Waking Mercury

Makoto and Ami meet in chapter three, so if you are just reading for the shoujo-ai portion I ask to please not judge my story by the first chapter. I am trying to keep it mostly "real life" Alternate Universe stuff, with less emphasis on the Magical girl aspects .

For my stories I made a few changes to characters here and there. Mainly Motoki "Andrew" is an American Air force brat. And Ami’s mom will be playing a minor role. Her name since I don’t recall it is Ayanee Mizuno. Also several of the senshi are different ages. Thus far I have Usagi at 14, Ami at 13, Mina at 17, Makoto at 16, and Andrew and Mamoru at 19. I am also having Mina be of British decent, and Makoto half Japanese.

Also I didn’t use honorifics in this story because I am not confidant enough to use them yet. If you know any good sites that explains them please e-mail me.

"Usagi?” Naru called out to her friend, who was lying peacefully in the grass. Usagi didn’t want to acknowledge her. She was trying to take a quick nap after happily gorging herself on two curry bentos. Persistent to talk to her friend Naru gently nudged Usagi’s leg with her shoe. “Usagi wake up lazy bones.”

“Naaaniii?” Usagi lazily drawled out the word and slowly sat up. She stuck out her tongue at her friend and blew a raspberry. “Why’d you wake me I just wanted a little nap, I am soooo stuffed” she accentuated this remark by patting her full belly.

Naru pushed a lock of her wavy brown hair behind her ear and sighed. “Really Usagi, you can be so lazy sometimes. Besides lunch is done in ten minutes, and I wanted to know if you wanted to go to the Arcade after school.”

Usagi’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. “Hai of course. I must practice at the Sailor V game. I can only get to level two, but today I will try my best and get to level three.” With this pronouncement she stood up and made a defiant, heroic pose. Which caused Naru to start laughing at her friends silliness. “What about you Naru? What game are you going to play today?”

The small girl thought about this for a moment. “I think the dancing game. I like the music and there is a character that has long ponytails like you do, but they're pink instead of white. Anyways, it’s fun to mess up and watch her klutz out.”

“Hey!” Usagi makes a sour face at her friend.

“I’m just kidding. Besides the main reason I want to go is to see this new super gamer everyone is talking about.”

“Super gamer?”

“Yep.” Naru continued “Well there’s two actually I heard that they just started going a couple days ago and they already have the highest score on half the games.”

“Sugoi!!! What are they like?”

“well I hear that they are probably sisters..”

“They’re Girls!!!?”

“Usagi don’t interrupt, as I was saying they are sisters one is a lot older, but the younger one seems to be better than she is.”

“She is!!!! I heard that to.” Umino plopped down in front of the two friends. “Yeah I wanted to see them yesterday but there is always a crowd of people surrounding whatever games they are playing”

“Umino?” Naru spoke the name with not a little hint of annoyance. “WHY DO YOU ALWAYS JUST POP INTO THE MIDDLE OF CONVERSATIONS!!!!!!!! It’s rude.” Naru crossed her arms and huffed a little bit. Usagi just giggled, And after recovering Umino chuckled nervously and ran off.

“Naru?” Usagi gave her friend a squinty eyed look. “you didn’t have to be so mean you know. Besides he might have had some useful information.”

“No information he has is worth his presence, He’s really creepy.” Naru shudded dramatically and leaned in close to whisper conspiratorially into her blonde friends ear. “Besides do you ever wonder how he gets his information? He just watches people. And who knows how many times he’s watched us.”

“Eeeeeeeeww” Usagi cringed. “Yuck I did not want to think about that. Thanks a lot.”

The school bell rang and Naru stood up and patted her friends shoulder. “Don’t mention it, that is what friends are for right? Anyways I’ll meet you in front of the school when classes are over ok?” “Don’t forget.” Naru called over her shoulder as she skirted off to her class.

After school had let out the two friends had met as planned and headed off to the Arcade. On the way there they decided to stop in to get some Ice cream at the local ice cream parlor.

“Usagi, This is the third time I paid for ice cream. You owe me big time” Usagi just smiled and stuck her tongue out at her friend. The friend in question just shook her head and smiled as they made there way down the street eating their frozen treats.

