick mostly to the park trails, nothing outlandish."
"Run the perimeter of the lake?" Maze offered.
"Uh, no," Darian countered. "You can go on ahead and run it yourself if
you're feeling your oats, but twelve miles of jogging is beyond my limits."
Maze blinked. "Twelve? Nope, that's a bit much even for me."
"What about the park trails?" Whisper inquired.
Darian shrugged. "Which one? There are dozens of them. Got a specific
distance in mind?"
"Four miles or six?" Maze asked Tolaris, immediately drawing grunts of
protest from half the group.
"Six," Alex replied instantly. "The longer, the better."
"Four," Tolaris sighed. "Keep in mind that, while we are in reasonably
fit condition, not everyone has the same level of endurance. Granted I should
be able to handle four miles, but that's in doubt at the moment."
"Too much pizza last night?" Whisper prodded him.
"Among other things," Tolaris grunted. "But it's not just me."
"So four miles it is?" Darian asked, drawing nods of agreement as well as
a few sour looks.
"That sounds like a lot," Serena grumbled as she stretched.
Luna sighed from within the hood. "It's all in your mind, Serena."
"More like all in the legs," Michelle muttered quietly as she rolled her
shoulders around, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
Susan raised an eyebrow. "You should be able to handle it if you pace
yourself," she advised.
Maze chuckled quietly. "And if you happen to fall off the pace, I'm sure
Tolaris will be keeping you company," he said lightly, actively ignoring the
dark look he got from the other Dragoon.
Heads suddenly looked up at the sound of heavy wings being flapped. Eyes
widened slightly as Ra'vel descended from the roof and landed a short distance
away, chirping quietly in greeting.
"Morning, Ra'vel," Ami said as the avian approached, her wings still
fluffed out and flexing.
Ra'vel chittered in reply before turning to Whisper, her beak snapping
gently as she sent a telepathic message. "Oh, good, I was worried about that
one," Whisper replied. "Thanks."
"Problem?" Maze inquired.
Whisper shook her head. "Not anymore. I wasn't sure we had all of the
anchors bolted down securely on the wheel array, but Ra'vel just finished with
a stability test. It'll hold for a few years."
Alex jogged over to the group, her eyebrows arched up in surprise. "She
coming along as well or what?" she asked mildly.
The avian chirped a reply and Maze chuckled. "Actually, she'd love to,
but there seems to be the slight problem of how the city would react if anyone
saw a giant owl jogging down the street."
Ami blinked and looked at Serena, something nagging the back of her mind.
She noticed that Serena was blinking in surprise as well, a thoughtful look
forming on her face. "What is it, Serena?" she asked.
"I was just thinking, what if we could disguise Ra'vel?" Serena wondered.
"Why?" Alex asked with a light frown.
"Skip the why, what about the how?" Darian asked gently.
"I don't know.... dress her up or something?" Serena replied helplessly.
Maze just shook his head. "You can't tell a denizen from a human at a
distance, but avians are a lot easier to identify. Kind of hard to disguise
wings like that, you know? Ah, no offense," he added, giving Susan a look.
Susan smiled gently. "None taken."
"That's it!" Ami blurted out as the thought formed in her mind. Everyone
turned and looked at her as if she had just lost her mind. "I think we can do
just that.... Serena, you still have the Lunar Pen?"
Serena's eyes widened as she realized what Ami was talking about. "Hey,
you're right!" she said, reaching into her Lunar Space pocket and pulling out
a small cylindrical object that looked like a very ornate pen. A large ruby
was set in the top, seeming to sparkle in the sunlight like a beacon. "Uhh,
wait...." she said suddenly. "I know it works for me, but will it work on
someone else?"
"Whoa, wait, slow down, your Highness," Alex grumbled. "What is that?"
"Indeed," Susan said slowly, causing everyone to blink in surprise. "May
I ask what exactly that is, Serena?"
Serena blinked hard. "You don't know? Luna gave this to me awhile ago.
She said it's the Lunar Pen and that it can let me assume a disguise if I need
one for something. Tell her, Luna," she said over her shoulder.
"That's true," the cat said as she stood up in the hood and leaned her
front paws on Serena's shoulder. "Susan, you seem surprised for some reason.
Surely you remember it from the Moon Kingdom?"
"Actually, Luna, I don't believe that is from the Kingdom," Susan said
slowly, a faint scowl on her face. "May I take a closer look at it, please?"
Serena blinked in surprise as she handed it to the succubus, a sense of
unease slowly crawling down her spine. Everyone else exchanged discreet looks
of wariness and caution at the sudden development.
