A Year and Change - Part One
A Sailor Moon fan fiction by Thomas Sewell (sewell_thomas@hotmail.com)
This begins the fourth arc in my American Dream series, coming after Sailor Moon's American Dream, Under Black Wings, and Nurse Venus. More than a decade has passed since Sailor Stars. ......> Thought quotation
Prologue: Election Results
Highland Hospital, Oakland, California
2:35 am PST
"A YEAR AND CHANGE," said the young man Mamoru Chiba was treating, "mostly on the farm. It wasn't too bad. Won't go on my permanent record." He already was already comfortable with legalese like "permanent record," a sign he was going to have one.
"That is a lot of time out of your life, Mr. Barris," said Dr. Chiba, extracting another shard of glass from his patient's scalp. "You can miss out on a lot in a year. Your lady friend can find someone else while you are away."
"Yeah, I hear you," said Walter Philips Barris. "That ever happen to you, Doc?"
"Something like that," said Dr. Chiba. "This may hurt."
"Aaaa . . . You weren't lying," groaned Barris.
The last time Barris had been Mamoru's patient he had been in custody. It was when Marvell Jones' gang war had still been raging, but Barris hadn't been one of the casualties. He'd ruptured his appendix while he was in holding at the juvenile hall.
Dr. Gonsoles stuck her head through the curtains. "Chibs, you owe me a dinner. The President just conceded."
"I should learn not to make bets with you," responded Mamoru.
When Dr. Gonsoles was gone, Barris asked, "Was that your lady?"
"Dr. Gonsoles is my friend," said Dr. Chiba. "This one is in quite deep."
Barris groaned again, but he didn't flinch. Instead he managed to say, "Where's that real pretty nurse?"
"All of our nurses are pretty, Mr. Barris," retorted Dr. Chiba.
"Don't B.S. me, Doc," said Barris. "You know the one I mean. Blond, great legs . . . Was she your girl, Doc? She was always around, I remember."
Dr. Chiba picked out a couple of more shards before answering. "We were engaged years ago, but we married other people. She is on maternity leave now. Do you have a special lady friend, Mr. Barris? Or a wife, perhaps?"
"I've got some ladies, but no one special now," said Barris.
"Keep looking for the special one," said Dr. Chiba.
Laurel, Maryland
5:35 am EST
"Well, Walt, you owe me a bottle of Johnny Walker," said Halinan, holding out his glass. "Black Label, if you please."
Harold Walters Rostov was "Walt" to people who knew him well, and one of those people was Charles Halinan, the new Assistant Director of the FBI. Politically they were at opposite poles, but they had been friends since law school and so had their wives. Rostov poured a little scotch and a lot of soda into the glass, saying, "That should be about a year's supply for you, Charlie. Mavis told me your doc--"
Halinan cut him off. "Don't be a sore loser, Walt." He tossed off about half the glass. "She may keep you on."
"No," said Rostov, shaking his head. "Threlkeld will be her National Security Advisor, and he'll want to have his own boy managing the Agency. Time for me to fold up my tent and move on." He poured himself a drink and lifted it up. "And time for you to move up, Charlie."
"Maybe," said Halinan, touching glasses and finishing his drink. "So, what's your plan, Walt? You've always got one or three."
Rostov put the scotch back into the liquor cabinet, saying, "Oh, I don't know. Hang up my shingle somewhere, I suppose."
"Right, Charlie, right," said Halinan, drawing out the words so there could be no mistake that he did not believe what Rostov had just said. "You've probably got five offers lined up."
"Three," said Rostov, "I'm not that much in demand." He finished his drink. "But I'm staying on until January. Got a loose end or two to look after."
Halinan asked, "And just what loose end do you want to tell me about, Walt?"
"Well," said Rostov, "There have been certain arrangements between your Bureau and our Agency for awhile. Actually since before G.W., but mostly under this Administration. I would like to ensure that those arrangements continue through the next Administration. The new President may not appoint an understanding man--or woman--to replace me, and he or she might allow our arrangements to lapse. I think it is in the national interest for these arrangements to continue to function."
"You're being about as clear as mud," said Halinan. "What are you getting at?"
"Charlie," Rostov said, "There's more to these angel sightings than we've allowed the public to know."
"Well, I'll get Scully and Molder right on it," Halinan retorted, breaking into laughter. Then he saw that his friend was not joking . . .
Chapter 1: Third Trimesters
Paris, FranceMICHIRU WOKE UP to the familiar nausea. Haruka was already up and gone from her bed, and Titania was bringing in her usual tray of broth and tea and juices. And there were no signs Roland had returned at any time.
"Where is the paper, Titania?"
"Oh, I forgot."
"You are such a poor liar. Bring it, please."
"Yes, maman."
"Is Nereid awake?"
"No, maman. Should I wake her?"
"Not yet . . . the paper!"
Haruka returned to the room with her bowl of runny tofu, which made Michiru's nausea return. She fought it down, taking some broth, the easiest edible to keep down, before allowing Haruka to give her the first kiss of the day. Michiru did not allow more than that first kiss, though.
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? What's right! I'm beached like a whale, you are just as far gone, and darling Roland is doesn't bother to come back at night. He's in the paper again, isn't he? Doesn't he have the brains to keep out of sight? The courtesy?"
"Of course he isn't hiding. He loves being in the papers. You knew that from the beginning."
"I didn't know I was going to be a laughingstock. And you . . . " Michiru stopped, realizing that Titania had returned, with the paper. She took it, and embraced the child, the product of Haruka and the maddening man who had entangled them both.
Haruka kissed Titania's brow, and said, "I'm sure otousan will be home all the time after the babies come. He just doesn't like to be around crabby old pregnant ladies. Go, have your own breakfast. And make sure Neri-chan doesn't just have pastry."
"Yes, Anne-Marie gave her five yesterday," added Michiru. "Tell Anne-Marie to stop that."
"I will tell her, again."
When Titania was gone, Michiru opened the paper to the arts section, and, sure enough, there was Roland. "With her? Haruka, doesn't he have any taste at all?."
"We still have each other," said Haruka, who then managed to get in a second kiss. Then, scanning the picture and the article, she added, "We could be worse off."