As Usagi was greedily slurping down her double scoop strawberry cone she let her mind wonder about the mysterious game player. I can’t wait to meet these girls. Usually the boys are the best, but these girls beat em all!!! They are so inspiring. I wonder if they have played the Sailor V game and they could give me some pointers. That would be so exciting! And then I’ll finally be able to beat it, and Andrew will come up to me and he’ll notice how cool I am. Then He will tell me how much he’s always admired me and wants to date me bwahahahahaha!!

“Usagi!!!” Naru’s voice snapped the blonde out of her musings. “Your drooling.”

Usagi’s face turned six shades of red as she wiped her mouth and quickly downed the rest of her ice cream.

Two young women sat together at one of the Crown Arcade’s many games. One appeared to be in her early twenties and the other in her early teens. The older of the two was about 5 foot 6 and had a fit slightly muscular body. Her black hair was cut in the style of one of the more popular men’s cuts. It suited her very well. Her companion was sitting on a stool, but it was obvious how short she was. Probably under five feet tall and almost painfully thin. She also wore her hair short though not as short as her companion. Her shimmering black hair reached just about mid neck, and was defiantly well cared for.

Neither of the two were aware that they were surrounded by a crowd of at least a dozen people. All of which who were totally entranced in admiring the women’s skill. For the most part they just stared in silence Only the occasional comment or excited encouragement was spoken from the crowd. No one wanted to break the deep concentration of the two master gamers.

Truth be told neither women were paying much attention to the game at all. They used the monotony of the button mashing to allow their minds to wonder while still spending time together. The games themselves were simple enough to let them do this without constantly loosing. Simple to them anyway, most people would normally have to practice for hours to get to the level of play that they had achieved. But to the women sitting it just came natural.

The Eldest of the pair, Ayanee Mizuno was currently thinking of the move she and her daughter had just made. They had lived in America for the last three years. She had been working in a large hospital and her daughter was attending a special school for the gifted. However unforeseen circumstances had arose which demanded that she pack up everything and move. She didn’t know why she chose Tokyo. True she was offered a very good job here plus there were several outstanding schools for Ami to attend. But, she had found the same if not better elsewhere. No, there was just something about this place. A gut feeling that they had to be here.

Ayanee mused about what drew her here. She wandered if it had anything to do with her and her daughters reoccurring dreams. Or the weird unexplained things that kept occurring around them. For example, Ami for no explainable reasons over the last six months has started having sporadic bouts of autism. She would just blink out of reality for varying lengths of time. During a few of her trips, Ayanee had noticed that any water around Ami during these times would start moving in impossible ways. At first she was deathly afraid of this and wanted someone to check her daughter out. However, she was a doctor herself and knew that if this were revealed then Ami would just be subjected to endless tests by who knows who. Ayanee definantly did not want her daughter subjected to that. So, after thinking things through she decided not to panic and that if her daughter was indeed causing this it wasn’t harmful. Therefore there was no logical reason to be afraid.

Instead she watched and observed. In time she discovered that while Ami was in trance she too could control water. That is, she could cause it to freeze and then she could manipulate the ice. This wasn’t the only thing. When she first started understanding and practicing her control over ice, her hair started to change color. Originally it was a dark black, then gradually it faded to a light baby blue. Ayanee had liked it, but she had to change the color back due to her position in the work force. But the weirdest thing of all was that she had stopped physically aging. Over the coarse of the last six months her body had returned to the shape it had been in when she was in her twenties. Lucky for her it seemed to have stopped there.

Then there were the dreams. Visions of an ethereally beautiful woman with long platinum blonde hair would stand before her, telling her about a different impossible world. She would tell her to protect her daughter and her friends in the war to come. But above all she must find the princess. Ayanee had confided in Ami about the dreams. Her daughter surprised her by saying that it appeared that they were sharing the same ones. Only Ami was being told that she was a soldier that must protect the princess and find something called the Imperium Silver Crystal.

All these thoughts played around inside Ayanee’s head. She was worried, more for her daughter than for herself of course. However, she needed to decide on what they were going to do. Was her daughters condition going to get worse? Were more of her body parts going to change shape or color? And if the dreams were to believed, should the tall woman calling herself Serenity be trusted?

Aside from all that weirdness there was also all the things that went along with normal life. Would Ami like where she was going to get enrolled? Would she need special supervision due to her new condition? Would she be able to make friends here, unlike the many other places they lived. As far as her daughter was concerned though, she mostly worried for her health. Ami had started to get so skinny the last couple months. She would spend all her time in trance or with her nose stuck in a book or playing a video game. Yes, there were many problems to be dealt with. But Ayanee Mizuno is a strong woman and she knew everything would turn out right.