"Strange," Susan muttered quietly to herself. "Perhaps I have seen this
before, but I don't recall.... oh, yes, that's right," she said, glancing up
at Tolaris. "This was in the hands of an agent from the Negaverse."
"Here we go again...." Alex growled, ignoring Michelle's hand as it slid
into her own.
The denizens all blinked hard and exchanged glances. "When was this?"
Tolaris asked slowly, not liking the sudden shift in Susan's mood or the very
dangerous look in Alex's eyes.
"Many years before the invasion," Susan replied calmly. "An advance team
of scouts, if you will, made contact with us under the guise of a diplomatic
delegation from a new world. I am not entirely sure as to the nature of this
device," she said with a gesture of the pen, "But I do believe it might have
been one of their reconaissance tools. Luna, tell me again how you say it is
used?" she inquired.
"Well," Luna replied hesitantly. "As far as I can tell, only Serena has
been able to use it effectively. You simply focus your mind on what it is you
want to be disguised as, and then a sort of illusion is generated."
"A stealth device?" Maze asked Tolaris quietly. "That's a new one. I'd
imagine it's like the Silkworm crystals in the sense that the energies aren't
mechanical in nature."
"Maybe it was a prototype, who knows," Tolaris replied with a shrug. "If
this is from the Negaverse, I'd imagine that someone knew about it at one point
in time. I'll have to see if I can find anything in the archives later."
"Susan?" Ami spoke up. "I've seen Serena use that a few times before, and
it's fooled me once or twice. I don't see what the problem is, or why she
shouldn't be allowed to keep it."
Susan studied the pen for a few more moments before shrugging lightly and
handing it back to Serena. "Neither do I, really," she said slowly. "But I
would like to have it examined further at a later date, if you don't mind."
"Tell you what," Alex said as she disengaged herself from Michelle's grip
on her hand. "You guys stand around here and play with your toys, I'm going
for a run. Catch you later."
Darian sighed, grabbing her wrist as she moved past him. "Alex, get that
wedge out of your shorts and relax, okay?" he grunted quietly. "Listen, if
we're going to take Ra'vel along with us, we better see if this illusion trick
is going to work or not. Just give it your best shot, Serena."
Serena nodded and took a deep breath. "Disguise Power!" she called out,
holding the Lunar Pen up to the sky. "Change Ra'vel into a human!" she said
as she sent the pen spinning in the air towards the avian.
Ra'vel chirped quietly as she caught the glittering pen, an explosion of
blinding light erupting from the large ruby as it made contact with her skin.
Several sets of eyes blinked hard to clear the after-images on their retinas
before suddenly going wide.
"Damn," Alex said, her eyebrows arched up to her hairline. "That's pretty
good for an illusion...."
Maze tilted his head to one side and he looked up and down at the female
jogger in dark gray sweats standing next to him. "You know, this just might
work," he said slowly. He blinked as Ra'vel chirped very quietly, jet-black
eyes going wide with wonder as she looked down at her body. "Well, almost....
Can we do anything about her shadow?" he asked, pointing to the winged shadow
on the ground.
"Whoops," Darian said as he blinked.
Alex shrugged and crossed her arms. "Hard to turn off the sun, you know?"
Ami blinked and cast a look at Tolaris. "Turn off, no," she said as she
saw him nod in understanding, apparently thinking what she was thinking. "But
a few clouds might help...."
Tolaris glanced up at the sky. "I suppose I can get away with it," he
mused as he concentrated. A few puffy clouds in the distance suddenly began
to swell up, ballooning outward into a small front that slowly drifted across
the sky to block the sun.
"Hey, hey, hey...." Alex protested as the level of light started to drop.
"That's spooky. Almost as bad as when Sue's in a mood to try to sing."
There was a heavy sigh from the succubus. "I have explained that to you
before, Alex," she said in a patient tone. "I was utilizing a siren-song to
summon that storm. My normal singing voice is quite different."
"Not by much," Alex grumbled. "Not that I can sing either, mind you, but
that's why you won't ever hear me even trying. So are we finished playing the
waiting game?"
Maze chuckled quietly. "Okay, team, let's go. Easy pace, if you please,
we don't want to strain anything," he said as he made a move-along gesture.
"If we encounter even a hint of any trouble at all, I want you to teleport
back here immediately," Tolaris instructed Ra'vel as they fell into a slow and
steady jogging pace behind Darian, Alex, and Maze. The others formed up in a
loose group behind them, Susan once again taking the trailing position.
"So what's this about Susan's singing?" Maze asked casually as they turned
the corner from the gravel strip onto the remote road heading into the city.
"It must've been her demonic side singing," Alex replied as they jogged.