"How?"
"We could be like Setsuna. Or Minako."
Orlando, Florida
One of the perks of being the Security Supervisor (the fancy new name for the House Detective) was having the front desk sort his mail. Martin Tiggs was well-liked by the staff, so he usually got his real mail separated from his junk mail. So, he was able to toss the junk before leaving the front desk. He thought about dumping the letters, too, one addressed in the childish hand of Lorraine, the other in Setsuna's elegant printing, almost calligraphy. But he took both of them to his office, and left them there, until the early evening lull.
He had made the mistake of answering Lorraine the first time, and now he would have to answer another one. He read Lorraine's letter first, and scribbled out a short reply, on one sheet of hotel stationary. Then he held the one from Setsuna. It was stiff, and thick; it had to have a photograph. He was tensing to tear it up--but instead, he opened the envelope.
There were two photos inside. The first was Setsuna, sitting on the bed they had shared, dressed modestly as always, not particularly emphasizing her pregnancy. The second . . .
That was a photo of her fully transformed, with wings, and the peculiar staff she could manifest. Her true nature.
Still pregnant, though.
There was writing on the back of that photograph:
Airport, 6 pm, 12-24.
The same day Lorraine was "just coming down" with her mother.
Martin Tiggs tore that photo into small pieces and burned them in his ashtray. He was starting to do the same with the other one, but he stopped just before the first tear reached her face. He put it in the back of his bottom drawer.
He went out to prowl, and had a hooker arrested he would have probably just chased off on another day.
Kensington, California
Ikuko had spent most of her time traveling with her husband for years now--more years than would be possible without working for the Grey Company. But she had moved herself back into the old Kensington mansion, first to help with her newest granddaughter, Rhea, and then to keep an eye on her firstborn, Usagi, through her third pregnancy. To make things even more interesting--and difficult--she was expecting her own third child. It was a surer indicator of the magic in her bloodline than learning a few household spells.
Now Hotaru, whose difficult pregnancy had drawn her back before everything else happened, was one of the few women in the household who wasn't pregnant. But at least Hotaru was a dutiful daughter-in-law. Olivia was impossible to bear, especially since she was the indispensible one.
Olivia was a tiny Filipina, not even as tall as Chibi-Usa, but a woman, and the mother of her own child. She was now the housekeeper. But she was not really a mere employee because she was the widow of the brother of Minako's late husband--she was family. Her husband had been a powerful gang lord. Now that he was gone, she was penniless. But not useless. Ikuko estimated that it would take three people to replace her. At least.
But Olivia's way of keeping the house meant running the house, which meant she was always arguing with Usagi--and with Makoto. And she annoyed Ikuko because she was really mothering Usagi and even Makoto--and the tiny woman, closer in age to Chibi-Usa than to Usagi, was really pretty good at it.
Ikuko wanted to mother Minako in through her widowhood and approaching childbirth, but Minako had a mother--who had returned also. Returned with the Founder, the little wizard who was the leader of the Grey Company, and the news that he had married her at last, but without much news about where they had been or what they had done.
But the Founder deferred to Olivia as well--in fact, Minako's sensitive daughter Ishtar informed Ikuko that the little man, one of the most formidable wizards in the multiverse, was actually a little afraid of Olivia.
The one woman in the household Olivia did not try to boss was Setsuna. But now Setsuna was packing up.
"Why are you packing?" Ikuko asked Setsuna. "You can come back to get whatever you want."
"No. I am not coming back, not without Martin. I will live with him, or near him."
"But you won't be going until tomorrow."
"Tomorrow all the children will be home. I will be with them until it is time to go."
Ikuko sighed. "I have just gotten to know you. Now who will I talk with?"
"You will run up phone bills that will give Kenji something to complain about. He is never happy unless he has something to be unhappy about."
Ikuko laughed, but it did not chase the hollowness from her heart for long.
Hotaru came to Minako's room again that night, summoned by Ishtar. She threw up a wall of silence, so that Minako could cry herself to sleep again, without waking anyone else. When it was done, and they were sure Minako was really asleep, Ishtar said, "Mama is hurting more now."
"I think it is because of the baby," Hotaru said. "When you have a baby inside of you, you can have extra trouble with your feelings."
"I know that. I have been around many pregnant ladies. But I think mama needs more help. Grandma isn't enough. Mama hides her troubles from her."
"Who could help? We cannot sent her to a psychologist."
"No . . . but what about Artemis?"
"Artemis has not been her guardian for many years. He has not even been a cat for many years. I do not know where he is now. Even Mama Setsuna does not know that."
"Ask the little man, when my Grandma is not around. He should know."
"All right, I will try, sometime tomorrow . . . what is it now, Ishi-chan?"
"Remember to do it before Shingo gets here. You will not remember after."
"Ishi-chan, you are still a child. You should not--"
"I know what you are feeling all the time. Remember to talk to the little man first. And remember to be careful, or you will have another baby inside you soon after Shingo comes back."
Palo Alto, California
Dr. Yawada, the head of Oncology at Stanford Hospital, felt bittersweet joy when he saw that Dr. Mizuno had come with her friends. Ami, his perfect love, the sweet soul that brought simple joy to his heart. Always beyond his reach, and perhaps that is why she was so perfect.
But there would be no light conversation today. They had come to receive his final diagnosis. After the courteous words that must be said, Dr. Yawada pronounced sentence: "Tomiko, I am advising you to discontinue chemotherapy. If you wish to continue, I will recommend other oncologists. But I will not continue it. I feel it is doing more harm than it is worth."
The elder Mrs. Kumada--actually younger than one of Dr. Yawada's daughters--looked very old now. A tear escaped from one eye, dissolving the makeup carefully applied to cover her pale, sickly skin. Her daughter-in-law instantly responded, dabbing away the salty destroyer with a tissue. But when she made to repair the damage, Kumada Tomiko pushed her hands away. "No . . . please, not now." The doomed woman gathered herself for a moment more, and then said, "Yawada-san, what would you have me do?"
"You can stay at home, if you wish. I will provide stronger pain medication." Dr Yawada looked at her son as he added, "The strongest." Maybe he would understand.
