Sailor Moon M
by
Andrea Principe
db397@FreeNet.Carleton.CA
The four of them stood in a circle in a chamber which was dark and
empty save themselves and the hovering image of a large book that they
examined. One, a man with black eyes and a long braid of black hair,
snapped his fingers once. The image of the book disappeared.
They all wore the same uniform to some extent; gray tunics and
pants. They all had odd eyes, eyes that were so cold and unfeeling that it
was obvious that these were not mere humans. Each differed, though.
The first, the leader who had dismissed the image, wore his
uniform trimmed in black, a black cape lined with scarlet silk, and black
gloves. He wore a perpetual scowl on his face that was enhanced or caused
in part by the long, jagged scar starting above his left eye and running
down his face to his jaw.
Beside him to his right stood a woman, her uniform trimmed in
steel blue. She was quite beautiful, with silvery hair left unbound save a
small bun in an ornate silver holder. She also wore a long cape of steel
blue silk.
To the right of her stood another woman. She had neon pink her,
her face framed on either side by a streak of neon green. She seemed to
have neglected to wear the pants and gloves portion of the uniforn,
instead wearing it like a minidress. She carried a jagged sword made of
crystal which she toyed with almost incessantly. She wore a strange smile
on her face and a dangerous look in her eyes which carried only the barest
hint of sanity.
The last was to the left of the leader and seemed to have been
paying more attention to the silver-haired woman than the image of the
book. He was extremely handsome, with shoulder-length golden blonde hair
and emerald green eyes. His uniform was trimmed in red. Occasionally he
adjusted his uniform to assure himself that it was absolutely perfect.
"Ladies and gentlemen," began the man with the braid, "That was an
image of the Codex Enchantra, the greatest source of magic in the
universe, beleived lost."
"If it was lost, Bowenite, why bother to show it to us?" demanded
the blonde man in haughty tones.
"Lucinite. Would I waste your time?" chided Bowenite, "I said
beleived lost. I do not recall saying, 'lost definately'."
"The Codex Enchantra may still exist?" said the silver haired
woman in excited tones, "We must find it! It would increase our magic a
hundred fold!"
"It is good to know that you are well-versed in this subject,
Variscite. Unlike others I could mention..." said Bowenite as he smiled at
her, pleased.
Lucinite frowned. "Magic does not interest me terribly, and we all
know how Scheelite feels about such matters."
Scheelite grinned eerily as she rested her sword on her shoulder.
Bowenite continued once again. "Our new mission, now that Beryl is
gone, is to find the Codex Enchantra and gain enough power to restore our
Kingdom once again! All that stands in our way are those vapid Sailor Scouts!"
They all smiled.
"This shouldn't be too difficult at all," laughed Lucinite.
* * * *
Wren Green frowned at her reflection in a mirror as she brushed
her brown hair, which reached just past her shoulders. She knew it was
absolutely futile, a minute of walking Nellie the hyper sheepdog and it
would be hopelessly tangled once again. Same old, same old. Sometimes
she really wished something exciting would happen to her... Wren sighed,
grabbed Nellie's leash, and headed out the door. She was already late, this
was going to be close....Why hadn't her brother walked Nellie like he was
supposed to?
After a tiring walk with Nellie (a.k.a: a wild, uncontrollable dash
around the neighborhood), she caught the bus just in time.
She arrived at her locker some time later, passing the 'Snob
Squad' of her school, a bunch of airheads to say the least. Why, why, WHY
did her locker have to be next to their leader, Kelly Hall? Wren cursed
for what must have been the millionth time the miracle of alphabetization.
Wren suddenly noticed that people were snickering at something.
She sighed and looked to see what poor nerd Kelly and crew were laughing
at today. They acted like the freaking fashion police of the school, odd
because they all wore uniforms. Kelly just found other things to pick on,
like....
"Omigod! Did Melvin drool all over your skirt, Wren!" cackled
Kelly. Wren looked at her skirt. Sure enough, she was blessed with Nellie
drool. Ech. Wren groaned inwardly as she shut her locker and went to the
bathroom. Maybe she could wash it off somehow....
As she wet a paper towel a little, Wren heard the bathroom door
open. Wren mentally prepared a snappy little comeback to Kelly's dumb
comments. Then she realized it wasn't Kelly. It was Lita, a girl from her
Math class. She was very tall and had brown hair, darker than Wren's, tied
up into a ponytail. Lita smiled at Wren.
"Hey Wren. I heard Kelly and the squad yukking it up outside and I
thought maybe I could help you out."
"You can? Ooooh, thank!" exclaimed Wren with a grin.
"No problem. Any enemy of Kelly's is a friend of mine. I have a
uniform in my locker. It doesn't fit me, but it would probably fit you."
"You must have a lot of friends if that's your policy. Kelly and
pals hate everyone. Personally, I think she turned her curling iron up a
few notches too high and crisped her tiny brain," Wren grinned even more,
"And, thanks again. Nellie's breath is terrible, I'd hate to have that
stink on me all day."
"What's a Nellie?"
"My dog, the one Kim was supposed to walk this morning but didn't."
"Oh, your sister?"
"No, my brother."
"Ahhh....." said Lita, a little lost.
Wren sighed. "My parents named him after a friend, who was
incidentally also a guy. Everyone thought it was too feminine. So by the
time I came along, they were sick of the whole name/gender thing, so they
gave me a name that could go either way."
"Oooohhhh," said Lita. Then she squinted. "Hey! Is it just this
funky lighting, or are your eyes two different colours?"
"Actually, yeah. Most people don't notice that. It isn't a big
difference. My left eye is greenish-gray and her right is grayish-green."
"That is so cool!" Lita exclaimed. "Well, I'd better go get that
uniform from my locker for you. Be right back!"
True to her word, Lital returned within a minute with the uniform.
Wren accepted it gratefully, and they talked a bit more before Lita had to
go meet her friends. Wren changed into the clean skirt. It was a good
thing these were all one-size-fits-all-except-maybe-Lita jobs.
Kelly giggled inanely at Wren as she passed her in the hall. Has
she been eating retard sandwiches again? wondered Wren as she noticed
Kelly frantically adjust her uniform and toss her hair. Uh-oh, looked like
Kelly was about to 'flirt'. Wren followed Kelly's gaze. Sure enough,
really cute guy.
He was pretty amazing, older than them, with dark hair and blue
eyes. He was carrying a little pink bag with a rabbit print all over it,
which made him look a little silly, and seemed to be looking for someone.
Kelly walked over and started to talk to him. Wren could tell by
the expression on the guy's face (that of barely-controlled amusement)
that Kelly was doing what she defined as 'flirting', which basically
consisted of chattering on and on and on, giggling a lot, and smiling
inanely. The guy wanted out desperately but was a little too polite to get
rid of the persistent Kelly easily. Ugh, now Kelly was twirling her
perfectly curled hair around her fingertip...Suddenly, Wren heard an
electric crackling sound. Kelly yelped and touched her hair, which was now
incredibly staticky and sticking up around her head, making her look like
a medusa. She stammered and ran off. The cute guy cracked up when she was
out of earshot. Still laughing, we waded through the crowds of people.
Wren chuckled as she walked to Geography. She had no idea how that
had happened to Kelly, but it couldn't have happened at a better time...it
really made her day. She was still chuckling a little when she suddenly
felt dizzy and stumbled. She leaned on a wall for support until she felt a
little better. I must be coming down with something, she thought.
* * * *
Bowenite frowned and looked up from a book he had been reading.
Could that have really been---------? How was that possible?
With a small frown on his face, he snapped his fingers to call up
an image....
* * * *
After school a bit later that week, Wren was walking home from
school (she didn't take the bus back because she liked to think on the
walk home) when she spotted a little red-haired girl crying by the side of
the road, near the docks. Wren quickly walked over.
"What's the matter? Can I help?" she asked as she knelt down
beside the little girl.
"I...I....lost my Sailor Moon doll behind those boxes and I can't
reach!" the girl sniffed a little. Wren handed her a kleenex.
"I'll see what I can do. What's your name?" asked Wren as she
looked behind the boxes. Sure enough, there was the doll, wedged there
solidly. She tried to lift a box....way to heavy. I have to work on my arm
strength, Wren thought, I am such a wimp.
"My name is Melissa," said the girl. She had stopped crying and
now watched Wren with interest.
Wren stuck her arm in and fished around a little. There wasn't
too much room. Wren could almost feel the doll's hair just beyond her
fingertips...She angled herself a bit more and reached further. Now she
could touch the hair, but she was stretching as far as she could and she
still couldn't grab it enough to pull it out. Her arm began to feel
extremely warm. Am I really that out of shape? She wondered as sge
frowned, preparing to tell the kid there was nothing she could do.
Suddenly, the doll was in her hand! Wren didn't care to think
exactly what was behind those boxes that had knocked the doll in her hand
(but of course she remembered rats anyways), so she quickly pulled the
doll out, dusted if off, and handed it to Melissa.
Melissa cheered and hugged Wren's legs. "Thank you!" she giggled
and ran off, yelling some song from a shampoo commercial. Wren's sleeve
was a little dirty, but she was glad she helped the kid out. She continued
down the street, cheerful at having done her good deed for today.
Not too long after, she met Lita and four other girls outside the
arcade.
"Hey, Wren!" called Lita. Wren walked over.
"Hey, Lita!" she smiled.
"Wren, these are my friends. That's Serena with the unique hairdo
(Holy crow those look like meatballs! Wren couldn't help but think),
there's Ami, with the blue hair, reading the book...hey, stop that! The
French test isn't until next week! Hmm, where was I....right, that's Mina
with the long blonde hair and the bow, and there's Rei. Mina and Rei go to
different schools than us."
The girls smiled at her, and Wren smiled, too. Somehow, she felt
like she already knew them a little, like it was right that she be there
with them...Wren reminded herself that this was goofy.
"So, you want to join us? Serena wants to try out a new game,
Andrew said she could have first shot at it!" Lita said.
"Sure! Who's Andrew?"
So they went into the arcade. Wren met Andrew, who was very nice
to her and noticed her mismatched eyes. Wren thought he was cute, but she
noticed Lita was pretty obsessed over him. They were all having a fun
afternoon, talking and goofing off. Wren was just sitting down in front of
the new game when suddenly her eyes blurred, she felt dizzy, and she felt
her stomach heave a little. It was not a pleasant sensation, and she
gripped the edge of the counter to make herself feel less dizzy and
hopefully calm her stomach...
"Are you okay, Wren! You look terrible!" Serena said, eyes wide.
"Oh, good job, Serena! Insult her!" frowned Rei, poking Serena.
"I didn't mean it like that! I meant she doesn't look healthy!"
whined Serena, rubbing her shoulder, "Hey, I think I have a bruise now!"
"Wren, are you okay?" asked Mina, looking over from a Sailor V
game.
"Yes, Wren, you look sick!" Ami said, peering at her.
"I think I am sick..." said Wren. The nausea had stopped, but she
felt a little shakey still. "I think maybe I should go home," she said
reluctantly as she slowly stood up. Lita frowned.
"Aw, that sucks! But you're probably right, you should go lie
down!" she said. Wren got her bag.
"Thanks, guys....see you later! Nice meeeting you, Andrew!" she
waved as she went out the door. The other girls waved back, still looking
concerned. I really feel like I know them, Wren thought with puzzlement.
She made it home, still feeling lousy.
As soon as she got through the door, her brother Kim walked over
to her, newspaper in hand.
"Whoo, Wren, you look a little pale there," He put his hand on her
forehead to check her temperature. "You're a little warm, too." He frowned.
Wren looked up at him. He should really have a girlfriend by now,
she thought. Kim was pretty good-looking. He had brown hairs like hers
except wavy (Wren knew he secretly wanted straight hair---she had no idea
why) and hazel eyes. He was also way too picky about who he dated.
"I think I'll go lie down," she smiled at him as she walked
upstairs to her room. She found she had a headche, too, and fell asleep
shortly after her head hit the pillow.
* * * *
Bowenite, Lucinite, Scheelite, and Variscite peered at the image
of the sleepong girl for a minute longer, then Bowenite dismissed it.
"so you feel that his is the best plan of action?" he asked,
raising his eyebrows.
"I don't like it, and I have no idea why Variscite even suggested
this!" frowned Lucinite. He looked angry.
"Getting bored here. When do I get to kill something?" Scheelite
demanded, pouting.
"Soon," Bowenite's eyes gleamed, "Soon."
* * * *
After her nap, Wren felt much better and was fine for the rest of
the week. She was pleasantly surprised when Mina phoned that Friday to ask
her if she wanted to see a movie with them. Wren agreed, and soon found
herself standing outside the movie theater, looking at the titles they
were showing.
"Why don't we just see that Romance movie?" demanded Serena with a
pout.
"Serena, variety IS the spice of life you know. You should expand
your mind, like with the documentary about New Zealand playing in theater
three!" said Ami. Everyone just looked at her for a second, then continued.
"Hey, look! A vampire movie!" said Rei. "I wonder if it's any good."
"Vampires.........naaaaaaaah," said Mina. They all nodded in
agreement.
"I guess it's the romance after all...nothing else good is
showing, and Serena really wants to see it," said Wren. Serena grinned and
skipped into the theater.
"I hope the lead guy is cute!" Lita followed soon after. Ami
sighed. So much for New Zealand.
* * * *
"Yeah, that lead guy looked just like my old boyfriend!" said Lita
when they emerged from the theater a couple of hours later. Wren wondered
why everyone groaned.
"That movie was soooo good!" Serena mumbled through a mouthful of
popcorn.
"Wow, Serena, that's three buckets of popcorn so far! When do you
stop pigging out?" scolded Rei.
"Come on, Rei, you had two yourself, and I saw you finish Wren's!"
Serena retorted.
"The rest of Wren's third! She can pack it away almost as good as
Serena!" sniffed Rei.
"Well, it's really good popcorn," said Wren defensively as she
laughed and popped her hand into Serena's popcorn. Serena giggled and
swatted at Wren's hand.
"I think the hoodlum over there didn't eat as much as she threw
when Wren and Mina threw it over half the theater in that popcorn war,"
said Ami.
"Those guys started it. By the way, I never got to congratulate
you on that awesome throw you made! He deserved to have popcorn lodged in
his right nostril!" laughed Mina.
"Right nostril? How is THAT possible?" demanded Lita.
"Well, she really whipped it and---on, no! That movie was way
late, you guys! Grandpa's gonna have a fit, I'd better get back to the
Temple!" Rei grabbed a last handful of Serena's popcorn.
Wren looked at Ami's watch. Uh-oh. She was royally in for it, too.
They all said quick goodbyes and hurried off home.
Wren arrived at her door step out of breath. She grabbed the
handle. Locked...right, her parents were out at dinner and her brother was
actually out on a date. She knew her parents were due home any second.
Wren gulped. Her parents weren't going to be pleased...now only had she
missed curfew, she had forgotten her keys. Her parents were big on being
responsible. She considered telling them she had been waiting for hours,
but dismissed that idea. Her parents always knew when she was lying, she
had a horrible face for that. The situation did not look good. She saw a
car coming down the street. Desperately, she gave the knob another try.
Locke---no, wait...she opened the door and locked it behind her. Looked
like she had been wrong the first time. Or had she?
She ran upstairs and changed into her pajamas (which consisted of
a t-shirt and flannel plaid pants). As she moved to turn out the light,
she suddenly felt dizzy.
"Oh no, not again!" she mumbled as she switched the light off and
stumbled across the dark room to her bed. She heard the door open and her
parent's voices. Just in time. As she waited for the nausea to dwindle, she
thought about the door again.
Her parents always locked the door when they went out and
double-checked it. She could have sworn that the door was locked when she
had tried it the first time. It just seemed so odd....and then she had
gotten dizzy and warm again. It could have been from the stress and
running, but these little coincedences were happening far too often lately...
Wren didn't think about it anymore, mostly because she was asleep.