"We're on Earth camping out in the middle of nowhere, and Mina spots smoke in
the distance. Turns out that something sparked a small fire in the brush and
it was starting to spread. Sue tells us all to relax and stay put, she heads
towards the smoke a few yards and starts to sing. Next thing we know, the air
gets all heavy and what must've been a freakin' hurricane starts to come out
of nowhere."
Both Darian and Maze raised their eyebrows. "I'll bet that must've put
out the fire," Darian ventured.
"Like pissing on a match," Alex replied, prompting an exchange of pained
glances between the men.
"I tried to explain it to Alex at the time," Susan was quietly saying to
Whisper and Ami as they jogged, oblivious to the conversation going on in the
front of the group. "We encountered a small brushfire and felt it would be
prudent to have it extinguished. As both Ami's bubbles and Michelle's tidal
wave can only accomplish so much, I felt it necessary to summon a tempest into
the region in an attempt to quell the fire."
"How'd that work?" Whisper inquired. "I know Tolaris can summon a storm
given his chaos factor powers, but that's still a moderate strain."
"Siren-song is a demonic skill not easily acquired," Susan replied as she
casually side-stepped a fire hydrant. "More so when you aren't a full-blooded
demon. I suppose the true motivation for seeking such a difficult path is as
a challenge to myself, to see if I could still be a demon like the others."
"Just trying to fit in, then?" Whisper observed.
Susan sighed quietly. "It is amazing what lengths a person will go to in
order to achieve acceptance by their peers," she said quietly. "I was barely
an adult then and had yet to find a comfortable place for myself in life."
"Ah, that search," the telepath replied. "Any luck?"
"I believe so," Susan said after a moment of thought. "Guardian of Time
for seven centuries, Queen's Chancellor for six. The former is of far more
importance, but I've gotten more.... satisfaction from the latter, and usually
mostly from the minor things. It is strange and sometimes beyond my level of
understanding, but I suppose that's why I enjoy it so much."
"So what do you think?" Tolaris asked quietly, keeping one eye on Ra'vel
and the other on their surroundings. He got a series of muted chirps in reply
and a smile touched his lips. "Yes, I suppose you're right."
"What's up?" Serena puffed as she kept pace alongside Ra'vel. Michelle
was doing her best to keep up with the blonde as they jogged, the strain of the
previous jog starting to show on her face.
"Ra'vel was just commenting on how the trees look different," Tolaris said
as they started to drift to the left. Ahead of them was a sign that told them
about the jogging trails, advising them of which route to take for which path
once they reached the junction.
Luna's head popped up from Serena's hood. "I would imagine so," she said
after making sure no strangers were around. "I take it you've never left the
outer edges of the cathedral grounds before?" she asked the disguised avian.
Ra'vel replied with a flat chirp that needed no translation, drawing a
quiet chuckle from Tolaris. "Well, there's not much we could have done about
that, Lieutenant," he told her. "And I would really, really prefer that we
avoid having another incident like what happened when Reish'id visited."
Michelle blinked and glanced over at him. "I've heard that name before,"
she said slowly, trying to remember.
"Track left!" Maze called out over his shoulder as they reached the spot
where several jogging trails converged.
"Leda's friend in the Negaverse," Serena huffed, following the lead group
as they all angled for the far left trail. "I think he paid us a visit the
other day, but I was.... preoccupied at the time."
"Detention?" Luna inquired in a weary tone.
"Oh, don't start," the blonde sighed heavily.
"No, actually, we've seen a lot of Earth," Alex explained to Darian and
Maze as they jogged along at a steady pace. "We used to take weekend trips on
a regular basis, mostly to England and northern Europe."
"So how'd you get there?" Maze inquired. "I would imagine that Susan's
dimensional abilities would be put under quite a strain to connect a point on
the surface of the planet with a point in orbit."
"We used the Bridge," she explained. "It's sort of like a warp portal,
but where it opened depended on where we were in orbit. There was a permanent
anchor at Stonehenge in England and...."
"Whoa, wait," Darian interrupted, almost tripping over a twig that had
fallen on the jogging path. "You're saying that Stonehenge was built by the
Moon Kingdom?"
Alex shook her head. "Nah, wasn't us. We just used it as a convenient
waypoint since it was easy to find and wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
Plus we were on good terms with the Druids in the region, so it all worked out
well enough. Sue can probably explain it better, but I just know that if we
left the Kingdom without waiting for the celestial gates to align just right,
we usually ended up in the circle of stones."
"What about Easter Island?" Darian inquired out of sheer curiosity.
"Easter Island?" Alex said, tossing him a confused look over her shoulder.
"Where's that at?"