"How long?" asked Kumada Tomiko.
"Impossible to say. Several weeks, certainly. Perhaps several months."
Tomiko turned to her son, and then to her daughter, and Ami. "Long enough to see the babies, then." She smiled, crackling more of her makeup.
After that, Dr. Yawada explained the all-too-familiar details of how to make death as comfortable as possible.
Kensington, California
Usagi was still blessed with the power to sleep whenever she wished, and she used it even after hearing the horrid, inevitable news from Rei-chan. Another death, and, likely, she would be asked to use her powers to help send Yuuichirou's mother on her final journey. If she stayed awake, she would brood about that prospect.
Besides, if she stayed awake, she would also fret about Chibi-Usa being off with Setsuna, and Setsuna leaving . . . how like her, to leave just when Usagi was used to having her around. The evening would be long, and she wanted to be rested for the few hours Mamoru would be home, before he went back to the hospital, on duty, as usual, over Christmas, so that his Christian friends could be home.
But in her dream, she found all her worries, and more.
The dream started as it always did. She was dancing with Mamo-Chan, on a great parquet floor. There was no roof overhead, only stars and moons--many moons, of different colors and sizes. Music came from everywhere, and nowhere.
And then she was in her wheelchair. Mamo-chan began to dance with others, first Ami, then Rei, then Minako, then Gin-chan. More and more people appeared around, dancing, or applauding. The other senshi, the children, the Ayakashi . . . Diamond and Sapphire and Emerald . . . the Witches 5 . . . the Four Generals. Other enemies she had fought, until at last the boys with guns. They clapped and cheered, even as they withered and crumbled, even as they had under her merciless gaze . . .
Sarah was dancing with Mamoru, tall and elegant as the Wicked Lady, winged and skull-jeweled as Chibi Death. Then Kimi, sweeping the crowd with her third eye like a searchlight, the crowd showing as withered corpses while the beam was upon them. And then Neherenia, laughing in triumph, and finally Galaxia, in all her forms from Chibi Chibi through the beautiful Sailor Warrior and finally the vessel of Chaos. And each of them crumbled away in Mamoru's arms. Finally they were alone again. Mamoru reached out to Usagi . . . and crumbled away.
Then something dark began to cover the moons . . .
And that was as far as the dream went, this time. Usagi saw she had slept for longer than she intended. As soon as she found Sarah had not returned, she used her communicator. Sarah responded in her usual way. She didn't answer at all, and came back after twenty nerve-racking minutes. Usagi was still squabbling with her headstrong daughter when Mamoru returned home.
Chapter 2: Sweet Lorraine
Orlando, Florida
LORRAINE HAD BEEN a change-of-life baby for Miriam Nussbaum, twenty-three years younger than her brother David. There was nothing really wrong with Lorraine; she had been an adorable child. But after Phyllis and David, Lorraine had been an inconvenience, and then a disappointment, and Miriam just could not hide those feelings from her youngest daughter. That is why Miriam was willing to do something as dubious as flying with Lorraine to Orlando the day before Christmas.
The trip was a disappointment. Miriam remembered when flight had had a cachet of romance: stewardesses in smart uniforms, serving champagne and the best of catered food aboard gleaming silver airliners. The aircraft which had brought them to Orlando from New York was as crowded as a city bus, and not much cleaner, at least on the outside. They had to make do with peanuts, served by increasingly irritable flight attendents as the aircraft was bumped again and again from the landing pattern. They had landed more than two hours late, and spent more than another hour getting to the terminal.
"He's here! There!" Lorraine exclaimed, pointing out the window.
Miriam had been reading; she pulled off her glasses and tried to find Martin Tiggs, hoping her daughter had actually seen him. But she couldn't make out any facial features from this distance, even white ones. Tiggs was eggplant-dark, and while there were some very dark men in the crowd, they could be anyone to Miriam. "Are you sure, honey?"
"Yes, I'm sure, Mom."
The plane was being turned to nose into its space, so the closest terminal windows wheeled out of sight. Miriam had no idea who Lorraine had had in mind. She hoped it would be Tiggs, though, because Lorraine would be shattered if her ex-husband did not bother to pick her up. "Don't get up, honey . . . let's just wait until there isn't as much of a crowd."
If only she'd stayed in City College, thought Miriam as they waited to exit the plane. Transferring to Yale had been the big accomplishment of Lorraine's life. But she'd met Tiggs there. A gentile, and black. Such a fine choice. Still, that had been bearable, after a time; if she had dropped out, he had graduated, and went into the FBI. He was so supportive through the miscarriages. But afterward, separation, and then divorce. He was supposed to be starting an undercover assignment, according to Lorraine; that was why she had let him go. Miriam never asked Tiggs' opinion about that.
That undercover assignment had been real enough, but it had turned out badly. Miriam Nussbaum had enough friends in high places to discover that Tiggs was suspected of actually working for the gang he was supposed to be investigating. Whatever the truth, Tiggs was finished with the FBI. He was a hotel detective now, a dubious job for a dubious man. And he wasn't even Lorraine's dubious man now. He'd married again, though Lorraine had assured Miriam, "It was all a big mistake; he's just waiting for final papers now." How many other women? How many other secrets?
But Tiggs had come to meet Lorraine; he actually was waiting just outside the ramp. Miriam Nussbaum was glad of that for about one second. That gladness ended when she saw Lorraine's shoulders slump, which could only be from bad news.
Miriam struggled to catch up. A girl came up, and offered her help, and Miriam took it before realizing she was a stranger. But not a stranger to Tiggs, who took Miriam's travel bag from the girl with unconscious familiarity. The girl seemed to be a very young teen, a petite Amerasian affecting strawberry blonde hair, but . . . no, not this one!
But it seemed to be that one. As they walked on to the central nexus of the terminal, the girl kept up with Tiggs, and he kept leaning over or bending down to listen or to say things--none of which Miriam heard. Lorraine stayed with Miriam, who fell behind Tiggs and the girl. Lorraine did not talk, but she was moist-eyed, and Miriam knew if she asked even one pertinent question, Lorraine would break down. So Miriam kept silent.