Ami’s thought somewhat mirrored her mother‘s, only she mostly focused on which school she was to attend this year. She was already entering the tenth grade even though she is only thirteen years old. Well thirteen and a half if you asked her. She is very touchy about her age. Her mother had shown her over half a dozen private schools. Most wouldn’t accept her due to her condition, they just didn’t have the resources to watch out for her. Even the fact that she is a genius and was several grades higher then anyone her age didn’t help her any. Ami and her mother talked about it for a while and decided that she would attend a public school, and then attend a private school part time for cram lessons.

Going to a public school would be a new thing for Ami. She hasn’t ever been to one. Her mother had always enrolled her into private schools. Ami was worried about the way she would be treated. Even in the private schools she was always an outcast. Teachers have asked her to stay at her normal grade for social reasons, but Ami could not stand to idle in those classes. The young genius decided that she would go the unconventional route and do her best no matter what anyone else said.

She never did regret that decision, even if she did get lonely at times. Mostly that didn’t bother her though, because her mother was around. However every now and again she wanted to be able to talk and converse with someone besides her.

When she was younger, Ami had really tried to make friends. At first she was really out going, but her classmates never gave her a chance. Even kids in the lower grades shunned her to an extent, and the few who didn’t weren’t up to Ami’s intellectual or maturity levels. She still tried to get to know those kids, but they just couldn’t relate and the friendship would dissolve rather early. Because of this Ami retreated into herself and her books and games and became an extremely shy introvert. The desire to find friends though, never did fade.

Andrew Cook, sat quietly behind the front desk of the Crown Arcade. The young blonde haired man was reading through a copy of a video game magazine, and was trying to translate from Japanese to English. He wasn’t doing a very good job.

“Hey Andrew!” Mamaru Chiba, Andrews best friend strolled up to the counter and looked over his friends shoulder. “What are you reading?”

“Huh!! Jesus Chiba you scared the piss out of me.” Andrew who was lost in his translations was startled by his friends sudden appearance.

“Ha!” The tall handsome youth smirked at his friend and tossed him a pop. “here catch.”

“Hey thanks Chiba, treaten for sodas. You big spender you” The blonde American leaned back in his chair and popped the top from his coke.

“Feel lucky I got you anything, especially since you still owe me for dinner.” Andrew was about to reply but Mamoru just waved his comment off, letting him know that he wasn’t serious. “So, what were you so wrapped up in that I startled you so bad?”

“Just this damn gaming magazine. I am trying to keep up with the new stuff but it’s all in Japanese and I can’t under stand it.”

“I thought you knew Japanese?” Mamoru cocked an eyebrow at his friend while slowly sipping at his drink.

“Sure, I can speak it like a pro, but I haven’t learned to read or write it yet.” The black haired teen gave a questioning look to his friend, who responded with a frustrated one of his own. “It’s difficult and besides, I never really needed to learn it. I went to American schools at the military base here, and I go to college on base also.”

“Whatever Cook. You should have learned it a while ago. But, if you really want to learn I could help you find a tutor.” Mamaru continued to lean against the wall and talked while staring out the window of the arcade. “More than likely they’ll trade for English Lessons.”

“What about you? Can’t you teach me?” Andrew was intrigued by the suggestion, but he really didn’t want to work with anyone he didn’t know.

“I would if I could. But, I have to much going on to devote time into thinking up lessons. Sorry, but I’ll have to say no.” Mamaru finished his drink and passed the empty bottle to his friend. “Put this in the trash please”

“Sure” Andrew grabbed his friends bottle and tossed it in the can behind him. “Well, Chiba I would appreciate it if you could hook me up with someone who can. Maybe a cute girl huh?”

“Hah,” the black haired youth let out a short laugh. “Always looking for the women, huh pall?”

“Well you know me.” Andrew slicked back his short blonde hair and flashed an all American smile. “Women love me, and I love women.”

Mamaru just shook his head. “That’s going to get you into trouble one of these days my friend.” It was then that he noticed the huge crowd now up to 19 or so people crowded around one game machine.

