EIGHT
Serena arrived at her house exhausted. When she walked in she found her mother sweeping the floors.
"Oh, there you are Serena," she said. "How was work?"
"Work? I was at school," Serena said.
"No you weren't. You were at work remember? You flunked out of school and had to get a job waiting tables, then your boyfriend dumped you and your friends all abandoned you and now you're here stuck living with us. How could you forget that?" she said.
"Uh....I just did," Serena said beginning to accept her supposed life. She walked in and moved to the window. Then she looked out and saw that her beau Darrien was walking along the sidewalk with a girl she had never seen before.
"Oh no! Who's that?" Serena said.
"That's Darrien's much more successful girlfriend," her mother said. "You're nothing to him now."
"Noooooooo!" Serena yelled and woke up yelling the same thing.
"I swear if this keeps up I'm going to get a lobotomy," Serena muttered.
Meanwhile, a few blocks from Crossroads Junior High.
"It's been a few days and the negaverse hasn't attacked. Do you think they gave up?" Lita asked.
"It's possible, but I doubt it," Amy replied.
"Still....attacking us for seven days straight must have used up a lot of their energy."
"That's probably the reason why they've let up on their attacks, they must have to recover."
"Or they're trying to figure out how to beat us."
Amy nodded.
"We might as well enjoy the peace while we've got it though," Lita said.
"There's no use dwelling on it until they make their next move," Amy replied.
"So what are you doing tonight?"
"Oh...I've got my extra credit essays to do, then there's that theory in calculus I'm studying...and I have to help Serena with her work."
Lita just frowned.
"I'm glad to see you're enjoying yourself," she added sarcastically. Amy
grinned.
"I don't get it," Melvin was saying that morning as he sat in class.
"Don't get what?" Patterson replied stoically looking at the latest copy of the magazine, "Battletank enthusiast."
"Well I've been trying to find out who the Sailor Scouts are? You know who they are right?" Melvin replied.
"I've heard of them yes," Patterson said.
"Well...." Melvin began. Amy entered the room. Melvin broke his train of thought. "Hello Amy," He said.
"Hello Melvin, hello Patterson," Amy replied politely.
"Uh..." Patterson replied looked straight at the ground nervously and managed
a small wave.
Amy sat down and opened a book.
"Melvin..you were saying," Patterson said with relief that the situation was over.
"Oh...right..so..I went to the library to see if there was any newspaper articles on the Sailor Scouts..." Melvin said. Amy listened from her seat.
"I figured there must be something a picture, anything," Melvin continued.
"And?" Patterson asked.
"And there wasn't one. There were listings in the card catalog, but there wasn't one actual article?"
"Interesting," Patterson replied.
"Think about it though. Someone must have taken them. I think there's a conspiracy."
"A conspiracy? Melvin, think about what you're saying."
"I'm telling you. There must be. How else could those articles just have disappeared."
"You're suggesting that someone went in, looked up every article the library had and then stole every single article from them. That's insane."
"There are a lot of insane people in this world," Melvin replied and then realized that he was talking to the supposedly "insane" Patterson. D.V. figured this out and grinned.
"Don't do that!" Melvin shouted hysterically.
"Calm down," Patterson said and returned his face to it's usual scowl configuration.
"Why do you care who the Sailor Scouts are anyway?"
"If I can find out Sailor Moon is then I can tell Molly, and she can thank her for saving her life," Melvin said. "Then Molly will thank me and we can go out."
"Brilliant plan," Patterson muttered.
"Isn't it?" Melvin asked.
"Isn't it amazing how stupidly Love makes people act? Glad I don't have to deal with those kinds of emotions. Melvin have you thought about trying to appeal to Molly based on your character rather then trying to win her love based on simple acts."
"For the past year that's all I have been doing. Somehow it isn't working," Melvin said.
"With a massive stud like you? You've got to be kidding," Patterson said sarcastically.
"I know," Melvin agreed. Patterson just glanced at him.
"You know what I think...I think some of them go to this school," Melvin said.
"Who?" Patterson asked.
"The Sailor Scouts."
"Looney," Patterson replied.
"No..your the looney!" Melvin said.
"Melvin what did I tell you about that!" Patterson said and grabbed Melvin by the collar and dragged him to the window.
