************************************************************* Part 5 Ok, I know that part 4 sucked hardcore...I'm thinking this whole story is going to be mega-long! Uh, I don't own Sailor Moon, or any other familiar brand name in this story, but I don't want to list them all. All feedback is appreciated; tell me how much this rules or sucks ass, whatever. Venusorbit1@aol.com * * * * * * * * * * * Raye's alarm rang at quarter to seven, before the sun even came up. Mina stirred under her covers in the darkness and instinctively reached for Artemis, who of course was not sleeping next to her in her bed but in a modified doggie bed in Darien's apartment. She could hear Raye getting up to turn off the alarm, and the earsplitting beeping stopped abruptly, leaving the earsplitting silence to pound away at her head. Raye clicked on the dim desk lamp, casting soft yellow light into the room. Mina moaned and squeezed her eyes shut against the intruding light, lest it hammer any more pain into her tortured skull. Raye knelt on the floor next to her bed and touched her friend's forehead gently. "Mina? How're you feeling?" "Like crap," came the muffled reply. She pulled her blanket down so that her eyes peeked out over the fleece. "My head hurts." Raye sighed, and ran a hand down her exhausted face. "I'll kill them, I swear, hon. The next time they show their ugly Negaverse faces I'll shove my foot so far up their asses that they'll be tasting red pump." She went over to the mini-fridge and pulled out a slightly cold water bottle, and gently placed it against the side of Mina's head. "Keep this here. It's not that cold but it'll help, I guess. I'll bring back some ice after class, OK?" Mina nodded once and closed her eyes again. Her head throbbed so hard she felt sick to her stomach, thanks to a certain Negaverse cretin who had kicked her while she was down. A youma had attacked last night, outside the dining hall, a weak, stupid one made out of a disposable napkin holder. They had easily defeated it; the pitiful excuse for a monster had barely even learned how to attack with rolls of scratchy, cheap napkins before Mars incinerated the entire thing with one shot, leaving a charred metal box on the ground. Sailor Moon had just turned to suggest that they grab some Cookie Crisp before hitting Thirsty Thursday at Delta Chi when Venus was thrown forward on her face, stunned, knocked down by one of Jedite's energy blasts. She had lain there on the ground, paralyzed, scared, while Jedite held her down with his boot. "Let her go, you...you soon to be dead piece of trash!" Jupiter raged, readying herself for attack. "Or what Sailor Brat?" Zoycite jumped out of a tree and deftly landed next to Jedite, smirking, and shoved his boot on Venus as well. "You can't hit us without hitting your leader too, Mars, so I'd think twice before I started shooting fireballs left and right." Mars lowered her hands, her rage so palpable it was a wonder that the two Dark Kingdom generals didn't explode into smoking pieces like cartoons did. Sailor Moon chose that precise moment to throw a kindergarten-grade hissy fit. "What do you MEAN, our leader? I'm the leader, not Venus." She stomped her foot for emphasis. "Let her go or you're moondust, Nega-dweeb!" Jedite rolled his eyes dramatically. "What is it with all this Negaverse crap? We are the DARK KINGDOM, Sailor Sluts, get it right. Or do you need me to spell it for you?" "For your information, dumbass, Mercury found that your kingdom exists in negative space, so we started calling...wait, never mind! Get off of her unless you want to meet your maker!" Her trembling voice was not at all intimidating. "Shabon Spray!" Mercury, fed up with all the meaningless trash-talking, took matters into her own hands and enveloped the area in fog. "Cute, Mercury," Zoycite snarled, firing a barrage of ice crystals in the direction of where he remembered Mercury to be. "Very noble of you to try and annoy us to death." Venus groaned on the ground, her entire body still aching from the dark energy coursing through it, and tried to lift her hands so at least she could take advantage of her situation and blast the jerks from below where they least expected it. <> She was scared, no, terrified, since she had never actually been on the receiving end of a hostage situation, and without full use of her voluntary muscles, she was completely defenseless. <> She would have cried from panic, but she would not, could not. What good were tears when the safety of the princess depended on her? "Oh I don't think so." Zoycite noticed her movement and swiftly connected his boot with her head. She yelped, like an injured animal, and Mars screamed with rage. "We have to do something! Why are we just standing here?" Mercury assessed the situation through her visor. "Mars, it's up to you." "WHAT?" "Your Flame Sniper is the closest in accuracy next to Venus's Love Chain. You have the best chance of hitting them and not Venus." "Thank you! Finally!" She aimed up carefully the most important shot of her life. "Flame Sniper!" A red rose joined the flaming arrow mid-flight, and side-by-side they closed the distance between the Senshi and the generals. Jupiter held her breath, certain that this would be the day that they toasted two of the generals and evened the score, but the two men vanished at the last second and the lethal combination slammed into a nearby tree, leaving a rather nasty, flaming gouge. Tuxedo Mask leaped off the lamppost, hung suspended in the air, and landed next to Venus. He carefully took her into his arms and laid her head on his lap. "Venus! Are you all right?" Behind his mask, his eyes were two slits of worry. The other girls caught up and surrounded their fallen friend. "Oh God! Venus, say something!" Mars pleaded, brushing