“Nah,” Andrew smiled. “I’ll be fine, beside I gotta do this shit while I’m young. Am I right or what?” “Hey” The cocky American noticed that his friend’s attention was devoted elsewhere. Seeing what it was he just leaned back into a bored posture. “Ah that crowd is for the arcades new sensations. Although I wish they would play games instead of just watching them.” He said this loud enough that a few patrons heard him and did run off to other games. Andrew chuckled.

“New Sensations?” Mamaru turned to look at his friend.

“Oh, well two girls started showing up here a couple days ago. One of em is fine as hell too. Well except her haircut, a bit too dykeish if you ask me. And the others probably her kid sister or something. Anyways, they just show up for around an hour every day and randomly play a game. So far they have beat half the games in here got top score. They beat all our old records buddy.”

“No kidding.” Mamaru replied. “Well I will just have to go see how good they really are.” With that the handsome youth headed into the direction of the crowd. However the chime of the door and Andrew calling stopped him.

“Hey Chiba.” Andrew Whispered loudly. “Your girlfriend's here” Mamaru moaned knowing exactly who his friend was talking about.

Said girl Usagi Tsukino, had just entered the arcade with her best friend Naru in tow. Spotting her frequent tormentor, Mamaru Chiba, she started in a straight beeline towards him. Naru just looked on confused, while Andrew smiled in amusement. Go Chiba you cradle robber you!! Usagi soooo wants you. Little young for my taste though. His eyes drifted to Naru hoping to find a slightly older girl there, but didn’t. Disappointed he continued to watch his two friends interactions.

“Hello Odango-atama!! Shouldn’t you be at home studying today?” Usagi’s face started to flush as Mamaru teased her. “Especially after the horrible marks you got on your test last week.”

“Ooooooohh, Why do you tease me all the time it’s not fair all I wanted to do was come here and watch the super gamers, not listen to you.” The platinum haired girl walked up to him and smiled a huge grin. Mamaru looked at her in confusion. Then winced in pain as she jammed her heel into his foot. “Ooooowww what was that for?”

“Serves you right.” Usagi pronounced triumphantly as she pushed by him towards the gamers. “Coming Naru?” She smiled brightly over her little victory.

“DAMN Chiba!!” Andrew walked up and slapped his smarting friend on the shoulder. “You got dissed by a little girl."

“She’s not that little, and she stomps hard.” Mamaru replied while rubbing his throbbing toes.

“Whatever you say my friend.” Andrew smirked with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “And you know if you really want to score with her you need to try some different lines.”

Mamaru flushed a dark red. “I am not interested in her that way you hentai.”

“Uh huh, sure you're not.” Andrew skeptically replied then leaned over to whisper conspiratorially with his embarrassed friend. “Seriously though. I’m friends with Usagi I could get you two hooked up in no time.”

Mamaru just pushed his now laughing friend away. “Don’t tease so much Cook, and I’m not interested.” Andrew just stared at him knowingly. “Whatever, I’m out of here I need to study.” and with that The tall flustered youth left the arcade. Andrew sat back at his desk sporting a very big shit eating grin.

Just as Usagi and Naru were joining the small crowd, a beeper went off startling the two gamers out of their thoughts. The older of the two stopped playing and checked her beeper. All the onlookers gasped, shocked that she would just give up her game when she was so far into it. The gasps also alerted her to their presence she chuckled soundlessly to herself and whispered into her daughters ear.

“Ami, I need to get going I just got a call back from the interview this morning. Will you be ok here on your own, or do you want me to give you a ride home?”

“I think I’ll stay a little longer mom, I should be ok I haven’t felt bad at all today.”

Ayanee gently squeezed her daughters shoulders. “Alright. Just be careful, and call me on my cell if you need anything.”

“Sure mom.” Ami replied easily, just wanting to return to the game and her thoughts.

Ayanee Mizuno leaned in to talk to her daughter one more time. “Oh and honey you might pull your nose out of the game and try and make some friends, it seems we have acquired a fan base.”

Ami quickly turned around to see the small crowd that had gathered around her. She gently flushed at the attention then turned back to her game, to shy to say anything.

Her mother just shook her head as she walked away. Ami you're going to need to get over your shyness some time. You need friends to stand by you in hard times. And I won’t have much free time if I get this job. Right when she was about to leave she had an idea that might at least get Ami talking. “One of you feel free to take my place. My player hasn’t died yet” As she left the arcade she missed the mad dash of people trying to take her spot at the game machine.

