*Theme
song: Never Surrender, by Stan Bush*
Man:
So... Come here often?
Miya
stared at the man for a moment in a blank expression, then exploded into
laughter. The man smiled and leaned
against the counter of the bar. Miya
grinned at the man.
Miya:
So, you like old pickup lines, eh?
Man: I
feel that pickup lines never get old.
And neither do beautiful ladies.
Miya
grinned at the man's attempt to hit on her.
She was enjoying this sense of freedom, of not having someone to be
worried about.
Miya:
Well, then I feel we should celebrate!
Care to join me out in a back room?
The man
raised an eyebrow.
Man: So
soon?
Miya:
Why, scared?
The man
shook his head.
Man:
No, no, it's just usually it takes a bit longer before we get to this
step. It's what most girls do.
Miya:
Well, I'm not like most girls.
Man: I
can definitely tell that.
Miya
grinned and got up from the bar, taking the man by the arm and pulling him into
the back rooms. Both of them were
smiling, and as they proceeded into one of the back rooms used for purposes not
to be mentioned in an appropriate fashion, and Miya fell back on the bed,
grinning at the man as she seductively sat up and winked at the man. The man lied down on top of her and kisses her
passionately, their hands rubbing at each other's backs. Suddenly, Miya opened her eyes while still
kissing the man.
Memories
and thoughts flooded into her mind. She
remembered one thing in particular: A promise.
A
promise that she had made to Chris Allot that she would always love him. Miya pulled back from the man and leaned
against a wall.
Miya:
I'm sorry, this was a mistake.
Man:
What do you mean?
Miya:
I- I shouldn't be doing this.
Man:
It's okay, baby. You're just a little
nervous.
Miya:
No, it's not that. To do this would
make me betray a person I really care about.
Man:
Awww, come on! It'll be a lot of fun.
The man
winked at her and grinned, but Miya just shook her head.
Miya:
No, no. I'm sorry, I just can't do
this.
The man
glared at her for a moment, and then suddenly grabbed her and pulled her down
back underneath him. She struggled
desperately under his grasp, but he was too strong.
Man:
Let me explain something to you, bitch: When a girl says yes the first time, it
sticks in this town. Okay?
Miya
growled and continues to fight against the man's hold. He merely pressed his lips down on hers, and
she felt sick from it and turned her head away in disgust. The man slapped her across the face, and Miya
gritted her teeth to not respond to the pain caused by it. All of a sudden, Miya looked behind the man
to see someone shove a very sharp stick against his neck. He gasped in pain, and arched his head
back. He slowly backed off of Miya, who
leapt up and pulled out her transformation stick from her pocket.
Miya
looked down at the man, who was sitting up, his face turning white and sweat
pouring down his face. The person who
had the sharp stick pressed against his neck was in fact the eight year-old Anna
Ichimei, whose eyes were narrowed at the man.
And the stick wasn't really a stick, but Anna's transformation stick.
Anna:
My friend said no, and universally that means no, whether it be first, second,
or fifteenth. Okay, sicko?
The man
nodded slightly.
Anna:
Now leave before we show you who'll scream 'no!'
The man
winced and ran off away from them. Anna
turned over to Miya, who was panting.
She sat back down on the bed.
Miya:
Anna, what are you doing in a place like this?!
Anna: I've
been sent to bring you back to the Titans, Miya.
Miya:
Oh? And why is that?
Anna:
Because her Majesty has ordered it.
Miya
rolled her eyes and lied back on the bed.
Miya:
Oh, she's ordered it, eh? Well, you can
go back and tell Serena that I'll come back when I'm good and ready!
Anna
sighed and put her backpack on the ground.
She unzipped it and pulled a laptop from it. She quickly opened it up and typed in a few commands. After a minute, an image of Davros appeared
on the screen.
Anna:
Hiya, Davros!
Davros:
Hello, Anna. What news have you?
