Loving It
Loving It
Hathor and Mina were walking towards the café. Hathor just bought a new shirt, and Mina… it looked like she bought three stores out… and now carried all those items in three huge, bulging bags. *Big Sweat-drop*
Mina smiled down at Hathor, “I am so happy we goddesses of Love have spend so much quality time together… I was beginning to think we never would, with the whole battle-demons-that-you-can’t-destroy-stuff! But we did, and we had so much fun! Didn’t we?”
Hathor did not know hoe to reply, so she just gave an ‘uh,’ glad that Mina babbled on.
“And it is so awesome how you and I have exactly the same taste in clothes, food, boys-”
Robby stuck her head out of the café, grinning broadly, “you have tortured her enough, haven’t you, Goddess of Love?!” she laughed.
Min alooked shocked, “you were eavesdropping?”
But Robby just laughed it off, “I wouldn’t particularly call it eavesdropping… more on the line of… saving a friend of… how should I put this? A certain death?”
That comment set Mina off, “oh, you are just jealous because we had a great time, and you were not invited.”
With her nose high up in the air, Mina pushed Robby aside and walked into the café. Hathor put on a face of a dying person at which Robby burst into laughter. Putting her arm around her shoulders, she dragged Hathor inside.
Star sat at the bar, smiling broadly, “well, seems like Mina and Hathor had a great time! I love that dress! It matches your eyes.”
Mina was glad for the compliment, and gave her a chance to let go of the anger she had inside from Robby, “you think so? Well, I think it highlights my cheekbones.”
Florie came from the kitchen, beaming as usual, “oh, hi Mina. Where are the others? I know Serena and Darien are out… Raye and Chad are with them… Amy is probably at the library… but where’s everyone else?”
“Iris is in class, and Sandra is there too,” Hathor rattled as she chewed on a Muffin handed to her by Star, as Robby cut in, “and Claire is probably somewhere pestering some poor little girl or boy to give her his candy.”
Putting down the tray of lemonade and shaking her head, Florie asked, “why do you all hate her so much?”
Robby rolled her eyes and sat up straighter, “alright, I don’t like Sailor Dûment, and she is her, so I don’t like either of them, even though she might be some different person than Dûment. She still bothers me because she doesn’t care about us, her fellow senshi! And when you are part of a team-”
“Wait, wait,” Star cut in, “like a cheerleading team? Or like a football team?”
“Maybe she’s just confused or something, not knowing who her true enemies are… you know?” Mina tried to soothe the two, “anyway, I have to get home; my mom is otherwise going to get all weird on me again. You know, since that trip to that resort, she has just been so much different. I mean, there was a monster on TV… and now she fears that around every corner there is another one.”
Hathor scratched her head, “but isn’t that the truth?”
Half humorous, half serious, Mina replied “yes, that is why it worries me so much…”
“I wish you the best of luck… with everything,” Star got up from her seat and hugged Mina.
Mina turned around with her bags and left the café without another word. On the street there were many different people; Mina did not notice many of them. In her mind, she was already home, and reading, or doing something else that was fun… or at least different than demon hunting. She sighed.
‘It’s been long since I’ve played Volleyball… or any other sport than running for that matter,’ Mina smiled, ‘I wonder how the others can handle all that stress… and then the troubles with Claire… and the unknown enemy! God,’ Mina searched for her keys in front of her door, ‘I wish I were normal.’
Georgina (no, that is not her real name, I just made it up) was inside on the couch, reading the newspaper as she heard the door open. She smiled and looked up at her daughter, “Mina, sweetie!”
Mina smiled back at her, kissing her forehead, “hi, mom!”
“How was school? Or shopping for that matter?” she laughed; it was clear and joyous.
“It was great… you know, I got an ‘A’ on my math exam! Seems all that studying with Amy has paid off, right?” a faint attempt at laughing it off. The only reason they had so much time to study was because of all the demon hunting she had been doing lately.
Her mother did not notice and went on, “oh, sure! So, what do you say to some dinner? Just the two of us! Let’s go somewhere nice, shall we? What about that new French restaurant? Monde D’Or (World of Gold)?”
Monde D’Or flashed through Mina’s head. Wasn’t that Claire’s father’s restaurant? What if she helped her father in the restaurant? But Mina had no time to protest, since her mother already called the place and made reservations. ‘Oh well,’ she thought, ‘how bad can it be?’
“I got the tables. You went shopping, so let’s dress up, and you show me what you bought for yourself.”
Glad to be able to smile sincerely, Mina nodded cheerfully.