Naturally, Usagi tried to get to the empty seat but she was pushed away by a bigger faster individual. He in turn was pushed away by someone else. This continued for a while. During that time Ami quietly escaped the chaos and made her way to the front counter.

“Ano?” The shy young girl wanted to get the attention of the man sitting behind the desk. However, he was currently trying to translate his magazine….. Again. Ami tried a little louder. “Excuse me sir.”

“Did you just call me sir?” Andrew balked at the indignity of it all. “I don’t look that old do I?”

“Gomen Nasai! I didn’t mean it like that.” the small girl blushed and started to turn away.

“Hey don’t go I was only teasing you.” Ami stopped but didn’t turn around. “Awww c’mon” The pouting in his voice got her to turn and face him. “Don’t be mad, if you left what would happen to all the business you and your sister bring in?” Andrew flashed Ami his best smile. Which if in the movies it would have been good enough to have a sparkle ding off the edge. Ami slowly reproached the desk calmed by Andrews charm. “So, what can I do for such a beautiful young lady? Oh wait how rude of me, My name is Andrew Cook Pleased to meet you.” He held out his hand which Ami gently clasped.

“My name is Ami Mizuno. I am new to the area, and I would like to know if you could suggest any good places to eat.” Ami held her head down while talking not wanting to make much eye contact.

“Sure I know a bunch. As a matter of fact there is a great dinner down the block that has the best Ice cream shakes. You know, you look like you could use some company.” Ami suddenly looked up at him startled. “No, not me.” Andrew hastily explained Although if your sister were here… He left that thought open. “I meant that I have a friend that’s near your age that is always into going out for lunch. What do you think?”

“It’s not a guy is it?” Ami seemed interested but was obviously still a little uncomfortable.

“Well nooo, but if you want to go out with a guy.” Ami flushed and shook her head no. “Hey just teasing again. Seriously though, see that girl over their with the weird silver hair?” The younger girl turned her head and easily picked her out of the crowd who were now taking turns trying to finish beating the game. “That’s my friend Usagi Tsukino. I think she’s here with a friend too so you could all go out.”

“Well…” Seeing that Ami looked hopeful, Andrew went ahead and called his friend over. “YO USAGI!!!” He called out really loud startling Ami. “Get your cute little pigtails over here. I want you to meet someone.”

Usagi turned happily at the sound of her crush’s voice, the flushed dark red at his comment. Oh my gosh he just said my hair was cute!!! He loves me I knew it!! She happily scampered his way leaving her place in line without a second thought. “Yes Andrew.” she addressed him looking at him with doe eyes.

Damn being raised with American morals. Andrew thought. I could so nail her if I wanted to. “Oh ah, Usagi, this is my Ami Mizuno video game superstar, Ami this is my good friend Usagi Tsukino.”

“Oh, Hi Ami, it’s great to meet you oh my gosh I saw you and that other girl playing and I just thought how so cool the two of you were for being so good at the games and I came here wanting to talk to you and…” Ami and Andrew sweat dropped as Usagi ranted on without even knowing if anyone was listening.

“Is she always like that?” Ami asked

“Uh” Andrew hesitated a moment still listening to his friend spout praises. “Not usually that bad but, you are kind of a local celebrity already.” Ami blushed “Still want to go out with her?”

Ami nodded yes just as Usagi was finishing.

“Great. Usagi, Ami is new in town and was going to the Juban Dinner. And I thought you could give her some company.”

“Sure I would love to, but I don’t have enough money.” Usagi lost her smile and looked crest fallen. “Well here” Andrew started to hand Usagi a couple hundred yen. “This is important and you can always treat me later.”

“Ano… I have enough money for us to go even if you wanted your friend to come as well Usagi.” Ami shyly stated.

“Really.... SUGOI!!!!!!!” Usagi smiled happily and called over to her friend who was casually watching their conversation. Naru joined the group and introductions were made, The curly redhead being just a little less hyper than Usagi. Ami politely thanked Andrew and turned to go to the dinner with the two hyper girls following closely behind.

Damn Andrew my boy, when you start finding emaciated little girls attractive you KNOW you need to get laid. Andrew shook the image of Ami out of his head and went back to his magazine.

The three girls quickly made their way to the dinner and had all settled down after placing their orders. Usagi being the overeater that she is ordered a hamburger fries and a shake. Naru just had some tea, still stuffed from her ice cream. While Ami ordered a grilled chicken salad, and some tea as well.