At last they reached the baggage claim area. The girl went ahead of even Tiggs, and actually gathered most of the bags. She had a cart for them, but there was already some luggage on it. When Miriam caught up at last, she said, "No, no, those aren't ours."
"They are mine," said a soft, clear voice from behind.
Miriam Nussbaum turned around, along with her daughter.
The girl pushed between them to stand beside a very exotic woman of almost unearthly beauty, putting a familiar arm around one of hers. "This is my Auntie Setsuna," said the girl. "She is Mr. Tiggs real wife now."
The exotic woman, who had very long hair, colored a dark green, spoke with the soft, clear voice Miriam had first heard. "That is something that has not been settled. You are Lorraine, and you must be Lorraine's mother?"
Miriam said, "Miriam Nussbaum."
The woman bowed as best she could, which was not very far, because she was very pregnant. That probably triggered Lorraine's breakdown at last.
Martin Tiggs slipped away from the women, not to abandon them, but simply to be elsewhere until Lorraine got her wits back. He couldn't cope with Lorraine's haplessness and Setsuna's magic together.
And he couldn't cope with Sarah, either, but she had followed him. "Don't run away and leave Setsuna!" the girl said, and he thought he felt the tingle of compulsion--this half-grown girl had that power, if she chose to use it.
Tiggs said, "I'm not, I said I'd be back. But you know that. Don't you do your thing on me!"
"I'm not! I promised . . . " Sarah's brashness had left her, and Tiggs saw her as the undergrown, secretly unsure girl he knew her to be, despite all her powers. Sarah continued after a moment, in a small voice, devoid of brashness and bluff. "Mr. Tiggs, I am sorry I did what I did to you. I am sorry for all of us . . . If you won't forgive me, I will understand. But Auntie Setsuna loves you, Mr. Tiggs. Please, won't you forgive her?"
Tiggs wished he could smoke, but that was banned even outside at the airport. Turning around, he could see the three women together. Lorraine seemed to be at least half-controlled, but she kept rubbing tears from her face as she listened to Setsuna.
Tiggs pointed them out. "Look. Setsuna isn't the only woman who thinks she loves me, or needs me. Lorraine did nothing to me like what you all did."
Sarah said, "No . . . but you don't love her the way you do Setsuna."
Tiggs said, "Yeah, I know. You can read my heart."
Sarah said, "Anyone could read that in your heart. Lorraine does."
Tiggs said, "Lorraine is not going to give up. You must know that, too."
Sarah said, "Yes . . . But Setsuna won't give up." She got a sad look on her face. Then she looked down at her watch, which was flashing. "I'm going back. Mom must be worried. Call us when the baby starts to come." And then Sarah wasn't there. A few people did double takes, but soon moved on. Only Martin Tiggs knew his eyes weren't playing tricks.
Martin Tiggs slept perhaps two hours before the knocking on the door woke him. It was Lorraine. He let her in. As soon as she was inside, she began kissing him. But she stopped, and stepped back, after a minute. "Well . . . sorry. Maybe if I dye my hair green and put an ice cube up my ass." She tried to push past him to the door.
"No. Don't just walk out," he said, closing the door. "We need to talk."
Lorraine snapped. "Why? What's to talk about? I don't need you to tell me what a big fool I've been." Lorraine sobbed for a moment, but then she regained control. "I just wanted to get back with you. I don't ecare what you did. I just want you back."
Tiggs said calmly, "Lorraine, I'll always care for you, but I don't want to be married to you."
Lorraine said,"Because I didn't have kids? It's not like I'm not too old to try again. And is she having your kid?"
"Yes, she is," Tiggs replied.
Lorraine persisted. "You're sure? Really sure?"
Martin Tiggs said, "I didn't leave Setsuna because she was cheating on me. It was about . . . something else."
Lorraine took a step back, and regarded him. "You're letting her come back, aren't you?"
"She's about to have my baby, Lorraine," Tiggs said. "Should I be sorry I'll be able to be with my child?
Lorraine was not satisfied with that answer. "No, it's more than that . . . did you really file for divorce?"
Tiggs really did not want to explain. "Yes . . . but there are . . . "
"You changed your mind, didn't you?" said Lorraine.
He started to step forward to embrace her, but thought better of it. "I decided not to decide, for now."
"But you've decided about me," said Lorraine, "Haven't you?"
"Yes. I'll always care for you, Lorraine, but it won't work between us," said Tiggs. He thought about explaining his conflicting emotions about Setsuna, but there really was no way to do that without explaining . . .
Lorraine spoke calmly, if haltingly. "Well . . . I guess that's that . . . can I go now?"
"Yes." He opened the door, and stood aside. She left without another word. She did not look back.
Lorraine looked down the stairwell for a long time, but decided against it. It would be a longer fall, because it went into the basement, but she might bounce off the stairs on the way down, ending as a twisted mess. She walked out onto the topmost walkway, and along it, until she found a place where there were four empty parking spaces right together, right below. She didn't want to land on a car. She put a foot up onto the railing . . .
"Do not jump," said a soft, clear voice from behind.
Lorraine turned around, knowing who it must be. "How did you find me? Were you following me?"
"I will not let you do it," asserted the woman softly, yet with great authority.
"Really?" How did she know? "I'll just wait until you're not around."
Marty's new woman said. "Do not do this thing. You will hurt your family as well as me and Martin. And you do not know what death is like."
"And I suppose you do?" Lorraine was feeling more than resentment. The woman was strange. Now that Lorraine was alone with her, the strangeness was unsettling. "What are you? Some kind of witch? . . . Did you put a spell on Marty?"
The strange woman said, "If I had such powers, I would not use them on Martin to get him back. What would that be worth? But if I had powers, I would use them to save you. I do not want him back, as you say in America, over your dead body."
Lorraine looked past the woman who was taking Martin away from her, spoiling any chance to make things right again. Lights had come on in the window behind her, and a face peered through the blinds.
"Come," the woman said in her soft, strange voice. "It is not your time."
Lorraine didn't know why, but she went with the strange woman, away from the stares of the couple that came out to see what was going on, down the elevator, and on to the woman's room.