* * * *
Later that week, Wren was walking home from school again when her
brother's blue car pulled up next to her. She stopped and the window rolled
down. Kim leaned out.
"Wren! Did you forget we have to go to the mall today to pick up
mom's birthday present?"
Wren noticed he had a girl beside him. She had silvery hair tied
back into a half ponytail. Wren thought she was pretty and silently
congratulated her brother. So that's where he's been lately, she smiled to
herself. No wonder. Then, the girl smiled at Wren. For some reason that
smile gave Wren the creeps.
"This is Daphne, Wren. Daphne, my sister, Wren," said Kim, "Now,
um, Wren, do you mind getting in? Daphne and I wanted to go see a movie in
an hour, so we really don't have much time." Wren nodded and got into the
back seat.
* * * *
As they walked back through the mall after picking up their
mother's gift, Wren noticed that Daphne was definitely staring at someone.
Wren looked...and recognized the cute guy she had seen at school a while
back, who she now knew was Serena's boyfriend, Darian. She still hadn't
met him but he sounded very nice and was always buying her roses. Wren
thought that was sweet. But why was Daphne staring at him with such an odd
expression? Was he Daphne's ex or what? When she looked at Daphne again,
Daphne was once again paying attention to what Kim was saying. Wren
scowled to herself but was jolted from her thoughts when Kim poked her
arm.
"Earth to Wren, did you hear me?" Kim asked, smiling at her.
"Huh? What? Um, did you say something?" Wren was confused.
"Yes I did. I asked if you wouldn't mind taking the package home
with you...see, the movie's about to start and we don't have any time. WE
can just make it if we leave now..." Kim looked guilty. Wren knew he just
wanted to spend time with his girlfriend, so she agreed. Kim handed her the
package and slung his arm around Daphne's shoulder as they walked out the
main exit.
Wren sighed and walked towards another exit, one that had less
parking lot to cross and would be faster for her. She was just crossing
the parking lot when she suddenly heard an explosion. Wren looked around
wildly until she located its source....the roof!
Wren could just make out two figures...one wore gray and had blonde
hair, the other was wearing a tuxedo and a cape!
"Tuxedo Mask really exists!" Wren said in wonder.
The man in gray lobbed a fireball at Tuxedo Mask, who jumped
nimbly aside. Wren saw that the man in gray was slowly guiding Tuxedo Mask
with the fireballs to land closer and closer to the edge of the roof...
Wren's observations were very accurate unfortunately. As Tuxedo
Mask was landing, the man in gray suddenly kicked him in the chest with
phenominal, inhuman force, and Tuxedo Mask went over the edge!
The breath knocked out of him, he somehow grabbed at a narrow ledge
about a foot down from the rooftop. Wren marveled at his agility. Tuxedo
Mask looked down and saw the six-story drop to the concrete below. He
started to pull himself up, but the man in gray had advanced to the edge
of the roof by then and stomped on Tux's hand. Wren heard the crunch even
from her vantage point in the parking lot. Tuxedo Mask grunted with pain.
The boot came down again, this time grinding Tux's hand under his heel.
Tuxedo Mask stifled a cry of pain and lost his grip with one hand.
Meanwhile, the man in gray laughed.
He's done for if he doesn't get up now! Wren's mind screamed. Get
up! Get up! Get up! You have to pull yourself up! And them Tuxedo Mask
suddenly sailed upwards, as if a pushed by a giant hand! In one smooth,
lightning-quick motion, he reached into his jacket with his good hand,
pulled out a rose, and hurled it at the man in gray, who screamed as it
slashed into his shoulder! The man in gray looked down to the parking lot
and glared at Wren!
Dammit, he saw me! Wren turned and ran as the man in gray snarled
and winked out of sight with a brilliant rain of red sparkles.
* * * *
Wren got a few blocks away before she suddenly got so dizzy she
collapsed on someone's front lawn. She felt violently ill again, and she
lay there staring at a goofy garden gnome as she waited for the feeling to
pass.
He saw me! Wren knew that couldn't be good. Who was that guy in
gray? He didn't seem human at all! The man had seen her and knew she had
interfered. Wren gasped. Had she? She remembered how Tuxedo Mask had been
lifted and knew that it had not been his doing. No one else had been
around, as it had been past mall closing time. Which left only her.
Wren groaned. What is happening to me?
* * * *
Lucinite hissed with pain as Variscite applied a cloth to his bare
shoulder.
"I almost had him! HOW! How did that happen?" he was shouting.
"Shh," said Variscite as she wrung the cloth out. Green,
blood-tinted water poured into a handy helmet she used as a bowl. "Are you
sure it was the girl?"
"Not entirely. I didn't get a positive ID on her. But I'm pretty
sure. We'll have to watch her closely now." Lucinite watched as Variscite
wound a bandage around his arm. "Good job," he said as he moved his arm a bit.
"I aim to please," said Variscite as she slowly smiled.
* * * *
A few days later, Wren was walking home from school. She had not
to tell anyone what she had seen, because she had no idea who would
believe her when she said she had seen Tuxedo Mask, and also knew it would
involve a question or three that she couldn't answer. In fact, Wren was
just thinking about these questions when she heard a metallic snapping
sound. She looked up and was paralyzed with fear as she watched a steam
beam from a construction site high above her hurtle towards her! She
started to dive away but knew that she was too late and braced herself for
what she thought was either certain death or the loss of an important limb
or two....
"You okay, miss?" called a voice. Wren cautiously opened an eye.
Then the other. There was the beam, just inches away from her head.
"You okay, miss?" Wren looked up to the construction site and saw
two workers staring at her, pale faced. "We thought you were a goner fer
sure, but it just missed you. Good thing, eh? Now that was lucky!" he chuckled
weakly.
"Um, yeah..." was all Wren could say. Luck, my ass! She thought.
It happened again! She got up shakily and tottered down the street....
"We have got to be more careful, Bill. First we almost squashed
that blue-haired girl, now this one," said one worker sadly to his
partner, who nodded in agreement as he scratched my head.
"I don't mean to sound ingrateful, but I could swear the beam was
going to make her a pancake!"
* * * *
The four generals smiled as they watched Wren walk down the
street, towards her home. Bowenite snapped his fingers and nodded to
Scheelite.
"That does it," he said, "We have her now. You know what to do."
Scheelite laughed and teleported away in a flash of neon green.
* * * *
The Sailor Scouts, or Serena, Rei, Ami, Lita, and Mina as they
were more often called, were sitting around behind the Temple. They had a
rare visitor to their meetings, Darian.
"What did the girl look like?" Mina asked him.
"Well, she had the same school uniform as Serena and Ami...maybe
you two know her. She had brown hair and eyes that were either grey or
green...I was on a roof after all, so I couldn't really tell." He paused a
moment. "I think I saw her before, that day I gave Serena her lunch a
while ago...I think she was coming out of the bathroom, and she had a
uniform in her hands. I can remember thinking that her eyes were mismatched."
"Wren!" gasped Lita in alarm.
"That description sounded awfully familiar, didn't it, Artemis?"
said Luna. Artemis frowned and nodded in agreement.
* * * *
Wren arrived on her front porch. She had been delayed, of course,
when she had needed to stop for a while to let a dizzy spell pass. No
surprise that time. Her stomach was tied into knots, for once not because
of nausea.
It had happened again! Why is this happening to me! What is wrong
with me! She couldn't get her mind off it. Things had gone strange on her
too often to be coincedence. I should be dead now, that beam should have
slaughtered me....She couldn't believe she had ever wanted more excitement.
Now, weird things happened to her constantly with no explanation at all!
Wren was startled from her thoughts when she realized how quiet
her house was. She knew her parents would be home by now, and certainly
Kim should be....she should be hearing him blast his Doughboys CD by now.
Wren quietly went upstairs. She had a feeling calling out would be a bad idea.
She slowly opened the door to the den...
"Hello!" called out a cheery voice. Wren looked around and felt
her world stop.
She knew where her family was.
They were all dead.
Wren swayed a bit as she stumbled into the room, shocked. Their
hacked-up remains lay in a gory heap in a corner, like so much garbage.
The blood, oh God, the blood....Wren felt like her heart had exploded, the
world had turned and left here there. She felt like an empty void, except
for a painful ache. The force grew in her...They were all dead. Mom, Dad,
Kim...
"I am Scheelite, welcome to your nightmare!"
The voice had come from a lady in the center of the room. Wren
recognized the uniform through tear-blurred eyes. Them again.
Scheelite tossed her neon pink hair and laughed at Wren.
Wren felt her blood grow hot, like the fire in a volcano...
"You don't have a chance!" laughed Scheelite.
Her family, all dead....Wren's eyes glowed green.
"You....will....pay," she growled, tears streaming down her face,
gasping with a sob between each word. Without knowing why, she moved her
hands out in front of herself, palms pointing at Scheelite.
Scheelite laughed and swung her bloody sword as she advanced...
Wren's tears sparkled like emeralds in the bright green light
which grew steadier and stronger as she felt the forces within her boil
and she gasped with the terrible pain....She couldn't contain it any longer...
Green energy flowed from her, flowed down her arms, through her
hands, bursting forth from her palms, and exploded into Scheelite with
such force that Scheelite was thrown backwards! Wren stumbled back a few
steps from the backlash and was barely aware that there were other people
in the room now..
The green light poured over Scheelite, enveloping her and wracking
her with pain unimaginable and unendurable. Scheelite screamed, a
horrible, continuous wail, tortured beyond belief. The glowing force held
Scheelite in the air, stretched her and held her immobile as she started
to disintergrate...there was a final flare of brilliant green, a flash
like the winking of sunlight on an emerald, and the energy was gone. There
remained no trace of Scheelite save a few neon sparkles which faded as
Wren watched. Then Wren collapsed, unconcious.
* * * *
Wren sat up slowly and immediately vomited. Her body was wracked
with spasms, her vision blurred. She was so dizzy she had no idea where up
and down were. She felt someone holding her up. As Wren continued to
shake, she looked up weakly to see a masked face peering down at her with
concern.
"Will she be all right, Luna? She was out cold for hours," Tuxedo Mask
steadied Wren as she vomited again.
"I think so," said the slender black cat. Wren vaguely wondered
why a cat could talk. She looked around briefly and her mind came sharply
into focus again. Wren saw that she was in her den still, which was
looking a little scorched. There was another cat, a white one, and five
girls her age wearing bizarre sailor type uniforms with short skirts. They
looked vaguely familiar and seemed concerned...
Wren looked into the corner. Someone had mercifully covered up the
bodies with blankets, but blood was already starting to seep through. Wren
shut her eyes and turned away. She couldn't see that again, not now....It
was still too deep and fresh a wound.
"Is she a Scout like us, Luna? Artemis?" demanded the girl in
green with the ponytail. Wren's eyes widened.
"Lita?" she whispered.
"Yes," said Sailor Jupiter simply.
"Ami? Rei? Mina? Serena? You're all...Sailor Scouts?" They all nodded.
"And so are you. What planet is she?" Sailor Moon looked at Luna
and Artemis.
"None," Artemis said as he and Luna padded over to Wren.
"She isn't a Scout," said Luna.
"I thought that was the only way to explain it!" Rei said.
"Yes, we all think we knew her from the Moon Kingdom, and she has
those special powers," said Ami.
"She is not a true Sailor Scout, though she is from the Moon
Kingdom," Artemis explained.
"Oh, something like me?" Tuxedo Mask let go as Wren sat up on her own.
"Moon Kingdom? I think....I can remember a little now. I think
it's coming back," Wren murmured.
"Okay, Luna! Artemis! Spill it! What's the deal here?" Sailor Moon
was getting a little impatient.
"Hmm...where to start," thought Luna out loud.
"Start with the part about the magic," Artemis said helpfully.
"Right. There exists in the universe a powerful force, the magic.
The Negaverse has a fairly strong affinity for it, at least compared to
humans.
"Among humans, the Talent to wield magic is rare, and rarer still
are those who have the wisdom and heart to wield it well, to control the
magic instead of vice versa.
"In the Moon Kingdom, one person such as this had the position in
Queen Serenity's court, that of Magist."
Artemis broke in, "It was the Magist who made the Moon Tiara, the
Moon Wand, the Moon Scepter, the Luna Pen, the Power Sticks....maybe even
talking cat guardians, too."
"Right," confirmed Luna. "Queen Beryl knew that the Magist was a
powerful ally, and so she attempted to coerce the current Magist into
serving her, much like she tried with Prince Darian. The difference being,
she succeeded with the Magist."
"But what about Wren? SHE wasn't that Magist, was she?" Sailor
Mars demanded.
"Certainly NOT! I was just getting there, really, Rei." She
frowned and cleared her throat. "The Magist had an apprentice, which would
be Wren. She was the Magist's only student, and she didn't want to help
Queen Beryl. So, she took her master's spellbook, the Codex Enchantra,
her master's spellbook, thus weakening him a great deal. Beryl thought the
Magist was of no use to her without the Codex, and so she slew him. To his
credit, he still managed to put up a good fight before Beryl squashed him
like the bastard of a worm he was," Luna fairly spat the last sentence out.
"Luna!" Artemis was shocked. So were the Sailor Scouts. They all
stared at her.
"Well, I'm allowed," said Luna defensively. "Anyways. In the
Battle, the Codex and the apprentice were thought to be destroyed."
"But, um, Wren's still here," pointed out Sailor Venus.
Mercury carried the idea further. "If Wren survived, isn't it
extremely likely that the Codex survived also?"
"Oooh, hey, that's right!" exclaimed Sailor Moon.
"It could very well be so. If it does, the Negaverse is looking
for it!" Luna said.
"But we blew the Negaverse out of existence!" said Jupiter.
"It was never IN existence technically, Jupiter!" retorted Luna.
"Huh?" said everyone in unison.
"Nevermind! Look, just because Beryl is gone doesn't mean there
are no more people from the Negaverse! As I recall, Wren just annihilated
one right here!" Luna said irritably.
"And I fought one," said Tuxedo Mask,"Which reminds me. Thank you, Wren.
You saved my ass back there." Wren blushed.
"I think that was Lucinite, based on your description," Artemis
stated, "Which implies his commander may be involved, that Bowenite
character, the one with the braid and the scar. He was very powerful,
ranked behind Malachite, I believe."
"Possibly he was more powerful, Beryl didn't like him
second-guessing her about the Codex," said Luna.
"So, doesn't this all make Wren the Magist now?" said Sailor Mars.
"Indeed, she is," said Luna.
"But, I can't control magic!" protested Wren.
"You will have to learn to," replied Luna gravely.
"If it doesn't kill me first! I can't use magic without getting
woozy!" cried Wren.
"Magic is powerful and dangerous stuff. Your body is not used to
such punishment. If you don't learn to control the magic and just let it
go wild in bursts as it has been, it will consume you and destroy you!"
Luna stared straight into Wren's eyes. Wren blinked.
"And the Negaverse is looking for you. You are a threat to them
because of your Talent. They will try to kill you. Your best defense is
the very magic they want." Artemis said softly.
"I have no choice, do I?" Wren stated flatly.
"You always have a choice. This is merely the best one," replied Luna.
Wren sighed, took a moment, and accepted her fate. "But where do I
go now? I'm not safe here. The Negaverse can find me here."
"You will stay in Darian's apartment, at least for now, as you
train. He will be an ideal guardian." Artemis said. Tuxedo Mask nodded in
agreement.
"I'll do it. Not only do I owe her for her help against Lucinite,
but also for saving me from that crazy girl!" he smiled at her. Wren
smiled, too, slowly. Her heart wasn't in it. She couldn't truly smile now.
"So...Kelly's electric shock, that doll getting into my hand, the
locked door opening,the force pushing Tuxedo Mask up, the steel beam
missing me....all the magic?" Wren asked.
"Yes. The magic did it all, wildly discharging at any opportunity.
A simple electric shock --you can work up to more deadly lighting
bolts---, telekinesis, 'knock'-ing open doors, force fields---these are
all things the magic can do, and many more," explained Artemis.
