Disclaimers: Neither Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon belongs to me. Sailor Moon and related chracters belong to Naoko Takuechi/Kodensha and Toei Animation. Gundam Wing and related characters belong to Bandai and Sotsu Agency. The Zodiac Senshi are of my own creation.
Note: Wingdings don't appear correctly in a .txt format document and appear as miscellaneous ? marks.
THE DANGERS OF TRUTH OR DARE
~oO?Oo~
by Dolphin-chick
~oO Part 1: The Dare Oo~
The dining hall of the Moon Kingdom Palace was unusually silent; none of the usual din, not even a dull roar. Sailor Libra stared at her marshmallow-less Lucky Charms with utter contempt. The Queen insisted the girls be awake by 8:30 am and in Senshi morph in order to "properly protect our world". Right. Libra guessed the dear queen had forgotten that most teenagers are nocturnal.
Princess Lima Bean ("princess" was much easier to say than her full given title of "Neo Queen Lady Mistress Serenity") walked into the room wearing her pajamas which, strangely enough, were dark green with large, light green lima beans printed all over it. Her hair was down; she had been wearing it down for over month saying the usual buns were "too girly" and also to protest the fact that her parents had forced her to wear a pink, fluffy, lacey dress to a recent banquet. Lima yawned and sat down to a bowl of Cocoa Puffs. All the Zodiac Senshi were sitting, half-asleep, in the immense dining hall with nothing to do.
Gemini was the first to break the silence. "Why are we up so early?"
Lima sighed. "Because Mom and Dad say we should be on the lookout for new enemies. When Ma was a Senshi, they had a new enemy every other week," she said sarcastically.
"I know...," Leo said happily. This usually meant she had some oddball idea. "Let's play Truth or Dare!"
"Yeah!" everyone chorused.
"OK, who goes first!" Gemini asked.
"Me, me, ME!" Pisces cried.
"Truth or Dare?"
"Umm... Dare!"
"OK, I dare you to... run around the palace with a pair of underwear on your head, cawing like one of Sailor Mars' crows!"
Pisces went to her room and came running back through the dining hall a few minutes later with said pair of underwear gracing her cranium, as the call of "CAW! CAW! CAW!" echoed down the halls.
After covering the majority of the first floor of the palace, Pisces returned. "Alright Leo," she said, "Truth or Dare?"
"Is that really hard to figure out? Dare."
"Do you know what Mexican bobsledding is?"
~oO Oo~
The girls reassembled in the palace garden. Leo was seated atop a plastic child's sled wearing a colorful poncho and an equally decorative sombrero. A rope attached the sled to Lima Bean's green go-kart. Lima started the go-kart and the duo sped through the garden, tore around the hallways and ripped through the gates, which had been left open, onto the streets below. It took the Senshi half an hour to talk their fellow Senshi and the young queen from further terrorizing the town and they met again in the dining hall.
"OK, my turn. Antares, Truth or Dare?"
"Why is it that no one picks 'Truth'?" Capricorn mused.
"Dare," answered Antares.
"I dare you to do something cool with the space-time continuum!"
"I can't." Antares said simply.
"Why not?"
"It's one of my taboos. I'm not allowed to do it."
"What are your taboos?" Sagittarius asked curiously.
Antares began to rattle off a small list. "One: Don't stop time. Two: Don't destroy the galaxy. Three: Don't mess with the space-time continuum. There's more, I think, but I don't remember."
"You can do all that?" Cancer asked incredulously.
"I have the power to, but I'm not allowed to." Antares corrected.
"Please? Just a little bit? Pluto stopped time once," Leo whined.
"How do you know?" Antares asked.
"She told me when I asked her what her powers were," Leo said.
"Besides, it's in all the history books," Libra added.
"Please Antares?" Leo asked again.
"..."
"Pleeeeeease?"
"..."
"As a member of the Royal Family of the Moon Kingdom and Crystal Tokyo, I give you my express permission to break the taboo presented upon you, Sailor Antares," Lima Bean said with an authoritative voice. All the Senshi stared at her. "What?" she asked. "I wanna see what happens too!"
Antares sighed. "Alright, let's go."
~oO Oo~
The Zodiac Senshi congregated again in front of the Time-Space Gates. The Gates consisted of large double doors, similar in size and shape to the Gates of Time. The doors themselves were engraved in detailed charts of stars and solar systems. These gates were located on the opposite end of the palace as the Time Gates. Antares took a deep breath. "OK, here goes."
Antares opened the door and stepped inside; the rest of the Senshi followed her in. The doors appeared to lead into space itself. Millions of galaxies, stars and planets revolved around them.
" Where are we?" Chibi Scorpio asked.
"Somewhere in the Universe." Antares said.
"So now what?" Virgo asked.
"Now..." Antares trailed off. She raised her ever-present scepter and cried out. "Constellations, hear my call! Planets answer me! Space and Time, heed my command! Take us..."
Leo interrupted Antares again. "Someplace cool!" she finished for her. Antares shrugged and slammed her scepter on the 'floor'. A bright light filled their vision as they all disappeared.
As suddenly as they had gone, the girls began to reappear miscellaneously in various places of the very alien 'someplace cool'.
~ Part 2: It's Raining Senshi and Moon Princesses: Day 1- 5:30 am ~
Sailor Libra found herself hurtling towards a large aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean. The rising sun highlighted the waves on the horizon; it would have been great for Libra had it not been for her situation. She flared her wings out and managed to make a soft landing on the cement deck. Unfortunately, she didn't go unnoticed by the nearby soldiers.
"Lieutenant Nicole! Look!" some one said.
The lieutenant turned to face a very confused and very frightened Libra.
"Get Colonel Une and notify her of this now!" he roared to his subordinates. He pulled out a small pistol from its holster on his side and aimed it at Libra's head. "Now, who are you?!"
~oO 7 am Oo~
Meanwhile, a young blonde boy sat at the side of his pool, drinking his morning cup of tea peacefully. In a flash of light, Sailor Taurus appeared just above the water and belly flopped into it, drenching the startled boy. She came coughing and struggling to the surface. The boy ran from his seat and came back holding a net attached to a pole commonly used for cleaning the pool's surface.
As Taurus was being hauled to the side, Sailor Aquarius dropped in. Literally. She crashed into Taurus and the boy, knocking all three of them into the water.
"Rashid! Help!" the boy cried.
"Master Quatre, what's wrong?!"" A huge gorilla of a man appeared at the edge and pulled Quatre and the two Senshi from the depths. Taurus rung out her pigtails and Aquarius dumped out the water in her shoes as Quatre and his servants prepared for their strange visitors.
~oO 8 am Oo~
Gemini tumbled through the branches of a seemingly never-ending tree and its particularly painful bark. She finally can to a halt hanging upside down from the lowest branch, face to face with a meditating Chinese boy. The boy opened his eyes, saw Gemini two inches from his nose, and screamed. Gemini screamed in reply, then stopped. "Hey," she giggled. "You're cute."
"Woman!" he roared
Gemini giggled again, causing her to fall out of the tree.
"Who are you?" he asked, calmer now.
"My name," she said as she pulled herself up, "is Sailor Gemini." She held her hand out to the boy.
"Wufei Chang," he answered, ignoring her outstretched hand.
~oO noon Oo~
Elsewhere in the world, around noon, Antares was wondering aimlessly through twisting corridors, following the faint sound of voices (1). "Damn Leo and her stupid dares," she complained to no one. She came to a door, the source of the very loud voices. Two angry men.
"Trieze, what the hell are you thinking?!"
"Tuberoff, please try to understand..."
"Understand? Understand?! You've wasted countless mobile suits in battles with those damned Gundam pilots and you want me to understand?! Do you have any idea how much those things cost?!"
Well some one needs a nap, Antares thought to herself. At least some one's here. She opened the door and stepped inside. As soon as she got into the room, the plaster of the wall beside exploded into shards. Opposite of her was an old, ugly man holding a smoking gun that was aimed precariously close to her head. To her right was a younger, much better looking man seated at a desk with a surprised look on his face.
Now, if Sailor Antares were a normal young woman, she probably would have run away. But she wasn't and she didn't. Instead she got angry. She stepped fully into the room and held up the ever-present Time-Space Key. She growled her attack command, "Antares constellation REVOLT!" A bright light filled the room and knocked the old man onto his back, out cold.
"Hmph!" Antares said to herself as she smiled. The young man cleared his throat and got up from his desk. "To what do I owe the pleasure, miss?" he asked, bowing slightly. Antares looked at him quizzically.
"I must say," he continued "I've never seen anyone with battle tactics that included such... impressive maneuvers."
"Who...?" Antares muttered.