“So.” Usagi muttered around bites of her massive serving. “Tell us about yourself Ami. We already know you’re an expert gamer, but that’s about it.”

“What would you like to know.” Ami gave Usagi a shy smile, overjoyed that anyone would want to talk to her, much less know about her.

“Well.” Usagi thought a moment. “What school are you going to? You look about our age, are you in the eighth grade too?”

“Actually I’m not entirely certain which school I am to attend just yet. I’m pretty sure that I will be going to Juban High though. And then I will attend a private school that just opened up for cram lessons.”

“Juban High?” Naru questioned. “Your already in high school?”

“And Cram School?” Usagi joined in with the questions. “You must study a lot, when do you get the time to play video games.”

“Well I am in the middle of the tenth grade, and I need the cram school to keep up with my lessons.” Ami blushed, as she was feeling little bit uncomfortable. She didn’t want the two girls to know that the private school she was attending was at the college level. It seems that most people looked at her and treated her differently if they knew how smart she really was. “And my mom and I try to spend a little bit of time on the video games everyday. It helps to focus my thoughts.”

“Wow, That was your mom? She looked so young, and you look really young to. How old are you anyway?” Usagi pelted poor Ami with questions and the occasional piece of food, which Ami calmly wiped away with a napkin. Naru mumbled something about Usagi’s manners before she went back to sipping her tea.

“I’m thirteen.” Ami barely mumbled.

“What’s that”

“I’m thirteen and a half.” Ami said a little clearer this time.

“Wow, your younger than we are and still two grades higher. That’s incredible. You must be really smart.” Usagi once again babbled on. Ami started feeling decidedly uncomfortable with the direction of this conversation. Luckily Naru noticed and interrupted her friends barrage of questions and comments.

“Usagi, we asked enough questions. Ami, Usagi and I go to Juban Junior High. It’s close to the High School. I think It’s just three blocks south of it. Where do you live? Maybe we could walk together in the mornings."

“I don’t know…” Ami sounded pretty undecided. She was debating with herself whether or not she really wanted to be friends with these girls. They seemed nice enough, and she really couldn’t afford to be picky.

“Awww C’mon Ami it would be fun!!” Usagi chimed in.

“Ok.” Ami smiled “I would like that. Thank you.”

“Great can I have your phone number so we can call you later to decide where to meet.” Usagi smiled brightly at Ami. She was very happy that she was making a new friend, and a genius at that. Sugoi, with Ami as a friend she can help me get really good at video games. Oh and school to I guess.

Ami dug into the small knapsack she carried with her and pulled out a address book with various Star Trek characters covering it. “Hey who’s that on your book?” Naru asked.

“Oh that’s Star Trek. It has a big cult following in America. It’s ok.” While talking Ami leafed through her book. “Alright lets see here Naru you first what’s you number?” The three girls exchanged numbers and chatted again for a while before they decided it was time to go. Ami actually thought that she could really make some friends here. That’s was when her headache hit.

“Hey Ami are you ok?” Usagi leaned over and rested her hand on her new friends shoulder. “You look kind of pale.”

“It’s nothing.” Ami replied. “Just a migraine I get them often. I just need to get home I’ll see you later ok?” Ami quickly got out of her seat and dropped a bunch of yen on the table and started walking out the door before the two girls could follow. Why now, I was doing so good. I just need to find someplace to hide. I wish I had enough time to call my mom. There, under those bushes by the fountain. Ami ran toward the bush and ducked under it before anyone could see. Soon she was blissfully unaware of anything around her. Unfortunately, she traced out near a large volume of water. And that was defiantly not a good thing.

“What was that all about?” Usagi wandered aloud.

“I don’t know, but look she overpaid way to much.” Naru poked her friend in the shoulder. “Usagi, do you think we should catch up and give her the extra?"

“Yeah Naru we should… Hey!!!” Usagi pointed out the window “I just saw Ami hide underneath that bush. What is she doing? C’mon lets go she if she’s ok.”

Both girls hurried out of the dinner, making sure they scooped up Ami’s change on the way out.

Back at the Arcade or to be more precise, underneath the arcade Luna was conversing with her counterpart in Briton. “Artemis, Why is it that you were able to find the leader of the Inner Senshi, and I got stuck with the new recruit? And not a very good one at that.” Luna’s fur bristled she was not happy.