blond hair out of her best friend's face. Venus lay there and wished they'd all just stop talking; their voices drilled into her head like a jackhammer. She swallowed and wished she were back home, in Japan, in her yellow and pink bedroom, in her own bed. "I'm OK," she croaked without opening her eyes. She heard Mercury tapping the keyboard of her computer at a record pace. <> "She'll be OK," Mercury declared. "Just a minor concussion, no signs of hemorrhaging. She needs to rest, though." Darien must have carried her back into her room, and Raye must have changed her clothes, because she woke up in sweats and not in the jeans and sweater she had been wearing that night. She immediately zonked out while Raye showered and dressed. "Mina," Raye shook her arm, waking her up. "I'm going to class now. Do you want anything besides ice?" "Tylenol. No, sorry, Demerol," she mumbled under the covers. "How 'bout some crack? I'll buy it from that burnout downstairs." She gently whacked Mina on the butt. "All right, if you need anything, call my cell. Amy's going to stop by later and check on you, OK? I hope you feel better, hon, bye!" She gently shut the door behind her. Mina stayed awake for about twenty seconds after she left, and then drifted off; unaware that her last thought before she fell asleep was of the Silver Millennium. * * * * * * * * * * * * "Raye!" Raye stopped and turned at the sound of Lita's voice. "Wait up!" Lita had obviously overslept; she was sporting windpants and a hat, and not a touch of makeup. Half of a Bryce University College of Culinary Arts key chain stuck out of the front flap of her book bag, obviously from a Lita-like stuff and run. She held a Styrofoam cup of steaming coffee without a lid, and tried her best not to spill it as she trotted alongside of Raye. "How's Mina feeling? Is she OK? Boy, what I wouldn't give to be alone in a room with Zoycite right now..." "I know," Raye agreed, fumbling in her coat pocket for a pair of gloves. "Damn it's cold! I hate these eight o' clock classes!" "Damn right," Lita said, blowing on her coffee, which served the dual purpose of waking her up and warming her hands. "Is she going to skip class?" "Who? Mina? Probably. I wouldn't go to class if I had a concussion." "Yeah, like Dr. Eicher would let you skip math," Lita smirked, taking a careful sip of her coffee and burning her tongue nonetheless. "OW! And you wouldn't go to class if you had a zit." Raye's jaw dropped open like a hinge. "I wasn't about to let that hot rugby player see me with that volcano on my forehead! And that was only one time; you must be confusing me with Serena." They half-ran, half-walked the rest of the way to the Technology Center, relishing the blast of hot air that greeted them inside the building and defrosted their numb fingers and runny noses. Running up three flights of stairs to their classroom in record time, Lita slopped coffee all over her bare hands. "Oh, NUTS! Raye, do you have a tissue or something? My hands are gonna get all sticky." Raye wasn't paying attention to Lita's plight; instead she muttered, "What are they doing here?" Lita looked up from her java-soaked hands to the classroom doorway, which was blocked by a flock of girls. She didn't recognize any of them at first, but when Raye regally lifted her head and straightened her back, giving herself a more daunting air than usual, she identified them as a group of girls that lived in Goshin Hall with Raye and Mina, and had been dubbed by the two as the "Seventh Floor Bitches." The girls had decided that they hated Raye and Mina after the male population of Goshin had started migrating towards the second floor instead of the seventh, where the aptly dubbed bitches resided, and had tried to redirect the Y chromosome flow by spreading extremely false and highly unbelievable rumors about Ms. Aino and Hino. There were five main bitches; all loved tight black pants and heavy blush, despite the fact that they had, as Lita put it, "...Asses and faces as round as pumpkins, and not nearly as appetizing." They spoke at volumes that were hazardous to the human ear, and were prone to high-pitched squealing and giggling that Serena herself would not be able to reproduce. They were also notorious sluts. They were crowding the doorway of the classroom, so Lita entered first, pushing their round bodies away like a tank. "Sorry, didn't see you there," she sneered, then whispered to Raye, "Yeah, right, like that's possible." The algebra professor was late, so they had a few minutes to screw around before class started. The Seventh Floor Bitches took seats directly behind Lita and Raye, and almost immediately Kristen Hayes, the most obnoxious of all the bitches, began unwisely running her mouth. "Hey Ashley," she poked the bleach blonde with her fluorescent pink gel-pen. "Are we going to Boris St. tonight? Jay Melman invited us up, and he said he really wants to see me there." Lita glanced over at Raye, but girl's face was as unreadable as their algebra book. She pursed her lips together, hoping she possessed the necessary the self-restraint to keep herself from turning around and punching Kristen in the face if she said anything about Raye. Not that Raye couldn't hold her own, but she was heavily outnumbered, and Lita would be more than happy to take on more than one bitch at one time. The girl Ashley was sitting right behind Raye "Oh God! Are you guys back together or what?" Kristen talked not to Ashley but to the back of Lita's head. "I have a feeling that we're going to hook up tonight. He still wants me, bad, he called my room like three times yesterday." Ashley sighed into Raye's hair. Lita noticed a microscopic twitch below Raye's eye, but other than that, there was no indication that she was even slightly fazed. "Kristen, you