"I should ask you the same question. Anyone who can knock down Tuberoff in one blow deserves to be recognized. But if you must know, my name is Trieze Khushrenada, general of the OZ organization."
"My name is Sailor Antares of the Zodiac Senshi," Antares mimicked respectfully.
~oO 1 PM Oo~
Sailor Aries crawled her way through a large pile of assorted debris, the scent of distant salt water stinging her nostrils and the after noon sun hurting her eyes. She poked her head out of the heap, managing to get a large spaghetti strainer on her head. A young boy (or was it a girl?) was making his/her way up the pile; Aries ducked under, unseen.
"Hey, Howard!" he called. Yup, definitely a guy.
"Yeah, Duo?" an old man answered from down below.
"What am I looking for?"
"A spaghetti strainer."
Oh crap, Aries thought, who the hell would want a spaghetti strainer from a junkyard anyway? The boy's feet were inches from her and the precious strainer and he was sure to find her. Ah well, mind as well have some fun, she thought smirking.
She sprung up from the garbage heap and cried, "Konnichiwaaaaaaaaaaaa!" in a guttural voice.
"AHHHHH!!!" Duo screamed as he fell down the heap, starting an avalanche. Aries found a car door to surf down on. Duo looked up from where he had landed on his back to see Aries with her demon-like dragon wings outstretched and her elegant scythe held high. He jumped to his feet as she landed at the bottom of the hill at an abrupt stop. She made for an impressive sight; Duo might have been afraid had it not been for the spaghetti strainer on her head.
"Sh- shi- Shinigami?!" he stuttered.
"Nope! Sailor Aries!" she announced happily.
"..." For once, Duo was speechless.
~oO 2:30 PM Oo~
"Trowa, I'm so glad you've decided to help me with the trapeze performance. Ever since the couple the couple that usually did the routine quit, the ringmaster's been really uptight..." the curly haired woman went on and on as Trowa listened silently. The two the platforms situated on high poles separated by trapeze swings and a net below. They had just gotten into their act when they were interrupted by a scream. Trowa instinctively dropped his sister to the net below.
Sailor Scorpio was falling from the top of the tent. Her fins did little to slow her down. Seeing Scorpio's peril, Trowa swung from the trapeze, caught Scorpio, and landed gracefully on the opposite platform.
"Umm... thanks," Scorpio said shyly.
"No problem," he replied.
"Hey!" the young woman called, "Are you hurt? C'mon, I'll go make us all something to eat."
~oO 4:45 PM Oo~
Back in the forest, Wufei and Gemini were sharing lunch/ dinner. Actually, it was more like Gemini was chowing away at all of Wufei's food, but who's counting? Fortunately, Wufei had managed to salvage a sandwich. Unfortunately, Gemini had spotted it.
"Is that a tuna sandwich?" Gemini asked happily.
"No," Wufei denied the very obvious fact.
"Please can I have a bite?"
"No. You've already eaten all of my Chinese food and this is all I have."
Gemini ignored his answer, and with both hands, pulled his hand and the sandwich it was holding towards her mouth. She sat for a while apparently judging what the best angle would be in order for her to take the largest bite possible. Suddenly, she shoved half the sandwich in her mouth and clamped down.
"OOOOOOOOOOWWWWW! WOMAN!!" he screamed. "YOU BIT MY FINGER YOU CANNIBALISTIC FREAK!!!"
Gemini attempted to say 'Gomen' with a mouth full of food and gave Wufei a Bunny Love Hug (tm) (2).
"Get off me, Hannibal Lector," he mumbled as he cradled his sore hand.
~oO 10 PM Oo~
Leo, meanwhile, was having a great deal of fun pushing brightly colored buttons and pulling levers. She was seated in what seamed to be a brightly lit cockpit of some sort (this was actually the cockpit of the Tallgeese).
Lieutenant Otto stared in amazement as the over-sized Gundam appeared to be... break-dancing? in the hangar of the large, OZ controlled compound. Suddenly, it's engines roared to life and it took off through the ceiling, revealing a star lit sky. Alarms sounded as the Lieutenant ran to the nearest com unit.
"Captain Marquise! Captain Marquise!" he cried hysterically.
"The Captain is asleep, sir," answered the calm voice of a subordinate officer.
"Well, wake him up and get him down here immediately!!!"
"Leo on the other hand, had just realized exactly where she was and was having the time of her life. "Houston, this is Sailor Leo, she said to herself. "Mecha has been successfully hi-jacked and we are on our way to rendezvous point planet Namek."
~oO 9 PM Oo~
The Captain was still asleep when he was awakened not by a soldier, but by Sailor Pisces. She fell from roughly two feet above the mattress.
BOUNCE! CRASH! BANG! THUD! A cacophony of noises rang out in the formerly silent dark room as Pisces bounced off the bed and stumbled into several foreign objects on her way to the floor; Zechs woke up with a start. The artificial light of a lamp washed over the room. Zechs pulled himself to the other side of the bed and saw Pisces seated haphazardly amongst the wreckage.
"Who are you?" he asked sleepily.
"I'm Sailor Pisces."
"A Pisces pilot?"
"A what?"
"Never mind. How did you get here?"
Pisces sighed, took a deep breath and told Zechs the entire story of what a Zodiac Senshi was, what they did, and ended with how she got there. It took over an hour to tell the tale and Zechs sat quietly, listening intently and ignoring the constant calls from lieutenant Otto.
"Quite an interesting story," he said when he finished.
"Yeah, well..." Pisces made an attempt to get up and winced in pain. She grabbed the bedside table for support. "My ankle..."
Zechs got up off the bed and sat her down on it. He lifted her ankle for further inspection. "It doesn't look broken," he said as she blushed furiously. "You probably just sprained it. Come on: I'll take you to the infirmary." Zechs then plucked her off the bed and carried her through the halls.
~oO Day 2- 10 am Oo~
"That is why we must strive for peace both in the colonies and on Earth. Pacifism is the only way to solve our conflicts. We must abolish all weapons..." Queen Relena droned on and on about her ideals for pacifism to a very bored group of various aristocrats representing various countries. It was one day after Senshi first began appearing in this dimension. Trieze Khushrenada was among the aristocrats seated in the large conference hall; next to him was Antares, dressed in an OZ lieutenant's uniform and trying not to be noticeable.
Only Trieze knew Antares' true identity, as the soldiers referred her to as Lieutenant Jackie Izawa. She was supposedly a transferred to Trieze's local from another base. Antares loved the fact that subordinates had to stand in line and salute her when she passed by; not to mention she got to carry a gun. Trieze had received a notice that he was invited to attend the peace talk meeting. He wasn't going to go but Antares talked him into it. She was regretting that decision now.
"As we move towards the future...AAAHHH!!!" Relena's speech was cut short by a flurry of pink. Everyone in the room snapped to attention as Sailor Chibi Scorpio pulled herself up from her seat on Relena's backside.
"Chibi Scorpio!" Antares cried happily as she ran down to greet her friend.
"Antares!" Chibi returned the greeting.
"I take it you two know each other," Trieze observed. "Well ladies, I believe this meeting is over." The trio headed out the doors as Relena's attendants helped the young queen up.
~oO 2 PM Oo~
"All units successfully destroyed. Mission: complete. Heero Yuy over and out." Heero turned off his com unit and sat back in his chair. A rapid beeping noise filled the cockpit and he lurched forward. He turned Wing Zero to face twelve Leos. "Damn. Backup," he cursed. He sighed and sliced through about six of them when he was suddenly interrupted by a certain Moon Princess.
"What the hell?!" Heero cried and tried to reach for his gun. He would have been able to get it had it not been for the fact that Lima Bean was seated on his lap and had him pinned to his chair. "Who are you?!" he asked with malice.
"Neo Queen Lady Mistress Serenity," she stated proudly. "Or Lima Bean for short. Whoa!" Wing Zero lurched forward as it was hit by one of the Leos. "Hang on," Heero said.
"Gladly," Lima Bean muttered happily.
~oO 6 PM Oo~
"Are you guys hungry?" Quatre asked Taurus and Aquarius. The trio had spent the past day and a half playing around Quatre's sizable home, terrorizing the Maguanacs, and generally getting into trouble.
Taurus and Aquarius came bounding into the kitchen, nearly knocking Quatre over. "Yeah!" the two cried in unison. Quatre smiled. "I can make you spaghetti if you want."
"Yeah!"
Quatre had just started cooking when the computer in the living room buzzed to life, indicating a message. "Looks like I have a few messages," Quatre said to the girls. "I'll be right back. Watch the food please." Taurus and Aquarius exchanged troubled glances.