"Uh...sorry...you're not insane," Melvin said.
"Exactly," Patterson said and pulled Melvin back towards his seat.
"Sorry..just look at this theory I came up," Melvin said gasping for air. He gave the dark haired boy a pad with some scribbling on it. Patterson looked at.
"This is illegible," he said.
"Oh..never mind that," Melvin said and chucked the pad out a window. "I'm telling you though. There must be at least one Sailor Scout going to school here. There have been several instances of the Sailor Scouts being seen around here. It would only make sense."
Amy listened a more intently.
"I suppose next time I talk to you, you'll say there's two in this class," Patterson said nonchalantly. Amy tensed.
Wait a minute. He's just being sarcastic. There's no way he could...could he? No, it's just a coincidence. She thought.
"It's possible," Melvin said.
"Get off it Melvin," Patterson said in an almost Rayesque tone.
"Why?"
"It's not like Sailor Moon is someone you've been talking to regularly for the past year."
Amy tensed again.
"I know...but I have to keep trying to figure it out," Melvin said.
"Melvin, quit being a fool, I'm sure the Sailor Scouts are much to smart to allow themselves to be tracked down by anyone, especially you. I mean...come on, A bunch of lovesick school girls defending the planet against the greatest evils in the universe!" Patterson said. "Just how crazy is that?"
"Uh...I see your point," Melvin said.
"I'm glad you do," Patterson said.
What did that all mean? Nothing, it couldn't have....no...impossible. Amy thought.
Serena staggered in, moaned and collapsed into her chair.
"Serena. Are you all right?" Amy asked.
"No. I didn't sleep well and when I was walking into school I got hit on the head with a falling notepad," Serena muttered and laid her head down on the desk.
"I can tell you one thing," Melvin said.
"What?" Patterson said.
"Serena isn't a Sailor Scout." Melvin said.
"Yeah. Not a chance," Patterson said.
Several hours later, Raye was walking towards Crossroads Junior High for lunch. Rick fell in alongside her.
"Hello Raye," he said.
"Hi Rick, you know I was thinking. Since we are boyfriend and girlfriend now. Maybe we should actually go on a date," Raye said.
"Oh...yeah..I was wondering when we would get around to that," Rick replied with a nervous laugh..
"What's your problem?" Raye asked.
"Well..you see...before I go out, my family wants to meet you..heh heh....in fact they asked me to ask you to come to dinner tonight," Rick said. Raye could tell he was very anxious about the whole affair.
"Uh...sure...why not? What are you so nervous about anyway?"
"My family isn't what you'd call...um....normal."
"I'm sure it'll be fine," Raye said with a smile. "Whatever they're like I'll be okay."
"Really?"
"Sure. I mean I won't take it out on you at least."
"Uh..great...thanks," Rick said. She doesn't know what she's getting into. He thought.
This is just great...just great. Raye thought to herself beneath her smile.
They always have a catch! Aren't there any normal boys on the planet!
When Raye arrived at lunch she found the other four sailor scouts sitting there. Amy was leafing
through an advanced text on Evolutionary Biology. Lita and Mina were reading from a teenage magazine and Serena appeared to be asleep, her head was resting on the table.
"What's her problem?" Raye muttered less then politely and sat down.
"She's still having those dreams," Amy said.
"Oh I see," Raye retreated. "It must be tough," she said considerately.
"I'm surprised Raye, you rarely stick up for her," Lita said.
"We've been through this before Lita," Raye said sternly. "Serena's got a lot of problems. Darrien shouldn't be one of them, but you see what happens..they can't stay close," she finished.
"I'm sure when he gets back things will be fine," Mina said.
"I hope so. She's so out of it when she's like this," Lita said and they all looked sympathetically at the sleeping girl.
"Say..what's that you're reading?" Raye asked Lita and Mina hoping to change the subject to something more uplifting.
"Oh..this..it's a quiz on whether your boyfriends right for you or not," Lita said.
"One of those stupid things," Raye muttered.
"You're in a wonderful mood today," Mina said snidely.
"I've got my own problems," Raye said. "What's that quiz say anyway?"
"Okay, just answer these ten questions," Lita said and began to read the quiz.