Mina, followed by Georgina, walked up the stairs, joking and laughing. As soon as they were in Mina’s room, where Artemis was curled up on her bed, sleeping, they unpacked the bags. Then there was some arguments as to what Mina should wear, since she bought so many things ^_^, but finally they agreed that Mina looked best in the dress she showed Star earlier. Meanwhile, her mom went to her own room and dressed herself up.
As Georgina came back in a tight black dress, Mina was speechless; she thought she had seen all of her mother’s clothes, but it seemed that this was new, “wow! Is that a new dress?”
Georgina waved it off and laughed, “no, I’ve had it for many years, I just didn’t wear it for a long time. I wore this when I was in College. Oh, those were nice days! We sometimes would stay awake all night and watch the sun rise, and we would always have so much fun…”
Seeing the regret in her mother’s eyes, she quickly added, “well, now we can have fun! It’s Saturday, so I can stay up all night long and do stuff!”
“You know, that is a splendid idea! We should just go out, and go to dinner, then watch a movie and maybe get some ice cream!” she stroked Mina over her hair, who replied, “sounds great! Let’s go!”
Monde D’Or was in downtown Tokyo, so Mina and her mom had to take the subway to the restaurant. When they finally arrived, Claire was outside, together with her brother Thomàs, kidding around. When Mina and Georgina arrived, they both became silent, and bowed slightly. Mina and Georgina returned the greeting, and Thomàs took them inside. Mina glanced over to Claire, who starred at the floor. When she looked away, Claire looked up at her and Georgina. There was a faint envy in her eyes.
The restaurant appeared to be very nice, with tables with red tablecloths and burning candles. The atmosphere steamed with romanticism, mellowness and exquisite. Mina and Georgina adored the paintings and flowers.
Thomàs lead them to a table in the corner, by a window out onto the street. The street lanterns burned, and all sorts of people walked around. Mina and Georgina sat across from each other.
“Well, what do you want, sweetie?” she looked over the Menu card carefully, “Hmm, I heard their omelets are wonderful, and their salads are also supposed to be very, very good.”
Serge came over to their table, ready to request their drinks. Mina quickly glanced at him. ‘That must be who Sandra has a crush on. . .’
“What would the ladies like to drink?” Serge asked in his charming French accent.
“Well, I’d like a Merlot, and you, sweetie?”
Taken by the handsome guy, Mina stuttered, “orange juice, please.”
When Serge left, Georgina leaned forward and smiled, “so, tell me, how is everything in school? Don’t hold back anything”
“Anything?” Mina asked, while Georgina nodded. She unfolded her napkin carefully and took a slice of bread from the stash given to them, chewing slowly as she thought of what to say, “well, it’s pretty cool. I have some nice friends, like Serena, Lita and Star. And of course, there is Hathor, and Sandra, and Iris… Iris and I have the best taste in fashion… and we know all about what’s hip and stuff…” Mina swallowed hard, that just sounded preppy.
“I remember when I was your age… I had just met the cutest boy ever! Do you have a boyfriend, too?” Georgina put her hand on that of her daughter.
A deep red blush spread over her face, “uhm… not really.”
She could have kissed Serge at that moment when he came with the drinks, “here’s your merlot, and your orange juice. What would you ladies like for dinner? Or do you need more time?”
“No, that is quite alright. I would like the Filet Mignon,” Georgina put down the card and looked at her daughter.
“Uhm… I’d like the Omelette Niçoise,” she said, still shaky.
As he left, Georgina looked at her daughter adoringly. She thought she knew who her daughter had a crush on. Mina was shocked when it finally dawned upon her, ‘oh, god, no, she thinks I like Serge!’
At that moment, Claire lead Lita, Raye, Chad and Ken to a table not to far away from Mina’s table. They noticed each other, smiled, and waved. Georgina leaned over the table and asked if Mina wanted to sit with her friends.
A quick look in their direction, and Mina replied, “naw, that’s ok. I like sitting with you. I see them every day during lunch. Besides, they already seem to have a full party.”
“Are those their boyfriends?”
Mina blushed again and shook her head, “not exactly. They are good friends.”
“Or so they say, right?” Georgina laughed lightheartedly, “back when I was their age, I also always denied that your father was my boyfriend.”
Mina laughed with her mother, and was glad when the food came and they could change topics. They talked about fashion, celebrities, school, all the things daughters and mothers usually talked about when alone at dinner. Only once did Mina glance over to Lita and Raye, only to see them so busily talking and joking, no one looked back.