At his computer, Quatre stared in astonishment as he received messages from his fellow Gundam pilots telling of a Moon princess, Sailor Aries, Sailor Scorpio, and a certain 'bottomless pit' known as Sailor Gemini. Quatre replied with a message requesting that they all get together and have a meeting amongst themselves and the Zodiac Senshi in their care.
"Quatre!" Taurus' scream brought him back to reality.
"Yes?"
"The tomato sauce!"
Quatre ran into the kitchen to find the two soldiers desperately trying (in vain) to figure out how to keep the tomato sauce from boiling over.
~oO Day 3- midnight Oo~
"What the hell is that thing?" Virgo mused.
"It looks like a giant robot," Cancer replied.
"Hey, they're moving!"
"Ooooh, look! Here comes a bigger one."
"They're fighting!" The conversation stopped when a near by 'giant robot' exploded.
"I think we better get out of here," Virgo yelled over the clamor. Cancer nodded. The duo ran across the battlefield, fending off mobile suits that got too close with their attacks.
"Virgo! Cancer!" Lima Bean's voice rang out from the largest of the mobile suits.
"I can't fit them in here too," a voice said in the background.
"This thing has hands, doesn't it?" Lima argued.
"Hn. You two," the voice addressed Virgo and Cancer. "Come on. I'll carry you to the rendezvous point."
The cousins (3) looked at each other and nodded. They climbed into the outstretched robotic hands of Wing Zero and, at the insistence of the princess, abandoned the mission.
~oO 5 am Oo~
"Gemini... Gemini... wake up." Wufei poked at Gemini a few times. After being annoyed to no end for a few hours, he had discovered that once she had eaten, Gemini's child-like nature had been strangely addicting. He had even agreed, a bit hesitantly, to share a sleeping bag with her.
"What?" Gemini said as she sat up.
"We have to go." Wufei was already up and dressed. Gemini crawled out of the bag, straightened out her skirt, and rolled up and put away the sleeping bag in the cockpit of Nataku. She then hurried over to Wufei and got on the back of the humming motorcycle.
"Where are we going?" she asked over the roar of the engine after they were on their way.
"To my friend's house," Wufei replied.
""Hmm..." Gemini rested her head on Wufei's shoulder and closed her eyes as she tightened her grip around him. Wufei smiled slightly and sped up as they traveled down the lonely stretch of highway.
~oO 1: 30 PM Oo~
"Hey, Duo! Check this out!" Aries ran over to Duo carrying a worn, but otherwise good, household lamp. The junkyard had proven to provide hours of fun for both Aries and Duo. The two had managed to find enough sheet metal and whatnot to build 'Shinigami's Indestructible Fort of Doom', a fairly impressive 'fort' bearing its name in bold red letters.
"Duo!" Duo turned his attention from Aries to Howard. "Yeah?" he asked.
"Quatre got your message. Seems that the other pilots have run across a few these Senshi as well. He's requested meeting to get the girls together and discuss the possibility of OZ having gotten a hold of the rest of 'em."
"Well Aries, looks like we're going on a road trip!"
~oO Day 4- 3 PM Oo~
"This sucks," Sagittarius complained.
"Yeah," Capricorn agreed. "Where are we?"
"I dunno," Sagittarius answered. The pair wandered down halls. As they rounded the millionth corner, they could hear two voices coming their way.
"Are you sure you can walk alright?" a masculine voice asked.
"Yeah, I'm OK. Thanks for taking care of me" The second voice sounded like Pisces'. The owners of the voices turned down the corridor. Sure enough, it was none other than Sailor Pisces and Zechs Marquise. "Pisces!" Sagittarius and Capricorn screeched.
"Oh my god! Sagittarius! Capricorn!" Pisces tried to run to her friends, but only succeeded in falling down. "Ouch," she said as Zechs pulled her up.
"I really think you shouldn't be walking so much," Zechs said as he resorted to carrying her again. "It seems many of your friends have been appearing all over various OZ facilities. General Trieze has set up a meeting so we can figure out how to get you Senshi back where you belong."
~oO 5 PM Oo~
"And that's how Chuckles the Clown ended up getting stuck in the clown car," Catherine finished through giggles. Catherine and Scorpio were exchanging stories over an early dinner as Trowa smiled lightly. "It seems your comrades are quite a colorful group," he said as he finished his work on the computer. Scorpio nodded proudly.
"Well, it shouldn't be long until you meet up again. My friend Quatre has set up a meeting with us so you can get together with your friends. Come on," Trowa said as he opened the door. "Catherine, could you feed the lions for me? Scorpio, I'm sorry but it's going to be kind of cramped in my Gundam. Let's go." Trowa waved good bye to his sister and he and Scorpio headed out into the quickly darkening landscape.
~oO Day 5- 2PM Oo~
"These are really nice," Antares said. She was standing in her Senshi uniform, admiring Trieze's large sword collection. Chibi Scorpio sat at a large desk opposite Antares, listening to the boy band CD Trieze had bought for her. Trieze turned from the window he was looking out of to face Antares. "I could teach you," he said.
"Huh?"
"Sword fighting. I could teach you."
Antares was more than a little buzzed from an adrenaline rush received earlier when Trieze decided to show her the workings of a mobile suit. Needless to say, she kicked his ass. "Hell yeah! OK!"
"Pick a sword. I suggest you choose a lighter, smaller one suited for your size." Antares glared at him icily. "Of course, the choice is yours," he added. Antares picked a medium sized sword with a slightly curved blade and a handle that resembled that of Uranus' talisman. " Sailor Uranus taught me a little," she reflected. "Let's go!" she added excitedly.
"Let's see how much your comrade has taught you," Trieze said with an amused voice and the two began to spar. Chibi Scorpio sat in mute fascination as she bobbed her head in time to the beat of the music she was listening to.
~oO 2:45PM Oo~
"Captain Marquise! Thank God! I thought I'd never find you!" Colonel Une looked genuinely happy to see the captain. Until she saw the Senshi he had in tow. "Good Lord, there's more of them? You have no idea how much trouble I've had with these two," she said as she jabbed her thumb in the general direction of Leo and Libra. "Leo over there stole your Tallgeese, and when she landed, she plastered half of our carrier ship with toilet paper. On the way here, she wouldn't stop poking me and asking if we were there yet. And when I tried to discipline her, her friend would shock me with a little lightening bolt." Libra gave a toothy smile at the last sentence.
"Apparently, Mr. Trieze also has two Senshi of his own to care for. That makes seven thus far," Zechs said to Une as the Senshi greeted each other enthusiastically.
~oO 3 PM Oo~
"We're here," Heero said in a monotone voice. He landed Wing Zero next to three other Gundams. One was orange and red with a very large gun for an arm; the other was dominantly black and held a large metallic stick that functioned as a scythe when on; the last held two large sickles in either hand. Duo and Trowa were already here at Quatre's. Wufei's motorcycle was no where in sight, which meant he was still on his way.
Heero placed Virgo and Cancer on the platform then maneuvered Wing to the edge where the cousins were standing. He opened the hatch and Lima Bean stepped out followed by Heero himself. "Alright. Follow me, I know the way."
Heero and company had just stepped off the platform stairs when Wufei and Gemini arrived entered the hangar. Gemini was still asleep until Wufei jabbed her in the ribs lightly. "We're here," he said, smiling slightly. Gemini beamed back.
Quatre, Trowa, Duo, Aries, Scorpio, Taurus, and Aquarius were all seated on the living room floor. They made room for the six that had come in. Gemini was determined to finish her nap and curled up on Wufei's side as soon as he sat down. The Gundam pilots began to explain to the Senshi what OZ was and went over the possibilities of their comrades being there.
~oO Day 6- 11am Oo~
"HA! I told you I knew what I was doing!" Antares said as she knocked Trieze's sword out of his hand. This was only the third time the two had 'dueled' and Antares was picking up fast. "I must say," Trieze said with a smile, "I'm very impressed."
"Trieze, I never thought you'd be one to lose a duel. Especially to a woman," a miscellaneous soldier said. Antares turned as quickly as gravity would allow her and took on her most threatening stance, growling in a low tone and glaring at the underling. "What did you say?" she growled. The boy took a few steps back into the hall. "I suggest you not insult our dear Antares, unless you have a death wish," Trieze said calmly.
"I... uh... sorry Miss Antares, ma'am," the boy stuttered. "I only came to tell His Excellency that Captain Zechs and Colonel Une are here." Trieze nodded and dismissed the soldier with a wave of his hand. Zechs and Une entered the room, Senshi trailing behind them. Zechs found the nearest couch and set Pisces down so he could rub his sore arm muscles. He was almost positive that her ankle had healed and was now just asking to be carried around for the fun of it.