"Lighting? Like my attacks?" said Jupiter,"I thought the Sailor
Scouts were unique in our abilities!"
"Not really. The magic handles it all: Fire, Electricity, Water,
Acids, you name it, magic does it. Even simple things, like chilling a
glass of water nicely," stated Luna.
"You got a lot of variety there. I can just jump around, spin a
cane, and slice people with roses," said Tuxedo Mask.
"But you do it with *style*!" Serena gushed.
"Yay," stated Wren flatly. Suddenly, everyone heard a thumping
noise on the stairs.
"Something is coming!" whispered Sailor Mars. They all readied
themselves to fight a Negaverse villain. Wren stood shakily. There was a
scratching sound at the door. The Scouts and Tuxedo Mask stared intently
at the door. Wren sighed and put her hand on the doorknob.
"What are you doing?!" hissed Luna.
"Opening the door, DUH,"said Wren with a frown. She twisted the
knob and pulled the door open.
The Scouts were slack-jawed in amazement as the Negaverse creep
they expected, didn't show. Well, if this was a denizen of that Dark
Kingdom, it wasn't terribly frightening. Except to Artemis and Luna, who
immediately leapt for their respective owner's arms in fear.
"Nellie!" cried Wren as she hugged the shaggy sheepdog. Nellie
wagged her tail and panted, grinning stupidly at everyone, who relaxed.
Except Tuxedo Mask, who shrank back and sneezed a silly sounding sneeze,
one goofy little "ah-choo!" that sounded totally innappropriate.
"That's a dog!" snorted Artemis in disgust.
"Right, it's Nellie, my sheepdog," said Wren, laughing as Nellie
licked her face.
"So now I have two new roommates," said Tuxedo Mask with a sigh.
And another little sneeze. Sailor Moon grinned. She knew he was allergic
to dogs. It was sweet of him to let Wren keep Nellie in his apartment. She
mentally reminded herself to pick up some allergy relieving pills for him.
Nellie bounded over to investigate the Scouts.
"Don't worry, Luna, Artemis----Nellie's gentle, she couldn't hurt
a fly, and very very friendly!" said Wren.
"Oh, goody," spat Luna as Nellie pawed at her, "Now, then, collect
a few necessities so you can move into Darian's apartment. We'll be
dropping by soon, probably tomorrow." Luna hopped up to the windowsill and
jumped out to climb a tree down. Artemis followed closely on her heels.
Sailors Mars, Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter each gave Wren a quick
hug before they left, too. Wren went to get a few things, Nellie
scampering behind her. That left only Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask in the room.
"I hope you're okay with this," Tuxedo Mask drew her into his arms.
"Of course I am," Sailor Moon murmured as she rested her head on
his chest.
"I can tell you're a bit bothered by the situation. But you have
nothing to worry about. I love you and only you."
"I know you're just doing this for her to be nice. *I* know you're
allergic to dogs. I'll try to pick you up something for that at the
drugstore."
"Thank you Serena."
Sailor Moon also knew he had another reason for wanting to help
Wren: sympathy. He, too, had lost his family in a tragic circumstances. As
usual, Luna had thought this over very carefully. Staying with someone who
understood would do Wren a whole lot of good.
Sailor Moon gave Tuxedo Mask a quick kiss goodbye and then
followed the others. Tuxedo Mask went over to the window to watch her, as
Serena, walk down the street. He shifted back into Darian and turned as
Wren appeared in the doorway with a knapsack.
"Ready to go?" he asked.
"Not quite."
"I'll wait outside, then. Take as long as you need." He shut the
door gently behind him.
Wren sighed and walked over to the corner where the corpses were.
For a moment she stood there, fists clenched. But she did not cry.
"They *will* pay," Wren's eyes glowed briefly. Then, she turned
and walked from what used to be her home.
* * * *
It was very hard for Wren to adjust to her new surroundings. While
Darian's apartment was nice, his idea of 'personal decorating touches'
were, say, a potted plant or a throw rug. And lots of books (Wren was a
bit surprised he was such a bookworm). Compared to Wren's house, which her
mother had crammed full of knick-knacks and antique junk, Darian's place
was pretty stark and barren.
Nellie had no trouble at all adjusting, because she was just so
stupid she probably didn't even notice the change.
Wren felt a bit like an intruder, as welcoming as Darian was. This
was Darian's spare room, Darian's kitchen where Darian cooked (not very
well), Darian's washroom where Darian...that was another problem. Why did
he have to be so handsome? And so forgetful he wasn't alone in the
apartment. Darian's big adjustment was learning to operate doors; close
them when needed and remembering not to open them without checking if they
were closed for a reason first. Needless to say, there had been a few small
incidents, which naturally don't need to be recorded here. Moving right
along...
Saturday was spent finding furniture and moving things around for
Wren's room. It was necessary that this be done quickly. Wren was
uncomfortable using Darian's room and Darian was uncomfortable sleeping on
his old couch due to a few sharp springs.
So it was with due reason that they were both exhausted by the end
of the day. When Luna and Artemis arrived, they were both sprawled on
chairs in the living room, vegging out in front of the T.V.
"Why are you guys watching that stupid show? I thought you both
hated cop shows," Artemis remarked as he looked at the screen.
"We do," stated Darian.
"It's just that the remote control is over on that table," Wren
finished.
"Right between you two," Luna observed.
"You're both as lazy as Serena!" scolded Artemis.
"Yup," replied Darian.
"Well, it doesn't matter anyways," Luna turned the T.V. off,"We
have more important matters to discuss. Like Wren and her magic."
"Aww, Luna, do I have to right now? I'm really sore and really
tired." whined Wren.
"I'm getting this deja vu feeling here," Artemis frowned. Wren
snuggled deeper into her blanket. Luna leapt on top of Wren's head,
startling Wren, who yelped and sat up. Luna jumped down onto the table
with the remote control.
"First order of business, Wren: your spellbook."
"Spellbook?"
"Spellbook. If you're going to learn, you'll need to study every
day. Your spellbook is the means to do so."
"Oh, sure. I'll pop on over to Coles and pick one up," Wren said
caustically. Darian grinned. His attitude seemed to be rubbing off on her.
"Ha-ha-ha, Wren. No, you already have it in your pocket dimension."
"My WHA-"
"Your pocket dimension is a small personal space only you can
access with your magic, which lets you store things," Luna interrupted,
having anticipated the need to explain,"It was your very first project as
the Magist's apprentice. He made me one as well."
"How do I use it?"
Artemis answered this time. "Concentrate very hard on a thick
brown book with gold trimmings, and hold out your hands."
Wren closed her eyes and visualized the book Artemis described.
Surprisingly, the image came to mind easily. For a moment or two, nothing
happened. Then, without warning, the book was in her hands! Wren almost
dropped it in surprise. It was very heavy, and the leather cover felt
familiar in her hands. I've held this book before, she realized. In the
Moon Kingdom. And it was then that Wren was convinced without a doubt that
she was who Luna and Artemis said she was.
The book was also very big. Wren frowned. She liked to read, but
this was pushing it.
"Yes, you have to read it," sighed Luna as she saw the expression
on Wren's face,"And if you think that's big, wait until you see the Codex
Enchantra!"
"Eegh," muttered Wren as she put the book aside.
"We've also figured out a way to let you practice using your
magic," Artemis said.
"Oh, really?" Wren mumbled. She was still a little overwhelmed by
that huge spellbook.
"This time, Wren, concentrate on a small, round brooch, exactly
like the ones the Scouts have, except dark gray," urged Luna.
"Can do," replied Wren. This time, she tried to visualize it
without closing her eyes. Might as well not look like a total shmuck while
I do this, she thought with a little smile.
The brooch appeared out of nowhere in her hand. The gray stone
gleamed and sparkled. Wren thought it was quite pretty and couldn't recall
ever seeing anything like it on this world.
"The brooches the Sailor Scouts have don't actually Do anything,
but yours does. It functions like the Luna Pen, only with a few more tricks."
"Luna Pen? What's a--oh, nevermind. What can the brooch do?" Wren
tossed it lightly into the ear and deftly caught it.
"Please, don't do that. Anyways, your brooch is designed to shield
you from being identified, even by those who know you. A sort of mental
blur. you also can't be recorded on tape or camera."
"Why would I ever need THAT?" Wren enquired.
"Sure would make yearbook pictures and Christmas card photos a
drag," commented Darian, who had been watching with interest.
"I wasn't finished. It's extremely useful when you use it to
assume a Sailor Scout identity." Luna continued, a little miffed at these
constant interruptions.
"A what?" shrieked Wren and Darian in unison.
"You will train in magic by working with the Sailor Scouts. The
best way to do that is to look like one, too!" Artemis replied.
"You're kidding, right?" demanded Wren. She frowned and petted
Nellie, who had wandered into the room. Darian discretely moved distanced
himself from the dog. He pulled out a kleenex and prepared for his
allergies to set in...
"No, we're not. We rarely do," replied Artemis.
"Try it out, Wren," prompted Luna.
"Okay, here goes," said Wren. She held the brooch and concentrated
for a second.
She felt a power flow over her, washing over her body in a rain of
sparkling light and warmth. Wren closed her eyes and reveled in the magic
as it altered her outward appearance.
She felt the magic dwindle and realized the transformation had
actually happened in the blink of an eye. A pity, it felt so good to be
bathed in magic...
Wren realized she was now wearing a the short-skirted uniform of a
Sailor Scout. Her skirt was a stormy gray colour, as well as the heeled
boots she wore, which resembled Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury's. The
brooch was attached to the bow on her chest, which was yellow. The trim on
the tops of her boots were also yellow, as well as the bow in back. She
looked in a nearby mirror and saw that she wore a tiara with a gray stone
and a gray choker.
"Where did Nellie go?" she wondered out loud.
"Your dog ran from the room, barking up a storm as you transformed,"
Darian reported.
"She's afraid of me?" Wren asked, hurt.
"Yes. Dogs are notoriously fearful of magic, yet another reason
the Sailor Scouts have guardian CATS," said Luna.
"That's terrible! My own dog hates me!" Wren said.
"To be perfectly honest, yes. At least as long as you are using
magic. When you're not, Nellie will react to you as she usually does."
Artemis said gently. Wren frowned.
* * * *
"Would it help of I stood with my arms out, like an antenna?" smirked
Lucinite as he lounged against a wall near Bowenite, who glared at him and
snapped his fingers to dismiss the scrying image, which had suddenly become
fuzzy and distorted.
"You fail to amuse me, Lucinite," snarled Bowenite.
"Ah, but you must admit, this certainly isn't a good turn of events.
We rely a great deal on being able to scry on the girl."
"Could it be that silly brooch the cats gave her? They did mention
something about concealing magic," Variscite said.
"No, that puny effect only worked on mere humans or when she has used
the brooch to transform into her new Sailor girl costume," Bowenite replied.
"Then how did...?" Variscite trailed off.
"Uncertain. No matter, there are ways around not being able to scry
on her directly. We needn't worry about it."
"We would certainly not have to worry if we just eliminated the girl
now instead of letting her gain power!" Lucinite growled.
"Do not question me, Lucinite! No, we shall test her abilities, to
see exactly how strong she is. And to see if she has as few scruples as her
former master in the Moon Kingdom...she would be quite a valuable addition to
our cause, indeed..."
"Do you honestly believe that this foolish wimp of a girl is the key
to finding the Codex Enchantra?" Variscite demanded in amazement.
"It could very well be so," Bowenite confirmed. Lucinite merely
scowled and shook his head.
* * * *
Wren shuffled softly into the kitchen, yawning.
"Tired from studying that spellbook?" Darian asked with a grin.
"Yup. But I think I found a few fun little spells...."
"Practical jokes?"
"Who, me?" Wren replied innocently.
"I wouldn't."
"Why not? And please don't say,'With great power comes great
responsibility', because I'm not Peter Parker, okay?"
"Please don't mention him, that theme song gets stuck in my head like
you wouldn't believe. And your eyes glow when you use magic. That's how I knew
what colour your eyes were from six stories up on a building."
"Oh. Hmmm....that does put a damper on things." She took a bowl from
the cupboard and rooted through the cereals there. Darian finished pouring
himself a glass of orange juice and sat down at the table. Wren noticed he
was wearing his workout clothes -why did he roll his sleeves up so much?- and
realized he must have just come back from a run. Amazing, she thought, he
smells terrific even when he's sweaty! Stay focused, girl, find food...
"Hmm...Special K, Raisin Bran, All Bran, Shredded Wheat, Cornflakes,
Oatmeal...my god, do you have anything that isn't---hello, what's this?" Wren
grinned triumphantly as she held up a box of Count Chocula cereal. Darian
blushed.
"You weren't supposed to find that," he said.
"Private stash, eh?" Wren smiled as she poured herself a bowl, "You
want some, too?"
Darian groaned. He couldn't resist anything chocolate. "Please."
Wren grinned even wider and poured another bowl. She set the bowls
down on the table and went to the fridge for the milk. She passed it to
Darian, who poured it over the chocolate-loaded puffs of who-knew-what and
passed it back. Wren poured a nice quantity over her own cereal (she liked
her cereal a little dry), then put the milk back into the fridge.
They munched in silence for a while. Wren had just brownish sludge
left in her bowl, and Darian had a few puffs left which were slowly sinking in
the brown milk. He started to dip his spoon after those (before they lost
their chocolate kick totally) but sensed Wren was about to ask him an
important question. He stiffened. He wasn't so great at stuff like this.
"Darian..." she toyed with her spoon. He looked up at her.
"Yes?"
"What happened to...my family's..."
Darian sighed. He had known this conversation was bound to happen and
had been dreading it.
"The police found them and think it was some sort of random violence.
They were cremated, as the will indicated they wished."
"I see." Wren paused for a moment.
"How is it that I'm able to stay here?"
"I called a friend in administration at my old orphanage who has
contacts in the Social Services Department. She let me become your legal
guardian with a minimum of fuss."
"Your family...is...gone...too?"
"Yes. My parents were killed in a car crash when I was really young."
Wren looked up into his eyes, tears shining in her own.
"Tell me...when does it stop hurting?"
"It doesn't, you will never forget. But friends ease the burden."
They sat there for a while together.
* * * *
Wren shut the Math textbook and let herself fall forward onto her
desk, cradling her aching head in her arms. She closed her eyes and was just
nodding off when she felt a paw touch her face. She opened one eye and saw
Artemis standing by her.
"Go 'way, kitty," she mumbled, swatting drowsily at the cat, who
leapt aside nimbly at the clumsy attack.
"Whoa, she's out of it," Artemis remarked.
"Tough. Wake up, Wren!" Luna said in a drill sergeant-like tone. Wren
suddenly found herself sitting up, blinking rapidly.
"It's the voice you use with them," Luna said smugly.
"Wren?" Artemis tested.
"Yeah?" she mumbled.
"We're here to talk to you about your Sailor Scout identity. We had a
few problems coming up with a name."
"Oh, really?" Wren said
"But we think maybe....Sailor Earth?" he tried. Darian, who had been
leaning in the doorway, frowned in puzzlement.
"Um, isn't that sort of my job?" he asked.
"Yes, but you don't wear the cute Sailor outfit, so that's not how
people think of you," Luna replied.
"Unless you want to start," suggested Wren, eyebrows raised.
"Pass," said Darian. He was a little uncomfortable at where the
conversation was going.
"Well, it's better than Artemis' other idea, 'make up a new planet',"
said Luna defensively, "That was just stupid." Artemis frowned at her. Darian
backed up a step. Those cats had sharp little claws, he wasn't getting into
the crossfire. It was hard explaining all those little scratches the next day
to Andrew...
"Why not just call me what I am, the Magist. Or Sailor Magus. Would
that work?" Wren suggested. The cats pondered it for a moment.
"It has merit," said Artemis.
"It could work," admitted Luna.