"1. Does your boyfriend look like your ideal man?" Lita said.
"Uh....well...he's close," Raye said.
"2. Does he have some of the same interests as you?"
"Yeah."
"3. Key question:Has his parents made him invite you to dinner with them?" Lita asked.
"WHAT!?" Raye shouted. "How can that be a question?"
"It is Raye, we both answered it," Mina said.
"But....that can't mean anything," Raye said nervously.
"Sure it can. There are different point totals here," Lita said.
"So what if he did. What does that mean?" Raye said.
"Well...it means you're in trouble," Lita said.
"Yeah...I'd watch it Raye," Mina said.
"Ehh...." Raye said.
Serena was dreaming. She was sitting at her desk watching Miss Haruna give a lecture. Then things began to get weird.
"Serena..how many chickens do you own?" Miss Haruna asked.
"Um...none miss," Serena said.
"Really? Then what do you call that!" Miss Haruna yelled. Serena looked down at her desk to see a chicken sitting there.
"I don't know where it came from Miss H," Serena cried.
"Sure you do!" Haruna yelled and morphed into Darrien.
"Darrien. What's going on?" Serena whined.
"I'll tell you. It's time for the chicken," Darrien said.
"What?" Serena asked. The chicken flew off her desk and landed on Darrien's shoulder.
"Hah. Just like I thought. It's over," he said and disappeared.
"Wait! Darrien!" She shouted. A rose flew through the air and stuck into the ground. The setting had changed. She was outside in the park. She was Sailor Moon now.
"Tuxedo Mask! Where are you?" She yelled.
"He isn't around," came the hideous voice of Coardite as the negaverse commander appeared in front of her.
"But the rose?" Sailor Moon cried.
"Roses die," Coardite said and raised his hand. Energy flew out from it and then there black.
Serena woke up with a start.
"Ahh!" She shouted. Her four friends looked over at her with concern.
"Serena? What is it?" Mina asked.
"Chickens...." Serena whined.
Later that night.
"Ehh..." Serena muttered reading one of her English textbooks in her room.
"What's your problem now Serena?" Amy asked.
"Amy, this stuff isn't on my level. I mean it's so complex," Serena said.
"It is not, you just have to know what to look for. Like Metaphors and Similes."
"Huh?"
"Don't you know what those are?" Amy asked in surprise.
"No!" Serena whined. "I'm as dumb as an ox."
"No you're not. You just used one of the terms."
"Huh?"
"When you said you were as dumb as an ox."
"It was a figure of speech Amy," Serena said sarcastically.
"I know that! Listen!" Amy yelled. Serena quieted down and kept her attention on her blue haired friend.
"When you said you were as dumb as an ox you were using a metaphor."
"Oh, I get it. So metaphors are insults."
"No," Amy said solemnly, "Metaphors are...."
Across the city at a waterfront restaurant, Mina and Lita sat admiring the scenery.
"Well.....this was a good idea," Mina said.
"Yeah...with Steve and Mike busy it gave us a chance to do what we used to...just go out on the town and be ourselves," Lita said.
"I still find myself wondering how I got here so fast. I mean...it was just so easy. No stress, I just ran into a guy I liked literally, and now..." Mina trailed off.
"You got lucky," Lita said. "I on the other hand had to agonize and wait until the time was right."
"I know. I was surprised when it actually worked out."
"Surprised? Why?" Lita asked narrowing her eyes.
"Um...you're a good flirter, but I didn't know whether you'd actually be able to get back with a guy. I mean...it was just surprising," Mina said.
"This from a girl who had been shooting zeros for a long time," Lita muttered.
"Don't get jealous on me Lita. I'm being honest. Friends are supposed to be honest with each other."
"Not when we're talking about love," Lita said.
"What?" Mina asked in surprise.
"Boy you've got a lot to learn. You just don't go saying you're surprised when a friend finds someone they like. You support them."
"I am being supportive, I thought you were reflecting on things like I was."
"I was reflecting, but then you go and say you didn't have confidence in me."
"You know I didn't mean it that way. You just seemed nervous about the whole thing. You didn't seem to be able to decide whether you could do it or not either," Mina said.
"That may be true, but that's no excuse," Lita said.
The two turned away from each other and out at the water for a time.