"Alright ladies," Trieze started, "from what I've been told, you girls come from another dimension, a few hundred years in the future. It has also come to my attention that there is a high possibility of there being more Senshi in our world."
Une looked absolutely horrified then passed out. Trieze sighed and propped her up on the couch next to Pisces. "As I was saying," Trieze continued, "we believe your fellow soldiers are here, most likely with the Gundam pilots."
"What's a 'Gun Damn'?" Capricorn asked.
Trieze and Zechs spent much of the remainder of the day briefing the Senshi on the wonders of mobile suit technology known as Gundams.
~oO Day7- 4 am Oo~
"Gemini. Gemini. Wake up, niu tu (4)," Wufei shook Gemini and attempted to pull her arms from their death-grip around his neck. Their mission had to be done early. Something about the 'element of surprise' Heero had said. To save on time, they decided they would have to sleep in their clothes. Not a problem for Senshi considering all Senshi attire is wrinkle proof.
Quatre may have been rich, but this particular house wasn't that big, with only five rooms. Normally this would've been fine for the five pilots, but they had eight Senshi with them. Now, the girls had become very attached to their respective caretakers and every one of them refused to sleep on the couch, preferring instead to share sleeping accommodations with them. Poor Heero had to take the largest bed so that Lima Bean, Virgo and Cancer could all fit without falling off. Not that he seemed to mind. Wufei had to admit that he was more than happy to comply with Gemini's demands to share the small bed. Although he was paying for it now, he noted dully as he inspected the large drool spot gracing his shirt.
"Wha- huh?" Gemini asked sleepily.
"Come on, we have to leave now," he said as he helped her get up. They started walking to the hangar.
"Where are we going again?"
"As soon as I get Nataku, we're going to the OZ base where Trieze is."
"What's a Nataku? And who's Trieze?"
"Don't you remember? Nataku is the name of my Gundam and Trieze is the leader of the OZ organization. We figured that if your friends are within OZ, they'd be with him."
"Oooooh. OK!"
"Niu tu, if you want, I'll teach you how to pilot Nataku."
Gemini was suddenly very awake. "Can I fight with it too?"
"I prefer you not. If there's a battle, I'll take over."
By now, the two had made it to the hangar. "Wufei, you should head out first then come back. I'll have breakfast done by then so we can eat then leave," Quatre called.
"Make a lot of food. This one eats like there's no tomorrow!" Wufei called over his shoulder.
~ Part3: Coming Together: noon ~
wwwWWWWHIIIIIRRRRR! WwwWWWWHIIIIIRRRRR! Alarms sounded throughout the OZ compound as soldiers ran through halls in small groups.
"Sir, unconfirmed mobile suits-," a soldier started to say as he ran into the meeting room where the OZ officers and Zodiac Senshi were seated.
"That means 'Gundams', right?" Chibi Scorpio asked.
"Usually," Zechs answered.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Alright girls! Move out! To the mobile suits!" Antares barked.
"You don't all know how to pilot mobile suits," Trieze said with an edge of worry.
"I do. Leo does, right Leo?" Antares said as she glared at her. Leo shrunk back. "What we don't know we can fake. Besides, it's not that hard."
~oO On the Battlefield Oo~
"We've got mobile suits!" Heero said. He was incredibly uncomfortably; he had spent the morning clearing as much space out of Wing Zero's cockpit as he possibly could. Lima Bean was seated on his lap again, and Virgo and Cancer were on either side of him.
"I got 'em!" Gemini cried. Wufei could be heard in the background arguing for her to hand over the controls. Amazingly, there were a few mobile suits in the bunch that proved impossible to knock off.
"HA HA HA!" the voice of one of the OZ suit pilots cackled over the Comm units. "You dare defy me?! I the Great Sailor Leo, ruler of all I survey!"
"You're not the ruler, I am," Lima answered calmly.
"Lima Bean?"
"Antares?"
"Gemini?"
"Libra?" Comm units crackled with Senshi questioning each other's identities and confirming their own. In a sudden clash of titanium and gundanium alloy, the mobile suits appeared to be... hugging each other. Some of the suits even appeared to jump up and down like giddy schoolgirls as their pilots giggled uncontrollably.
"Um... well, I guess the rest of 'em were here after all," Duo said uncertainly. He couldn't figure out if having all fourteen Zodiac Senshi and the Moon Princess in one confined area was such a good idea.
Antares sighed. "You guys, we're all together now. You know what that means."
"What?" Sagittarius asked.
"Do we have to?" asked Virgo.
"Have to what?" Sagittarius inquired again.
"We have to go home. To the Moon Kingdom. We're needed there," Antares said.
"No, no, no, I don't want to!" Aries cried as she clutched Duo possessively.
"We'll meet up on the ground and say our good-byes," Antares said sadly.
~ Part 4: Good Luck and Good Bye ~
The Senshi, Moon Princess, Gundam pilots, Zechs and Trieze assembled on the calm battlefield. A few of the girls were sniffling and Gemini, who refused to let go of Wufei, had tears streaming down her face. Libra, Leo and Chibi Scorpio were off to a far side, as they had no one they were particularly attached to.
Duo was the first to speak. "Hey, uh, Aries?" he said shakily. "I thought you might want this." He handed her the spaghetti strainer she had when they had first met. She smiled sadly at him. "I'll miss you, Shinigami-chan," she said then kissed him softly and left to join Libra and company. For some reason, Leo and Libra had started an argument about ancient China...
"Miss Antares, I must say this: You are an incredible warrior. You are intelligent, strong and honorable. A rare combination in one so young, and it will bring you many victories. I wish you the best of luck. Here; take this as a reminder of your time here," Trieze handed her the sword she had used to duel him with. "In all honesty, I will miss your presence here in OZ." He hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. Antares sauntered off to the others quietly, blushing a little.
"Heerooo! We'll miss you!" Virgo and Cancer cried in unison, grabbing either one of his arms.
"Well, Heero, I guess this is good bye,' Lima Bean said.
"If it means anything to you, you're a much better monarch than Queen Relena, and I'd rather have you ruling the world. At least you can talk intelligently and defend yourself," Heero said to her while prying his arms free.
"Thanks!" Lima wandered off pulling Virgo and Cancer behind her. "Come on you two."
"It's been really nice meeting both of you,' Quatre said with a smile. "If you ever feel the need to mess with time-space again, you're welcome here."
"I'll see if I can talk Antares into it," Taurus replied.
"Since we probably won't see you again, I demand a group hug," Aquarius said to her two companions. Taurus and Aquarius deprived Quatre's lungs of air for a little while, then left to join the growing group.
"C'mon, Capricorn, let's go join the rest of 'em," Sagittarius said, helping the Mongolian Senshi to her feet.
"Scorpio... I... um... sorry, I'm not good at this," Trowa stuttered. "I understand. You're a great guy, Tro. Tell your sister I said good bye," Scorpio answered. She hugged him tightly then left to join the group with Capricorn and Sagittarius.
"Pisces, do you think you're strong enough to make it over there by yourself?" Zechs asked Pisces, who instead of being carried, was leaning on his side. "Yeah, I'll make it," she said. "I'll miss you. Thanks for taking care of me."
"My pleasure. As the Gundam pilot said, you're welcome here anytime."
Somewhere, Colonel Lady Une screamed.
"Gemini..." Wufei started.
"Wufei, I don't want to go. I want to stay here with you!" Gemini said as she clutched Wufei's shirt. She buried her face in his neck and cried.
"Niu tu..." he said as he comforted her. "Wo ai ni, niu tu. I will always remember you. I hope you will remember me."
Gemini sniffled. "Ai shiteru," she sighed. Wufei lifted her tear-streaked face and kissed her slowly and passionately (5). "Go now," he said as they finally parted. "Before I refuse to let you go. Your friends are waiting." Gemini nodded and slowly walked to the others. Libra and Leo were still arguing about ancient China.
"Every one ready? Let's go!" Antares said. "Constellations, hear my call! Planets, answer me! Space and Time, heed my command! Take us to..."
"That's mythological ancient China!" Leo said to argue a point Libra had made earlier.
A bright light flashed again.
"LEO! GODDAMMIT! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Antares screamed.
~OO FINIS OO~
...or is it?
1. Due to the fact that she only read the rough draft of The Dangers of Truth or Dare, and that I didn't communicate the original story time line to her, there are inconsistencies between Antares' Diary and other related works by Focora, and my own Songs of the Stars arc. Originally, The Dangers of Truth or Dare was only supposed to occur over a two day period. I had just started typing up Truth or Dare when Focora wrote Antares' Diary, in which the time line had been extended to one week and a few scenes were added.