"There. Now, isn't that nice. Now go away and let me sleep," Wren
said as she put her head on her desk again.
"Not so fast. Did you study your spellbook today?" Luna demanded.
"Um, er...I-"
"Get cracking!" Luna scolded. Wren groaned and pulled out the heavy
book.
Luna and Artemis left, feeling perhaps Wren in a slightly violent
mood with a heavy book might pose a threat to their well-being. Darian left,
too, only to return a minute later with a few cans of Dr. Pepper.
"Caffeine, anyone?"
* * * *
"There. Problem solved," said Bowenite as the scrying image came into
sharp focus. It showed...a bowl of dog food.
"How exciting," commented Lucinite, "Now we know exactly what dear
Nellie is seeing. And no colour, either!"
"It's better than nothing," returned Bowenite.
"Oh, look, the dog's finally moving," said Variscite. They watched as
Wren came into view with a leash.
* * * *
Wren shut her locker door and was surprised when she looked up to see
a guy with shaggy brown hair and dark brown eyes standing there smiling at
her. Wren stood up quickly. Rob Paulson?
"Hi, Wren," he paused, looking very uncomfortable, then continued on,
quickly, "Do you know about the party on Saturday night?"
"I've heard about it," she said slowly. Rob took a deep breath.
"Would you like to go with me?" Wren's eyes widened. Then, she
yawned. This seemed to worry Rob, who was already nervous.
"Sorry. Stayed up late last night," she said sheepishly, "Party
sounds great." Rob looked relieved.
"I'll pick you up at eight-ish?" he said, "But I'll need your
address."
"Sure," Wren quickly tore out a blank page from her English notebook.
She started to write her old address down, but caught herself in time and
gave Rob Darian's -no, HER- address.
"Oh, right...see you then!" he gave her his cute crooked smile and
ran off. Wren thought she heard something along the lines of "YesYesYesYes!"
when he turned the corner. Amazing, such a cute guy still gets all nervous
when he asks a girl out. Waitaminute. He asked me out! Me! The realization
hit Wren full in the face. I have a date with one of the cutest guys in
school! Must be the 'Shine' and 'Detangle' spells I use on my hair now...I
*like* magic!
Lita, Ami, and Serena appeared.
"Wren! Buzz is you and Rob?" Serena demanded, excitedly.
"Um, yeah, just now...word travels fast."
"That's because it's Rob Paulson, he's so dreamy, he-" Lita was cut
off.
"Looks just like your old boyfriend?" said Ami, Serena, and Wren in
unison.
"How did you know?"
* * * *
Wren almost skipped home, it had been such a great day (for once). No
one had died, she hadn't almost been killed, no crazy accidents...and Kelly
had glared at her a lot. Wren realized this was because Rob had gone out with
Kelly for a while, something Wren could never understand. How could sweet,
down-to-earth Rob go out with a prima donna like Kelly?
Wren yanked out of her thoughts as she felt someone tap her shoulder.
She turned and saw silver-haired Daphne standing there.
"Wren? How are you?" Daphne asked.
"Um, getting along better..." she mumbled. Her great mood, ruined.
Did someone have to remind her about her family *every* time she was happy?
"Listen, I have something for you. Actually, Kim bought it for your
birthday and asked me to keep it so you wouldn't find it. Since your birthday
is in a few days-"
"Actually, a week."
"I thought I'd just give it to you now, in case I didn't see you
before then." Daphne thrust a package into Wren's arms. "Goodbye. Hope you
like your present!" she ran off. Poor girl, thought Wren, she must be pretty
upset about this, too...
She unwrapped the package. It was a silly plush dinosaur or
something, about a foot high. It had the goofiest grin on its face. Wren
looked at it and had to laugh.
* * * *
Daphne turned a corner and entered a dark alleyway. Standing there
a man in a gray uniform trimmed with red. He held out his arms and smiled,
green eyes twinkling.
"I gave her the 'plush toy'," said Daphne, now wearing a gray uniform
also, hers trimmed in blue-gray, and a long cape, as she out her arms around
Lucinite and smiled up at him.
"And she will be compelled to keep it?" he asked.
"Of course. Not only because of the spell, but also because she
thinks it comes from her dear departed brother." 'Daphne', really called
Variscite, laughed.
"The one you dated to collect more information on Wren?"
"The very same. Bowenite will never know she has it." He laughed, and
they kissed as they teleported back to the Negaverse.
* * * *
Wren flopped on her bad, shopping bag in her arms. Lita, Serena, Ami,
Rei, and Mina had insisted that she get a new skirt for the date. Wren rarely
wore skirts outside of school (she found them drafty) but thought maybe her
baggy grunge outfits weren't terribly appropriate either. She also thought
that maybe the Scouts were more enthusiastic about the date than she was!
She had just finished drying her hair after her shower and was
playing tug-of-war with Nellie (carefully avoiding drool) when suddenly she
felt something was wrong...something with the magic. At the same moment she
realized this, Darian burst through the door of the apartment.
"Quick! We have to go!" he shouted, holding the door open for her.
"Go where? I have a party in a half hour!" Wren said.
"That isn't important, we have to go, NOW!" Darian grabbed her arm
and pulled her out the door, slamming it behind him as he started running
down the hall. Wren has hard pressed to keep up with him and too out of
breath to ask questions when he finally stopped, in an alley.
"Transform! Quickly!" he said as he held out a rose. Wren took out
her brooch and concentrated, refreshed as the magic poured over her. When it
was gone, she was wearing the Sailor Scout uniform and next to her was a man
in a tuxedo and cape. He leaned forward and pulled up a sewer grate.
"Ladies first?" he said as he stepped aside.
"You expect me to go into the sewers?" she said in amazement.
"Yes...that's where the Negaverse is. The other Scouts are probably
down there, we have to find them!"
"But...ewww!"
"Could you just go, NOW, Sailor Magus?" Magus could tell he was
getting impatient, maybe a little angry, so she took a deep breath and
dropped down into the sewer, landing with a splash and almost falling. Tuxedo
Mask landed next to her and steadied her, then took off running down the
tunnels. Sailor Magus gagged on the horrible smell, then ran after him.
After running through the labyrinthine tunnels, guided it seemed only
by Tuxedo Mask's infallible sense of where Sailor Moon was, they finally
found the Sailor Scouts, surrounded by short, dog-like humanoids with swords.
They were under five feet tall, black or dark-brown furred, with glowing
red eyes. They howled as they slashed at the Scouts, who were having a hard
time holding them all off, as this was melee combat and the Scouts' attacks
were long-range. Sailor Moon beat at the dog-headed creatures with her
Scepter, Jupiter punched at them, Venus used her crescent beam at close range
(the only source of light for brief bursts at a time), Mars whirled in a
flurry of attacks (she was actually enjoying this test of her impressive
close combat skills), and Mercury was just getting destroyed. The Scouts were
surrounded by a veritable horde of dog-creatures which separated then from
Sailor Magus and Tuxedo Mask...Darklings? Sailor Magus seemed to remember
that this was their name...
Tuxedo Mask swore under his breath and pulled out a handful of roses,
hurling them at the Darklings, some of which had turned to attack the new
arrivals. About eight fell right there, but there were many more coming.
"We need some sort of large attack to hold then off before they
surround us, too!" yelled Tuxedo Mask as he slammed his extended cane into
one.
Magus desperately tried to remember the fireball spell, she had
studied it just last night....
"Ast...kiranann....Soth-aran/Suh kali...Jalaran..." she chanted as
she raised her hands towards the advancing creatures...the chamber lit up
with the green glow from Sailor Magus' eyes, and to her amazement, a ball of
fire materialized between her hands...she concentrated on making it bigger,
and it responded...
"Hurry!" shouted Tuxedo Mask as he swung his extended cane in an arc
to ward off the Darkling's advancement...but the cane wouldn't keep them away
forever, he knew...Sailor Mercury fell, and Sailor Moon stood over her to
protect her as best she could.
Magus had the fireball up to beachball size now...instinctively, she
felt the magic start to slide from her control...She had to use the force
before something went wrong...
"NOW!" she yelled, and released the fireball, which blossomed forth
and multiplied on size, roaring into the Darklings, who screamed as the
searing flames engulfed them. The few that survived, due to being close to
the Scouts when the attack came, turned and fled into the dark tunnels,
yelping...
"Wow! Pyro-girl the second!" said Sailor Mars.
"That was amazing!" Sailor Jupiter congratulated her. Sailor Magus
felt a bit dizzy, but otherwise fine, just a little tired. Sailor Mercury
stood.
"I'm okay, guys, I'll be fine as long as they don't swarm us like
that again."
"How are we supposed to fight them?" demanded Venus, "There are so
many!" The Darkling corpses began fading out of sight, leaving behind no
trace of their presence.
"And I think there are limits to how many times I can do that," said
Sailor Magus. She withdrew a bright flashlight from her pocket dimension and
turned it on.
"I guess we have to catch them in smaller groups and roast them with
our ranged attacks...we've never fought in close quarters like that before!"
said Mercury.
"You mean, you've never fought Darklings before?" demanded Magus.
"Darklings? How do you know what they're called? And, no." Sailor
Moon replied.
"I don't know, that's what I remembered them as. I think they were
Negaverse low-lifes, grunts in the armies. And if these aren't your usual
enemies, what do you normally fight?"
"Not stuff like that!" said Moon.
"Yeah, usually we get these deformed women with spiky shoulders and
names like Mop-head!" said Mars.
"Mop-head?" said Magus.
"Yeah, she was tough. I remember, she trapped us with these big green
vines or whatever." Sailor Jupiter said.
"You're kidding, right? Why was she called 'Mop-head' anyways?"
Sailor Magus was still astounded by that name.
"Well, she had big hair," said Sailor Jupiter.
"And she shampooed and blow-dryed it really quickly before attacking!"
said Sailor Moon.
"What does that have to do with green vines?"
"Um, nothing...but we got trapped by green vines a lot." said
Sailor Mercury.
"Oh, that is just so stupid!" Sailor Magus' head hurt. "Sure, we
have to fight the scary and dangerous monsters when I join, it can't be odd
theme monsters, like 'Mop-head'."
"She was still pretty dangerous!" said Moon.
"And we didn't even start on the tennis youma, who turned you into a
giant tennis ball, or that goofy-looking ski bunny youma, or that time
Neflite enchanted that girl's pencil, or the shadow warrior who was a boxer
and had a bell on his belt, or-" Mars was cut off by Sailor Mercury.
"Whatever. While you guys talked about the dubiously named enemies of
our past, I called up a map of these sewers on my computer and ran a program
to search for life-forms, other than things like those cockroaches on the
wall behind you, Sailor Venus."
"EW!" screeched Venus as she leapt away from the wall.
"Don't forget the rats," said Tuxedo Mask with a sigh.
"Let's hurry up and kill those stupid Darklings or whatever so we can
get out of this creepy sewer!" said Sailor Moon. Mercury nodded and led the
way, computer in hand. They began sloshing through the waters.
"It smells like poo-gas in here," whined Sailor Moon, a pigtail in
either hand to hold them clear of the water.
"Poo-gas?" Sailor Mars raised her eyebrows, "Look, don't complain. At
least you, Mercury, and Magus have boots!"
"Yeah!" said Jupiter and Venus with scowls. Tuxedo Mask tried to hold
his cape out of the water, but was failing miserably as the putrid water
soaked it thouroughly...he just gave up and stomped miserably on, muttering
to himself.
They continued through the sewers, blasting half-heartedly any
Darklings that came their way before they had a chance to close in....
"Hey, guys...there's a big concentration up ahead, all the leftovers
from the first encounter, plus all the small groups that managed to avoid
us," Mercury reported.
"No problem! Magus can just blast them all in a second!" Sailor Moon
said cheerfully. Mercury nodded in agreement. Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and
Tuxedo Mask just mumbled, but that was all they had been doing lately anyhow,
sloshing in smelly, filthy water, wondering why they didn't have boots, too,
and in Sailor Mars' case, debating whether Sailor Moon's boots were in her
size...
Magus shut off the flashlight as Mercury signalled that they were
very close to the concentration...They could all see the glowing eyes up
ahead...Magus moved to the front of the line.
"Ast kiranann Soth-aran/Suh kali Jaloran," she whispered. Her eyes
widened as instead of a fireball, she got a puff of smoke, and loud music
started booming!
"LUMP SAT ALONE IN A BOGGY MARSH, TOTALLY MOTIONLESS
EXCEPT FOR HER
HEART! MUD FLOWED UP INTO LUMP'S PAJAMAS, SHE TOTALLY
CONFUSED ALL THE
PASSING, PIRANHAS! SHE'S LUMP-"
"Oh, SH*T!" shouted Magus over the din of the Presidents of the
United States of America's catchy song, "I'm sorry, guys!"
"Where are the Ninja Turtles when you need them?" yelled Tuxedo Mask.
"Everybody attack!" screamed Sailor Mercury as the Darklings rushed
them, howling. Tuxedo Mask pulled the bewildered Sailor Magus out of the way
as the other Scouts rushed forward.
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM, SMASH!"
"JUPITER THUNDER, CRASH!"
"LUMP LINGERED LAST IN LINE FOR BRAINS---"
"MARS FIRE POWER, IGNITE!"
"MERCURY BUBBLES, BLAST!"
"MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!"
"IS LUMP FAST ASLEEP OR ROCKIN' OUT WITH THE BAND? SHE'S
LUMP, SH---"
A huge mass of Darklings fell, with the remaining few advancing...
"SHE MIGHT BE DEAD!"
Tuxedo Mask pulled out a handful of roses and slaughtered the the
leftover Darklings.
"What's this?" said Mercury as she held up a small figurine of a dog-
creature she had found on a ledge nearby. Sailor Jupiter took it and crushed
it in her hand.
"Whatever it was, it's gone now."
"LUMP WAS LIMP AND LONELY AND NEEDED A SHOVE, LUMP SLIPPED
ON A KISS
AND TUMBLED INTO LOVE---"
"I could have analyzed that, it could have been the source of those
creatures!" scolded Mercury.
"If it is, I bet we'll find more," said Tuxedo Mask sourly.
"What happened to your magic, Wren?" said Jupiter.
"I don't know!" Magus was upset and confused, "It just went wild
again!" She felt dizzy. Sailor Moon, seeing that she wobbled, went over and
supported her for.
"MIGHT BE DEAD....WOOO!"
"Thanks, I'm fine now...it passes," said Sailor Magus in relief.
"Oh, no! You're really late for that party, aren't you?" shrieked
Sailor Venus.
"Ohmigosh! Rob must have waited forever, too!" Sailor Magus waved her
flashlight around and saw a ladder leading up to the street. She scrambled up
it, the others following, until just the rats were wondering about the loud
music, the bass rattling the pipes...and one other.
"IS THIS LUMP OUT OF MY HEAD? I THINK SO! IS THIS LUMP OUT OF
MY
HEAD?" The song ended.
"I *like* that, the person grinned and disappeared, humming the song.
* * * *
Wren went slowly down the stairs and into the basement, searching the
crowd of people for Rob. She had rushed home, said a quick minor spell (small
ones never seemed to go wrong) to clean herself up, gotten dressed, and hopped
on a bus to arrive at the party at 9:47 on the dot.
A slow song was playing. Surprised and more than a little hurt, she
saw Rob dancing with Kelly! Wren bit her lip and turned to leave before
anyone saw her when she bumped right into someone. Wren mumbled an apology
and started to brush past the guy, who grabbed her wrist and drew her
towards him. Wren looked up in total surprise and saw Darian! He took her
hand and guided her onto the dance floor. They started to dance.
"I think after all that trouble you should get one dance," he said as
he smiled down at her, damp hair falling into his eyes. He had just gotten
out of the shower.
"How did you know Rob would---?"
"I've been doing this for a long time now, I know what happens when
you stand a person up due to urgent matters involving the Negaverse."
"Oh...thank you...." As they slowly danced, Wren realized that Darian was
probably one of the best friends she could ever ask for, nothing more than
that. Who needed anything more?