‘I guess that is how they deal with the stress, they go out. But how do you balance senshi, family and friends? I have not been able to spend so much time with my school friends except when I am in school, and my family I only see when I am at home. Sometimes we don’t even have dinner all together. I wish I could-’
Her thoughts were interrupted by screams and shouts, while her mother looked outside, only to see a huge demon coming their way.
~*~
“Sheba is still missing,” the girl’s voice is angry, “and you have not done anything to find her except getting many of my friends lost. The void is getting bigger. And no one can stop it, except for me. But I need Sheba to stop it. I need her.”
“I know,” the boy stepped behind her, “I know.”
“We also haven’t gotten those girls! I only want one of them, the one that is always on the outside, the one who said she didn’t like the others. She will be easier to find. We will forge an allegiance and then we will find Sheba. We will destroy the void and rebuild our empire.”
~*~
Mina had no time to think things through; she pulled her mother away from the window to the middle of the room. Everyone looked up as glasses and plates shattered. Quickly, Mina, followed by her mother, crawled over to Lita and Raye. Unspoken words went back and forth, until an agreement was made. Mina told her mother to stay where she was; she was going to get help. Raye and Lita told Chad and Ken the same thing. Luckily for Lita, Ken was hurt and let her go, but Chad was harder to convince. Finally, Raye just stuck one of her charms on him and left.
Once behind one of the tables, the girls transformed. Dûment was already at the scene, kicking butt with her soap bubbles.
Sailor Venus stood up from behind the table and called her attack, “Venus Lonely-” she was stopped by a thick cloud which was send by the demon. She gradually fell to her knees, and then unconscious. Mars and Jupiter did the same.
Mina’s head hurt as she sat up. She was still Sailor Venus. The cloud had vanished, but everyone was still unconscious. She looked for Raye and Lita, also still in their senshi uniforms, and unconscious. Her mother, Ken and Chad also. She looked up towards the window, where Dûment had been. Shock shook through her body.
“Mars, Jupiter! Wake up! Dûment is gone!” she shook them both.
“Hurray?” Mars’ eyes slowly opened and she grinned, but sat up shocked when she understood it was no joke, “well, maybe she just took off...”
Venus stood up and went over to the window. On the ground lay a piece of Dûment’s skirt as well as the necklace she wore at all times below all her clothes. Maybe a clue?
She held the items up, as Mars and Jupiter slowly but surely made their way towards the window. Without another word they left the building quickly and searched the street with quick eyes. Where could she be?
Jupiter pulled out her communicator and called Florie. She said she couldn’t get away from the café, with Star gone off with Sandra for an astrology fair, and Robby at practice for the game the next day.
“But I’ll try and close up early. Ah, but that will be too late. Call Serena and the others, but get moving. I’ll talk to Luna and Artemis.”
“Florie, you are the only one who can, with Serena’s help, vanquish a demon who is looking for Sheba! We need you!” Jupiter shouted into the comm. device. Florie just shook her head, “I can’t, not without raising suspicion.”
“Well, we’re wasting valuable time. Jupiter, you stay here until the others get here. Mars and I will be searching for Dûment meanwhile. If anything comes up, we’ll call you, ok?”
“Be careful,” Jupiter yelled behind them.
They searched everywhere, but Dûment did not turn up anywhere. Venus and Mars were out of breath when they sunk onto stairs that lead to an apartment building.
“Why do you care so much on finding her anyway?” Mars panted.
“What do you mean? I care for her as much as I care for an ex-boyfriend who was a complete jerk, although I could not see that since I was blinded with love,” Venus replied, also trying to catch her breath, “but then again, that was not an accurate analogy. I would still care for a guy like that. But I don’t care for that bimbo.”
“Then why are you trying harder than anyone else to find her?”
“Don’t be ridiculous! I am not trying any harder than anyone else would for a person they know. Who knows why they want her. Maybe she’ll tell on all of us?”
“Yeah, whatever,” Mars smiled, “you just stuck your neck out for her a long, long way with this whole chasing and transforming in public,” Mars put a hand on her shoulder, “do you want to know what I think? I think you don’t think she’s that bad. It’s like with Serena and I, just a little more... colder. I don’t know! But she’s attracted your attention, and you don’t want her to get hurt. It’s perfectly normal to feel that way.”
“But she’s not someone I want to be friends with. She’s annoying and she’s a brat, and she has S.A.P.”
“S.A.P.? What is that?”
“Severe attitude problems.”
They both laughed and got up again. They ran off again, looking for Dûment. Meanwhile, Rainbow and Mercury were searching the mall, when they stumbled on another clue. But this time, they were sure that Dûment must have been hurt. It was her tiara.