Anna:
I've made contact with Miya. She's very
reluctant to come back, though... But I
think I can convince her!
Davros:
Very good, Anna! I'll inform Reuisu,
and you get back onto getting Miya here.
Anna:
Right. Anna out!
Anna
closed the communications box and shut the laptop. She looked back over at Miya, who sat on the bed with her eyes
closed and her legs crossed. Anna got
up and walked over to it, sitting on the edge of it.
Anna:
Come on; tell me what the problem is.
Miya
breathed in deeply, and then opened her eyes to look at Anna.
Miya:
Just before I was put into the coma, Chris and I were discussing our plans on
how we were going to get married. Then
during the coma, I hear about how he was fooling around with someone else! He betrayed my love for him! He betrayed himself! Sailor Ayari wasn't the traitor, HE WAS!
Miya
fell down onto the mattress, sobbing a little.
Anna walked over and patted her back.
Anna:
But he chose you in the end!
Miya:
THAT'S THE POINT! He told himself he
had to choose! There shouldn't have
been a choice in the first place!
Anna:
OH, GET OVER IT!
Miya
stopped crying. She slowly turned to
face Anna. Her brow was furrowed, and
she was quite obviously annoyed. It was
not a pretty sight on an eight year-old.
Anna:
Can't you see how horrible this is for all of us?!
Miya:
Huh?
Anna:
You're being so selfish! All you can
think about is how Chris supposedly hurt you by doing this. Well how do you think we feel about
this?! We trusted Chris as a member of
our family to make the right choices, to be a Titan! But instead, he betrayed us by doing something that even some
lowlifes we've encountered would think is dirty.
Miya:
Then why don't you understand my situation?!
Anna:
He made a mistake, big surprise there!
Welcome to the human race, Miya!
It didn't take me long in my life to uncover one horrible fact of life:
we're not perfect! Chris Allot loves
you with all of his heart! You
shouldn't be concerned with his sins in the past! If this group judged people by their actions in the past, Davros
and Reuisu would've been kicked out of the team before they even joined!
Miya:
But in those cases, they were mostly acting against their own wills!
Anna:
True, but that's what makes the rest of us special! We have a choice!
Miya:
AND HE MADE THE CHOICE THAT COST US EVERYTHING WE CARED ABOUT!
Miya
was practically roaring at Anna, who merely stood before her, resilient and
with a spirit far beyond her years.
Miya's eyes became wet, and she collapsed onto the mattress once more,
sobbing hard. Anna winced and tried to
think of the next thing to say. Yes,
Chris had made the wrong choice, but one must wonder, why did he even-
Anna:
That's it!
Miya:
What?
Anna:
Miya, did you ever stop and ask yourself, 'Why did Chris take such a risk in
the first place?'
Miya:
Many times...
Anna:
Well, did you ever think that it wasn't his fault?
Miya:
What? What are you talking about; he
chose to betray our relationship-
Anna:
Simply because he saw a prettier face?
I don't think so. According to
what I've heard, this kid took a blast for you during your fight with Mephisto,
do you really think he'd do such a thing to you as betray you to some new girl
with brighter hair?
Miya
looked around herself, blinking her eyes and thinking deeply.
Miya:
Well...
Anna:
Don't you get it?! Sailor Argent
infiltrated our group to learn our secrets, find our weaknesses, and find out
ways to destroy us easier! Did you ever
stop to think that maybe she somehow manipulated Chris' emotions? Make him fall in love with her?
Miya
blinked, this revelation coming to her like being punched in the face.
Miya:
Oh God, what have I done?!
Anna:
See what happens when you think about this sort of thing?
Miya:
Yes! Oh my... That laptop can talk to the others, right?! I need to talk to Chris, tell him how sorry
I am!
Anna:
Well, until Christine finds him, I'm afraid that's not going to happen.
Miya:
Well, in that case, I'm packing my bags and heading out! Come on, Anna! For love and justice, these Titans are getting back together!
To Be
Continued...