"If we had just stuck to talking about the view we wouldn't have gotten into this mess," Lita said.
"We're not very good at any emotional discussions are we?" Mina asked.
"No. Not unless we're trying to start a fight," Lita said.
"I wasn't," Mina said.
"Neither was I," Lita said.
"Water's beautiful," Mina said.
"Yeah..moonlight reflects nicely off of it," Lita said.
Raye had arrived at Rick's house that night as expected. She was a bit surprised about the late dinner hour, but she paid no real mind to it as she was lead in. Rick was there, and behind him stood several siblings and a short older man with slightly grey hair and an equally short woman with light blue hair.
"Hello," she said.
"Hello," the group replied in unison.
"Allow me to introduce my family," Rick said. "My father Nobuyuki. My mother Kamiko. My numerous brothers, Roy, Rob, Rod, Ryu, Raymond, ahem...Kino and my sister Regina." he said.
"Pleased to meet you," Raye replied.
"Now we eat," Nobuyuki said. They moved into a large dining room and sat down at the table. Raye found herself with Rick's father on her left and Rick on the right. Across from her was Raymond, an astute looking boy that looked to be at least in his early twenties. The dinner looked great, and as the rest of the family dug in, she didn't hesitate.
"Wait!" the father yelled. Raye almost spit out a piece of food in surprise.
"We forgot the special prayer," he said.
"Ah do we have too..." Rob muttered.
"YES! It is tradition," the father said. "Now repeat after me. Let us sit down to eat our meal. It does matter how we feel. This food is ours and we shall eat it. If you don't like it you can beat it."
Raye sat there stupefied.
"Pretty neat huh?" The father said to her. She just nodded.
"So how was school today everyone?" Kamiko said.
"We got our butts kicked in a brawl," Roy and Rod said in unison. They were obviously twins, it looked like there were eight or nine.
"What did we tell you about fighting?" Kamiko said sternly.
"Yeah," Nobuyuki added. "If you're going to fight...WIN! DARN IT!"
"We did inflict a lot of punishment, but there was ten of them," Rod said.
"Rob! Didn't you help them?" the father barked.
"Father I was busy fighting Kendo," Rob said.
"Did you win?"
"I was disqualified for hitting him with a trash can."
"Oh..well...as long as he bled," Nobuyuki said.
"You family's's nuts," Raye whispered to Rick.
"I know," Rick whispered back and smiled.
"So..Raymond, how was work?" Kamiko asked.
"A pipe fell on me, but I'm okay," Raymond said.
"You should sue your boss," Nobuyuki said.
"I dropped it though," Raymond said.
"Ehh..well it's not your pipe. There should be someone you can sue," the father replied.
"Ryu, Kino. What have you two been up two?" Kamiko asked.
"We went cruisin. Sort of got chased by the cops, but they couldn't prove anything," Kino said.
"Did you actually break the law this time or was it just your looks?" The father said. "If I were a cop I'd bust you just for looking like that."
"It was our looks. We only went a hundred on the highway. It was in the city that they followed us," Ryu said.
"Hmm...city cops," Nobuyuki muttered.
"So Regina, how'd did your relaxation class go?" Nobuyuki asked the older teenager.
"Oh...it was fine. I didn't scratch or yell at anyone today," Regina said.
"The therapy must be working," Kamiko said.
"Sure, and the fact that everyone kept injecting that drug into my arm must have helped," Regina replied.
The table sighed.
"So Raye, how about you? What do you do in your spare time?" Kamiko asked.
Avoid nutcases like you. Raye thought.
"Uhm..I'm a singer," Raye said nervously hoping that wouldn't lead to her being attacked.
"Oh..a singer, that's nice," Kamiko said unamusedly.
"That's great. We could use a singer in the family," Nobuyuki said.
"Dad!" Rick yelled in embarrassment.
"Oh come on Rick. You know your mother sings worse than a horse," Nobuyuki said.
"I do not!" Kamiko yelled. "I'll prove it!" she said and began to sing.
"Boys!" the father said and snapped his fingers. Every boy except Rick stood up and hurried towards their mother. They grabbed her and dragged her out of the room. The remaining occupants of the table heard a splash outside. The boys returned and sat down.