"Nevermind," Darian sighed.
"Do any of these portals to the Moon Kingdom still work?" Maze asked.
"Damned if I know," Alex replied. "It would probably be a bad idea to
check, however, as Sue said something about the atmospheric Shield being in a
state of flux or something. All we need is to open a portal to the Kingdom as
the Shield folds, and we'll all be gasping for air in very short order...."
"So how did you and Tolaris first meet?" Susan inquired gently, keeping a
casual but wary eye on Michelle as they jogged.
"It's ironic, really," Whisper mused as she wiped away the droplets of
sweat forming on her forehead. "My unit was being deployed to the Outreaches
to check on a disturbance and all of a sudden this Dragoon cadet named Tolaris
knocks on the hatch and asks if he can come along. Said he wanted a chance to
go on a real field assignment instead of the exercise his class was running.
The Field Lieutenant in charge of my unit almost told him to take a hike when
Tolaris came up to me and asked if I would just give him a chance. Don't know
what exactly I saw in him, but I figured that sometimes you really do need a
break in life.
"So I spoke with the LT and said it might be worthwhile to have this cadet
along, as you never know how useful a person can be. Short mission, just a
routine look-and-see, should be back before sundown, and that it'd be solely
the cadet's butt if he got into any trouble for coming along. So the LT thinks
about it and says what the hell, as long as he behaves. As it turns out, we
would probably have been in a world of hurt if he hadn't been around to cloak
the cruiser in a fog bank once we started taking mortar fire from the rebels.
We got away and were able to report back to the base for reinforcements, and
the matter was decisively dealt with.
"Anyway, we returned Tolaris to the academy and watched as the Commandant
verbally ripped him a new ptanka for going off like that. They were filing the
paperwork for his expulsion when the Commandant got a personal communique from
the Psi-Corp Captain about how he had helped save our backsides. That sort of
put Tolaris in a different light, of course, but he still had a quite alot of
explaining to do. So Tolaris ends up with a very public dressing-down for his
'irresponsible and rash' behavior, and a quiet commendation awarded behind the
scenes for his 'heroic efforts under hostile fire.' Needless to say, he and I
have been relatively good friends since."
Both Ami and Susan smiled at the story. "He just up and asked to come
along?" Ami asked, a faint look of disbelief on her face. "That doesn't sound
like him at all."
Whisper chuckled quietly. "He mostly dispensed with his wild streak upon
graduating the Dragoon Academy, but he has always been able to balance a sense
of responsibility with risks and consequences. I figured the whole event had
been a learning experience he took to heart. That, and a public chewing-out
before your peers will instill a healthy fear into anyone," she added.
Susan frowned and increased her pace slightly, edging past the two women
to jog close behind Serena and Michelle. "Are you two alright?" she asked in
a gentle tone.
"I.... just.... hate.... running...." Serena puffed hard, sweat visibly
dripping from her head.
"You're doing just great, Serena," Luna encouraged her.
"I'm fine," Michelle said quietly as she glanced over her shoulder yet
again, looking out into the densely wooded section of the trail. "I'm still
able to keep up, Chancellor...."
Susan nodded slowly. "Just let me know if either of you start to feel
sick or dizzy," she said before easing off her pace to rejoin Ami and Whisper.
"Something wrong?" Ami asked in a quiet tone, watching Serena carefully.
"Maybe," Susan replied just as softly as she studied the region Michelle
kept glancing at. "I have learned that one may get a better sense of one's
surroundings by observing Michelle's behavior closely. She seems to be rather
attuned to her environment and sometimes unconsciously reacts to any changes."
"You mean how she keeps looking at those trees over there?" Whisper said
quietly. "I just noticed that as well. Maybe she saw something?"
Ami blinked and glanced out of the corner of her eye. "I can see if a
scan from my computer shows anything," she offered.
"No," Susan said with a subtle shake of her head. "That might be unwise
at this point. Call it a hunch if nothing else."
"Think we're being watched?" Whisper said, a drop of sweat running down
the back of her shirt that had nothing to do with jogging. "I don't sense
anything from over there, but I haven't used an active psi-scan yet."
Susan said nothing as she continued the slow and steady pace, extending
her senses as best she could in her human form. She did her best to tune out
the steady stream of chatter from Alex and the soft exchange between Luna and
Serena about physical fitness, trying to focus instead on the sounds of the
jogging trail around her.
* * * *
<Warning: Target approaching,> the electronic voice said in her mind as
she stood absolutely still. She was leaning against the trunk of a large tree,
the rough bark leaving dents in her skin as she pressed as close as she could
without having to change her physical form.