Also, Focora read the completed rough draft during Chemistry and decided that the original ending was too sad, and that we should write an alternate ending, which we did. Focora decided to follow the alternate ending when writing Antares' Diary, complicating matters when I went to write the sequel to Truth or Dare, Suzaku no Senshi.
2. Bunny (Sailor Gemini) has a way of hugging people in which she wraps her arms around you, squeezes as hard as she possibly can, an rocks back and forth. A very painful way of showing affection to say the least. This "technique" is also called an "Usagi Special".
3. Mica and Rica, a.k.a. Virgo and Cancer, are cousins in real life.
4. Niu tu, according to an online dictionary (read 'don't trust it') is Chinese for "little rabbit".
5. Think Titanic. Bow scene at sun down ^ ^.
Note: Wingdings don't appear correctly in a .txt format document and appear as miscellaneous ? marks.
THE DANGERS OF TRUTH OR DARE
~oO?Oo~
by Dolphin-chick
~oO Part 1: The Dare Oo~
The dining hall of the Moon Kingdom Palace was unusually silent; none of the usual din, not even a dull roar. Sailor Libra stared at her marshmallow-less Lucky Charms with utter contempt. The Queen insisted the girls be awake by 8:30 am and in Senshi morph in order to "properly protect our world". Right. Libra guessed the dear queen had forgotten that most teenagers are nocturnal.
Princess Lima Bean ("princess" was much easier to say than her full given title of "Neo Queen Lady Mistress Serenity") walked into the room wearing her pajamas which, strangely enough, were dark green with large, light green lima beans printed all over it. Her hair was down; she had been wearing it down for over month saying the usual buns were "too girly" and also to protest the fact that her parents had forced her to wear a pink, fluffy, lacey dress to a recent banquet. Lima yawned and sat down to a bowl of Cocoa Puffs. All the Zodiac Senshi were sitting, half-asleep, in the immense dining hall with nothing to do.
Gemini was the first to break the silence. "Why are we up so early?"
Lima sighed. "Because Mom and Dad say we should be on the lookout for new enemies. When Ma was a Senshi, they had a new enemy every other week," she said sarcastically.
"I know...," Leo said happily. This usually meant she had some oddball idea. "Let's play Truth or Dare!"
"Yeah!" everyone chorused.
"OK, who goes first!" Gemini asked.
"Me, me, ME!" Pisces cried.
"Truth or Dare?"
"Umm... Dare!"
"OK, I dare you to... run around the palace with a pair of underwear on your head, cawing like one of Sailor Mars' crows!"
Pisces went to her room and came running back through the dining hall a few minutes later with said pair of underwear gracing her cranium, as the call of "CAW! CAW! CAW!" echoed down the halls.
After covering the majority of the first floor of the palace, Pisces returned. "Alright Leo," she said, "Truth or Dare?"
"Is that really hard to figure out? Dare."
"Do you know what Mexican bobsledding is?"
~oO Oo~
The girls reassembled in the palace garden. Leo was seated atop a plastic child's sled wearing a colorful poncho and an equally decorative sombrero. A rope attached the sled to Lima Bean's green go-kart. Lima started the go-kart and the duo sped through the garden, tore around the hallways and ripped through the gates, which had been left open, onto the streets below. It took the Senshi half an hour to talk their fellow Senshi and the young queen from further terrorizing the town and they met again in the dining hall.
"OK, my turn. Antares, Truth or Dare?"
"Why is it that no one picks 'Truth'?" Capricorn mused.
"Dare," answered Antares.
"I dare you to do something cool with the space-time continuum!"
"I can't." Antares said simply.
"Why not?"
"It's one of my taboos. I'm not allowed to do it."
"What are your taboos?" Sagittarius asked curiously.
Antares began to rattle off a small list. "One: Don't stop time. Two: Don't destroy the galaxy. Three: Don't mess with the space-time continuum. There's more, I think, but I don't remember."
"You can do all that?" Cancer asked incredulously.
"I have the power to, but I'm not allowed to." Antares corrected.
"Please? Just a little bit? Pluto stopped time once," Leo whined.
"How do you know?" Antares asked.
"She told me when I asked her what her powers were," Leo said.
"Besides, it's in all the history books," Libra added.
"Please Antares?" Leo asked again.
"..."
"Pleeeeeease?"
"..."
"As a member of the Royal Family of the Moon Kingdom and Crystal Tokyo, I give you my express permission to break the taboo presented upon you, Sailor Antares," Lima Bean said with an authoritative voice. All the Senshi stared at her. "What?" she asked. "I wanna see what happens too!"
Antares sighed. "Alright, let's go."
~oO Oo~
The Zodiac Senshi congregated again in front of the Time-Space Gates. The Gates consisted of large double doors, similar in size and shape to the Gates of Time. The doors themselves were engraved in detailed charts of stars and solar systems. These gates were located on the opposite end of the palace as the Time Gates. Antares took a deep breath. "OK, here goes."
Antares opened the door and stepped inside; the rest of the Senshi followed her in. The doors appeared to lead into space itself. Millions of galaxies, stars and planets revolved around them.
" Where are we?" Chibi Scorpio asked.
"Somewhere in the Universe." Antares said.
"So now what?" Virgo asked.
"Now..." Antares trailed off. She raised her ever-present scepter and cried out. "Constellations, hear my call! Planets answer me! Space and Time, heed my command! Take us..."
Leo interrupted Antares again. "Someplace cool!" she finished for her. Antares shrugged and slammed her scepter on the 'floor'. A bright light filled their vision as they all disappeared.
As suddenly as they had gone, the girls began to reappear miscellaneously in various places of the very alien 'someplace cool'.
~ Part 2: It's Raining Senshi and Moon Princesses: Day 1- 5:30 am ~
Sailor Libra found herself hurtling towards a large aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean. The rising sun highlighted the waves on the horizon; it would have been great for Libra had it not been for her situation. She flared her wings out and managed to make a soft landing on the cement deck. Unfortunately, she didn't go unnoticed by the nearby soldiers.
"Lieutenant Nicole! Look!" some one said.
The lieutenant turned to face a very confused and very frightened Libra.
"Get Colonel Une and notify her of this now!" he roared to his subordinates. He pulled out a small pistol from its holster on his side and aimed it at Libra's head. "Now, who are you?!"
~oO 7 am Oo~
Meanwhile, a young blonde boy sat at the side of his pool, drinking his morning cup of tea peacefully. In a flash of light, Sailor Taurus appeared just above the water and belly flopped into it, drenching the startled boy. She came coughing and struggling to the surface. The boy ran from his seat and came back holding a net attached to a pole commonly used for cleaning the pool's surface.
As Taurus was being hauled to the side, Sailor Aquarius dropped in. Literally. She crashed into Taurus and the boy, knocking all three of them into the water.
"Rashid! Help!" the boy cried.
"Master Quatre, what's wrong?!"" A huge gorilla of a man appeared at the edge and pulled Quatre and the two Senshi from the depths. Taurus rung out her pigtails and Aquarius dumped out the water in her shoes as Quatre and his servants prepared for their strange visitors.
~oO 8 am Oo~
Gemini tumbled through the branches of a seemingly never-ending tree and its particularly painful bark. She finally can to a halt hanging upside down from the lowest branch, face to face with a meditating Chinese boy. The boy opened his eyes, saw Gemini two inches from his nose, and screamed. Gemini screamed in reply, then stopped. "Hey," she giggled. "You're cute."
"Woman!" he roared
Gemini giggled again, causing her to fall out of the tree.
"Who are you?" he asked, calmer now.
"My name," she said as she pulled herself up, "is Sailor Gemini." She held her hand out to the boy.
"Wufei Chang," he answered, ignoring her outstretched hand.
~oO noon Oo~
Elsewhere in the world, around noon, Antares was wondering aimlessly through twisting corridors, following the faint sound of voices (1). "Damn Leo and her stupid dares," she complained to no one. She came to a door, the source of the very loud voices. Two angry men.
"Trieze, what the hell are you thinking?!"
"Tuberoff, please try to understand..."
"Understand? Understand?! You've wasted countless mobile suits in battles with those damned Gundam pilots and you want me to understand?! Do you have any idea how much those things cost?!"
Well some one needs a nap, Antares thought to herself. At least some one's here. She opened the door and stepped inside. As soon as she got into the room, the plaster of the wall beside exploded into shards. Opposite of her was an old, ugly man holding a smoking gun that was aimed precariously close to her head. To her right was a younger, much better looking man seated at a desk with a surprised look on his face.
Now, if Sailor Antares were a normal young woman, she probably would have run away. But she wasn't and she didn't. Instead she got angry. She stepped fully into the room and held up the ever-present Time-Space Key. She growled her attack command, "Antares constellation REVOLT!" A bright light filled the room and knocked the old man onto his back, out cold.