Before they entered, the woman asked, "Did you leave a letter? A note? You should get it, if you did."
Lorraine said, "No. Nothing dramatic like that . . . "
The woman said, "That is good. Come inside. I want to talk."
Lorraine hesitated, but there was nowhere else to go except back to the room to rejoin her mother. She entered.
The woman excused herself. "I must use the bathroom first."
Lorraine said, "Okay . . . I remember what it was like."
"What it was like?" the woman asked.
Lorraine said, "Being pregnant . . . Have to stay close to a bathroom."
The woman said, "Yes . . . I will be a few minutes."
Looking for something to focus on besides what she had almost done, Lorraine noticed some photographs Marty's provisional wife had set out. They were all in simple, thin metal frames, with some kind of clear plastic covering the photos. Light, but strong; a good choice for a traveler. None of them was of Marty. Most were photos of several people together. Two people showed up more than any others: the girl who had been at the airport with the woman, and another girl, now a young woman, with a baby in her arms. Both also had collages which showed them progressing from infancy to their present ages.
"This is quite a collection," Lorraine said to the woman when she came back. "Is this your daughter?"
"No," said the woman. "Hotaru was my ward, after her father died."
Lorraine pointed out another face in the picture, the largest. "And this one? She was at the airport with you."
The woman said, "She is Chibi-Usa. Actually, her name is Sarah, but we all call her Chibi-Usa." She pointed out a woman in the wheelchair. "Usagi is her mother. Chibi-Usa means 'little Usagi.' Or Little Lady, or Little Rabbit. 'Usagi' means both in Japanese. After Hotaru, Chibi-Usa is my favorite child."
Lorraine pointed to others in the picture. "Who's this? And these two?"
The woman pointed herself as she answered. "She is Kimi, Usagi's other child. And this is Haruka, and Michiru. Haruka and Michiru also helped raise Hotaru. They have children of their own now. We all lived together for a time, but now they are living in France."
"Oh," responded Lorraine, sensing that there was more to that than the woman wanted to say. "Why to you have so many pictures?"
The woman answered, "My friends gave them to me before I left my old home. Most were taken by Usagi's father. He is a professional photographer."
Lorraine said, "You have a lot of friends."
The woman sat on her bed, and drew out her next words. "Yes . . . but not here. When my baby comes, I will not have my friends here to help me take care of her. I will not want to leave her with a stranger."
Lorraine took a moment to get the implication. "What do you mean? Me? You want me?"
The woman said, "Yes. You love Martin, and the baby will be Martin's child. And I will pay you. I have savings, and I will find work."
Lorraine asked, "Work? What do you do?"
The woman said, "I have some skills. I have been a professional dressmaker. And I have pilot's certificates. I fly both airplanes and helicopters."
Lorraine said, "Well . . . I didn't know about any of that. But I'm a stranger to you."
The woman Marty had abandoned said, "The baby will not come until the new moon. You will not be a stranger by then."
Chapter 3: Along the Charles
Cambridge, Massachusetts
KAYAMA MIKA or Mika Kayama, as her MIT student body card read, walked along a few steps behind Tsukino Shingo (or Shingo Tsukino, to Americans) looking at him and his wife together. After quick, guilty looks at photographs, here she was, the mother of his child. They were strolling along the Charles, enjoying the last day before classes would start, and the last day Hotaru would be with him for awhile. Shingo's oldest nieces had also come to visit; they were walking or running ahead, roughhousing--like regular American girls, really . . .
Kayama Mika had not really considered romance with Tsukino Shingo; it surprised her. Shingo had been her schoolmate, her friend, who had remained her friend even when he moved away to America, ten years before they both came to the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just across the Charles River from Boston. They had written lots of letters, even after Mika began to suspect Shingo had discovered other girls, and then another girl . . . and then, the letters almost stopped, for two years, and they had a more polite tone than suited Shingo.
Not that he wasn't honest. He said he had fallen in love with someone named Hotaru. But he didn't write much about her. That was being sensitive, Mika knew, at least as Shingo understood it, but it would have been better for her if he had written more about the mysterious girl who had taken his love.
Mika thought of herself as a sensible girl, and she had not brooded much about losing Shingo. She had all the dates she cared for through Senior High, which weren't many. She didn't fall in love with anyone. That was silly; falling in love was silly for a schoolgirl. Even though she had still been a child when Shingo had been with her in Japan, she already knew enough to know that Shingo's sister Usagi and her friends, except for Mizuno-san, seemed to be boy-crazy, and really not as grown-up as herself. And Mika's early judgments seemed to have been right . . . Usagi's oldest daughter was a love child, and she must have had her very young, perhaps even before Mika had met Shingo. From Shingo's stories, some of his sister's boy-crazy friends must have had love children at young ages. No wonder they had all left Japan . . .
But Shingo's wife was anything but a silly little girl. She was slightly built, even delicate-looking. But Hotaru was no weakling, and there was nothing silly about her. She didn't babble on like Usagi or even Shingo. She was quiet. In fact, she had uncanny stealth; several times over the past three days, Mika had found Hotaru right next to her without realizing she had approached. Even her child was an unusually quiet one.
Hotaru had asked her no important questions at all. None in words. But her eyes were difficult to meet. Mika had no doubt that Hotaru knew there was something between her and Shingo after her first real look into those eyes . . .
Mika was shaken from her lonely reverie by the realization that Shingo and Hotaru had stopped. Two young women were speaking with them; one of them had a camera. The nieces came back. Then one of them, the little one, Kimi, ran back to her and said, "They want to take our picture. Come on."
"No, I shouldn't be in it."
"Don't be like that. Come on, you are our friend."
"Oh . . . all right, Kimi." The older niece was, if anything, worse than she remembered her mother being, but Kimi was a sweet child, if a little more direct than Mika felt comfortable with. Mika put on her best face, and went with Kimi to pose with the others.
Mika begged off going to the airport with Shingo's family. She told them she was not feeling well. She wasn't; she was heartsick.
Mika had already made the really important decision before Shingo had left. What she thought about was whether to tell Shingo that night. If she called, he would be sure to come over . . . if she went over, that could be worse. But Mika just could not let it go . . . after trying to sleep for awhile, she dressed, and made her way to Shingo's dorm.