are SO lucky! He is SO hot!" "I know. Aren't you glad he's back with me and not with some foreign exchange student?" Kristen talked directly to Raye's head. Lita clenched her hands together so tightly that her fingernails left half-moon impressions in her palms. "Please, please, please," she hissed across the aisle to Raye. "Let me hit them. Just once. Right in the middle of all that Maybelline makeup." "Shh," Raye whispered back once the professor entered the room. But for the next hour, the mental picture of beating the living crap out of Kristen Hayes was stuck in repeat mode in her head. * * * * * * * * * * "Ooh, let's get a bagel!" Serena pleaded while passing Lola's Café, undoubtedly her favorite place in the entire world, due mostly to their Death by Chocolate sundaes and ham-and-egg-on-a-croissant sandwiches. "PLEASE!! We have time, Amy!" Amy glanced at her watch and realized that Serena was right; they had a good forty-five minutes until their respective classes. "Well, sure, I won't mind. I could use some cappuccino, anyway." <> He had spent at least two hours trying to convince her to come to Boris St. that night, citing everything from, "All your friends are doing it," to "Do it for me as a personal favor," to "I have a fatal neurological disease, and if I'm ever unhappy it will flare up and kill me." Finally, after hardcore groveling on all levels, Amy promised she would stop by, even though she hated parties. <> "YAY!" Serena squealed, yanking the door open and practically leaping inside. Lola's was a quaint little eatery with dark wood floors and booths, and brass coat hooks stuck on every available inch of wall. The countertops were also wooden, but the stools were glistening chrome. One always had a feeling of comfort in the place, despite its antique floors and booths. It was almost always dim, and large, framed photography covered the dark green walls. The photographs were rotated every month, and were usually taken by local artists or students in the art department. This month, they were black and white shots of students on the campus. "Mmm," Serena breathed, inhaling the scent of cinnamon and coffee. Lola's lunch crowd still lingered, almost every booth and table was occupied. Amy was about to suggest they come back later when Serena squealed, "Darien!" and made a beeline to a booth in the back. Amy followed, shaking her head and hoping that Darien had the necessary funds to satiate Serena's appetite. "Hey girls," Darien smiled, sliding down to make room for Serena. Kevin sat on the other side, and he also moved down for Amy, who was halfway mental at the thought of sitting next to a stranger. "Hi Kevin!" Serena chirped, taking a big sip of Darien's soda. "What's up?" "Nothing, what's up?" he replied, offering one of his French fries to Amy, who politely shook her head. "No thanks, I'm just going to get some coffee." "What are you up to, girls?" Darien asked, throwing a look to Serena, who smiled sheepishly with the now-empty glass in her hand. "Oh, we just had a break between classes and decided to grab some lunch," Amy said, picking up a menu. She didn't have it memorized like Serena did. Raymond, the cook and co-owner of Lola's, appeared at Serena's elbow. He knew almost every customer inside out, and never forgot a face, no matter how many years. He had shared the same amount of laughs and tears with them, and they were "his kids," as he liked to call them. "Hey Sweetie! Long time no see!" "Hi, Raymond," Serena said with a grin. She had become one of Raymond's favorites ever since she first tasted his meatball sandwich and gave it such rave reviews that the old, mustached man had tears in his eyes. "Silly, you just saw me last week! I came to try the candy cane milkshake!" "A week? Exactly!" He hugged her around the shoulders and winked at Darien. "A week is a long time for Serena to stay away from this place!" She blushed as Amy and Darien laughed good-naturedly. Kevin simply blinked, unaware of Serena's food fetish. Raymond nodded at him next. "Hey Kev, how's the shoulder? We gonna beat Coast Ridge next year or what? My neighbor, Louie, all he talks about is that quarterback boyfriend of his tramp daughter, how many yards he threw for and all that! You gotta show him a thing or two!" "It's doing better, Mr. Angelo. We'll get them next year, I promise." "What! WHAT! What's with all this 'Mr. Angelo'?" Raymond roared, his chubby face swelling so much he resembled an Italian puffer fish. "Call me Raymond; Mr. Angelo is my father! Jeez, you kids! I had this one," he gestured towards Serena, "calling me Mr. Angelo-san for two months! Eh, Sweetheart?" he elbowed her and smiled. "Yep." "What'll it be Sugar? Is there anything on the menu you didn't try yet?" "Um, let's see, I think I'll have the Chicken Angelo and hot chocolate." "Ah! The Chicken Angelo! And how 'bout you, Sweet Pea? Anything?" "Just coffee please," Amy replied. "Thank you." "Raymond don't make just coffee! How 'bout some pie, it's fresh outta the oven, you'll like it." "OK," she agreed, even thought she wasn't that hungry. <> Raymond threw his dishrag over his wide shoulder and disappeared into the back. Darien started drinking out of Kevin's glass. "So are you guys coming tonight?" "You bet! Oh, and guess what! Amy's coming too!" "Oh really?" He raised his eyebrows and smiled at her. "Did someone talk you into it?" "Yes, Zach did," Amy said softly, swiveling around and pretending to look for Raymond. Kevin smiled behind his napkin. "Is Mina coming? Did you talk to her?" <> Serena, Darien, and Amy froze, frantically trying to come up with a cover story that would make the most amount of sense. Amy threw one out when she spotted Serena opening her mouth to deliver an undoubtedly improbable explanation. "Oh, I don't