"Hmph!" Antares said to herself as she smiled. The young man cleared his throat and got up from his desk. "To what do I owe the pleasure, miss?" he asked, bowing slightly. Antares looked at him quizzically.
"I must say," he continued "I've never seen anyone with battle tactics that included such... impressive maneuvers."
"Who...?" Antares muttered.
"I should ask you the same question. Anyone who can knock down Tuberoff in one blow deserves to be recognized. But if you must know, my name is Trieze Khushrenada, general of the OZ organization."
"My name is Sailor Antares of the Zodiac Senshi," Antares mimicked respectfully.
~oO 1 PM Oo~
Sailor Aries crawled her way through a large pile of assorted debris, the scent of distant salt water stinging her nostrils and the after noon sun hurting her eyes. She poked her head out of the heap, managing to get a large spaghetti strainer on her head. A young boy (or was it a girl?) was making his/her way up the pile; Aries ducked under, unseen.
"Hey, Howard!" he called. Yup, definitely a guy.
"Yeah, Duo?" an old man answered from down below.
"What am I looking for?"
"A spaghetti strainer."
Oh crap, Aries thought, who the hell would want a spaghetti strainer from a junkyard anyway? The boy's feet were inches from her and the precious strainer and he was sure to find her. Ah well, mind as well have some fun, she thought smirking.
She sprung up from the garbage heap and cried, "Konnichiwaaaaaaaaaaaa!" in a guttural voice.
"AHHHHH!!!" Duo screamed as he fell down the heap, starting an avalanche. Aries found a car door to surf down on. Duo looked up from where he had landed on his back to see Aries with her demon-like dragon wings outstretched and her elegant scythe held high. He jumped to his feet as she landed at the bottom of the hill at an abrupt stop. She made for an impressive sight; Duo might have been afraid had it not been for the spaghetti strainer on her head.
"Sh- shi- Shinigami?!" he stuttered.
"Nope! Sailor Aries!" she announced happily.
"..." For once, Duo was speechless.
~oO 2:30 PM Oo~
"Trowa, I'm so glad you've decided to help me with the trapeze performance. Ever since the couple the couple that usually did the routine quit, the ringmaster's been really uptight..." the curly haired woman went on and on as Trowa listened silently. The two the platforms situated on high poles separated by trapeze swings and a net below. They had just gotten into their act when they were interrupted by a scream. Trowa instinctively dropped his sister to the net below.
Sailor Scorpio was falling from the top of the tent. Her fins did little to slow her down. Seeing Scorpio's peril, Trowa swung from the trapeze, caught Scorpio, and landed gracefully on the opposite platform.
"Umm... thanks," Scorpio said shyly.
"No problem," he replied.
"Hey!" the young woman called, "Are you hurt? C'mon, I'll go make us all something to eat."
~oO 4:45 PM Oo~
Back in the forest, Wufei and Gemini were sharing lunch/ dinner. Actually, it was more like Gemini was chowing away at all of Wufei's food, but who's counting? Fortunately, Wufei had managed to salvage a sandwich. Unfortunately, Gemini had spotted it.
"Is that a tuna sandwich?" Gemini asked happily.
"No," Wufei denied the very obvious fact.
"Please can I have a bite?"
"No. You've already eaten all of my Chinese food and this is all I have."
Gemini ignored his answer, and with both hands, pulled his hand and the sandwich it was holding towards her mouth. She sat for a while apparently judging what the best angle would be in order for her to take the largest bite possible. Suddenly, she shoved half the sandwich in her mouth and clamped down.
"OOOOOOOOOOWWWWW! WOMAN!!" he screamed. "YOU BIT MY FINGER YOU CANNIBALISTIC FREAK!!!"
Gemini attempted to say 'Gomen' with a mouth full of food and gave Wufei a Bunny Love Hug (tm) (2).
"Get off me, Hannibal Lector," he mumbled as he cradled his sore hand.
~oO 10 PM Oo~
Leo, meanwhile, was having a great deal of fun pushing brightly colored buttons and pulling levers. She was seated in what seamed to be a brightly lit cockpit of some sort (this was actually the cockpit of the Tallgeese).
Lieutenant Otto stared in amazement as the over-sized Gundam appeared to be... break-dancing? in the hangar of the large, OZ controlled compound. Suddenly, it's engines roared to life and it took off through the ceiling, revealing a star lit sky. Alarms sounded as the Lieutenant ran to the nearest com unit.
"Captain Marquise! Captain Marquise!" he cried hysterically.
"The Captain is asleep, sir," answered the calm voice of a subordinate officer.
"Well, wake him up and get him down here immediately!!!"
"Leo on the other hand, had just realized exactly where she was and was having the time of her life. "Houston, this is Sailor Leo, she said to herself. "Mecha has been successfully hi-jacked and we are on our way to rendezvous point planet Namek."
~oO 9 PM Oo~
The Captain was still asleep when he was awakened not by a soldier, but by Sailor Pisces. She fell from roughly two feet above the mattress.
BOUNCE! CRASH! BANG! THUD! A cacophony of noises rang out in the formerly silent dark room as Pisces bounced off the bed and stumbled into several foreign objects on her way to the floor; Zechs woke up with a start. The artificial light of a lamp washed over the room. Zechs pulled himself to the other side of the bed and saw Pisces seated haphazardly amongst the wreckage.
"Who are you?" he asked sleepily.
"I'm Sailor Pisces."
"A Pisces pilot?"
"A what?"
"Never mind. How did you get here?"
Pisces sighed, took a deep breath and told Zechs the entire story of what a Zodiac Senshi was, what they did, and ended with how she got there. It took over an hour to tell the tale and Zechs sat quietly, listening intently and ignoring the constant calls from lieutenant Otto.
"Quite an interesting story," he said when he finished.
"Yeah, well..." Pisces made an attempt to get up and winced in pain. She grabbed the bedside table for support. "My ankle..."
Zechs got up off the bed and sat her down on it. He lifted her ankle for further inspection. "It doesn't look broken," he said as she blushed furiously. "You probably just sprained it. Come on: I'll take you to the infirmary." Zechs then plucked her off the bed and carried her through the halls.
~oO Day 2- 10 am Oo~
"That is why we must strive for peace both in the colonies and on Earth. Pacifism is the only way to solve our conflicts. We must abolish all weapons..." Queen Relena droned on and on about her ideals for pacifism to a very bored group of various aristocrats representing various countries. It was one day after Senshi first began appearing in this dimension. Trieze Khushrenada was among the aristocrats seated in the large conference hall; next to him was Antares, dressed in an OZ lieutenant's uniform and trying not to be noticeable.
Only Trieze knew Antares' true identity, as the soldiers referred her to as Lieutenant Jackie Izawa. She was supposedly a transferred to Trieze's local from another base. Antares loved the fact that subordinates had to stand in line and salute her when she passed by; not to mention she got to carry a gun. Trieze had received a notice that he was invited to attend the peace talk meeting. He wasn't going to go but Antares talked him into it. She was regretting that decision now.
"As we move towards the future...AAAHHH!!!" Relena's speech was cut short by a flurry of pink. Everyone in the room snapped to attention as Sailor Chibi Scorpio pulled herself up from her seat on Relena's backside.
"Chibi Scorpio!" Antares cried happily as she ran down to greet her friend.
"Antares!" Chibi returned the greeting.
"I take it you two know each other," Trieze observed. "Well ladies, I believe this meeting is over." The trio headed out the doors as Relena's attendants helped the young queen up.
~oO 2 PM Oo~
"All units successfully destroyed. Mission: complete. Heero Yuy over and out." Heero turned off his com unit and sat back in his chair. A rapid beeping noise filled the cockpit and he lurched forward. He turned Wing Zero to face twelve Leos. "Damn. Backup," he cursed. He sighed and sliced through about six of them when he was suddenly interrupted by a certain Moon Princess.
"What the hell?!" Heero cried and tried to reach for his gun. He would have been able to get it had it not been for the fact that Lima Bean was seated on his lap and had him pinned to his chair. "Who are you?!" he asked with malice.
"Neo Queen Lady Mistress Serenity," she stated proudly. "Or Lima Bean for short. Whoa!" Wing Zero lurched forward as it was hit by one of the Leos. "Hang on," Heero said.
"Gladly," Lima Bean muttered happily.
~oO 6 PM Oo~
"Are you guys hungry?" Quatre asked Taurus and Aquarius. The trio had spent the past day and a half playing around Quatre's sizable home, terrorizing the Maguanacs, and generally getting into trouble.