"Scan and identify," she whispered very softly. She was fairly sure the
hunter-scout's hearing was exceptional and would be able to hear her, but her
nerves tingled at the thought of being overheard by anyone else right now.
<Scanning.... target group comprised of eleven life-forms,> the computer
implant reported. <Beginning sequential scan and analysis.>
"Keep it brief," she whispered, watching the group as they made a slow
turn. The distance was too great to permit her to make any definite visual
identifications, but the flashes of aquamarine hair simply stood out too much
for it not to be one of the joggers from before.
<Target One identified as Prince Darian. Target Three identified as
Dragoon Lieutenant Maze. Target Four identified as Dragoon Commander Tolaris.
Target Five identified as Dragoon Lieutenant Ra'vel. Target Eight identified
as vampiric life-form. Target Nine identified as alien life-form. Target Ten
identified as Psi-Corp Captain Whisper. Target Two and Target Seven are human
females not in database but previously encountered. Target Six tentatively
identified as Sailor Moon. Target Eleven is classifed as a domesticated animal
and is deemed irrelevant.>
Her eyes went wide as she realized the possible implications. First of
all, all four denizen exiles were in a group, although she was led to believe
that the one called Ra'vel was an avian, and she certainly didn't see anyone
like that taking a jog. The fact that Sailor Moon was with them strongly
suggested that the others were Sailor Scouts as well. That the vampiric Sailor
Mercury was with the group also lended crediblity to the notion, which meant
that the other three unknown women were most likely the other Sailor Scouts.
"Focus on the unidentified individuals," she instructed the hunter-scout.
"Assume they are Sailor Scouts and record appropriate bio-metrics."
<Acknowledged. Warning: Tentative bio-metric template for unidentified
Sailor Scout already in memory from previous assignment, current known count
is three. Addition of unidentified sources would exceed expected limit.>
That drew a hard blink. "What?" she blurted out in surprise. She blinked
again as she realized how loud she had spoken and cursed silently to herself,
hoping that she hadn't just given herself away. "Explain," she urged in a
quieter tone, keeping both eyes on the group slowly looping around her.
<Partial template taken of possible Sailor Scout during previous mission
to Earth for reconaissance,> the psionic chip reported. <Template of vampiric
life-form acquired on mission, resolved as a Sailor Scout. Template of life-
form tentatively identified as Sailor Moon acquired on mission. New data on
specified subjects tentatively identified as Sailor Scouts would raise total
count to six, current threshold expected at five. Projection: Identification
of one or more targets as Sailor Scouts incorrect. Projection: Expected count
of Sailor Scouts incorrect. Unable to independently resolve.>
She grunted as she realized the dilemma. "Record anyway," she muttered.
"Better too much data than not enough."
<Acknowledged, beginning data collection.... Warning: Possible detection
by Target Seven based on change in behavior,> the chip reported suddenly.
She reacted by turning her mind inward, letting her body lose its natural
cohesiveness. Her skin seemed to suddenly melt, turning into a pink goo that
clung to the tree like a second skin. The protoplasm started to darken and
become hard, taking on the appearance of the tree she was holding onto. The
process only lasted for a few seconds before any trace of pink vanished, her
body completely indistinguishable from the rest of the tree.
The hunter-scout's primal mind picked up on the change and crouched low,
remaining utterly motionless as its fur turned colors in an attempt to mimic
the bed of leaves and forest debris it was lying on. <Initiating stealth,> it
reported in a quiet psionic whisper. <Scanning mode continuing, estimating
optimal visual range in fifty-three seconds. Danger: Psionic probe detected,
initiating shutdown protocols....>
* * * *
"Anyway, so Sue takes us on a trip into the future, to the city of Cairo
in Egypt," Alex huffed as they continued to jog along. "We decide to take a
tourist detour to visit that Sphinx thing of theirs and halfway through the
journey this sandstorm comes blasting out of the south."
"Now that had to suck," Darian observed, the front of his shirt stained
from the sweat pouring down his face. "How bad was the windburn?"
"Sugar, let's not go there," the blonde groused, only a thin sheen of
sweat visible on her forehead. "We just turned around on the spot and went
back home, and we were washing sand out of our clothes for a solid week."
Maze chuckled quietly as he puffed along, keeping even with Alex's pace
and only moderately sweating from the exertion. "I know the feeling. Never
been in a natural sandstorm, but there have been a few times where the exhaust
from an incoming scout cruiser has kicked up the local dust supply. You'd be
surprised by how bad pollen can hurt when it's moving at half the speed of
sound...."
"That sounds bad," Alex observed. "What's a cruiser?"