know, she slipped in the shower this morning and hit her head. We think she has a concussion." Kevin's gray eyes sharpened with concern. "Is she OK? Did you take her to the hospital?" "Well-" Serena began. "Yes," Darien kicked her under the table. "Yes, we did. And she's going to be fine, she just has to rest." Kevin stared into space for a second, and Serena spotted her opportunity like a running back sees an opening in the defensive line. "You know, she's really bummed out about not being able to go. I bet it would really make her day if someone would stop by before the party and bring her some ice cream. She likes banana." He looked at her a second, so intensely that Serena was almost frightened. She imagined for a second to be on the receiving end of an unreserved glare of his, and internally she quaked. "That's a little transparent." He smiled warmly, and the adrenaline drained from her body. "Sure she wouldn't mind?" "NO!" Serena squeaked, still a bit unnerved. "Of course not!" She made a mental note to stop by and persuade Mina to shower and dress, or at the very least brush her teeth. Darien and Amy sighed. Raymond reappeared with a tray. "There you go, Love!" he trumpeted, placing a plate in front of each girl. Serena's eyes lit up like birthday candles at the mound of whipped cream and chocolate shavings capping her hot chocolate. "Raymond, you're the best!" She grabbed her fork and stabbed into her chicken, potato, and cheese combination. "Hey, Kev, you should see how many girls have been asking for the phone the phone number of a few particular boys in a photograph! Gods, if I knew those pictures would be such a hit I would have let that goofy hippie hang them in here months ago!" He chuckled, his beefy arms and stomach shaking. Kevin reddened to the color of Amy's cherry pie, which she had decided to eat after all, and was enjoying. He mumbled something, and Serena asked, "What picture?" around a mouthful of food."The one hanging next to the door! I bet this one noticed it, eh?" He elbowed Amy, who smiled and also turned red. "HAHA! You kids!" he snorted, wandering to another table. "I want to see!" Serena announced, jumping up and making a beeline to the door. They followed her, Kevin rather reluctantly. "Oh wow!" The picture was big, about 15" by 18", standard black and white. Kevin, Jay, Matt and Zach were crowding the view screen, shirtless, covered in dirt and grass, their faces frozen in varying degrees of male enthusiasm. Matt had a dirty football raised in the air. "Hmm," Serena said at the sight of all those exposed, rippling boy muscles. "This is typical," Kevin remarked, pointing to Jay, who had made sure to flex his bicep for the photograph. "Really?" Serena replied absent-mindedly, staring at the abundance of six-packs in front of her. Darien noticed and cleared his throat loudly. "I didn't know you had a tattoo, Kevin," Amy said about the tribal design encircling his enormous right bicep. "Yeah, my mom almost killed me when she saw it. Jay has one on his back, you just can't see it in this picture." "Hey," Serena said, moving closer. "Doesn't that guy look like you, Darien?" She pressed her finger against the glass, leaving a greasy fingerprint on the face of a passerby in the background. Darien squinted and moved closer. He recognized the haircut, battered book bag, and sunglasses immediately. "Uh, yeah, Serena, that is me." "Really?" she squealed, shoving herself in front of the picture. "Ohmygosh! It IS you, hon!" "Oh wow that's...unusual," Amy observed. "Who would have suspected that the four of you would meet and become friends?" "Huh," Kevin grunted, staring at the picture of him and his friends. It was eerie, that a picture taken in late August would reflect their lives now. Darien was walking towards the posing guys, like he had been heading there all along. <> * * * * * * * * * * * * Mina had been watching silently as Raye brutally ripped a brush through her ink-black hair, pulling out the tangles with such ferocity that Mina wondered why they hadn't been able to defeat the Negaverse, or at least kick one of the general's asses by now. Raye had come home in a bad mood, which was not unusual, but the tiniest of disturbances, like the dining hall being too crowded and the cap of her lotion bottle breaking, sent her into an El Nino-like tirade that dissuaded Mina from practically breathing, much less saying a word. She could almost see the ripples of heat across her friend's skin, flowing like lava, which always appeared when she was Sailor Mars. <> She had run into Jay the previous day on the street, and he had reminded her that they were supposed to stop by that night and to tell Raye hi. "DAMMIT!" Raye shouted, launching her black pants into the dirty laundry basket, which subsequently tipped over from the impact and spilled its contents onto the floor. Mina cringed, but didn't say a word. The door opened, and Serena, Lita and Amy let themselves in. Serena and Amy carried book bags, their zippers opened partially for ventilation for two particular dorm-forbidden cats. "Serena don't you ever KNOCK!" Raye shrieked, fiercely yanking drawers open and ferociously rummaging through them. Serena dropped her book bag on Mina's bed none too gently, prompting an "OW!" from the occupant inside. "What's up your butt?" she said, pulling off her coat and looking in the mirror. "Mina, do you think I should leave my hair down or pull it up?" She, Raye, and Serena had hacked off a good three feet of hair before coming to America, and sometimes Mina would still run her fingers through her much-shorter hair and feel naked without the added length. She had let it grow to mid-back, a little longer than Raye's, and Serena had gotten scissor-happy and cut it just below the shoulders. She had stopped