"Great investment. That pool," Nobuyuki said. "So Raye..you were saying..."
"Okay..I think I've got it. The perimeter is measuring the sides, the area is multiplying the sides by each other..." Serena said.
"You're close..you need to only multiply two sides to get the area," Amy answered.
"Oh..well...that doesn't make sense..what happens to the other two sides...don't they count?" Serena asked.
"It doesn't matter Serena, it's how things are done," Amy said.
"I'll bet it is, who dreamed that idea up anyway? I mean..they could have made it clearer. Perimeter you add, area you multiply, by the same number of sides...it's a conspiracy. They don't want anyone to understand it."
"Who's they?" Amy asked.
"Whoever came up with this. They must be evil sadistic individuals bent on destroying our minds through mathematics."
"Serena....where did you learn the word sadistic?"
"I heard it once...along with the word evil...I just put two and two together," Serena said.
Amy just sighed.
This is a mistake. She thought to herself.
Meanwhile, Lita and Mina were heading back from their dinner at the restaurant.
"Lita..you know your theory about who Maverick is," Mina said.
"Yeah, I think it's Steve, what about it," Lita said.
"If you think it's him why do you still go out with him?"
"Why not?"
"Okay, but I think you're wrong."
"About going out with him?"
"No. I don't think he's Maverick. See when Maverick showed up when I was fighting the android. Well..he executed a perfect handspring. Mike had done the same thing that morning."
"Oh come on, Mina. You can't possibly think that Mike is Maverick."
"I do," Mina said.
"And you'd still go out with him?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Mina asked.
"But...never mind," Lita muttered. "Mina, I saw Maverick punch, he does it just like Steve did."
"Can you be that sure?"
"Can you be so sure that he did that handspring like Mike did?"
Mina didn't respond for a few seconds.
"Let's just drop it."
"Good idea."
"Boy we have trouble talking to each other."
"Why do you think that is?"
"Don't know."
"Maybe we should try using sign language to communicate from now on."
"There's an idea."
"I'm sorry about that," Rick said as Raye and himself walked down the street. "Let me buy you a real dinner instead."
"Okay," Raye said.
"At least my parents don't have a problem with me going out with you. As my father said. If you can sit for an hour with our family and not go nuts, you're all right."
"I came pretty close to losing it," Raye replied.
"Well it's over now," Rick said. "I know a place to eat a few blocks from
here."
Minutes later in the center of a market section of Tokyo, a circular vortex of purple energy swirled into existence. A dark being clad in black armor and about six feet tall emerged. In his right hand was a sword of black energy. In his left hand an obsidian colored crystal. His name was Argosante.
The crowd of people around all looked at him in shock.
"Hah! Humans! You are nothing to Argosante!" He yelled and held out the crystal. A beam of light shot out from it and enveloped a large group of the crowd. They collapsed unconscious. He turned to the rest who had begun to scattered. Soon he had collected all of their energy.
"This is much too easy. Where are the Sailor Scouts now ehh..." he said.
Raye and Rick neared the market a minute later.
"I thought I heard some yelling did you?" Raye asked.
"Hmm..it was probably just some rowdy people," Rick said. The two rounded a corner and saw that the street was littered with unconscious people.
"Uh oh," Rick said.
"We've should get out of here," Raye said.
"These people need help," Rick said.
"There's nothing we can do," Raye said trying to think of a way to get rid of Rick.
"Don't be selfish Raye. We have to do something," Rick replied.
"I'm not...I..." Raye didn't know what to say. Her mind was racing in different directions. They heard the sound of a window smashing. From one of the market buildings Argosante emerged.
"Hmm...some were hiding in there! Fools!" He shouted and then noticed the two teens.
"Well...look at this. Are you two in for a surprise," he said.
"Who are you!?" Rick shouted.
"Me? I am Argosante. A knight of the negaverse. And you are nothing!" he shouted and blasted a beam of light at the two.
"Watch out Raye!" Rick yelled and pushed her to the ground taking the blast and collapsing.
"Rick!" she shouted and realized that she had to find somewhere to transform. She dashed around a corner.
"Running away?" Argosante yelled. "Well...we can't have that." He ran after
her.
Raye pulled out her power stick as she ran down an alley. Argosante followed quickly.