* * * *
Wren shut her locker door and came face to face with Serena.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" Serena looked very angry.
"What?" Wren was astonished. Holy hostility.
"You know very well what I mean. Why were you with my Darian at the
party?"
"How on earth did you find out about that?"
"There were other people there, Wren, who saw you dancing with him!
Since THEY know he's MY boyfriend, they wondered! And so do I!"
"Look, it's not what you think. I didn't ask him to show up, he
just did! He knew that Rob wouldn't wait around for me, so he came to cheer
me up."
"I still want to know what my guy is doing, trying to cheer you up.
It just looks suspiciously like you two are doing something behind my back!"
"Darian is my friend. I live in his apartment. If we weren't friends,
that would get nasty fast. There is nothing romantic between us! The only
person he is interested in is you. You two are destined to be together, or
so I keep hearing. But that doesn't mean you own him. He can do whatever he
wants!"
Serena stormed off. Wren sighed and leaned against her locker. This
was all she needed, Serena thinking she was out to steal her boyfriend. Which
was pretty crazy...or was it? Wren suspected she had a bit of a crush on
Darian. But that's all it was, a silly crush. Wren felt she was better off
with Darian as a friend. How to convince Serena of this, she wasn't sure.
"Hey, Wren! Have you seen Serena?" Wren looked up to see Ami.
"Unfortunately, yes. She thinks I'm trying to steal Darian," Wren
gave a weak little laugh.
"Oh, right, the dance," Ami said.
"Right. Isn't that goofy, thinking I like Darian that way? I mean,
he's only my friend, right?"
"Is he?"
"Not you too!"
"It just seems a little fishy, that's all. But I'll believe you if
you say you don't like Darian as more than a friend."
"Darian is just my friend."
"Gotcha."
"Um, where's Lita?" Wren asked after an uncomfortable pause.
"She had to have her wisdom teeth removed, so she won't be here for a
day or two."
"Ouch! Maybe we should drop by her house later today?"
"Good idea. She could probably use some cheering up."
"Some ice cream would do her a whole lot of good. We'll call Mina and
Rei, too. And Serena will want to come, even if she's still mad at me."
"Trust me. If ice cream is involved, Serena will want to come."
* * * *
Bowenite watched the black and white scrying image (which Lucinite
had playfully dubbed the 'Nellie-Cam' for some reason) as it shot from a chew
toy Nellie had been playing with, bounded through the kitchen, and shot over
to the couch in the living room, where Darian and Serena sat, arguing
presumably. Nellie jumped onto Darian, who started sneezing violently and
flailing around beside him for a box of tissues. It was just out of his reach,
and Serena let him suffer for a few minutes before she finally handed it over
to him. I had no idea she was so vindictive, thought Bowenite, who had found
out a while ago that Serena was really Sailor Moon (in fact he knew all the
Scout's identities) as he settled back with interest to hear the argument.
* * * *
"Thanks, Serena," Darian's voice was muffled by the tissues. He blew
his nose loudly. He wondered why the dog sat staring at them.
"Don't bother," Serena's tone was icy. Darian sighed.
"Look, Serena, I didn't mean anything by dancing with her. I just
thought that Rob would disappoint her-"
"So you took her date's place?"
"Yes. Well, no. You didn't let me finish. WAA-CHOOOO!" His eyes were
getting red. He rubbed them and continued.
"She went through a lot just to go to that party. You should have
seen her face when she saw Rob. I was just trying to be a good friend."
"Oh, Darian, it's just that lately with Wren around, you haven't had
enough time with meeeeeeee-" she started crying. Darian took her in his arms
and smiled at her.
"I know, Meatball-head, and I'm sorry. I should be paying more
attention to you. It's just that I know what Wren's going through, and she
really needs a good friend now. But I love you, and I promise I'll spend more
time with you."
"I love you too, Darian!" she threw her arms around his neck and was
about to give him a kiss when he suddenly sneezed so hard he bent over
double.
"Ew..." said Serena.
* * * *
Bowenite released his hold on Nellie, who trotted off to investigate
the wonderful world of the hall closet. He wondered briefly if he could kill
Darian just by using Nellie. It seemed entirely likely (yet another reason
humans were so inferior -allergies). He also wondered yet again why he could
no longer scry on Wren.
* * * *
Ami nearly dropped the carton of ice cream when Lita opened the door.
"I know, I know!" Lita's voice was muffled because her cheeks had
swollen up, making her resemble a chipmunk. Mina stifled a giggle.
"We brought you some ice cream," said Wren, the first to get over the
shock.
"Thanks...sounds yummy. Come on in, you guys." The girls walked in
quickly, lest some passerby saw Lita's face.
"Where's Serena?" Lita asked once they were safely inside.
"She's talking to Darian about well...you know," Rei indicated Wren
with her hand, who glared at her.
"Oooh, I---owowowowowowow!" Lita exclaimed. She ran off to get an ice
pack.
"What have you been doing today, Lita?" Mina asked when Lita
returned.
"I hope you took the opportunity to study for that History test,"
added Ami.
"That History test is a week away!"
"Right..." said Ami, not understanding.
"No, I have not started to study a week ahead for a test, I have been
watching the idiot box," Lita indicated the T.V. Ami sniffed.
"What's on? Anything good?" Mina walked over to the set.
"No, just the news," said Lita.
"Hey, look! It's about the Darklings!" Mina exclaimed. They hurried
over to the set.
"Police are baffled by reports of odd noises coming from the sewer
systems last Saturday, notably howling sounds and later on, abrupt loud
music." The announcer was replaced with a recorded interview with an old
lady.
"Excuse me, madam, but you say you heard odd noises from below? Could
you please describe them?"
The woman squinted up at the camera. She was shrunken and wrinkly, and
skinny beyond belief, a slouched bag of bones. In one hand she clutched a
gigantic black purse. Her wispy wispy cap of white hair was topped by a
ridiculous little hat with a flower tucked into the band.
"Oh, this should be a hoot," said Rei with a sigh.
"Get that contraption out of my face!" the camera obligingly backed
up a step.
"That's better. Well, I was out walking. I was going to the store,
actually. I believe I wanted to pick up some shampoo. Oh yes, and a lottery
ticket. I haven't missed the lotto in fifty-two years, ya know. Gotta play
my lucky numbers, ya know. Never miss it. Why, once I won five hundred
dollars with those numbers-"
"Uh, that's great!" the interviewer said with cheerful, if false,
enthusiasm, "About the noises you heard?"
"I was just getting to that! Young people today, no patience! No
patience at all!" She waggled an accusatory finger. A sigh was heard in the
background.
"Hey guys, what are you watching?" Serena came into the room.
"Some crazy lady talking about last Saturday in the sewers," answered
Mina.
"So are you still---?" Wren asked.
"I talked to Darian. I understand now." Serena said cautiously.
"Serena, what is that on the edge of your skirt?" Ami asked.
"Darian loogie."
"Ech! That's really disgusting!"
"He SNEEZED on you?"
"Ew!"
"Hey, look! There's another guy talking about Saturday!" Rei said.
Everyone turned their attention back to the T.V. The old lady was gone, and
now they were showing an interview, this time with a young man. The guy had
longish blonde hair, wore a plaid shirt over another gray one, and ancient
jeans. His most notable feature was the pair of green-lensed glasses he wore
over his unusually slanted eyes.
"He looks like a slacker."
"No, he looks just like my--"
"Save your breath, Lita, we know."
"And what did you hear?"
"Well, I heard these weird dog noises, like howling and barking. That was
was really freaky! Do they have dogs in the sewers? I stuck around to listen
more 'cause I was curious. Then, all of a sudden, I heard this great music
blasting really loud! It at least as good as the Pixies or the Rainbow Butt
Monkeys, which are, like, my favorite bands!" the guy was getting really
excited now. Mina had started laughing when he said "Rainbow Butt Monkeys"
and couldn't stop.
"And then?" the interviewer prompted.
"Well, it stopped," replied the guy.
"What a piece of junk," said Rei as she switched the T.V off, "I
wonder where they found those idiots!"
"I wonder when people are finally going to realize the Scouts exist
so we can get some credit for once?" said Lita.
"I really wonder how someone came up with band names like the Pixies
or the Rainbow Butt Monkeys!" laughed Mina.
"I wonder if there's any ice cream left?" Serena said.
* * * *
A few days later, Wren stood in the center of a crowd of kids. They
were at a park. Nellie was sniffing around by a bench nearby.
"Watch carefully, now," Wren said as she waved one hand over her other
hand, which was spread out flat with a yoyo laid on it. The kids leaned
forward in unison as she waved her hand once, twice, three times, and then
suddenly, the yoyo had vanished in the blink of an eye! (Of course, the kids
were so determined to see where it disappeared to that none of them blinked.)
"Where did it go?" shrieked one little girl.
"I don't have it," grinned Wren as she showed her empty hands. The
kids were speechless.
"You better not have lost my yoyo, my mom will have a cow!" yelled
the boy who the yoyo belonged to.
"We can't have that, can we? While you'd save a fortune in milk, cows
are generally stinky creatures." The boys eyes grew wide. Somehow, she had
the yoyo again, strung from one finger. Wren gave it a few twirls, spun the
yoyo above her head (and mumbled a short spell under her breath) and it hung
there, suspended! The kids watched with awe and didn't even notice the brief
glow from Wren's eyes. After letting it float there, defying gravity for a
minute or so (the duration of the minor spell's power), Wren calmly gave it
back to the boy, who stared at it, slack-jawed with wonder.
"How did you do that?" he whispered.
"How do you think I can do this?" Wren asked him. She clapped five
times, using the noise to cover up the chant she used to weave a spell. Then,
she opened her hand. A glowing blue ball the size of an orange of light sat in
her palm. She let the kids look at it a moment before she tossed it up into
the air and rapidly called five similar balls into existence, each a different
bright colour: purple, red, orange, yellow, and green. She tossed the new balls
up into the air after the first as soon as she magicked them up and began to
juggle.
Wren concentrated carefully on the balls as the rose and fell
gracefully. This was a bit more complicated than using her pocket dimension.
She hoped the glow from the balls would cover the very faint, but noticeable,
glow from her eyes. When she felt she had the rhythm controlled perfectly,
she used the magic to change the balls...
The children gasped as the coloured spheres seemed to burst with tiny
explosions. A bit of sparkling dust was sprinkled down on the kids nearest to
Wren, who hardly noticed, because each explosion had created a glowing
butterfly, which now circled around Wren's head. The butterflies were
slightly smaller than the balls had been -it was necessary that they lose a
little volume because it took more concentration to make their movement
patterns, which is why there had been sparkling dust- and quicker. Wren sent
them into elaborate aerial displays, diving and swirling like real butterflies
in a performance better than anything real butterflies could possibly come up
with. Wren made the butterflies spiral upwards together, until they collided
to form one large, multi-coloured rainbow butterfly. Wren laughed as the
giant glowing butterfly landed in her hands. The kids leaned in even further
for a closer look. A few braver ones actually touched the butterfly's lovely,
delicate wings and marveled at the softness. Their eyes shone with wonder.
Wren suddenly felt a disturbance. The butterfly in her hands trembled a bit.
The feeling was over in a second, but Wren knew that something had happened.
She counted, "One, two, three!" and lightly tossed the butterfly up into the
air. The butterfly soared upwards, then burst in a rain of brilliant glowing
rainbow sparkles. The kids laughed as the shower of sparkles fell on them.
Wren took this opportunity to quickly untie Nellie and run off, back to the
apartment. When the sparkles had finally faded, the kids wondered where she
had hurried off to. As did one other, previously unnoticed man, who stood
beneath some shady trees not so far away and had been watching with interest.
* * * *
Wren was hardly surprised to find Darian waiting outside the door of
the apartment. He was surprised to see her.
"You know?" Darian said as Wren shooed Nellie inside the apartment
and locked the door.
"I felt something, a disturbance in the magic, like I did before."
"Let's go."
* * * *
Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Magus met Sailors Moon, Mars, Mercury,
Jupiter, and Venus shortly after, behind an old abandoned building, possibly a
warehouse, in one of the more dangerous parts of town.
"What is it?" asked Tuxedo Mask.
"I got serious evil vibes around here," replied Mars tersely. She
could feel a strong malevolent prescence, and it was making her edgy.
Sailor Mercury looked up from her computer. "There's been reports of
missing house pets around here, and there's a suspicious lack of strays, too."
"OoooWeeeeOOooo," said Jupiter, covering her mouth with her hand,
"Scaaaaaaary," she held out her arms, wiggled her fingers, and giggled.
"Ummm..." Tuxedo Mask's eyebrows rose.
"What's she on?" demanded Sailor Magus, who was perhaps a little more
blunt.
"She was given codeine for the pain, and for some reason felt this
wasn't working enough. So she also took aspirin," reported Sailor Venus.
"It had an effect, as you can see. She's on a bit of a 'trip', just a
slight high." Sailor Mercury said, "I really wish she had told me about it.
That was a dumb thing to do!"
"Be quiet, Miss Smarty-Skirt!" Sailor Jupiter ordered imperiously.
"Anyone could have made the same mistake," sighed Sailor Moon.
"Well, then, are we going in or what?" demanded Sailor Mars.
"I'd rather NOT," said Sailor Moon,"It looks really creepy in there!"
"Does it have putrid, fecal-ridden water?" asked Tuxedo Mask.
"NO!" cheered Jupiter.
"Then I'm all for it," he said grimly as he looked at the boarded-up
window. He experimentally pulled at an board.
"It's really solid," he reported.
"It won't be for long," said Mars as she stepped in front of the door
and steepled her fingers, preparing to blast the door down.
"Hold it!" Sailor Moon grabbed her hand.
"What?" Mars glared at her.
"This is someone's private property, not a Negaverse construction. I'd
feel a bit guilty if we fireballed the door down. Plus, setting a building on
fire doesn't seem terribly safe." Sailor Moon said.
"You're SMART!" Jupiter stabbed at Sailor Moon with her finger. Mars
stepped aside.
"She has a point," she admitted,"Now what?"
"Let me try something. It's called a knock spell," said Sailor Magus.
She held her hand against the door.
"Faer....ast rinorae/Doran....delios....daedros," she intoned.
"That is CREEPY," yelled Sailor Jupiter as the boards fell away, the
lock clicked, and the door swung open with a rusty creak.
They cautiously went into the building and entered a small hallway.
It was very dark inside, there only being trickles of light filtering through
the boarded up windows. A rickety looking staircase led upwards, where it
appeared to be even darker.
Sailor Moon climbed up the stairs slowly, to avoid making it creak so
they would not alert whatever was up there that they were coming. The other
Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask followed.
They arrived on the second floor. For a moment, they stood motionless
unable to hear anything. Sailor Magus pulled her flashlight out of her pocket
dimension the and started to swing the beam of light around the surprisingly
large room.
It seemed they were indeed in a warehouse of some sort. There were
piles of boxes stacked all around on the floor. No one paid attention to
those, however. They all stared at the huge spider web that stretched across
the warehouse.
"Holy Moly call me Dave Foley!" said Jupiter in amazement.
Sailor Magus slowly moved the beam of light up. The web was thick and
there were strange bundles of webbing stuck here and there. Her stomach
lurched when she realized that this was where the missing cats and dogs had
gone.
Suddenly, Sailor Venus screamed. Magus turned around to see Sailor
Venus lying on the floor, with two large bloody wounds on her leg. Venus tried
to stand up again, but her muscles locked and she collapsed, paralyzed. Magus
moved the flashlight up and saw a huge, dark-furred spider that was at least
the size of a horse for only a second as it scuttled out of the beam of light.
She had seen blood and venom dripping from its fangs.