wearing the odangos once she started college, but they always spontaneously appeared when she transformed into Sailor Moon, just as Mina's retired red bow reappeared on Venus's head. Lita had discovered in high school that her hair was naturally curly, and she let it fall down her back in glossy ringlets instead of forcing it straight with a round brush and hair dryer. As was the case with the other three, her hair pulled up into a familiar ponytail when she transformed. Luna slipped out of the open book bag, gasping for air. "Ugh! Serena practically had that bag zipped shut; I was suffocating." "Yeah? Well it's better than sharing a bag with Amy's laptop!" a muffled voice cried from inside Amy's bag. Amy unzipped it dutifully, and Artemis leapt out and jumped onto Mina's lap, panting. "How are you feeling?" he asked, rubbing his head against her shoulder. She smiled and hugged him. "Just a slight headache. I'm feeling much better, but Amy says I should take it easy tonight." Amy pulled out her laptop and knelt on the floor. "Quick Senshi meeting, you guys," she announced, opening her computer and rapidly punching the keys. "We have a bit of a mystery on our hands." Raye stopped hunting for clothes, Mina slid off the bed, and the gathered in a circle around Amy. Lita stood up and shut the door. "OK, Ames, what's up?" "I took this picture of Zach a few night ago," she said, and a picture of Zach's face slid over half the screen. "That's pretty close, Amy!" Serena laughed. "Were you two getting cozy?" Amy took a breath and blushed. "I was just helping him with his calculus, we had to sit close together. Besides, my computer DOES have a zoom lens." "Yeah, I'm sure," Lita snickered, elbowing Raye, who was sitting shamelessly in her underwear. Amy ignored them all. "Anyway, I took this picture," she hit another key and an unfortunately familiar face popped up, "last night." Lita began popping her knuckles at the sight of Zoycite's face. "Now I believe in your zoom lens, Amy. There's no way you'd get that close to that Nega-creep." Mina rubbed the place on her head where Zoycite had kicked her the previous night. "When did you have time to take this one?" "When he was kicking you." "Oh." "Well, back to the subject," Amy continued. "Watch what happens when I lengthen Zach's hair." She tapped the mouse. "And age him by five or six years, and take away his glasses, voila!" Serena gasped, and Mina's stomach turned to a block of ice. The two faces on the screen were identical, except that Zoycite's eyes were as flat and evil as a serpent's, while Zach's remained warm and friendly. His face was innocent, without a trace of the malevolence that covered Zoycite's face. There was something else, something familiar that Serena couldn't place. "Oh my friggin God!" Lita breathed. "That is unreal." "But Darien was with Zach last night," Luna said. "He was slightly embarrassed when he ran out of their apartment after he got the call. He said he was with Zach all evening." "So unless Zach travels faster than Tuxedo Mask, which isn't likely, then he and Zoycite are two individuals," Raye said, absently scratching Artemis's head. "So why the hell do they look exactly alike?" Amy clicked again, and a birth certificate filled the screen, complete with little baby ink footprints. "I don't know. Here's Zachary Elias Straub's birth certificate, hospital records, driver's license, and..." she dramatically punched another key, "high school yearbook photo. Zach Straub is a normal human being, and there's no explanation as to why he looks so much like Zoycite." And the other three," Raye said slowly. "They look like the Generals, too. But they're not. I don't sense any evil in them." "What about the Moonlight Knight?" Lita suggested. "Could the Dark Kingdom Generals be a part of their soul, or something?" "No," Amy said, typing again. "The Dark Kingdom Generals have vital signs; they are actual physical beings, while the Moonlight Knight was a nothing more than a spirit. We could touch him, he could be tangible matter, but he had no heartbeat, body temperature, brain waves, catch my drift?" "Yeah," Mina said. "And the Moonlight Knight always went back into Darien's body. The Generals go back to Beryl and the Negaverse." Serena frowned and fingered her brooch, which she wore constantly regardless of the occasion. She hated not knowing all the answers, not knowing what to tell her friends when they looked to her for guidance. "I wish I could ask my mother," she said. It was acknowledged that she didn't mean her mother back in Japan, but Queen Serenity. Raye sighed and stood up. "We're never going to figure this out," she said, opening the wardrobe and thumbing through. "Mina, if you're not going out, can I wear this?" She held up a gold tank top and diaphanous gold button-down shirt. "Yeah sure," Mina replied, crawling back in bed. Serena dropped Luna on the floor and began sifting through Raye's makeup case. "Mina, uh, I bet you would feel a lot better if you took a shower!" she suggested, swiveling a tube of lipstick up. "Why? I'm not going out?" she yawned, curling Artemis to her. Serena put the lipstick down and turned to face her. "Uh, um, because you kinda stink, too!" Lita made a face. "Serena!" "Do I?" Mina asked, sniffing her collar. "I don't smell any-oof!" Serena shot across the room and clapped Artemis's mouth shut. "Oh don't worry Mina! We all get kinda ripe when we don't shower all day! Right Amy?" She threw a look to Amy. "Uh, right," Amy said, looking down quickly. "Why don't you take a nice, hot shower, and you'll feel tons better! Here's a towel, go ahead!" Mina shrugged. "Might as well." She gathered up towels, a bathrobe, and her shower caddy. "I'll just be a few minutes." "My gosh, Serena!" Raye snapped after Mina had