“Oh no,” Venus sat down on one of the benches as she heard what Mercury had to say over the comm. device, “what shall we do now?”
“I have an idea,” Mercury pulled out her computer, “there are some DNA on the tiara. If we can locate what it is, we may be able to scan the whole city for it and find Dûment.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Florie joined in, “Venus, you and Mars stay where you are. We will divide into teams and split up. That way, when Mercury has the location we can get there faster.”
“Rigth!” all answered in choir. Jupiter went north with Star; Orion and Love went south; Hope and Solaris went to the west; Moon would be joined by Earth as they went east; Mercury and Rainbow stayed where they were, and Venus and Mars would stay in the rich part of town, which was on the other side of where the others were.
“Somewhere in my gut, I have the feeling she’s near us, and we’ll have to defeat the demon all by ourselves,” Mars sighed, “and all for that brat. I wonder if she would do it for us.”
“No doubt there, she would,” Venus cracked her neck, “what, I do have some faith in her.”
“Why? Or better, how?”
“Because every time she would not let us die. She would try to save us, if it were the last thing she could do. She might not like us, but she would not let us die.”
“I wish I could have that attitude. So, anyway, what’s up with the whole mother-daughter thing?”
Venus jumped up, “I completely forgot about that! Mom must be worried sick!”
“Actually,” Mars sat up, “Mercury gave them an extra round of snoozes. Love said it was pretty funny.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
The minutes went by, but they seemed like hours. When the comm. device finally did bleep, Mars and Venus had almost fallen asleep.
“Mars, Venus, you two are closest. I’m giving you the coordinates now. It seems to be in the park where you are now. Go, we’ll catch up as fast as we can.”
“Right,” Mars and Venus jumped up and started running towards the address. Whatever it was, they would find it and destroy it, Venus swore to herself.
Dûment was still half unconscious, but she could feel the wound on the back of her head. It burned and ached, but nothing compared to the pain that hammered in her head. It was as if the entire world was spinning, and she was the only one standing still. But she was not standing. She was sitting on a chair, in a dark room. Her wrists and ankles were tied down, but the ropes that cut into her flesh did not hurt her. She was so overwhelmed by the pain in her head; every other body part was irrelevant. She opened her eyes slightly again, but only to feel more discomfort because of the light that was in the room. It was as if the sun had come down and shone right into her eyes. Sun... Solaris... would they be coming to save her or not?
“I only want Sheba,” a voice, sweet, innocent and soft said; Dûment could not see who the voice belonged to, it was too bright, “I only want her. I think you know where she is. She is the one who can save us all, but only by helping me. She ran away. She did not want to come and help me. She doesn’t want to fight the void because she’s afraid.
“She said, it was the last thing that reminded her of who she was. She knows who she is, but the void is gnawing away at her sanity. She is more powerful insane than sane, but less useful. She can be unpredictable, but only to those who don’t know her the way I do. If she goes insane, we are all doomed, including you and the other girls.
“I understand you do not care for them. I know what you are going through. So does Sheba. I want your help, and I’ll offer mine.”
Dûment tried to say something, but her voice broke. She licked her lips, but her tongue was so heavy... it was an effort just to do that little task. She swallowed hard and tried once again, “what... what could you... possibly have... that I want? Why would I... want your help?”
“Because we both know that you don’t like them, they don’t like you, and I don’t like them. We can change that. I can help you destroy them!”
“I don’t need your help!”
“My brother,” the little boy stepped out of the shadows into the bright light, “might be more help. I need Sheba; Sheba needs me. But if you don’t want to listen to me, listen to him.”
“The world that I lived on my entire life was destroyed by the Negaverse,” he started, but was cut off by Dûment, “and why should I care? So was mine!”
The boy continued, as if Dûment had not spoken, “all of our race was forced onto one ship, colony-sized. It could only sustain 200 of us. The Creator was gentle with us; only 147 of my race still lived. Sheba was not one of them; she was still on our home world, fighting the evil. The only thing she could do to prevent the Negaverse from winning was to create the Endless Darkness.
“This killed all the life left on the planet, on our colonies, on our bases. It was like a plague, killing each and every one of us. Sheba would rather we die than to let the Negaverse tap into our resources, our knowledge and our... special gifts.”
“Heartbreaking,” Dûment smiled at the boy, but it wasn’t a warm, pitiful or understanding smile; it was hateful, cold and full of rage, “and yet, so compelling to stir up emotions. Too bad I have none, except for hate!”
“Then you are dead inside. Just like us,” the girl came closer to Dûment, “we can forge an alliance and destroy the other girls!”