"Cool spell, Wrensie! I like all the pretty patterns the lights
make!" Sailor Jupiter yelled out with an idiotic giggle. Sailor Magus had very little
little time to ponder that as she suddenly heard a sound very much like rope
uncoiling and instinctively she dove to her left. She twisted to her feet,
bringing the beam of the flashlight around. Sure enough, there was a large
area of sticky webbing covering the area where she had just been. Sailor Mars,
who had been next to her, had dodged to her right, and had landed in the web. Sailor
Moon shrieked
Mars realized she was trapped in the webbing and she struggled with no effect.
Magus knew that this meant the spider had been right on top of her,
on the ceiling, so it was probably going to---There was a clattering sound.
Tuxedo Mask had dropped his cane! She turned the flashlight beam on him and
saw the spider towering over Tuxedo Mask, fangs sunk into his shoulders! The
spider released him and scurried off. Tuxedo Mask's eyes rolled back as he
collapsed.
"We need light," Magus yelled, "The flashlight isn't good enough!"
"There weren't any windows!" replied Mercury.
"And I want an baloney sandwich!" whined Jupiter.
Magus felt something warm and furry slam into her. She was slammed
into a stack of boxes and fell to the floor. Unfortunately, the flashlight had
been knocked from her grasp and it was now totally dark! She realized as
Sailor Moon screamed that she hadn't been the target of the spider's attack. I
have to make light! She frantically searched her memory to remember the
light spell and began to chant....
She knew the spell had gone wild the second she finished it. Sailor
Magus groaned as she suddenly felt itchy all over, like someone had encased
In a giant itchy knit wool sock. It was a horrible sensation and very, very
distracting.
Mercury shrieked. Sailor Magus knew that Mercury had been hurt
because she couldn't control her magic properly. She sobbed in frustration
and fear.
"Try it again, Magus!" Sailor Mars yelled from the web. Sailor Magus
started to chant again, trying desperately to ignore the itchiness....
Sailor Magus shut her eyes as brilliant ball of light burst into
existence high up near the ceiling, illuminating the room clearly. The spider
wailed with pain as it was partially blinded. It stood still for a moment,
but the moment was all they needed.
"Jupiter! Blast the baddie!" Sailor Magus yelled as she cast a green
energy beam at the spider, slamming it back into the wall. The web trembled
violently as the walls shook and snapped at one end, dumping Mars onto the
ground, though she was still stuck. Sailor Magus suddenly felt very tired.
"JUPITER THUNDER, CRASH!"
The electricity crackled as it slammed into the spider, filling the
air with the smell of burning flesh. The spider gave a last twitch and then
died.
"I'll sit on my tuffet if I damn well want to!" shrieked Jupiter at
the spider's corpse. Magus knelt by Sailor Moon.
"She's hurt really bad! They need healing, now!" said Mars with fear
apparent in her voice.
"The Moon Crystal?" Magus asked.
"Pretty!" commented Sailor Jupiter.
"Only Sailor Moon can use it, and she's unconscious!" said Mars.
Sailor Magus groaned.
"This may not work," she warned as she placed her hand on Sailor
Moon's forehead and began to chant the words to a healing spell. The spell
would actually transfer her energy into Sailor Moon, healing her in the
process. Sailor Magus only hoped that she had enough energy to give...
She finished the spell and closed her eyes. Magus felt a pleasant
warmth flow from her arms, through her hands, and into Sailor Moon. She
sighed as she slipped into the peaceful blackness...and slumped forward,
unconscious.
* * * *
"Wren..."
Wren's eyes slowly opened. She saw that she was still in the
warehouse. She sat up groggily.
"Feeling better?" Luna asked her.
"I'm still so tired. But at least I'm not itchy anymore. How long was
I under?"
"A few hours. The magic really took a lot out of you, you used a lot
of powerful stuff, especially that heal spell," Artemis said.
"That worked?"
"Yes. You healed Sailor Moon, and then she was able to restore
everyone else. They're all fine now."
"But you drained yourself totally. You're going to have to rest to
regain strength," Luna said.
"You handled yourself very well," Artemis congratulated her. Wren
snorted.
"Hardly. My first light spell went wild, which got Ami killed. If I'd
have thought to use it earlier, we'd have all come out a whole lot better. If
the heal spell had gone wild, too, they could have died!"
"You can't keep expecting that the magic will come naturally to you.
You just spent fifteen years without it, so it's not going to be the first
thing you think of, especially in crisis situations. You're not used to
fighting, you're not used to magic," Artemis returned.
Wren sighed.
"And why am I wearing normal clothes again? I didn't de-activate the
brooch, did I?"
"It seems the disguise doesn't work when you're unconscious like
that," he replied.
"Which could be very dangerous in a public battle," cautioned Luna.
Sailor Mercury came over, computer in one hand, a figurine in the
other, and a frustrated expression on her face.
"What is it, Ami?" Luna asked.
"My computer can't seem to analyze this figurine," Ami replied. She
turned to Wren. "Shortly after we all recovered, Sailor Mars found this." Ami
passed the figurine over to Wren.
It resembled the last figurine they had found inasmuch that they had
both been constructed out of the same polished black stone, possibly a gem.
This particular figurine was an exact miniature version of the spider they
had just fought. The skin on Wren's fingers tingled where it came in contact
with the figurine. She automatically set it down, a strange look on her face.
"What is it?" Artemis asked.
"How can you hold that...thing?" Wren asked Ami.
"What, it's a statue," said Ami, puzzled.
"It's....bad, wrong. I can feel it. It's not good magic," Wren said,
not really understanding why she felt this so strongly.
"If it's magic, then it would make sense that my computer can't
analyze it at all," Ami said, "It seems magic and technology don't mix well."
"You can bet those little statues are the key to these monsters we
fight," Wren said.
"Bowenite's magic entities," Luna suddenly said.
"I remember them now, too!" Artemis exclaimed.
"Explain!" said Sailor Mars. The other Scouts had come over.
"Wait, where's Tuxedo Mask?" asked Wren. Serena frowned.
"He had to go to work an hour ago," she said flatly.
"Anyways," said Luna, "Bowenite is a powerful mage. He experimented
and created many magical entities, dangerous monsters. He had so many that he
couldn't keep them all at once. So he decided to lock their powers into
figurines. It saved a lot of space, he could call on them when needed, and he
didn't have to worry about feeding them all the time. The only disadvantage is
that, in this form, they are fairly easy to destroy." Luna crushed the spider
figurine with her paw to demonstrate.
"You said he made many creatures. Are we going to wind up fighting
them all?" Sailor Venus said, a pissed look on her face.
"Probably not," said Luna, "I bet he couldn't take them all along
with him when he escaped the destruction of the Negaverse."
"So he probably just grabbed his toughest," Artemis cheerfully
informed them.
"Great," said Sailor Mars sarcastically.
"Then, can we go home now?" Wren yawned.
"Well, not until you get rid of that," Artemis indicated the ball of
light that was still glowing near the ceiling. Wren frowned, and began to
chant. When she was done, the ball of light exploded with a small fireworks
display.
"Dramatic, but unecessary. Couldn't you just have dispelled it?"
Luna said.
"That's what I tried to do," sighed Wren.
* * * *
Wren walked over to Darian, who was writing down things onto a
shopping list. He had various flyers and clipped coupons spread out in front
of him as well.
"Do you think you have enough coupons?" Wren demanded, pointing to the
gigantic stack.
"They're a necessity. How do you think I afforded that car?" He
didn't look up from his writing.
"Hmm...Count Chocula cereal, Razor blades, Milk, Bread...why is
'Tissues' written in red ink and circled like that?" Wren read the list over
his shoulder.
"No reason," Darian mumbled as Nellie wandered by. He sneezed. "By
the way, if you need anything, write it down." he slid a paper and pen over
to her and went over to the cupboard to get his Count Chocula.
"*Anything* anything?" she asked with a wide grin. Darian, pouring
a heaping amount of cereal into his bowl, didn't even blink.
"Yup, anything," he said.
Wren scrawled a few things down. If Darian had been paying any sort of
attention to her, instead of his morning chocolate fix, he would have heard her
muffled giggle or seen the mischievou gleam in her eye.
Wren got up and went for the door. As she shut it, she called out,
"Oh, right. The kind with wings!" Darian was puzzled by that comment. He sat
down with his cereal and munched contentedly for a few minutes. He slid her
list over.
"Hmm....Sloan Dog Food, right, more fruit," he took a big spoonful of
cereal, "Always Stayfree Ma-a-aaaagh, NOOOOOOOOOOO!" The cereal went flying
across the table. Darian hacked and wheezed to recover from his horrible
scare. He quickly flipped the paper over and was extremely relieved to note
that Wren had written, "Psyche! Just kiddin'!" in large letters. He noticed
the half chewed cereal on the table and pushed the bowl of Count Chocula
away. He just wasn't hungry anymore.
* * * *
Wren was still chuckling to herself as she sat in English class.
Right on cue, Kelly walked by and glared at Wren, as usual. What is her
problem? Wren wondered about that. She has Rob, why does she still hate me?
"Wow, Wren, trying to steal two boyfriends in the same night, and you
didn't get either!" Kelly hissed.
"Oh, as if. You weren't even going out with Rob at the time. Besides,
he asked me. What do you mean, two boyfriends?"
"Oh, I mean Serena's boyfriend, Darian, is that his name? I saw you
two together at the dance."
"You told her? That was none of your business, Kelly! You have no
idea what's going on!"
"I felt it was my civic duty to inform poor Serena that her boyfriend
has it out for another girl!" Kelly laughed.
"You little-" Wren was cut off as the bell rang and the teacher
called for everyone to sit down and be quiet. Kelly smirked back at Wren as
she took her seat near the front of the class.
She probably thinks she got the last word, Wren grinned. We'll see
about that.
The homeroom went through announcements. Then, oral presentations for
yesterday's group assignment started. Wren knew that Kelly had probably
volunteered to do the presentation for her group (It was Kelly's strong
belief that anyone else would just mess the job up) and she wasn't
disappointed when Kelly stood up to deliver the presentation. Wren had an idea
in mind...
Kelly adjusted her dress and patted her hair. She cleared her throat.
Wren mumbled the chant very quietly (the shifting noises and whispered
conversation at the back of the room covered for her). Wren had timed the
spell perfectly: just as she finished it, Kelly opened her mouth to begin,
and suddenly expelled the loudest, juiciest sounding fart anyone present had
ever heard. The class virtually exploded with giggles...even Rob and
especially the teacher. Kelly turned a bright shade of red. Even when the
room had quieted down, Kelly's air of arrogant confidence was completely
destroyed. She stammered through her presentation and almost ran back to her
seat. Wren knew that had been pretty juvenile of her, but ever so much fun.
She also knew the entire class felt Kelly deserved it. It had been a Kodak
moment.
* * * *
Wren was walking near the docks once again, near the same spot where
she had met Melissa and helped the little girl get her doll back. She was
startled when suddenly, rough hands grabbed her and pulled her back into the
shadows of the alley. Her bag was ripped from her back. Wren was slammed
against a wall and looked up into the face of a dangerous looking man, who
grinned at her menacingly. The second man rifled through her backpack.
"Anything good in there?" called the first man.
"Naw, nothing really."
"We'll just have to make her worth our trouble," The man leered at
Wren and the other laughed as he looked at her, too. Wren became very afraid.
"Should be fun." Wren gulped, then realized she wasn't exactly
defenseless...
"You guys have definitely chosen the wrong girl to mess with," she
said in a low voice.
"How so?" laughed the first man as he moved in a step towards Wren,
pressing her firmly against the wall.
"Ohmygod!" yelled the other as he looked at Wren's face. Her eyes had
started to glow with an alarming green colour. The other man looked at her
face and gasped in surprise, too. By then it was a little too late, Wren had
said her spell already. She slammed her hands into the would-be rapist's
chest and he was thrown backwards, knocking aside a garbage can and slamming
into the wall. He fell to the ground, unconscious. The other man backed up a
few steps and turned to run in terror. Wren chanted once again and used
telekinesis to change his course and make him run into the wall at full speed
instead. He fell to the ground as well. Wren breathed a sigh of relief and
collected her bag. The glow in her eyes faded. She peered to see if anyone was
passing by. When she saw that no one was, she quickly hurried out of the alley
and started to go home.
* * * *
"What happened to you? Your uniform is all dirty, is looks like
someone tried to touch---who is he? I'll kill him!" Darian grabbed a handful
of roses from a nearby vase.
"Hold it, I took care of them. They're sprawled in an alley by the
docks right now. I don't think they'll be coming to very soon."
"Oh. Right. You didn't do anything to really maim them, did you?" he
said as he put the roses back and neatly arranged them once more.
"Nope, just telekinesis. No marks, no burns, no wounds."
"That's good. We wouldn't want to---oh no, not again!"
"I felt it again, too. Bowenite's using his figurines again! I think
it's at the park...it's hard to tell, I'm not so good at this."
"Whatever. Between your sense of the magic disturbances and my
ability to find Sailor Moon, we'll be able to find it. To the batmobile!"
"Um, Darian, that was a little weird."
"Yeah, I know. But I always wanted to say that!" he said, a bit
sheepishly.
They ran out the door. Nellie made a whining noise (Wren usually
played tug-of-war with her when she got home) and wandered off to investigate
the washroom.
* * * *
The fight was already in progress when Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Magus
arrived.
They were in the woods of the park, on the nature trails in the
densest part. Their enemies were the trees!
One giant tree that was obviously not native to the park, as it
was about eighteen feet tall, bipedal, with a face, arms, and unnaturally dark
green foliage. The tree creature's bark (Magus somehow identified it as a
Gakarak, or Treant more commonly, an intelligent creature with a terrible
hatred of humankind) had ancient, blackening mosses and lichens.
Several of the nearby trees had been animated and seemed to be in the
control of the Treant, who stood in a clearing and kept them in a defensive
perimeter around it. The Scouts tried unsuccessfully to chose which trees were
currently being animated, for the Treant switched them often.
"Oh, just torch them!" yelled Magus.
"We can't! It will destroy the forest! Our attacks are too
devastating to the environment!" answered Sailor Mercury as she dodged the
tree branch that had tried to slam into her from behind.
"Then, we attack the source!" Tuxedo Mask leapt up onto a sturdy oak
tree's branch, leaping off as the Treant animated it, and landed down beside
the Treant, launching a handful of roses at it. He leapt away as the Treant
swung a huge club at him. He was astonished to see that the roses had almost
no effect on the treant.
"Physical attacks don't so well against it!" Mercury yelled at him, a
little too late.
"Guess I'm not terribly useful here, then," he said.
"Maybe not," said Magus. She quickly chanted a spell.
"*Everybody, dodge through the inner ring of trees at my count of
three*" came Sailor Magus' voice. They didn't hear it per say, she was using
telepathy to talk to them, so the Treant wouldn't hear what they were going
to do.
"*Tuxedo Mask, stay here. I'll need you in a second*" He nodded.
"*One, two, three!*" The Scouts dived as one past the outer ring,
into the Treant's clearing, as Magus chanted another spell and a ring of fire
separated the trees from the clearing. Magus carefully controlled it so it
didn't spread through the forest. The trees were effectively stopped.
"Get me into the clearing!" she said to Tuxedo Mask, who grabbed her
around the waist and leapt over the wall of fire into the clearing.
"Roast it!" yelled Sailor Moon.
"MERCURY BUBBLES, BLAST!"
"MARS FIRE, IGNITE!"
"JUPITER THUNDER, CRASH!"
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM, SMASH!"
"MOON SCEPTER, ELIMINATION!"
Sailor Magus started to fire her green energy beam, but the Treant
smashed her with its club just a moment before the Sailor Scout's attacks hit
and sent her flying. She would have sailed through her own fire ring, if
Tuxedo Mask hadn't caught her in time...
As it was, she lost her concentration on the fire ring and it winked
out of existence, dispelled. The trees surged forward again.
"Again!" yelled Sailor Moon. The Scouts repeated their attacks and
this time, the treant was destroyed. The trees stopped moving.
Sailor Magus groaned as she tried to sit up.