Maze blinked and thought for a moment. "Think of it as a flying ship,"
he said carefully. "Made of metal, usually used for cargo or looking around,
somewhat noisy but interesting to pilot."
"A flying ship?" Alex said incredulously, giving him a surprised look.
"How's that work?"
Darian coughed lightly. "You might want to ask Susan, as I'm not sure I
could explain the mechanics behind fixed-wing aircraft in flight, let alone an
advanced design like what Maze is probably talking about."
"Typical," the blonde muttered as she cast a glance over her shoulder.
"You holding up okay, your Highness?" she said to Serena, slowing the pace to
let her group catch up.
"How.... much.... farther...?" Serena puffed, streams of sweat running
down her cheeks and a haggard expression on her face.
Darian glanced around the trail for a brief moment. "We're over halfway
there, Serena, you can make it," he said gently.
"C'mon, hon, don't wimp out on us," Alex called out to Michelle as she
altered her pace to jog next to her. "Only a little more to go."
Michelle shot her a look, her expression pale from exertion. Beside her,
both Tolaris and Ra'vel jogged along at a steady pace and tried not to look
like they were starting to get sore already.
Alex chuckled and leaned forward to plant a kiss on her cheek before she
accelerated and resumed her position next to Darian and Maze. "It must be nice
to have such youthful energy," Tolaris muttered quietly, drawing a partially
amused chirp from Ra'vel. She chittered a question at him and he sighed in
response. "I'm not that old, Lieutenant," he admonished her dryly.
"Careful what you say about age, Commander," Whisper suggested as the
comment reached her ears.
"That's easy to say from the back of the pack," Tolaris challenged with a
grin over his shoulder.
There was a soft sigh from the telepath. "Will you ladies excuse me?" she
said to Ami and Susan. "I have to go put the Commander in his place."
Ami would have giggled if she had enough breath to do so. "Just don't
hurt him or anything," she said as Whisper increased her pace, slowly edging
past Tolaris and falling into position behind Maze.
"Good morning, ma'am," Maze said with a glance over his shoulder. "So
nice of you to join us. Out for a decent jog, I presume?"
Whisper smirked and tried breathing through her nose. "Your superior was
acting a little too superior, so I had to show him the error of his ways."
"I beg your pardon?" Tolaris puffed quietly as he fell into position next
to Darian. "You're the one getting sensitive about your age."
Alex raised an eyebrow at the change in conversation and cast a glance at
Maze. Maze waggled his eyebrows and made a discreet 'hurry up' gesture. An
impish smile crossed Alex's face as she got the message and began to slowly
increase the pace, forcing the others to try to keep up with her.
"Oh, here we go," Luna sighed as she peered over Serena's shoulder as the
front group began to seriously out-distance them. "I suppose the male ego is
the same no matter what the species?" she grumbled, drawing a sharp chirp of
laughter from Ra'vel.
"Men have always been rather easy to manipulate," Susan observed as she
and Ami caught up with the other women, staying at a more moderate pace as they
kept jogging along the trail. "The truly amusing part is how they can be so
easily lead around by women, but still think of themselves as the superior
gender. I hope Darian will have enough sense to ease off the pace if he begins
to experience serious fatigue, but I think male machismo will prevail."
"Be nice," Ami chided her with a grin.
Susan shrugged casually. "That was not meant to be malicious. I've been
with countless men throughout the course of history, and there are more than a
few universal truths about the pride of men and their behavior."
"Been with them in what way?" Ami asked, slightly wary of the answer.
"Mostly sexually," Susan replied with another casual shrug. "I am a
succubus, after all."
"What's.... that.... mean.... anyway...?" Serena panted heavily, her hair
plastered with sweat. "Mina.... understands.... but I.... don't...."
Michelle shuddered. "Don't ask," she muttered quietly. There was a soft
chirp of inquiry from Ra'vel as she cast a glance over her shoulder, giving
both Michelle and Susan an odd look.
There was a sharp yelp as Serena stumbled and narrowly avoided falling.
The rest of the group immediately slowed down to a near-walking pace, giving
the blonde looks of concern. "You okay, Serena?" Ami asked quickly.
"That's it...." Serena panted, resting her hands on her knees and leaning
forward to try to catch her breath. "No.... no more running...."
"Keep walking," Susan ordered as she gently took Serena by the elbow and
pulled her into motion. "Don't stop or your muscles might lock up. Just take
it slow and easy, your Highness, breathe through your nose."
Luna sighed and hopped out of the sweatshirt's hood. "Come on, Serena,
don't stop now. We still have a ways to go. If you're overheating, you should
take that sweatshirt off and cool off for a few moments."
"Uh...." Serena said hesitantly, glancing around.