left. "Could you possibly be a little more offensive? Why don't you just tell her she's ugly, too?" "Raye! You don't understand! Kevin's going to stop by and see her and what kind of friend would I be if he walks in and she's sitting here with bed hair and morning breath!" Lita sucked her breath in. "OK, good call, Serena. That was justified." "Why do you think Zoycite said that Mina was our leader?" Raye said, pulling on stretchy brown flare pants. "He told me not to fire at him or I would hit out leader." "Yeah! And I'm the leader!" Serena said emphatically. "Right, Luna?" "I presume. I don't see why Venus would be the leader of the Sailor Senshi and not Sailor Moon." "Don't you remember, Luna?" Lita asked, smoothing her hair down. "I remember as much of the Moon Kingdom as you four do." "Which is almost nothing," Raye concluded, flipping her head upside down to brush her hair. "OK, next dead end, please." Mina returned from the shower shortly after. "You're right, Serena, I do feel better!" She unwound the towel from her head and released her wet locks. "Here!" Serena said, holding up a clean pair of pink pajamas. "You look really cute in these! Did you brush your teeth or what?" Lita guffawed loudly, and Raye smacked her with a t-shirt that was lying on the floor. Mina looked at each of her friends, and then the cat guardians. "What's going on, guys? It's not like I have a hot date or something." Serena forcefully laughed. "What are you talking about, Mina? I just thought you'd feel better if you cleaned yourself up. Flip over," she instructed, pointing the stream of hot air at the crown of Mina's head. Mina bent over obediently, letting her sodden blond strands fall around her face. Serena blew them dry, fluffing periodically with her fingers with the sureness of a hairstylist or a mother. "There!" Serena proclaimed, whipping Raye's hairbrush through the thick blonde mass like she was beating eggs. <> Mina settled back into bed, her recently un-greased hair flowing over her yellow pillowcase and hanging off of the sides of her bed. She hated Zoycite more than ever at the moment; the anticipation of seeing Kevin that week had twisted her nerves and toyed with her imagination, until she would spent entire classes staring into space, imagining platinum eyes staring at her with shimmering heat from the desert. The Mina of her imagination was brighter, wittier, captivating, the kind of girl that could capture a man's heart and hold it in her hands like a precious jewel. She wished she could shine brighter than the sun and intrigue him with brilliance, blocking out other people the way the noontime daylight hid the electric beam of a flashlight. Or at least go five minutes without saying something stupid and then bursting into giggles. She wanted his mind to be on her, and hers on him, until their separateness disappeared and they knew each other as well as they knew themselves. She wanted to touch him, envelop him with her essence, suffocate him with her skin and scent and hair, drink the heat off his lips like water. <> "Shut up brain," she mumbled to herself. "I know something you don't." Meanwhile, Lita was pacing around the small room, her long stride covering half the floor space in one step. She tugged at the hem of her shirt, wanting to be slim and petite like Serena and not a curvy, hulking giant who had to special order pants and pull down her shirts all the time because the torso was too short. "You guys? Do you think I should wear this?" she said, voicing her insecurities. She was only a few inches shorter than Matt; if she could chop off inches of her height for one night, she would have done so without hesitation. <> Amy looked away from the mirror for a second. "No, it looks good, Lita. Keep it." Raye, who was midway through smearing foundation on her face with her palm, ("Not like that, Raye! Use a sponge!" Mina scolded.) noticed Amy trying to smooth a few stray hairs down with de-frizzing cream. <> "Amy!" she shouted, startling the small blue-haired girl into dropping the tube of Physique. "When did you start using hair crap?" Lita jerked out of her self-esteem rut and elbowed Amy in the ribs. "Hey, Ames, gonna look all pretty for a certain guy? Ooohhh!" "No I just-" Amy began, her genius mind choking in the face of such opposition. <> "AMY!" Serena screeched. "Let me do your, makeup, puh-leeeeze?" "Well," Amy began, rather frightened at the sight of Serena brandishing an eyelash curler in front of her. "I guess. Don't make me look too weird though. I really don't wear a lot of-" She ended up wearing a lot, even though it didn't look like a lot since Serena had perfected an art known as "blending," a skill that had bypassed the Seventh Floor Bitches. She carefully touched one eyelid, wondering if the specks of iridescent glitter were too much. "Do I look OK?" she asked tentatively. Serena smiled and hugged her. "You look awesome! Zach is going to piss himself when he sees you!" Raye rolled her eyes. "Now THAT'S a wonderful analogy. Are you guys almost ready to go?" She pulled on her camel-colored peacoat and slid into her shoes. "We have to drop off the cats, too." "I'll stay here with Mina," Artemis offered. Mina smiled and was about to accept when Serena grabbed him by his ruff and stuffed him in the Jansport. "No, I think she needs to rest tonight, OK Artemis?" Serena breathed hurriedly, zipping the bag despite muffled protests and swearing. "You get better, OK, Mina? We need you at that EKE mixer tomorrow night, Luna thinks that the Negaverse is going to attack there since that's the only fun they haven't ruined yet." "Bye hon," Lita waved, smoothing her hair one last time. "Wish me luck." "Oh! Good luck!" Mina blew her a kiss. "Get lucky in the name of Venus!" Raye rolled her eyes. "Crackhead. She'd