Taurus and Aquarius came bounding into the kitchen, nearly knocking Quatre over. "Yeah!" the two cried in unison. Quatre smiled. "I can make you spaghetti if you want."
"Yeah!"
Quatre had just started cooking when the computer in the living room buzzed to life, indicating a message. "Looks like I have a few messages," Quatre said to the girls. "I'll be right back. Watch the food please." Taurus and Aquarius exchanged troubled glances.
At his computer, Quatre stared in astonishment as he received messages from his fellow Gundam pilots telling of a Moon princess, Sailor Aries, Sailor Scorpio, and a certain 'bottomless pit' known as Sailor Gemini. Quatre replied with a message requesting that they all get together and have a meeting amongst themselves and the Zodiac Senshi in their care.
"Quatre!" Taurus' scream brought him back to reality.
"Yes?"
"The tomato sauce!"
Quatre ran into the kitchen to find the two soldiers desperately trying (in vain) to figure out how to keep the tomato sauce from boiling over.
~oO Day 3- midnight Oo~
"What the hell is that thing?" Virgo mused.
"It looks like a giant robot," Cancer replied.
"Hey, they're moving!"
"Ooooh, look! Here comes a bigger one."
"They're fighting!" The conversation stopped when a near by 'giant robot' exploded.
"I think we better get out of here," Virgo yelled over the clamor. Cancer nodded. The duo ran across the battlefield, fending off mobile suits that got too close with their attacks.
"Virgo! Cancer!" Lima Bean's voice rang out from the largest of the mobile suits.
"I can't fit them in here too," a voice said in the background.
"This thing has hands, doesn't it?" Lima argued.
"Hn. You two," the voice addressed Virgo and Cancer. "Come on. I'll carry you to the rendezvous point."
The cousins (3) looked at each other and nodded. They climbed into the outstretched robotic hands of Wing Zero and, at the insistence of the princess, abandoned the mission.
~oO 5 am Oo~
"Gemini... Gemini... wake up." Wufei poked at Gemini a few times. After being annoyed to no end for a few hours, he had discovered that once she had eaten, Gemini's child-like nature had been strangely addicting. He had even agreed, a bit hesitantly, to share a sleeping bag with her.
"What?" Gemini said as she sat up.
"We have to go." Wufei was already up and dressed. Gemini crawled out of the bag, straightened out her skirt, and rolled up and put away the sleeping bag in the cockpit of Nataku. She then hurried over to Wufei and got on the back of the humming motorcycle.
"Where are we going?" she asked over the roar of the engine after they were on their way.
"To my friend's house," Wufei replied.
""Hmm..." Gemini rested her head on Wufei's shoulder and closed her eyes as she tightened her grip around him. Wufei smiled slightly and sped up as they traveled down the lonely stretch of highway.
~oO 1: 30 PM Oo~
"Hey, Duo! Check this out!" Aries ran over to Duo carrying a worn, but otherwise good, household lamp. The junkyard had proven to provide hours of fun for both Aries and Duo. The two had managed to find enough sheet metal and whatnot to build 'Shinigami's Indestructible Fort of Doom', a fairly impressive 'fort' bearing its name in bold red letters.
"Duo!" Duo turned his attention from Aries to Howard. "Yeah?" he asked.
"Quatre got your message. Seems that the other pilots have run across a few these Senshi as well. He's requested meeting to get the girls together and discuss the possibility of OZ having gotten a hold of the rest of 'em."
"Well Aries, looks like we're going on a road trip!"
~oO Day 4- 3 PM Oo~
"This sucks," Sagittarius complained.
"Yeah," Capricorn agreed. "Where are we?"
"I dunno," Sagittarius answered. The pair wandered down halls. As they rounded the millionth corner, they could hear two voices coming their way.
"Are you sure you can walk alright?" a masculine voice asked.
"Yeah, I'm OK. Thanks for taking care of me" The second voice sounded like Pisces'. The owners of the voices turned down the corridor. Sure enough, it was none other than Sailor Pisces and Zechs Marquise. "Pisces!" Sagittarius and Capricorn screeched.
"Oh my god! Sagittarius! Capricorn!" Pisces tried to run to her friends, but only succeeded in falling down. "Ouch," she said as Zechs pulled her up.
"I really think you shouldn't be walking so much," Zechs said as he resorted to carrying her again. "It seems many of your friends have been appearing all over various OZ facilities. General Trieze has set up a meeting so we can figure out how to get you Senshi back where you belong."
~oO 5 PM Oo~
"And that's how Chuckles the Clown ended up getting stuck in the clown car," Catherine finished through giggles. Catherine and Scorpio were exchanging stories over an early dinner as Trowa smiled lightly. "It seems your comrades are quite a colorful group," he said as he finished his work on the computer. Scorpio nodded proudly.
"Well, it shouldn't be long until you meet up again. My friend Quatre has set up a meeting with us so you can get together with your friends. Come on," Trowa said as he opened the door. "Catherine, could you feed the lions for me? Scorpio, I'm sorry but it's going to be kind of cramped in my Gundam. Let's go." Trowa waved good bye to his sister and he and Scorpio headed out into the quickly darkening landscape.
~oO Day 5- 2PM Oo~
"These are really nice," Antares said. She was standing in her Senshi uniform, admiring Trieze's large sword collection. Chibi Scorpio sat at a large desk opposite Antares, listening to the boy band CD Trieze had bought for her. Trieze turned from the window he was looking out of to face Antares. "I could teach you," he said.
"Huh?"
"Sword fighting. I could teach you."
Antares was more than a little buzzed from an adrenaline rush received earlier when Trieze decided to show her the workings of a mobile suit. Needless to say, she kicked his ass. "Hell yeah! OK!"
"Pick a sword. I suggest you choose a lighter, smaller one suited for your size." Antares glared at him icily. "Of course, the choice is yours," he added. Antares picked a medium sized sword with a slightly curved blade and a handle that resembled that of Uranus' talisman. " Sailor Uranus taught me a little," she reflected. "Let's go!" she added excitedly.
"Let's see how much your comrade has taught you," Trieze said with an amused voice and the two began to spar. Chibi Scorpio sat in mute fascination as she bobbed her head in time to the beat of the music she was listening to.
~oO 2:45PM Oo~
"Captain Marquise! Thank God! I thought I'd never find you!" Colonel Une looked genuinely happy to see the captain. Until she saw the Senshi he had in tow. "Good Lord, there's more of them? You have no idea how much trouble I've had with these two," she said as she jabbed her thumb in the general direction of Leo and Libra. "Leo over there stole your Tallgeese, and when she landed, she plastered half of our carrier ship with toilet paper. On the way here, she wouldn't stop poking me and asking if we were there yet. And when I tried to discipline her, her friend would shock me with a little lightening bolt." Libra gave a toothy smile at the last sentence.
"Apparently, Mr. Trieze also has two Senshi of his own to care for. That makes seven thus far," Zechs said to Une as the Senshi greeted each other enthusiastically.
~oO 3 PM Oo~
"We're here," Heero said in a monotone voice. He landed Wing Zero next to three other Gundams. One was orange and red with a very large gun for an arm; the other was dominantly black and held a large metallic stick that functioned as a scythe when on; the last held two large sickles in either hand. Duo and Trowa were already here at Quatre's. Wufei's motorcycle was no where in sight, which meant he was still on his way.
Heero placed Virgo and Cancer on the platform then maneuvered Wing to the edge where the cousins were standing. He opened the hatch and Lima Bean stepped out followed by Heero himself. "Alright. Follow me, I know the way."
Heero and company had just stepped off the platform stairs when Wufei and Gemini arrived entered the hangar. Gemini was still asleep until Wufei jabbed her in the ribs lightly. "We're here," he said, smiling slightly. Gemini beamed back.
Quatre, Trowa, Duo, Aries, Scorpio, Taurus, and Aquarius were all seated on the living room floor. They made room for the six that had come in. Gemini was determined to finish her nap and curled up on Wufei's side as soon as he sat down. The Gundam pilots began to explain to the Senshi what OZ was and went over the possibilities of their comrades being there.
~oO Day 6- 11am Oo~
"HA! I told you I knew what I was doing!" Antares said as she knocked Trieze's sword out of his hand. This was only the third time the two had 'dueled' and Antares was picking up fast. "I must say," Trieze said with a smile, "I'm very impressed."
"Trieze, I never thought you'd be one to lose a duel. Especially to a woman," a miscellaneous soldier said. Antares turned as quickly as gravity would allow her and took on her most threatening stance, growling in a low tone and glaring at the underling. "What did you say?" she growled. The boy took a few steps back into the hall. "I suggest you not insult our dear Antares, unless you have a death wish," Trieze said calmly.