She knocked softly on the door, until the light showed from the gap between the floor and the bottom of the door, and it opened. Shingo was in his pajamas.
"Mika?" he asked.
She stepped inside, rubbing against him, and closed the door. "Where is George?"
"George is not here. His flight was cancelled. He will not be able to come before tomorrow."
"Then he will miss his first day."
"Yes. But we have mostly the same classes. Between you and me, I think we have all his classes."
"Yes . . . Shingo, I must tell you something."
"What?"
"I have been watching your wife with you. She knows what is between us. I should not be with you. I am ashamed, now, very much ashamed."
"You do not have much to be ashamed of, Mika. We have done not much more than kiss. Only two times, really . . . It is not wrong to feel love, I think. Not just to feel it." He gestured. "Sit on George's bed. I will sit on mine."
Mika did sit down, carefully, on the very edge of the bed. Then Shingo sat, and began talking again. "We are friends. And we are going to be working together a lot."
"No. No, I think we should find different study partners, and different partners for our projects. If we are together too much . . . You have a fine wife, Shingo. She is sensible. More sensible than myself, I am afraid . . . To hurt her would be a great wrong."
Shingo sighed. After what seemed a long silence, he said, "Perhaps you are right."
She got up, and went to the door, and began to open it. But then she closed it, and went back, and kissed his forehead. "Sayonara, Shingo-chan," she said. And then she began to cry.
Shingo reached up to put one comforting hand on her cheeks.
Mika grabbed his hand. In a few more seconds, all her resolutions were forgotten . . .
Chapter 4: The Chibi Sailors
Kensington, California
SARAH UER had a number of differences from her mother, but one thing she shared was an inclination to act on her own. She wasn't quite as foolish--she could remember too much from her previous life to go about too carelessly.
Sarah had curbed that tendency more than ever before in the time before the birth of her second and third sister. In fact, she went through the longest period of model behavior (well, for her) of her life, because of her parents and her "Aunties."
Mamoru and Usagi were very worried about her third pregnancy. Pregnancy is never a trivial matter for a paraplegic, and twins . . . Sarah didn't have to read their thoughts to know how they felt. This was a time when Sarah worried about upsetting her mother and Mamo-chan, whom Sarah loved as if he were her father. Most of her "Aunties" were also expecting, and Setsuna and Minako, her favorites, had terrible troubles besides.
Sarah wasn't the only one who was on her best behavior. Ishtar, of course, was sensitive as ever, and Kimi was seldom very far from Ishtar, in distance or opinions. This made getting away with anything difficult, because Ishtar and Kimi were the most likely to inform the grownups about something they felt was too important to keep a secret. It would have been impossible to have a life if Kimi didn't usually give Sarah the benefit of a doubt, and if Ishtar didn't usually go along with Kimi.
It was Kimi who first reported to Sarah about Zoë. Sarah considered the problem carefully, giving it a lot of time (two minutes) and then said, "We should ask the Little Man. If we tell mama or Auntie Mako, they will worry even more." And Sarah persuaded Zoë to come with her. She did not have to ask Zoë or Zara to keep it a secret.
The Founder, or the Little Man as most of the Chibi Sailors called him, had a place beneath the house, beneath even the operations center in the secret second basement. The elevator took a long time to get there, so they took the stairs, through a door that Kimi had found with her magic eye. It was a long way down the stairs, though, and it began to scare Deja, though of course instead of saying she was scared, she complained.
"This is a foolish idea, Chibi-Usa," said Deja. "We should have told my mother instead. She would know what to do."
"Your mother is worried about your grandmother and the baby coming," retorted Sarah. "And don't call me Chibi-Usa. I will let okasan and Mamo-chan and the older senshi call me that, but not you, you little . . ."
Ishtar spoke up. "Please, don't you start arguing now. I think this place is scary, too, Deja."
At last they came to the entrance to the place. It was a door, but Zara could not unlock it, even with the help of Kimi's eye. "I think it has a spell on it."
Zoë tried to step through, but she could not. "It must be magic . . . I can't go around it, either."
Lily Chiba simply walked up to the door and knocked. There were odd noises for awhile and then the door opened.
The little man did not look much like a wizard when he appeared. He was wearing a smelly sweatsuit and socks that did not match--and shoes, for that matter. He sighed, looking at them all. "Whose idea was this?"
"Chibi-Usa's, of course," smirked Deja.
"Of course . . . Zoë, it was you that tried to get through the door? Not Lily?"
Lily spoke up. "It isn't polite to barge in. Mama and papa taught me that. But Sarah did not ask me what we should try first."
Sarah did a double take, and turned to the youngest of her half-sister's half-sisters. "You have powers now?"
"For awhile now." The precocious little mite, only four-and-a-half, transformed into a tiny sailor soldier with wings. "I can fly a little and I can go through things like mama." Then she transformed back. "Please don't tell mama, Sarah. Papa said not to tell yet."
The little man said, "Your papa is right. It would be better to wait until after the babies come, child." He patted Lily on the top of her head, and then moved on to Zoë, who was the tallest and oldest girl, actually older than Sarah. "Kimberly, do you see a sigil?"
Kimberly Chiba became Kimi Moon and opened her third eye. After a few moments, she said, "I can see something, Zoë. But I can't tell what it is. It might be a moon and something else."
The little man went to get one from among the many, many old books in his hideaway, found something in it, came back, and began working a spell. For a moment, a faint moon sign, larger than Sailor Moon's, appeared on Zoë's forehead. She also got the faint outline of something ringing the crown of her head, and ghostly wings.
Sarah said, "Zoë, you looked something like Aunt Nancy. Like a Moon Angel."
"That is not that surprising. You are, after all, not born of this world, child." The little man closed his book, and took one of Zoe's hands . "I think you will need an aid like the henshin wands the sailors of the first generation used to help them transform. At least until you get used to it."
"Artemis gave my mother hers," said Ishtar. "Could he help? You said he was coming."
"We will have his help," replied the little man, "And Luna's. But I am not sure when they will get here."