better not get lucky unless she wants a beatdown." Mina studied the lines furrowing into her friend's forehead, and wondered what was bothering her so much that she transformed into a total shrew. "Raye?" she asked timidly. Raye nodded at her. "Huh?" "What's wrong?" She stiffened a little, then reached over and grabbed her keys. "I'm fine, Mina, OK?" She snapped harsher than she intended. <> "OK," Mina said softly, sliding in between her covers. "Have a good time tonight. And be careful. You staying over?" "I don't know, later," she said, heading out the door. She stopped, turned, and looked carefully at Mina sitting upright, staring after her, not hurt like Raye expected, but concerned. She softened a bit, shoving her insecurities to the background for now. "I'm sorry. Get some rest, OK?" Mina nodded. "OK, Raye. Be careful." << Why did I repeat that? >> * * * * * * * * * * * "DAMMIT!" Zach screamed, grabbing his foot. After the initial mild swear, he let loose with a stream of the most vulgar obscenities that he could think of, ranging from the standard four-lettereds to creative names for various body parts and functions. Jay stuck his head into the kitchen to see what the fuss was about. What he found was Zach hopping on one foot in a puddle of gold, foamy liquid peppered with broken glass. "No," he muttered, not wanting to believe the scene in front of him. "Zach, you didn't spill a Corona." "Yes I did so just shut up," Zach winced. "I don't want to hear it, I just dropped the little bastard on my foot." The phone rang, and Zach reached over to pick it up. "DON'T ANSWER THAT!" Jay screamed, knocking the phone out of Zach's hands and sending it skittering across the linoleum. "It might be Crazy Kristen; she already called three times today." "You're sh***ing me." "NO! She keeps asking me when she should stop by. I keep telling her I'm going to 114 tonight. She better not show up and mess things up between me and Raye." For the last four hours, he had been stressing hardcore about Raye: if she would come, if she found him charming and attractive, if she found her clothes terribly constraining. He had plugged Darien for all the information he could get, a key factor in releasing the mojo. Now, if he could just keep Crazy Kristen off his back for a few minutes. There was a kick at the front door, and a yell. "Would someone open the GD door?" Matt screamed through the oak. "Why does the door have to be locked all the time?" "To keep you out," Zach quipped, unlocking the dead bolt. Darien, Kevin and Matt burst through the door, each loaded with cases of MGD. "OK, don't help or anything," Matt barked at Jay, who nodded complacently and didn't help, or anything. The stack of cases that was Kevin swung around and dropped a six-pack of bottles on the kitchen table. "Why didn't we get kegs?" Darien asked, dropping his cases onto the table and rubbing his aching arms. <> "4C's got kegs; let them get evicted. The penalty's so much more hardcore for kegs than for just cases. Besides, those kegs are for everybody-" Jay ripped open the cardboard and held up two handfuls of cans. "-these are for us!" "Yo, Jay, you have to check out Chiba's car!" Matt enunciated each word by pounding Darien on the shoulder. "Brand new Eclipse, fully loaded. Can't fit Kevin in it, though." Jay lifted his eyebrows, and then sauntered over to Darien and put his arm around his shoulders. "Darien, my brother in everything but blood..." < "...please let me drive your car. At least once. I don't have a car, I have to use Kevin's crappy Blazer or Matt's station wagon." "It's not a station wagon!" Matt bellowed. "The Subaru Outback is a friggin SUV, thank you very much, not a GD station wagon!" "Whatever, soccer mom." Kevin opened the fridge and started loading cans in. "Want me to hide the Woodchuck?" "Yes!" Zach bellowed before anyone could speak. "Those are for Amy." Everyone stared at him. "But, Amy doesn't drink," Darien stated simply, like he was talking to a kindergartener. "Amy doesn't drink YET," Zach corrected, shuffling the cans and bottles around until he was satisfied that Jay wouldn't accidentally stumble across and down them. "I thought I'd start her off easy. Woodchuck is for girls." "I like Woodchuck," Kevin said. No one challenged his masculinity. Music suddenly started pounding through the walls, rattling the concealed bottles of Woodchuck together. "Guess 4C's starting early," Matt announced, checking his watch. "Hey Darien, when are the chicks getting here?" "I told them around ten. Why, what time is it?" "Nine-thirty. Should we start early, too?" He passed out cans to everyone except Kevin, who pulled a round container out of the freezer and grabbed his keys. "Coming back?" Jay asked, wincing when a shriek of female voices filtered through the walls. "OK, we're not going over there until Crazy Kristen and her ho posse are gone!" He was dragged over anyway. * * * * * * * * * * * "Coming up on 'Dateline:' Are you paying too much for your cereal? ' Dateline's' hidden camera goes undercover to reveal the truth behind the box..." "Oh for the love of-" Mina sighed as she flipped through the channels. <> She settled back on her pillow, pouting. <> She flicked "Dateline" back on and for the next half-hour, was bored half to death by Stone Phillips warning America about the abomination of overpriced Count Chocula. <> Lulled into a semi-stupor by reruns of "The Real World," Mina almost fell out of bed when someone knocked lightly on her door. <> She reasoned, rubbing her face and throwing the door open. "Yeah? What is it?" she harshed on the victim before realizing he was 6'6" and beautiful, with an expression of bewilderment crossing his face. "OH!" she said, instantly sorry and embarrassed beyond belief. "What are you-I mean, I thought