“I may be dead inside, but you are going to be dead outside pretty soon,” Dûment’s wrists and ankles were fighting fiercely against the ropes, trying to break them. The girl just looked at the ropes, and, squinting her eyes, they became tighter. Their special gifts! The ropes tightened, further and further until suddenly-
“Mars Fire Arrows Fire!” Sailor Mars pointed the bow towards the ropes and fired the arrow precisely that the ropes would be burned, but the skin would stay unharmed.
“Venus Lonely Heart!” she pointed it at the boy, who stepped back into the darkness and was gone. The girl also disappeared.
Dûment just finished untying the ropes at her ankles when the demon they had seen earlier came up behind Sailor Venus. Dûment saw it first and yelled for Venus to get out of the way, but it was too late. He smashed his elbow (if you call it an elbow... ^_^) into her back and made her bang into the wall. Mars was about to counter attack when the demon also elbowed her into the wall. Dûment, quick like a fox, jumped behind the chair, and attacked with her soap bubbles block attack.
“Quick, we have to get out of here,” she whispered, hoarsely, “the bubbles won’t keep him off long.” There was a wall of soap bubbles between the demon and them. They quickly ran for the door, only to find it locked.
“Leave this to me!” Mars pushed them out of the way, “Mars Celestial Fire Surround!” The door was blown away by the fire.
“Quickly!” Venus urged Dûment, who was lagging a little because of her injuries.
“Go! I’m right behind you! Stop worrying about me and start worrying about yourself! GO!” Dûment yelled at Venus now, who stubbornly refused, “I will not leave you behind!”
“You’re not, I’m right behind you! Run faster! Or do you want to die?” Dûment pushed ahead, in spite of her injury, to show Venus that she was all right. Mars was way ahead, at least fifty feet ahead of them. She looked over her shoulder while running. A couple of yards behind them was the demon, catching up fast.
Dûment and Venus were running as fast as they could. Dûment, who was still suffering from the injuries, suddenly fell. Her leg hurt so much that she could hardly move it. Venus tried to help her up, but she pushed her away, “Go!” Venus looked at her, right into her eyes; pain, fear, hate, and concern all mixed together in them. It was like a tinted window into her soul, and only those things stood out just enough to be seen a little but. But as soon as she had seen it, the window closed with a loud crash, and blankness replaced the emotions.
The demon was now a couple of feet away from them, in two, three steps he was right on top of them, when a card, the Ace of Hearts, cut off a piece of Venus’s hair on the side, but still made its hit in the center of the demon. Sailor Love!
Venus did not waste any time, “Venus Lonely Heart!”
“Who are you?” the demon stumbled backwards as he screamed this.
“I am Sailor Earth, sworn defender of Earth. I'm here to defend all life from evil! And you are definitely evil!” Earth was standing with three senshi at her left side, and three at the right, and next to them were four of the inner senshi plus Tuxedo Mask.
“And I am Sailor Moon, the champion of justice! And in the name of the Moon, I shall right wrongs, and triumph over evil! And that means, you!” Sailor Moon delivered a perfect speech. Sailor Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter lined up next to her, nodding once.
“And I should be impressed? This attack may have weakened me a little, but I have the power of the sleep cloud!”
“Oh no you don’t! Earth Stave-” Sailor Earth held out her stave; Sailor Moon joined her, “and Moon Wand-” she pulled it out of nowhere; in unison, they then shouted, “combine to punish!”
Dûment slowly got up from the street. Her leg was scraped and there were still rope marks on her wrists, and fine bloodlines on her tights, where the ropes had been digging into her skin and made her bleed, plus her skirt was ripped in many places. Sailor Earth walked over to her and put Dûment’s tiara back onto her forehead.
Dûment wiped over it once, then looked at Venus, “thank you,” was all she said, then she turned and started to walk away.
“Wait!” Venus walked after her, “why do you always leave at the end? Why are you always so cold and indifferent?”
But Dûment just kept walking. Whatever bonding they had made in those two seconds or less was shattered again. Dûment just walked away from them.
Mina was back home with Georgina, who was complaining about a headache and hallucinations. She said it had been weird, whatever happened.
‘I guess stress is part of being who I am,’ she though to herself while she sat upstairs, reading, ‘and I think it is worth it too.’
“Mina, come quick,” Artemis landed on the windowsill, “there’s trouble at the café!”
Mina was immediately up and ready, “what sort of trouble?”
“Well,” Artemis jumped down from the windowsill onto the floor, “Serena and Hathor are in a head-to-head fight about who gets the last muffin!”
Mina laughed as she picked him up, “I guess I have to go then too, right?”