They did not have to wait long with their secrets. The day Usagi had her C-section, the other babies came: Rei's, Minako's, Naru's, Mako's . . .
It was the day of the first new moon of the new year.
Chapter 5: The Family Neko
Highland Hospital, Oakland, California
KIMI WAS THE FIRST to notice the strangers at the window of the nursery. One was a tall man with white hair, but not an old man, at least in appearance. He had a little girl with him, a little taller than Kimi, with light lavender hair. He was pointing out the babies, and Kimi heard him say, "That one is Mina-chan's."
"I can't read the name. Can you, otousan?"
Kimi was alone at the moment. Normally she was very reluctant to approach strangers, but a father and daughter seemed safe, and she was very curious about what they had said. She went up to them. "Who are you?" she asked. "Who are you to say 'Mina-chan?'"
The man smiled. "An old friend. And who are you to Mina-chan? Are you her child too?"
"Auntie Minako is my mother's friend."
"I am Mr. Neko, and this is my daughter Diana. And that baby, the one next to Mina-chan's, is my new daughter. My wife wants to name her Celeste . . . and you are?"
"Kimberly Chiba. Everyone calls me Kimi." She went to the window and pointed. "That one, and that one, are my new sisters, Ikuko and Juliette."
"Ikuko?" asked the man.
"Yes. After my grandma. But grandma has just had another baby. That one there," Kimi pointed. "Her name is Yoriko. So now I have an Auntie who is younger than me."
"That's funny!" said the little girl.
"So you are the daughter of Usagi?" asked the man.
"Yes," answered Kimi. Noticing that Ishtar had come to join her, Kimi introduced her.
"You look a lot alike," said the little girl.
"You are twins?" asked the man, sounding more deeply surprised than his daughter.
"Not exactly," explained Ishtar. Noticing that the man was looking at her very closely, and that his feelings were intense, Ishtar asked, "Who are you? Why do you want to know about us?"
The man went down on one knee to speak to Ishtar. "I am Artemis, child . . . And I can see your sigil. You must be Mina-chan's."
At that, Kimi opened her third eye for a moment, and saw the sigils on Artemis and Diana.
Diana exclaimed, "You couldn't do that before."
"Before what?" asked Kimi, closing her Eye before any others might notice.
"Before when you were . . ." Diana turned to her father, and asked, "Should I tell her about the time that was supposed to be?"
"Let me ask . . . Kimi, are you the oldest child of Usagi and Mamoru?"
"Yes, I am," said Kimi.
"You feel all puzzled," said Ishtar, "Don't you?"
"Yes," said Artemis. "I . . . I'm afraid I don't know much of what has gone on here since we left."
Deja came up. "What are you talking about? Kimi-chan, Ishi-chan, you aren't supposed to talk to strangers, anyway."
"It is all right," said Kimi. Switching to Japanese, she said. "This is Artemis and Diana. I saw their sigils."
"And I see yours," said Artemis. "You are the firstborn of Mars, are you not?"
Deja took a step back. "You shouldn't say things like that here, any of you. There are people who speak Japanese."
"A good point," said Artemis. "You have the good sense of your mother. And the tact."
Deja boiled for a moment, but held her tongue. "Did you bring Luna?"
Kimi pointed in the window. "Yes. She had a baby here too. See?"
"There," said Diana, pointing. She drew close to the other girls and whispered, "Mama was in labor when we came through the gate. We had to come now or we would have had to wait for a long time."
Deja squinted, then pulled the rather thick glasses she wore from her bag. "Oh, my. So she was born the same day as Tomiko and the others. This must mean something . . ."
"All the others?" asked Diana.
Deja explained. "My mother and all the Inner Senshi had babies today. And all of the Outer Senshi except Hotaru."
"All of them?" exclaimed Artemis. "The Outers too?"
"Yes. Michiru and Haruka are in France, and Setsuna is in Florida, but they had their babies today. This is the day of the new moon."
Artemis got up, and began to study the rest of the babies. Diana, however, studied Kimi. "You look so different than I thought you would."
"Why do you say that?" asked Kimi. "What am I supposed to look like?"
"Well, I thought your hair would be sort of pink."
Kimi was about to say something, but Deja asserted herself. "Oh, I know what you think. You must be looking for Chibi-Usa. Do you have memories of your old life?"
"Maybe . . . " Now Diana took a step back. "Some of it is scary."
Ishtar stepped forward and reached out with her hands and her powers to comfort Diana. "They are only memories. Sarah has them, too."
"Sarah?" asked Diana.
"Sarah is my older sister. She has the memories of Chibi-Usa," said Kimi. "Some of them are scary, too."
"Very scary," said Ishtar. "Scarier than yours, I think. But Sarah-chan has learned to be brave. And I have learned, too. And if I have learned, then you will learn. We will help you."
"Yes," said Kimi. "We will help you."
"And you will help my mother, Neko-san," said Ishtar. "I hope. She is very sad since Uncle Kevin died."
Artemis got a puzzled look. "Kimi, you said you were the oldest, didn't you?"
"I am the oldest of the children okasan had with otousan. But Sarah's father was different."
"Yes," said Deja. "Chibi-Usa's father never was Mamoru. My mother saw that as soon as Sarah was born."
"But . . . " Artemis, for once, was at a loss for words.
Ishtar said, "There are many more things that I think will surprise you, Neko-san."
Usagi did not like to use her power to read thoughts on her friends, but she could not help but do it to Luna when they first met, after seeing her expression. "Yes, this is what has become of me. Far from the destiny you trained me for."
"You are speaking the old Moon tongue."
"I am?" Usagi remarked. "So. It has been some time since I spoke it . . . Venus can speak it well, and the Outers, of course . . . and Sarah, but she does not like to speak it. It brings up the memories."
"Sarah?"
"That is the name I gave my oldest daughter. You would know her as Chibi-Usa. She has the same soul, but Sarah does not like to remember too much of her old life . . . and I do not. But since you do not know of it, Luna, I will tell you."
Usagi told the story of her first time in the world of the Grey Lady, and how Chibi-Usa had died, and how she came to be reborn as Sarah. "The Founder once said he thought she had done this all before. Perhaps he knows more. I have never been able to read the little man's thoughts, unless he wished to speak with me silently."