"Relax, no one will notice," Susan assured her. "And anyone who happens
to notice probably won't care."
Serena sighed as she took off the sweatshirt, leaving her clad only in a
damp sports bra and her pink running shorts. "Bleah," she grunted quietly,
rubbing her upper arms. "Just a little cold out here...."
Ami gently nudged her in the back. "Come on, keep jogging. Just go at a
slow pace," she encouraged her as she started a slow jog. "Think you'll be
able to keep up with us, Luna?"
Luna nodded as she started into a moderate trot. "I should be able to,"
she assured her. "And if not, I'll catch up with you back at the cathedral.
Oh!" she added in surprise as she was suddenly lifted off the ground by a
telekinetic force.
Susan raised a delicate eyebrow as Ra'vel chirped quietly at the cat. "I
believe that leaving Luna behind is no longer a concern," she observed as she
continued jogging at a slow pace, keeping a wary eye on Serena.
"Bleah, cold," Serena grunted again as she stopped and started to put the
sweatshirt back on. "There," she said as she started jogging again. "Ow, why
are we doing this again?" she protested as her legs started aching once more.
"Exercise is good for you," Susan replied, ignoring the dour look she got
from Michelle. "You do have an exercise regimen already in place, I trust?"
"They do," Luna assured her, visibly uneasy with being psionically carried
along by the power of Ra'vel's mind. "Getting them to cooperate is another
matter entirely...."
"We do our best, Luna," Ami protested. "And as Mina pointed out the other
day, we can't always do what you want us to do. She and I are probably the
most flexible, and even we had a hard time with that one stretch."
"Oh, don't remind me," Serena sighed. "It hurts just thinking about it."
Susan looked over at the floating cat as a thought formulated in her mind.
"Luna?" she said slowly as they all dodged around a large tree branch that had
fallen on the trail. "Perhaps you and I should sit down and review the level
of training you've been giving them. It may be that a few adjustments need to
be made to account for individual abilities and limitations."
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Serena whined quietly to Ami as
they negotiated a rather sharp curve on the jogging trail. She looked up and
blinked as Luna floated over in her general direction, feeling a gentle tug on
the hood of her sweatshirt.
"Look, we're almost to the end of the trail," Ami pointed out as they
jogged past the sign that warned them of the junction ahead. "Once we hit the
intersection, we take a right and head back to the cathedral. You okay?"
Serena sighed as she reached back, holding the hood steady as Luna was
gently deposited inside. "I'm fine," she puffed, making a sour face as Luna's
weight settled in place. "Man, you're heavy for a cat.... maybe I need to put
you on a diet...." she grumbled.
Michelle couldn't help the giggle as she heard the tone of the muffled
comment from within the hood. "Good luck, your Highness," she teased with a
faint smile. The smile slid off of her face as a gentle breeze blew past her,
tainting the air with a decidedly acrid tang. "Oh, ick, what's that smell?"
she coughed, wrinkling her nose.
Ami tested the air cautiously and immediately regretted it. "Oh, that,"
she muttered sourly. "That's what denizens smell like when they sweat hard.
Umm, no offense, Ra'vel," she added hastily.
<No offense, smell accurate,> the avian telepathed with a flat chirp.
<Worse males than females.>
"Interesting," Susan observed as she discreetly tried not to breathe too
deeply through her nose.
Ami shot her an unamused look. "Only if you're talking about the biology
behind it," she countered. "And even then only from a safe distance. I just
feel sorry for Alex and Darian right now."
"Probably just Darian," Michelle huffed quietly. "If Alex is setting the
pace, she's probably upwind of it all unless they hit a tailwind or something,
and in any case she's liable to try to outrun the smell."
"Unless Tolaris uses his spiritual powers," Ami muttered.
"What sort of spiritual powers does he have?" Susan inquired, more than
mildly interested in the change of conversation.
Ami shrugged. "Not much, really, but he said he can use them to focus a
burst of energy into his leg muscles, letting him run at close to the speed of
sound for a few moments."
That drew a hard blink from the succubus. "Interesting...."
"Heads up," Michelle said suddenly as they left the jogging trails and
returned to the sidewalk heading back up the street. Up ahead in the distance
was the other group of joggers, apparently stopped and leaning against whatever
solid objects happened to be nearby.
"Uh oh," Ami muttered as they all subconsciously picked up the pace to
catch up and see what was going on.
Maze looked up as he heard the sound of pounding feet. "Hey there...."
he panted quietly with a weak wave. "Everyone okay?"
"We are, yes," Susan replied as she looked around with a frown. "Where
did Alex go?" She blinked as Maze just pointed further up the street. Far in
the distance were two humanoid figures, running flat out as fast as their legs
could handle. "What did she do now?" Susan demanded with a sigh.