"Don't move, I think a few ribs are broken," he said with concern.
"Hey, look guys! I found another figurine in the treant's roots!"
yelled Sailor Venus as she held it up.
"May I do the honours?" Mars took the figurine and stomped on it. It
made a satisfying crunch. Sailor Magus sighed with relief as Sailor Moon used
the healing magic of the Moon Crystal to restore her.
"Hey, who's that?" Sailor Jupiter pointed to a figure in the
distance.
"Could be a reporter trying to get the scoop on the Sailor Scouts
again," said Mercury with a shrug. Tuxedo Mask suddenly sneezed violently.
Nellie arrived moments later.
"How did she get here?" wondered Magus,"Aren't you a little worried
then, about the reporters?" asked Magus.
"Not really. When reporters write articles about us, they usually get fired
fired. People simply don't believe we exist."
"Still, let's follow whoever it is, just to be safe," said Jupiter.
Sailor Venus and Sailor Mars nodded and took off into the bush.
"You seem to have good control over your magic now," commented Sailor
Mercury.
"I think so. It's becoming second nature to me, especially using the
pocket dimension," Wren said.
"You would make an awesome drug dealer," said Tuxedo Mask.
"What?" shrieked Magus in surprise.
"I mean, how could the police find your stash?"
Serena laughed. Wren pulled a rope chew toy from her pocket dimension
and held it out to Nellie. Nellie stayed away from her for a few moments, but
then cautiously started to tug at the toy. Wren smiled.
"She isn't running away!" she said happily. Jupiter, Mars, and Venus
returned.
"We lost him," Jupiter reported.
"He just disappeared!" said Mars.
"No way, I think he just found some secret cave or something," said
Venus.
"No way, he disappeared! One second he was there, the next, gone!"
"Whatever, let's go home now," said Mercury without interest.
* * * *
"So, did you have fun shopping today?" queried Wren with a smile.
"Oh, just loads of it."
"I don't suppose you actually-"
"Let me put it this way. Can you imagine the weird looks I get,
running through the city in a tuxedo, complete with hat, cape, and a mask?"
"I can imagine."
"Well, that isn't nearly as embarrassing as what you suggested," he
said grimly, "Not even close. I can't even IMAGINE how bad that would be. The
very thought of going to a drugstore and getting -nugh- those, it makes me
virtually quake with fear. All those little old ladies, the clerk..."
"Hey! Punchbuggy!" she laughed and gave him a light punch on the arm,
as per (very odd) tradition when she saw the VW bug.
He turned and glared at her.
"Haven't you caused me enough pain today?"
Wren just grinned.
"You are so evil." he shook his head with disbelief. They drove in
silence for a while. Darian cleared his throat noisily.
"Um, how are you, anyways?" he asked as he stopped at a red light. He
turned and looked at her intensely.
"How am I? Fine, I guess," Wren mumbled as she looked out the window.
"I meant, about your family-"
"I'm fine. Stop worrying."
He started to say something, but the car behind them honked its horn.
Darian turned back and saw it was a green light. He stepped on the gas,
rolling his eyes as the car behind them speeded up to pass them, then cut in
front of them. Typical impatient driver.
He glanced back at her. Wren leaned her head against the window and
carefully stared out. Darian wasn't sure, but she looked very much like she
was trying not to cry. He couldn't keep staring at her while driving.
Darian knew that Wren wasn't as together as she appeared. She had
stopped talking about her parents after that morning in the kitchen and had
developed a bit more attitude to cover up her real emotions. This was how
Darian had reacted, also. It kept him from being hurt but he wasn't so great
at relationships as a result. He knew that she cried quietly at night, when
she thought he was asleep. He was afraid she would wind up like him in that
respect and wanted to help her. But how?
* * * *
"The gakarak has been destroyed," said Variscite flatly as Lucinite
entered the chamber.
"Wren Green is becoming a little too dangerous," said Lucinite.
"I think it's time to activate our little surprise," Variscite
replied, "Bowenite will never know what happened."
* * * *
Darian held the apartment door open for Wren. He shuffled off into
the kitchen for something to eat. Beating up the Negaverse always made him
extremely hungry. All the jumping around, he guessed.
Wren shrieked.
Darian looked up and saw her backing out of her room quickly. He
dropped the bread he had been holding in astonishment as a silver-haired
woman in Negaverse uniform walked calmly into the living room after Wren. She
had in her hands a stupid looking plush dinosaur toy with a dumb expression
on its face. Darian didn't recognize it.
"Daphne?" Wren mumbled in astonishment.
"Hardly. I am Variscite. I pretended to be 'Daphne' so the Negaverse
could find out more about you, through your stupid brother."
In the blink of an eye, Wren and Darian had transformed into Sailor
Magus and Tuxedo Mask.
"I'll make you pay!" Wren growled.
"Hardly. I'm not going to waste time fighting you when I have a
perfectly capable minion right here." She held up the stuffie.
"I hope you realize that's a plush toy," said Tuxedo Mask, raising an
eyebrow.
"It would seem so. But that is merely a disguise. Bowenite isn't the
only one who can activate his figurines," she laughed as she tore the toy's
head off. Magus and Tuxedo Mask looked at each other. Magus shrugged. Then,
they charged Variscite.
"Don't be foolish," she snapped as they hit the force field shielding
her. She quickly uttered an incantation as she pulled a small figurine from
the stuffing in the toy, setting it on the floor in front of her. It began to
grow at an alarming rate.
Dark green lightning crackled from Wren's fingertips towards
Variscite, who merely laughed again and teleported out with a flash of silver
light. By then, the figurine had attained a more threatening size.
A seven-foot tall cat-like humanoid with black fur now stood in the
center of the living room. He had a cat's head and a tail, bright green eyes,
and wore loose-fitting brown pants, a red tabard with gold trim over a white
loose-sleeved shirt, a yellow sash, a bit of brown leather shoulder armor,
and sandals. He also had twin katanas. He snapped them into ready position
and crouched a bit into a battle-stance.
"I am Shinobu Fusiyaki, champion of the Rakasta, the fiercest and
most powerful warrior. I look forward to utterly annihilating you both," the
rakasta said in a deep voice, hissing his s's and rolling r's. Tuxedo Mask
readied a rose and Wren began to chant.
* * * *
Lucinite and Variscite clinked their wineglasses together in a toast.
"That rakasta is going to destroy those two," said Lucinite.
"Shinobu is the best. The only only of Bowenite's creations who could
have been a general," Variscite sipped her wine.
Bowenite teleported in with cloud of black smoke and a noise like a
thunderclap.
"I have found it! The Codex Enchantra! The Key! It is mine at last!"
"Ours, you mean," said Variscite calmly as she threw away her wine
glass and started a chant. Lucinite grinned and held out his hand. A wickedly
sharp poleaxe materialized in it. He spun it twice and readied it.
"You do realize that if you continue this mutiny, I will destroy
you," Bowenite said with a sigh and a skeptical look.
"We are tired if taking your imbecilic orders, Bowenite," said
Lucinite.
"Wren Green should have been destroyed weeks ago!" Variscite added.
"Perhaps you should tell us now, exactly where the Codex is, before
we have to hurt you," said Lucinite.
"I think not."
"Very well. We have means of getting answers from you even if you're
dead!" Variscite laughed at launched twin silver energy beams at Bowenite.
* * * *
Magus growled with frustration as yet another magical spell was wasted
on Shinobu. It seemed rakastas had a high level of magic resistance. She
rolled out of the way and crouched, wracking her mind for something to do, as
Tuxedo Mask attempted to whack the rakasta with his cane. Shinobu deflected
his lightning quick attacks with equal speed and relative ease.
* * * *
Bowenite grinned and leapt up to avoid the beams of silver energy. He
flipped in mid air and landed briefly to the right of Lucinite to throw twin
blades of black energy at Lucinite. They slashed into his arm. Lucinite
gritted his teeth and swung the poleaxe in a tight arc that would have
decapitated Bowenite if he hadn't already teleported across the chamber.
* * * *
Sailor Magus' frantic train of thought was interrupted as she
suddenly heard frantic barking.
"No!" she screamed as Nellie went flying at Shinobu, teeth digging
into the cat-man's arm. Shinobu growled and threw the brave dog across the
room. Nellie hit the wall and whimpered. She started to get to her feet but
collapsed.
Tuxedo Mask attempted to use this opportunity to launch a rose at
Shinobu, which blasted into the rakasta's leg. Shinobu found an opening and
slashed his swords in an arc at Tuxedo Mask, who dodged a little but not
enough. Two lines of red blood blossomed across his white shirt and he held
in an exclamation of pain, but blocked with his cane in time for Shinobu's
next attack.
* * * *
"You fools! This is pointless, you die for a pitiful reason!" snarled
Bowenite. He hadn't even been scratched, but the other two were bleeding and
burnt.
"Pointless?!" Lucinite shouted,"I will not spend another day under
your command! One of my power need not take orders from a pathetic loser like
you!" He growled and flew towards Bowenite in an almost berserker rage.
Bowenite neatly sidestepped and slammed the sword which had suddenly
materialized in his left hand into Lucinite's gut.
"I think you were wrong!" he laughed as Lucinite slumped to the floor.
* * * *
So I can't hurt him directly with magic, Magus thought. I'll waste
him indirectly with it.
This decided, she completed a chant and touched Tuxedo Mask's
shoulder. His vision blurred for a second, and suddenly he could move about
three times faster than before, making him a large blur. He moved strongly
on the offensive now. Shinobu wasn't having such an easy time deflecting.
Sailor Magus risked a glance towards her dog, who was still lying in a
heap by the wall. She wanted to help, but knew that they would all die if she
didn't complete the next spell...
* * * *
Serena heard the battle as she stepped out of the elevator. She took
out her communicator.
"Everyone, come quick! Darian and Wren are fighting something in the
apartment!" She put the communicator away.
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"
* * * *
"Variscite..." rasped Lucinite. A bubble of green blood burst on his
lips. He groaned. Variscite looked at him, then at Bowenite, who waited
patiently, arms folded across his chest.
"Variscite...," Lucinite looked up at her with tear-filled eyes, "I'm
dying...hold me. I love you..." Variscite raised an eyebrow.
"Sorry, I don't feel the same!" she said. Lucinite's eyes widened. He
looked as though he had been stabbed again.
"You...don't....care...for me...at all?" he wheezed.
"No," she said simply as she walked by him.
She used me! He thought in fury. She wrapped me around her little
finger! All she wants is the power, the Codex!
"Bitch!" he said, and closed his eyes to die. His form blurred and
disentegrated in a million tiny sparkling red motes.
Variscite and Bowenite took no heed of this, however. Variscite stood
in front of Bowenite, fixing her purple eyes onto his dark brown ones. He was
as captivated by her beauty as Lucinite had been. She broke the connection by
kneeling on one knee at his feet, head bowed.
"Forgive me, Lord. I serve only you," she whispered. Her eyes
gleamed and she grinned. Bowenite didn't even have to see that to know she
was lying through her teeth to save her skin.
"I think not," he said calmly as he decapitated her.
* * * *
Sailor Magus grabbed the remote control from the table behind her and
finished the spell.
Tuxedo Mask occupied Shinobu's full attention now. They feinted,
dodged, parried, and thrusted lighting quick. Magus squinted, but she
couldn't see who was who. She hoped Tuxedo Mask wasn't too badly hurt and
blew them apart with a force beam. The combatants went flying backwards, but
they both went only a few feet before recovering to rush each other again.
Both a little wounded, they were slower now and Magus could tell them apart.
She slashed her sword (until recently the remote control) at Shinobu, who had
once again forgotten she was there because he had concentrated fully on
Tuxedo Mask, and had the satisfaction of seeing him stumble, cut across the
back of his leg. It wasn't terribly deep (Magus had lousy arm strength) but he
was injured enough otherwise that it made the difference. He still managed to
knock the sword from her hand easily, though. It went flying and thunk!
Slammed into the couch.
"That's it. I need a new couch now," Tuxedo Mask muttered, staring at
the sword sticking out of it.
At that moment, the Scouts burst into the apartment, Luna and Artemis
right behind them.
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM, SMASH!"
"MERCURY BUBBLES, BLAST!"
"MARS FIRE, IGNITE!"
"JUPITER THUNDER, CRASH!"
"MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!"
The attacks blasted Shinobu, who fell on his knees. However, he still
hadn't dropped him swords and had started to get up again.
"Oh, for-" Sailor Magus' spellbook materialized in her hand, and she
brought it down on the back of the rakasta's head. Finally, Shinobu was
defeated. He slumped forward and faded. A small figurine was left in his
place. Tuxedo Mask happily crushed it under his heel as Sailor Magus ran
towards her dog. Nellie licked her face weakly.
* * * *
Bowenite sniffed and checked himself for injuries in case he had
somehow been hit and hadn't noticed. Nope.
He smiled.
"The fools would have had so much power if they had stayed under my
control. The Codex Enchantra will be mine, in any case now."
He chanted a spell and a glowing ring of black energy opened in front
of him.
"The Codex Enchantra, right under our noses all along," he mused as he
stepped through the portal.
* * * *
"WREN GREEN." Sailor Magus and the others looked up in surprise, but
the eerie voice seemed to have come from thin air.
"STOP THAT. YOU CAN'T SEE ME. I MUST WARN YOU. BOWENITE HAS
FOUND THE
KEY TO THE CODEX ENCHANTRA."
"All is lost!" cried Luna.
"Oh shit," said the less eloquent Sailor Mars.
"THERE IS STILL HOPE YET. WREN GREEN, YOU MUST GO INTO THE
MAGIC."
"Uh?" said Magus.
"OH, COME ON, HERE. THINK ABOUT IT. 'GO INTO THE MAGIC', HAVE
YOU
BEEN EATING RETARD SANDWICHES AGAIN? IT'S REALLY OBVIOUS.
THAT'S IT. I'M
GOING. YOU JUST RUINED THAT 'MYSTERIOUS VOICE GIVING GUIDANCE'
THING I HAD
GOING. I'M JUST GONNA HINT, DO I HAVE TO SPELL IT OUT? GEEZ," the voice
said.
Everyone looked at each other and shrugged.
"Go into the magic," Magus mumbled with a frown, "The only time
anything ever goes into the magic is when I use my pocket dimension...."
"Agh!" Artemis shouted as he slammed a paw into his forehead.
"It was there all along!" Luna cried, equally distressed.
"It makes sense. I had it last. Where else would I have put it?"
Magus sighed.
"And people say I'm the stupid one in this group," Sailor Moon said,
raising her eyebrows.
"I don't think I can pull it out. I think I have to go in and get
it," said Magus.
"How will you do that?" asked Sailor Jupiter.
"I'll concentrate like I do when I put stuff in, except instead of
concentrating on putting an object in, I'm place myself."
"Good luck. You're about to fight Bowenite," said Luna, "And you have
to go alone. We can't follow you into the magic." Magus paled.
"You can do it," said Tuxedo Mask.
"You're the Magist. You have the training and power needed," said
Sailor Mercury. They all gave her a hug.
"You have to hurry and go!" said Artemis. Wren looked at them all
again and opened her mouth...
"No goodbyes," said Sailor Venus, "We won't neeed them. We'll be
seeing you soon." Magus nodded.
She closed her mismatched eyes and concentrated...and went into the
magic.
* * * *
He leaned back and smiled.
"Finally. I suppose now all that's left to do is watch the fight."
* * * *
Wren, no longer Sailor Magus, floated in awe.
She was no longer in a place like any other she had ever seen or
imagined. It was hard to describe: a velvet soft blackness in which coloured
lights and rainbow mists sparkled and swirled with a life of their own. It
was breathtakingly beautiful. Wren was inside magic itself. She felt
refreshed and warm. There was no up, no down, nothing, but she wasn't afraid.
It was like home.