your place was going tonight, oh God I look like-why did you-is that banana?" Kevin smiled, holding out the container as a peace offering. "Sorry to bust in. Serena said I should stop by and see if you're feeling OK." <> "Oh, she did?" Mina said, smiling in a way that caused Kevin's knees to border on buckling. "Yeah," he said, wondering why the hell he couldn't string together a rational sentence when he was within two feet of her. "And," she prompted, slouching and gazing up at him. He gulped. "Are you feeling better?" She took the container of ice cream from him. "This will help. Want to come in for a while? I know that you want to get back to your house..." He followed her in the room and shut the door. The only light in the room was from the TV. "It can wait," he said, meaning it completely. He would rather be in the room with her at that moment than in Times Square when the ball was dropping. Mina produced two plastic spoons from a bag near the refrigerator, and offered one to Kevin. They sat on her bed together, albeit a tight squeeze, and Mina ended up sitting half on his lap. "Thank you so much!" she said, digging into the pale yellow cream. "How did you know that banana was my favorite?" "Serena." "Ah." <> "How's your head?" he asked, looking down and staring at the part in her hair, expecting to see stitches or a bruise or something. "I still have a slight headache. It was really bad last night after Z-I mean, after I slipped on ice." Kevin's spoon stopped halfway to his mouth. "I thought you slipped in the shower? That's what Amy said." <> "Oh yeah! I'm sorry, I just, you know, after I bumped my head I've been a little foggy..." <> "Oh." They sat in comfortable silence for a while, finishing the rest of the ice cream and watching a rerun of "Law & Order." Mina snuggled up to Kevin's warm body, resting her head against the smooth, hard muscles of his chest. She smiled as the steady thump-thumps of his heartbeat vibrated under her cheek, reminding her that he was still alive. "Kevin?" "Hmm?" Kevin replied, feeling blood pound into his face as he stared down at the crown of her head. <> "Tell me about you." "What do you want to know?" he said softly, putting one hand on the small of her back and rubbing. "Anything. Just talk about you. Tell me where you're from, and what you like, and what you don't. Everything." Kevin didn't want to talk, he wanted to kiss her all over until his mouth was dry and his lips were chapped. But instead he said, "Well, I live in Junta, it's about an hour away from here, up north farther. Jay lives there, too, one street over. We've been best friends since sixth grade." "Really? I've been friends with the girls since junior high. How'd you meet him?" "Jay was being his annoying self at recess and this big fat kid Mike Malone started beating on him. So I started beating on Mike. Almost got expelled." "That sounds like Jay." "Yeah, I know. He started following me around, and I guess he rubbed off on me, because we've been tight ever since." "My room at home is pink and yellow," Mina said out of the blue. "There's a big tree outside my window that Artemis, he's my cat, used to climb up and down. I have a whole bunch of stuffed animals, and pictures of my friends, and Sailor V stuff that they used to give me when I would model." "I used to have all this 49er stuff in my room, but for some reason it made Kaylee cry, so I got rid of a lot of it." "Who's Kaylee?" "My sister. I have two of them. Kaylee's six, Jennifer's thirteen, and a big pain in the ass." Mina laughed, tickling Kevin with her breath. He shifted a little and Mina spooned onto his side. "I don't have any brothers or sisters. I used to wish I did, though, when we moved to England and I was all by myself. I wanted someone to side with me when my mother would go postal. What's your mom like?" "She's OK, I guess, a lot better than Jay's mom. We have this ongoing joke that she beats him with empty liquor bottles. Then again, if I was Jay's mom, I would beat him with empty liquor bottles too." Mina ran one hand lightly down his side, noticing how hard it was. <> "Does this bother you?" "No." <> "What does bother you?" she asked, staring up at him with her huge blues. He locked eyes with her, and lost his breath for a second. "Me? Uh, when Jay uses my car and forgets to put the seat back, when I stay up all night reading, and when my bad ankle starts hurting." <> She moved up closer to his face, never breaking eye contact. Her blond strands split over her shoulders like molten gold. "And what do you like?" He put both hands around her back and brought her face within inches of his, close enough that they exchanged breath. "Blond girls with blue eyes from Japan, who have concussions and white cats." She smiled. "Quick, when's your birthday?" "What? Oh, January 19th. Why?" She looked down at his lips, and back into his gray eyes. "Because now I know enough about you to kiss you." She pulled forward and touched her lips to his. Outside, the moon emerged from behind the clouds that had been blocking its face. * * * * * * * * * * * "There." The twisted woman stabbed her blood red talon at the image in her crystal. Her four minions leaned closer, studying the image in the cloudy ball. They saw a red brick apartment building, with cars double-parked on each side of the street and people streaming into the front doors. All the windows of the top floor were dimly lit, with silhouettes of people dancing. "That is where you will strike. Nephlite, Zoycite, you two go, and if those Sailor Brats appear," She narrowed her slit-like eyes and grinned, revealing malicious, pointed fangs. "Take hostages. They are all too ridiculously noble to let a human die. Go, and do not fail me." The two men bowed. "Yes, my queen," they said in unison.