“C’mon now Luna cut her some slack, she can’t be all that bad.” Artemis calm as always stated through the communicator.

“No Artemis, she’s worse. She is Lazy, Clumsy, and a whiner. I have tried my hardest to get her to become a good senshi, but she is hopeless. She can’t even win a battle on her own. This mysterious Tuxedo Kamen always has to bail her out. I swear I am at my wits end with this girl. And to top it off I have discovered two huge power surges in Tokyo recently. And if they’re the enemy, there is no way Usagi can beat them.”

“Are you finished?” Artemis calmly stated through the intercom. “Look Luna, the girl is only fourteen years old. You need to cut her some slack. She can’t be expected to keep up with the training that you gave the original Senshi, because technically she was never one of them. She was still in training when the Silver Millennium came to an end.” Artemis paused to take a breath and gather his thoughts. “All I’m trying to say is don’t be so hard on her, and lighten up on her training. She might take to it better then.”

“I won’t hold my breath.” Luna still fuming cut in. “I just pray that the beacons we set up will call the remaining Senshi to us soon.”

“What happened to you Luna?”

“Excuse me?” Luna snapped back indignantly “Just what do I mean by that?”

Artemis cringed and whished he hadn’t opened his big mouth. Oh well Might as well say my piece. “You used to be a great teacher Luna. You were strong, patient, caring, and fair. What happened that you lost all that.”

“WHAT HAPPENED?” Luna Shouted “The Silver Millennium was destroyed around us Artemis. That’s what fucking happened. I had to watch helplessly as all the Women whom I was patient, caring, and fair with die because they weren’t strong enough. Because I didn’t train them better. The Moons best warriors were slaughtered because I let them get soft. Because of me the Princess, Lady Serenity, and all the people of the Moon Kingdom perished. So don’t go lecturing me about being a hard ass because I Know I am. I have to be, I will not let this happen again. This time I will make sure my solders are strong enough to send the Dark Kingdom screaming back to whatever hell they came from.”

Across the world Artemis sat at his computer and shook his head. He inwardly cried for the loss of the caring soul that was once the cat he loved. Now she was nothing more than a bitter shell bent on vengeance.

His Ward Mina Bradek sat by him and slowly stroked his back. She knew how much this hurt her friend and mentor. She was also pissed at this other cat for being such a bitch. “Artemis you Shouldn’t have to take that you know. I feel bad for whatever poor girls end up with her”

Artemis paled under his fur and he looked at Mina with shock.

“Artemis, w-h-o w-a-s t-h-a-t.” Luna Slowly drug out her sentence her voice very cool and low.

“Uh, Sailor V?”

::Pause::

“You let your ward listen in on our private conversations.” Luna’s voice started cold and irritated but quickly escalated to loud and pissed. “Have you no structure Artemis? With your lack of discipline and common sense I’ll be surprised if Sailor V becomes half the soldier she was.”

“Bloody Hell.” Mina interrupted “Who do you think you…”

“Shut up girl. This is none of your business.” Luna cut Mina off. “What in Serenity’s name are you thinking Artemis. I….?” Luna stopped yelling and Artemis could here a loud beeping in the background.

“Luna what’s going on?” Artemis called worriedly into the speaker.

“Artemis I have to go I’ll Talk to you later. I just got a high energy reading. It looks like the enemy. I need to find my little Senshi.” And with that she disconnected the transmission and headed towards the destination marked on her view screen. Juban Dinner.

Back in England Artemis shook his head sadly and curled up in Mina’s lap. “You shouldn’t let her be so rude to you. Your such a sweet soul you don’t deserve that. I’d like to give her a piece of my mind.” Mina continued to pet her friend.

“No Mina, Luna did have some points. “We just don’t see eye to eye that’s all.”

“Hmpf! Well, why was she so fussy about me being on the other end of your tele anyways?”

Artemis Paused for a moment before responding. “Well back on the moon, Luna was the general of Serenity’s armies and I was her best scout. When we called each other no one was allowed to listen. And that’s mainly because she made decisions that sometimes meant me telling people to go to their deaths. I think old habits die hard for her.”

“Well, she didn’t have to be so rude about it.” Mina mused in her thick British accent. “And perhaps she should stop looking to the past, and instead focus on the future. It sounds like her current methods are simply brutal. I feel horrible for that poor girl she is training.