"MARS STAR POWER!" she shouted hurriedly. She was covered in energy and emerged as Sailor Mars.
"So.....you're Sailor Mars....that's a surprise," Argosante said and placed his crystal on his armor. "Guess it's time to use my sword," he said. She turned to face him and hit her wrist communicator
at the same time.
"Get down to the south marketplace!" she shouted as Argosante advanced.
"Calling your friends...will not save you," the knight said before a multicolored blast flew through the air and slammed to the ground in front of him. Maverick leapt out of a tree and landed in between the two.
"So....you dare fire upon Argosante!" Argosante said.
"I'm Maverick and I don't like people who speak about themselves in the third person," Maverick said holding out his own sword.
"How interesting, I just don't like people!" Argosante replied and swung his sword at Maverick. The hero ducked and came up with his own thrust. The two swords met and the two began to parry.
"You might think you are good, but Argosante is the best," the negaverse minion said.
"Maybe, but I'm not fighting to beat you," Maverick said and slid by him and face him from behind.
"Oh...really," Argosante said and turned to face him. "What are you fighting to do?"
"MARS CELESTIAL FIREBALL SURROUND!" Mars shouted. Her attack flew out from her hands and slammed into Argosante's armor singing it and causing the knight to yell in pain.
"That," Maverick said and swung at Argosante. The knight blocked barely, but fell to one knee.
"You'll pay, even if I die!" Argosante yelled and lunged at Maverick. Maverick leapt up into the air and avoided the knight. He landed several feet away. Argosante stood up and grabbed his crystal shooting out a blast at Maverick, who ducked. He then swung around and charged at Mars.
"MARS CELESTIAL FIREBALL SURROUND!" She yelled quickly realizing that even if the attack hit, he would be very close to her. Argosante swung his sword up and knocked the fire attacks away and bawled right into her before she could respond. She was knocked to the ground. Argosante whirled around. Maverick was gone.
"Where are you MAAVERRICK! I WILL SMITE YOU!"
"Not likely," Maverick said appearing seemingly out of nowhere and slamming his sword into Argosante's head. The sword cut into the armor, but did little other damage.
"HAH!" Argosante yelled and swung around. Maverick ducked. The two began to fight again, matching each other blow, by blow. Mars staggered back up.
"That shouldn't have hurt that much," she muttered. The two combatants were still sword fighting. With them fighting like that I can't get a clean shot. She thought. Why is Maverick sticking around I wonder. Where are the others?
"You are good...for a human....but not as good as I ARGOSANTE!" Argosante yelled.
"SHUT UP!" Maverick yelled. The two continued to fight.
Good. Mars is back up. Maverick thought.
Maverick swung out with his sword and hit the negaverse crystal on Argosante's hip. It shattered to pieces in a blinding flash of light. Argosante swung around and smashed Maverick with his free hand. Maverick fell to the ground.
"THE ENERGY!" Argosante shouted.
"MARS CELESTIAL FIREBALL SURROUND!" Mars yelled quickly. The attack caught the knight off guard and he turned towards the sound of the attack too late. He burned with the fury and fell to one knee again.
"YOU!" Argosante shouted and starred at Mars.
"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP CRASH!"
"VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!"
Two distinct voices were heard and two attacks, one golden, the other green flew across the air and hit the wounded knight. He yelled in pain, but still tried to stagger up.
"Oh no you don't!" Sailor Moon yelled emerging from behind a building, her scepter drawn.
"MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!" She shouted. The white attack hit the creature and disappeared in a flash of light.
"Took you guys long enough," Mars muttered.
"Sorry, you ungrateful..." Sailor Moon began.
"Never mind, Sailor Moon," Sailor Mercury said.
"You all right?" Sailor Jupiter asked.
"Yeah..I'll be fine," Mars said.
"Was Maverick here?" Sailor Mercury asked.
"He was. He isn't anymore," Mars said. "I have to check on Rick," she said urgently and transformed back into a human. She then hurried to where Rick had been. He was sitting in the street
"Rick! Are you all right?" She asked.
"Me? Sure," He replied. "You?"
"Yeah. You stepped in front of that blast so it wouldn't hit me. That was very brave."
"Sure," Rick said. "There goes dinner I guess."
"Yeah."