Wren suddenly remembered why she was there, and concentrated on
speeding up. She flew through the magic, searching, until at last she saw it:
a rainbow-coloured semi-transparant globe, swirling with colour and glowing,
which contained a huge book. As she neared, she saw that it was very large,
thick and heavy-looking. The delicate gold worked into patterns around the
edges of the cover looked out of place, but the book was beautiful in its own
way, because it was magic. It hovered high above a large chunk of rock, much
like an asteroid but flat and smooth across the top. It perhaps as large as a
football field. Wren knew that this barren expanse was the battle ground and
landed.
A man in a gray uniform suddenly appeared opposite Wren. His uniform
was trimmed in black. The man wore black gloves, boots, and had a black
cloak with a red lining. He had cold dark brown eyes and a scar running down
the left side of his face to his jaw. His cloak and long black hair bound in
a braid floated eeriely behind him.
"I am-" he began to speak, his words echoing. Even though he was all
the way across the battlefield, his words carried as though he had spoken next
to her.
"Bowenite." she finished for him, her own words echoing as well in
the realm of magic. He bowed.
"You are Wren Green , also known as the Magist," he said. Wren was
surprised he was being so polite. She had expected, and was still expecting,
an attack right away.
"Yes, I respect you. You have defeated all the foes I have thrown
against you. You have trained well with the magic and have studied the spells
often. You have performed well," he said as he looked her up and down,
smiling. She didn't like that smile and kept her guard up.
"You have great potential. You need a guide though. There is only so
much one can learn on one's own."
"What are you saying, Bowenite?" she demanded.
"I will share the Codex Enchantra with you, and help you learn, for
as powerful as you are, you are still new in the Art."
"If I call you Master?"
"Yes."
"Drop dead."
"Very well, you are stronger than your previous master was. You had
great potential, Wren Green. I use past tense, 'had', because unfortunately I
shall have to destroy you now. I must say I'm disappointed, I've already had
my exercise today killing my two subcommanders, but no matter. Die, Wren
Green!"
Wren gasped as his form blurred into black energy and grew, forming
itself into a new shape, muscular and powerful, with wings that created
powerful gusts of wind, a tail that weaved behind it, clawed hands and feet,
and a snaking neck with a refined lizard-like head. Glossy black scales were
its armor. Glowing red eyes stared at Wren. A dragon.
The dragon that was Bowenite opened its mouth to reveal razor sharp
teeth and a forked tongue. He hissed.
"The power of the Codex! MINE AT LAST!" he rumbled, his voice now
much deeper, rolling like thunder.
Wren raised her head to regard the dragon. Her form wavered, too, but
did not grow. Instead she used the magic to protect herself with armor. She
wore a glossy black armor over a night blue bodysuit. Grieves encased her
lower legs, with knee guards. She wore bracers on her lower arms, and her
elbows, shoulders, and torso were also protected by the armoring, which had
simple silverwork on it. A sword hung in a scabbard at her waist. It was
based on the armor that Prince Endymion had worn...
"Now you look like a little knight, how very fitting," laughed the
dragon that was Bowenite. She began to chant. He leapt at the air and dove at
her. Opening his mouth, he spewed forth fire.
Wren swore as she was forced to abort her spell in favor of rolling
away from the dragon. She got far enough away to avoid the blast, but the
heat from the fire still washed over her. Her eyes began to glow green as the
battle truly began.
Wren crouched a moment, then leapt high into the air, higher than any
human could. However, this was the realm of Magic, and here she was as good
as Tuxedo Mask at jumping. Drawing her enchanted sword, she chanted the Haste
spell to make her move quicker. She landed on the dragon's back in mid-air and
plunged her sword down between the black scales. Bowenite shrieked and landed
on the battlefield. Wren withdrew her blade, now coated in slimy green blood,
and jumped off the dragon as Bowenite rolled over of his back to dislodge her.
She wasn't quite fast enough and was hit by a bat-like wing and slammed
backwards.
Wren grunted as she sprawled on the rocky surface and skidded a
little. She stood up again as quickly as she could and jumped upwards as
Bowenite's huge tail swept across the ground.
She gritted her teeth and spat out an incantation as quickly as
possible. Bowenite's claws raked across her chest and she almost lost
concentration but somehow completed the spell through the haze of pain.
A blast of shards of glowing ice slashed into Bowenite's wings,
shredding them so that they were useless for flight now.
The dragon's neck snaked down and his teeth bit into Wren's shoulder
as she attempted to dodge him, slashing her deeply. Wren bit her lip to keep
from screaming. The less Bowenite knew about her condition, the better.
She drew her sword and cast another spell. She disappeared only to
reappear in the same second next to Bowenite's side. She cut into him with
her sword and blinked onto his head, slashing his across his left eye.
Bowenite wailed in pain as she materialized again by his other side. She hit
him again but he managed to kick her away and she slid, careful to keep a grip
on her sword.
Bowenite was beginning to realize the disadvantages of the form he
had chosen. For one thing, it was just too big to miss. He couldn't dodge or
move with a lot of speed, which was his style in his regular form. The
advantage of flight had been eliminated by Wren earlier on in the fight when
she had wrecked his wings. All he had left was raw brute force and spells.
Bowenite's wings may have been useless for flying now, but not
totally useless. He reared up onto his hind legs, snaked his head up high,
and flapped his wings.
The dust on the asteroid-like battlefield rose up into a huge,
choking cloud. Wren started to cough, ruining the chant she had began, and
choked on the dust. Bowenite's tail swung around and swept her off her feet.
Wren continued to choke and leapt high up into the air, frantically spitting
out the spell to complete it while she was still free of the choking dust
cloud. She landed and raised her arms to guide the gusts of wind she had
summoned to whisk the clouds of dusk off the asteroid and into the void of
multi-coloured magic.
Meanwhile, Bowenite had stopped beating his wings and had cast a
spell. Wren, directly in front of him, felt his muscles lock for a moment.
The paralyzation didn't last, and Wren realized she had not been affected by
his spell. There was no reason to let him know that, however, so she froze in
place. Bowenite opened his fanged mouth and took in a deep breath, preparing
to breathe flames again. The rush of wind covered the sound of Wren chanting
a spell at the same time. She had to time this exactly right or she would be
fried...
Bowenite's head extended downwards as he leveled his mouth at Wren.
She had the terrifying view of seeing the glow coming towards her from deep in
his throat, flames roaring down towards her to melt her face off, not to
mention the rest of her....NOW!
Wren snapped her hands out in front of her, shocking Bowenite, who
believed she had been paralyzed, as the green energy beam slammed UP his
throat, destroying the fire in its path, roaring inside him, destroying his
lungs utterly. Bowenite's eyes, one blind and bleeding, opened wide as he
screamed, writheing in the grip of the incredible pain Wren had just caused
him, his deep screams echoing in the void of magic, deafening Wren.
Wren's shoulder and chest burned as she panted for breath. The loss
of blood and all the spells she had cast had weakened her considerably. She
moved over to Bowenite's left, his blind side, and channeled her energy into
a final spell. If this didn't work, or Bowenite recovered from her last
attack in time, she was finished. It was all she had strength to do.
She finished the incantation, wheezing for breath -all she wanted to
do was collapse!- and the blade of her sword blazed with shining green light.
She stepped in front of the dragon's chest as he screamed and raised the
sword above her chest.
"This is it," she closed her eyes for a moment to draw all her power
together for her final strike, "Not for the Codex. Not for the Scouts. Not
for Darian. I do this, this which may be my final act in life," -she coughed,
there was blood- "To avenge the deaths of my family! BOWENITE, DIE!" Her eyes
snapped open and blazed even brighter. She screamed in rage, rage for losing
the ones she cared most for, rage of being alone, and swung the sword in a
shining arc, her vision blurring with tears of anger and weariness.
Wren felt the sword bite into flesh and had to close her eyes against
the flare of brilliant white light that blinded her as she followed the
swing through with all her strength! There was a sound like lightning and
thunder together, and a great explosion followed, and she was tossed like a
fragile leaf in a hurricane backwards, all the way across the battlefield, to
the edge of the asteroid.
Wren twisted to her hands and knees and looked up to see Bowenite's
final death throes, as he screamed one last time, a scream that held as his
form disentegrated into roiling black smoke with a thunderclap, and
dispersed. The scream ended. Bowenite was dead.
Tears of joy slid down Wren's battered face as she struggled to get
enough strength to stand. As she stumbled towards the center of the field,
the globe which contained the Codex Enchantra slowly descended. As she came
to a stop before it, the glowing field of rainbow energy disappeared.
Wren tentatively reached out a bloody hand towards the book. As her
fingers brushed the cover, a feeling of peace slid through her. She sighed
and closed her eyes. She had done it.
* * * *
It was close to sunset in the park where Serena, Ami, Lita, Mina,
Rei, Darian, Luna, and Artemis waited. Nellie sat nearby, unusually subdued.
"It's been so long. Where is she?" Lita said, worry apparent in her
voice.
"She'll come," said Serena.
"How can you be so sure? Bowenite was strong, what if she died?"
Darian said.
"To be perfectly honest, she may have very well died," said Luna.
"No. She'll be back, I know it!" said Serena.
"I said, 'No Goodbyes', and I meant it," said Mina.
"I can recall us all saying similar things before going to fight
Beryl," said Rei grimly.
"Don't talk about that now!" hissed Ami as she noticed Darian turn
away. She wondered if he was actually...?
"We can only hope," said Artemis. They were all silent as they
watched the sun set. Suddenly, Nellie barked. They turned.
Standing there was Wren, looking tired but otherwise fine. In her
hands she held a huge book with a brown leather book with delicate gold work.
A large gold mystical rune shone from the cover.
"The Codex Enchantra! You did it, Wren!" breathed Luna. The Scouts
ran over to Wren, crying and laughing at the same time as they engulfed her
in a hug. She nearly fell and they withdrew.
"I defeated Bowenite and recovered the Codex Enchantra." she said
simply.
"Where do you go from here?" Darian asked softly, standing apart. He
had not joined in the group hug.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAGH!"
They all looked up to the sky and saw a figure falling from about
twelve feet above them. Everyone dodged and transformed, expecting a
Negaverse attacker. The figure landed in the center of the ring they formed.
The figure turned out to be a strange-looking man. He was extremely
handsome, with long golden hair brushing his shoulders, delicate features,
and strangely pointed ears, the tips of which poked up through his hair. He
was wearing a large black cloak, black boots, pants, and shirt, with a forest
green tabard over top. The green-lensed sunglasses on his face looked
strangely out of place. As he lay on his back, he looked up at Wren and
spoke.
"I can answer that question," he said, "Wow. This is a really awesome
view, but I think I'll get up now." The Scouts blushed. Those short skirts
had a few disadvantages, and this was one of them.
The guy stood up and brushed himself off.
"You're that guy on T.V that they interviewed!" Wren said as she
looked at his face.
"Yippers. I've been following your progress for a while," he said. He
removed the sunglasses and stuffed them into what Wren guessed was a hidden
pocket in his cloak. He fixed her with a penetrating stare. Wren gasped.
"Your eyes!" she murmured. He blinked. They were the most unusual
eyes any of them had ever seen. His irises were inky black, his pupils
a bright crimson colour!
"Um, lab accident," he explained. He bowed and smiled at them
roguishly.
"I should introduce myself. My name is Jantos Silverun-Erendyl, just
Jantos to my buddies. And my enemies, now that I think about it," he frowned,
"Well, everyone calls me Jantos."
"You were the guy in the forest!" said Lita.
"Yeah, you led us on a merry chase!" spat Mina.
"You made me run and fall into a ditch! So we're even!" he stuck his
tongue out at them. Serena giggled. Wren realized that he was actually pretty
young, maybe nineteen or twenty. But those ears and eyes made her worry.
"You can't have the Codex," she stated flatly.
"Why would I want it?" he said flippantly, "I wrote the thing."
Luna's eyes narrowed in disbelief.
"Did so! Did you check the 'About the Author' page?" he said to Wren.
She flipped to the back of the heavy book. Sure enough, there was an image
of him grinning up from the page. She read the short summary out loud.
"'Jantos Silverun Erendyl is a strange elven mage who mastered magic
at a young age through many adventures, described fully in the Chronicles of
Magic, Volumes 789-902. He is viewed as the most eccentric mage in the
universe to date, certainly among the most powerful. He is frequently out
dimension-hopping, an explorer at heart. It is recommended he is to be
avoided unless you have at least an average sense of humor.'"
"Oh good, they took the thing about the evil twin out," he said.
"So, what do you want?" Sailor Mercury asked.
"Like I said, I've been watching you. I think you'll be a fine mage.
You'll need help with the Codex, though, a little guidance. Who better to
give it than me?
"This world holds very little for you now. Here, you have to hide
your abilities and practice in secret. There is no one else like you. If you
were to travel around, you would see that there are worlds where magic is
common. It's easier to pick on training and find cool stuff!
"And by the way, if you still don't trust me for some reason, it was
I who stopped Bowenite from scrying on you directly, thus letting you go to
the washroom in private again, and I GAVE THAT HINT THAT LED YOU TO FIND
THE
CODEX." They all recognized the voice then.
"Can-?" Wren started to ask.
"Yeah, the dog can come, too!" Jantos said.
"I'd...have to say goodbye. It would be hard to leave," Wren said
softly, "If you guys think this is safe for me."
Luna nodded her approval, as did Artemis.
"I can cast a spell to wipe all memories of you from everyone, so no
one will remember you. Except these people, because-" Jantos was interrupted.
"Because I'll want to return someday," Wren finished, "Very well.
I'll go. Can you wait a bit?"
"Oh, yeah. I'll just be over there. He sat on the bench nearby, which
had only recently witnessed an amazing display of magic, and reached under his
cloak. Somehow, he pulled out a black electric guitar from it and began
playing a soft song -'Answers' by hHead it sounded like. Wren wondered how he
knew music from this world already and also what spell made an electric
guitar that cool looking. He had a great voice.
She turned back to her friends and gave them all a hug.
"It's been great, you guys. I'll keep in touch." They all blinked
back tears. She then gave Darian a hug.
"You've been like a brother to me. I'll never forget what you've done
for me," she whispered. She felt him press a something into her hand. Her eyes
widened as she realized what it was and she put it in her pocket dimension
immediately, then gently broke away from him and turned to the rest.
"I won't forget any of you...I'll miss you so much," she said huskily.
"We'll never forget you," said Darian softly. Wren called Nellie
over. Darian sneezed.
"At least you have your apartment to yourself again. Free bathroom in
the morning, all the Count Chocula to yourself again, no Nellie to make you
sneeze..."
"And no remote control, just a sword."
"Sorry about that." She looked back to Jantos, who had come to stand
behind her.
"You better take good care of her," Darian told him.
"Or I get a rose through my head. Yup, I know. Y'know, it isn't a
regular type of guy who can make a floral arrangement deadly."
"You remember that."
"Don't worry. I will."
Wren paused a moment, thinking about the rose he had just given her,
then stood on her tip-toes and gave Darian a quick kiss in the cheek.
He smiled down at her. If circumstances had been different...maybe they could
have been more than friends. But he had a wonderful girlfriend in Serena, who
he loved. He knew Wren would find someone else. It was better that she didn't
know that he had developed a bit if a crush on her, too.
"I'll miss you all so much..." she nodded to Jantos, who began his
incantation, and held on to Nellie's leash tightly.
The Scouts and Darian watched as the three forms disappeared from the
park, and from the memories of everyone but those present, just as the sun
disappeared over the horizon.
End of Sailor Moon Magic
* * * *
LAST BIT FROM ME, THE AUTHOR: Well, that's it, folksies!
Questions/Comments/Flaes, you know where to call! I also give people the entire thing on
requestThus
ends my first fanfic!
--
*But for its unfortunate name, the state bird of New Mexico might be the
valiant and beautiful GREENISH FLEM.
*The worst thing your shoes can smell like is OTTERS.
*Chunky toothpaste never quite caught on. -ABRELL AND THOMPSON'S ACTUAL
FACTS