"So Crystal Tokyo will never be?"
"Not as it was. I certainly won't be its Queen."
"You don't need to have legs to be a Queen."
"No. But something I did when I was the Queen in the future that is now not to be brought great evil. The Founder thinks I could do even worse if I do it again."
Luna shook her head, and held her infant closer. "The future is certainly different than what I expected it to be," she said, looking at Usagi's infants. "They will be senshi, too. And powerful."
"Why were there so few senshi in the time of the Moon Kingdom?"
"Oh, there were many soldiers. Very few people of the Moon Kingdom did not have some kind of useful power. But during the reigns of the last three Serenities before your mother, we fought many wars. Most of our most powerful families died out. You do not remember this from your life as the Moon Princess?"
"The Moon Princess was an even poorer student than I," said Usagi. "History bored her. That I remember."
Luna carefully set Celeste down in her basinet. "You are so changed from when I knew you . . ."
"Go on about the senshi of the Moon Kingdom."
"They were the best from each world," said Luna. "When my Serenity first took the throne, she proposed that the other worlds recreate their royal houses by selecting the best people. But when they recreated their royal houses, the families produced only one child each. They were much more powerful than the others, but there was only one from each planet."
"But nine or ten soldiers are not an army," said Usagi. "Minako keeps saying that, and things like it."
"She was not only a soldier; she was the General. The one in charge of our military forces. Strange that Minako should have her memories and powers; the General did not seem much like Mina-chan."
"But not strange that the Moon Princess became part of me," said Usagi. "She was a silly girl, the Princess."
"But she had a good heart," said Luna. "A good Queen must have that. No other ability will matter without it."
"Thank you, Luna," said Usagi. "But I am not sure I have such a heart." She told Luna of the other enemies she had fought, and of the men she had hunted and killed. "When I was shot, I was killing some boys. Boys with guns trying to kill, who probably had already killed, but boys . . . Perhaps that is why my magic did not protect me." Usagi lowered her head. "The little man warned me, Mako and Minako tried to make me stay home that night, but I did not listen. I thought I was giving up Mamoru to Gin-chan forever. It was like dying . . . I was very lucky to live." Usagi looked up, tears falling freely down her cheek, but without a sob; the drops might have been rain, so natural they appeared, so perfectly resigned was Usagi to their fall. Looking at Luna, she asked, "Do you think I still have a good heart? With all that I have done?"
Luna was quiet for a long moment. "You have done things I would not have allowed you to do, if I were still your Guardian. But they bother you. If you did not have a good heart, they would not."
Usagi smiled for a moment. "Thank you, Luna." Then she looked over at her babies. "I asked Kimi if she could see their sigils. She said she could not make them out yet, but I know she was lying. You can see them, can you not? Please, I do not want to read your thoughts, but this is important."
Luna paused a long time before answering. She went over to the basinets where the twins lay sleeping. After another wait, she said, "Chibi Ikuko's sigil is three moons. Juliette has four."
"Have you seen them before?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
Luna said carefully, "The four moons were used by several famous people over our history."
Usagi picked up a pad and pencil, and drew on it. "Do the three moons look like this?"
"Yes, something like that."
Usagi sighed. "Then you suspect what I do."
"Princess, should I tell anyone?"
"I am plain Usagi now. Your friend . . . Artemis, of course; he can read sigils. But no one else for now."
"Does Kimi know? Artemis told me she can also read sigils."
"Probably. She can keep her thoughts from me better than Sarah." Usagi shook her head. "I will tell her enough so that she does not get the wrong idea."
"Having the powers does not mean having the memories," said Luna. "Or the soul, or even part of it." She came to Usagi's bed, sat on it, and bent down to kiss her forehead. "It must be for a reason, my Lady."
"Yes . . . they will be needed. But not until they grow up, I hope." Usagi pushed herself into a more comfortable position. "I am becoming as big a worrier as otousan. Let's talk about something else. Have you been living as a human all the time since you left?"
"Yes. After the first year, I could not transform into a cat. Or even use illusion to appear as one. That is what we were doing most of the time, you know, Artemis and I."
"Why did you not tell me?"
"You had enough to worry about. And, of course, it would have been especially delicate for Artemis. It was better for everyone to believe we were only cats. It made our enemies more confident than they should have been."
Usagi wrinkled her brow. "But Diana . . . She was always on Chibi-Usa's head. She must have been a kitten, most of the time."
Luna shrugged. "That Diana was much like Chibi-Usa; she would not tell us much of the future. Our Diana can assume kitten form for a few minutes a day. Perhaps she will get better at it . . . or perhaps she will lose that power. Only a few of our people could ever do that." Luna sighed. "I hope we have become human enough for Diana and Celeste to find husbands and have children someday, if that is their wish. We may be the last of our people. Our homeworld was destroyed long ago."
"Was not Tin Nyanko one of your people?"
"Yes. I think she must have been from a lost colony. But that world was destroyed by Galaxia, too."
"It may not have been in this timeline," said Usagi. "Galaxia could travel through the Universes much more freely than our other enemies. I saw thousands of starseeds in her cache, each of them from the most powerful being of a world. She could even travel forward and back in time. The Founder once told Naru that his Company had helped some of your people flee from Galaxia's wars."
"I do not know that much of the Founder's business," said Luna.
Usagi shrugged. "Does anyone?" She shifted again, and asked, "Could you move my legs?" Usagi instructed Luna how she wanted them placed.
"Is that all right?"
"I think so . . . So, where have you been?"
"Several places . . . but I am glad we came here now! The last world we were on hasn't discovered anasthetics yet, and we couldn't risk hiring a midwitch."
"Why?"
"They are very intolerant of shapeshifters, at least the people we were living among. What if my baby were born in kitten form, like Diana was?"
"Well, that could be a problem here, too . . . take a look at your daughter."
The baby was the same size, but now had catlike features including whiskers and a coat of fur--black on one side of her body, white on the other.
Next: Mika's news for Shingo triggers a spectacular Angel Incident. And Jack Crawford looks into reports of "djinn" amongst the fighting in the Mideast.
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