<Tolaris made mention of his spiritual running power,> Whisper telepathed
from her prone position on the grass. <The short version is that Alex wanted
to put it to a test.>
Susan sighed heavily as Ami's eyes widened. "He shouldn't be trying to
run that hard," Ami protested in concern. "He's going to give himself a stroke
if he doesn't take it easy...."
"Remember what I said about male pride?" Susan said quietly, drawing a
soft grunt of amusement from Darian. "And are you alright, your Highness?"
"Sure," Darian replied as he pushed himself off of the mailbox, walking
over to Serena and squeezing her hand gently. "You made it," he panted with a
faint smile.
"Barely," Serena replied, her own chest heaving from the exertion. "No
more running anytime soon."
"Amen," Michelle muttered quietly from behind her as she leaned against
the same lightpole that Maze was borrowing. She blinked as she caught a whiff
of his sweatglands and backed away, trying not to gag as her eyes started to
water in response.
Susan sighed and slowly windmilled her arms around, trying to let the
faint breeze cool her down. "Everyone stretch," she ordered as she started a
slow routine of post-running stretches.
Maze chuckled as he braced himself against the lightpole and started to
stretch his hamstrings. "We can tell you used to be in charge of something,
alright," he said over his shoulder with a grin. "Old habits die hard?"
"Lieutenant," Whisper admonished him as she got to her feet and started
stretching as well.
Serena frowned lightly as she looked up the street, trying to spot either
Alex or Tolaris. "Are they going to be coming back anytime soon or what?" she
asked as she fished Luna out of her hood and set her down.
Maze shrugged. "Tolaris can't outrun her and he knows it," he replied.
"He'll probably throw everything into that one burst, then try to maintain a
steady pace in the hopes that she won't be able to catch up. If she doesn't
burn herself out too quickly, she'll be able to overtake him soon enough. Be
interesting to hear what they have to say once they can breathe again."
"Oh, god," Michelle sighed. "Let's hope she doesn't go off again...."
"Relax," Maze assured her. "I think Tolaris knows what he's doing. He
might regret it later when his legs start to ache in about twenty minutes, but
he and I had a short talk about Alex while we were changing."
"Oh?" Susan inquired. "And what was said, if I may ask?"
Maze shrugged again. "We'll see how it goes," he said as he resumed his
task of stretching out his recently-abused leg muscles.
* * * *
She counted to sixty in four dialects before she resumed a humanoid form.
"Did you catch all of that?" she whispered when her lips reformed, not able to
immediately discern the hunter-scout's location.
<Raw voice-patterns acquired,> the implant replied. A sudden disturbance
caused her to jump back as the hunter-scout quit mimicking the local foilage.
<Visual imagery acquired. Raw bio-metric information on Target Two, Target
Seven, and Target Nine acquired. Will require approximately five hours to
cross-match and conclusively compile all acquired data. Warning: Preliminary
analysis on Target Eleven evaluated as incorrect.>
"You think?" she muttered to herself, still trying to calm down from the
surprise of having been unable to see the hunter-scout as it lay hidden not
three feet from her. "A talking cat definitely unusual. Be interesting to
see how this all resolves."
<Current information-gathering assignment complete,> the chip reported as
the hunter-scout it was implanted in yawned quietly. <Request new assignment
instructions.>
She decided to skip the first thought that came to mind, knowing that the
computer chip would take her suggestion literally. "Time until extraction?"
she asked, wanting to know just how much longer she would have to put up with
the beast's presence.
<Next wormhole window in thirteen hours, forty-six minutes,> it reported.
K'ves-chien, she thought. "Return to the extraction point and wait for
the wormhole to open," she sighed. "Use the time to double-check all the data
you recorded and analyzed. Report to Agent R as soon as possible for mission
verification and data transfer. Oh, and remain stealthed at all times," she
added absently. "Classify data as Level-2 priority."
<Acknowledged,> the computer replied. The hunter-scout yawned again as
it stood up, listening to the voice inside its head as it was given a new set
of instructions. It then casually trotted deeper into the woods, its coloring
changing to mimic the appearance of a large dog with German shephard ancestry.
She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose for a few moments. "With as
long as I've been at this, you'd think I'd have found out most of the surprises
Earth has to offer by now," she muttered. "A talking cat? And what in the
name of the NegaForce is a succubus? I really need a new line of work...."
Sighing to herself, she stepped out onto the jogging trail and started to
jog in the other direction, her body shimmering briefly as she changed her
appearance to that of a middle-aged man out for a casual jog in the woods.
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