“Who knows maybe her way will turn out better.” Artemis commented, although not really believing it. “We’ll see soon enough anyways.”

“Yes, I suppose we will at that.” Mina replied. “But I am hardly looking forward to it.”

“Usagi answer your communicator.” Luna uselessly yelled into her headphones that had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere onto her head. She rounded a corner and dashed through traffic while hoping to get a hold of her student. “Usagi where are you?” Serenity, please let her be ok. I know I am harsh on the girl but it’s only because I care.

Finally Luna arrived at the scene of the disturbance. To put it mildly, it was chaos. Men and women were running screaming everywhere. The water in the large park fountain had become alive and was moving and dancing everywhere. A few people lay on the ground choking having almost drowned in the erratic water movement. The guardian cat quickly scanned for casualties, and whatever might be causing the disturbance.

Usagi and Naru in the meantime were trying to move Ami (who they found dazed and incoherent under the bush) to a safe location. “Usagi I’m scared, what is happening?” Naru was starting to panic “First my mom and I are attacked, and now this. Monsters are everywhere.”

“Just keep calm Naru.” Usagi had become very serious now that she was trying to save a friend. “Lets just keep walking, whatever it was it doesn’t seem to be following us. We just need to get Ami to the arcade and we’ll call her mom.”

“USAGI!!!” Naru screamed. “It IS following us.”

Usagi glanced behind her and saw the water in a snake like form slithering towards them. “Naru run NOW!!!”

Both girls picked up the speed and started running as fast as they could manage. They were having a tough time though because they had to drag Ami between them. The water snake started gaining on them and Naru began to cry. “Naru we are almost there. See it’s right in front of us. I need you to run ahead and open the door.”

“But Usagi!”

“Just do it! I can handle Ami for a moment.” Usagi nodded to her friend as she watched her speed off to the arcade. Great, I just hope Ami is as light as she looks. Crap this thing is coming fast. And I can’t transform, what am I gonna do? what am I gonna do? Usagi was starting to panic, but she held it back determined to get her new friend to safety first.

Andrew was in the middle of giving game instructions (flirting) to a cute girl when Naru came barging into the arcade. “Andrew please you got to help Usagi, It’s going to eat her.”

“Whoa calm down.” Andrew pushed away from the game machine and went to Naru who was crying and shaking. “Now what’s going on where is Usagi?”

“She’s outside please hurry, PLEASE” Naru fell to her knees and was crying in hysterics.

Still not understanding what was going on Andrew ran outside. “Holy Shit!!!!” twenty feet in front of him Usagi and Ami were about 10 seconds away from being swallowed by a giant water worm. “USAGI!!!!! DUCK!!!!” Andrew ran towards the girls as fast as he could, but he knew he wasn’t going to make it.

FLASH

A Bright light erupted in front of the water creature. The light emitted a searing heat and a concussive force that threw Usagi and Ami to the ground. The aquatic snake stopped for a moment before the head of it sizzled and evaporated away. Unfortunately a now slightly shorter snake just grew a new one.

The time this took gave Andrew just enough time to reach the two downed girls, which he quickly scooped up. “Hang on girls I’ll get you out of here.” Fuck, fuck, fuck what the fuck is that. Oh Shit I better not die today. Please God help me save these girls, and if you can save my ass too I’ll swear I’ll start going to church again.

The would be savior made it about five feet before the snake rushed into him. The force of it threw him into the Arcade doors. He was unconscious before he hit the ground. Usagi also tumbled a few feet but didn’t get nearly so busted up. Ami on the other hand, was thrown up into the air. She was about to smash into the ground when the water snake shot out and caught her.

“Ami!!” Usagi forced herself to stand up, even tough it hurt like hell. The fall had scratched her legs up pretty bad. “Hold on I’ll get you” As she walked towards the snake it slowly moved back matching her pace. Usagi reached out as quick as she could and managed to grab her friends hand.

The second Usagi’s hand touched Ami’s the Water Creature swirled madly dislodging her. Pulsing wildly it folded in on itself and changed into a giant bubble. A bubble that Ami was stuck in the middle of with no way to breath.

End of chapter 1.

Well there you have it. I didn’t mean to bring Minako in just yet, but she found her way in any how. I had trouble writing the action scene. How’d I do?

Questions? Comment? Please leave me a review or e-mail me at poepah@yahoo.com