"I... uh... sorry Miss Antares, ma'am," the boy stuttered. "I only came to tell His Excellency that Captain Zechs and Colonel Une are here." Trieze nodded and dismissed the soldier with a wave of his hand. Zechs and Une entered the room, Senshi trailing behind them. Zechs found the nearest couch and set Pisces down so he could rub his sore arm muscles. He was almost positive that her ankle had healed and was now just asking to be carried around for the fun of it.
"Alright ladies," Trieze started, "from what I've been told, you girls come from another dimension, a few hundred years in the future. It has also come to my attention that there is a high possibility of there being more Senshi in our world."
Une looked absolutely horrified then passed out. Trieze sighed and propped her up on the couch next to Pisces. "As I was saying," Trieze continued, "we believe your fellow soldiers are here, most likely with the Gundam pilots."
"What's a 'Gun Damn'?" Capricorn asked.
Trieze and Zechs spent much of the remainder of the day briefing the Senshi on the wonders of mobile suit technology known as Gundams.
~oO Day7- 4 am Oo~
"Gemini. Gemini. Wake up, niu tu (4)," Wufei shook Gemini and attempted to pull her arms from their death-grip around his neck. Their mission had to be done early. Something about the 'element of surprise' Heero had said. To save on time, they decided they would have to sleep in their clothes. Not a problem for Senshi considering all Senshi attire is wrinkle proof.
Quatre may have been rich, but this particular house wasn't that big, with only five rooms. Normally this would've been fine for the five pilots, but they had eight Senshi with them. Now, the girls had become very attached to their respective caretakers and every one of them refused to sleep on the couch, preferring instead to share sleeping accommodations with them. Poor Heero had to take the largest bed so that Lima Bean, Virgo and Cancer could all fit without falling off. Not that he seemed to mind. Wufei had to admit that he was more than happy to comply with Gemini's demands to share the small bed. Although he was paying for it now, he noted dully as he inspected the large drool spot gracing his shirt.
"Wha- huh?" Gemini asked sleepily.
"Come on, we have to leave now," he said as he helped her get up. They started walking to the hangar.
"Where are we going again?"
"As soon as I get Nataku, we're going to the OZ base where Trieze is."
"What's a Nataku? And who's Trieze?"
"Don't you remember? Nataku is the name of my Gundam and Trieze is the leader of the OZ organization. We figured that if your friends are within OZ, they'd be with him."
"Oooooh. OK!"
"Niu tu, if you want, I'll teach you how to pilot Nataku."
Gemini was suddenly very awake. "Can I fight with it too?"
"I prefer you not. If there's a battle, I'll take over."
By now, the two had made it to the hangar. "Wufei, you should head out first then come back. I'll have breakfast done by then so we can eat then leave," Quatre called.
"Make a lot of food. This one eats like there's no tomorrow!" Wufei called over his shoulder.
~ Part3: Coming Together: noon ~
wwwWWWWHIIIIIRRRRR! WwwWWWWHIIIIIRRRRR! Alarms sounded throughout the OZ compound as soldiers ran through halls in small groups.
"Sir, unconfirmed mobile suits-," a soldier started to say as he ran into the meeting room where the OZ officers and Zodiac Senshi were seated.
"That means 'Gundams', right?" Chibi Scorpio asked.
"Usually," Zechs answered.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Alright girls! Move out! To the mobile suits!" Antares barked.
"You don't all know how to pilot mobile suits," Trieze said with an edge of worry.
"I do. Leo does, right Leo?" Antares said as she glared at her. Leo shrunk back. "What we don't know we can fake. Besides, it's not that hard."
~oO On the Battlefield Oo~
"We've got mobile suits!" Heero said. He was incredibly uncomfortably; he had spent the morning clearing as much space out of Wing Zero's cockpit as he possibly could. Lima Bean was seated on his lap again, and Virgo and Cancer were on either side of him.
"I got 'em!" Gemini cried. Wufei could be heard in the background arguing for her to hand over the controls. Amazingly, there were a few mobile suits in the bunch that proved impossible to knock off.
"HA HA HA!" the voice of one of the OZ suit pilots cackled over the Comm units. "You dare defy me?! I the Great Sailor Leo, ruler of all I survey!"
"You're not the ruler, I am," Lima answered calmly.
"Lima Bean?"
"Antares?"
"Gemini?"
"Libra?" Comm units crackled with Senshi questioning each other's identities and confirming their own. In a sudden clash of titanium and gundanium alloy, the mobile suits appeared to be... hugging each other. Some of the suits even appeared to jump up and down like giddy schoolgirls as their pilots giggled uncontrollably.
"Um... well, I guess the rest of 'em were here after all," Duo said uncertainly. He couldn't figure out if having all fourteen Zodiac Senshi and the Moon Princess in one confined area was such a good idea.
Antares sighed. "You guys, we're all together now. You know what that means."
"What?" Sagittarius asked.
"Do we have to?" asked Virgo.
"Have to what?" Sagittarius inquired again.
"We have to go home. To the Moon Kingdom. We're needed there," Antares said.
"No, no, no, I don't want to!" Aries cried as she clutched Duo possessively.
"We'll meet up on the ground and say our good-byes," Antares said sadly.
~ Part 4: Good Luck and Good Bye ~
The Senshi, Moon Princess, Gundam pilots, Zechs and Trieze assembled on the calm battlefield. A few of the girls were sniffling and Gemini, who refused to let go of Wufei, had tears streaming down her face. Libra, Leo and Chibi Scorpio were off to a far side, as they had no one they were particularly attached to.
Duo was the first to speak. "Hey, uh, Aries?" he said shakily. "I thought you might want this." He handed her the spaghetti strainer she had when they had first met. She smiled sadly at him. "I'll miss you, Shinigami-chan," she said then kissed him softly and left to join Libra and company. For some reason, Leo and Libra had started an argument about ancient China...
"Miss Antares, I must say this: You are an incredible warrior. You are intelligent, strong and honorable. A rare combination in one so young, and it will bring you many victories. I wish you the best of luck. Here; take this as a reminder of your time here," Trieze handed her the sword she had used to duel him with. "In all honesty, I will miss your presence here in OZ." He hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. Antares sauntered off to the others quietly, blushing a little.
"Heerooo! We'll miss you!" Virgo and Cancer cried in unison, grabbing either one of his arms.
"Well, Heero, I guess this is good bye,' Lima Bean said.
"If it means anything to you, you're a much better monarch than Queen Relena, and I'd rather have you ruling the world. At least you can talk intelligently and defend yourself," Heero said to her while prying his arms free.
"Thanks!" Lima wandered off pulling Virgo and Cancer behind her. "Come on you two."
"It's been really nice meeting both of you,' Quatre said with a smile. "If you ever feel the need to mess with time-space again, you're welcome here."
"I'll see if I can talk Antares into it," Taurus replied.
"Since we probably won't see you again, I demand a group hug," Aquarius said to her two companions. Taurus and Aquarius deprived Quatre's lungs of air for a little while, then left to join the growing group.
"C'mon, Capricorn, let's go join the rest of 'em," Sagittarius said, helping the Mongolian Senshi to her feet.
"Scorpio... I... um... sorry, I'm not good at this," Trowa stuttered. "I understand. You're a great guy, Tro. Tell your sister I said good bye," Scorpio answered. She hugged him tightly then left to join the group with Capricorn and Sagittarius.
"Pisces, do you think you're strong enough to make it over there by yourself?" Zechs asked Pisces, who instead of being carried, was leaning on his side. "Yeah, I'll make it," she said. "I'll miss you. Thanks for taking care of me."
"My pleasure. As the Gundam pilot said, you're welcome here anytime."
Somewhere, Colonel Lady Une screamed.
"Gemini..." Wufei started.
"Wufei, I don't want to go. I want to stay here with you!" Gemini said as she clutched Wufei's shirt. She buried her face in his neck and cried.
"Niu tu..." he said as he comforted her. "Wo ai ni, niu tu. I will always remember you. I hope you will remember me."
Gemini sniffled. "Ai shiteru," she sighed. Wufei lifted her tear-streaked face and kissed her slowly and passionately (5). "Go now," he said as they finally parted. "Before I refuse to let you go. Your friends are waiting." Gemini nodded and slowly walked to the others. Libra and Leo were still arguing about ancient China.
"Every one ready? Let's go!" Antares said. "Constellations, hear my call! Planets, answer me! Space and Time, heed my command! Take us to..."
"That's mythological ancient China!" Leo said to argue a point Libra had made earlier.
A bright light flashed again.
"LEO! GODDAMMIT! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Antares screamed.
~OO FINIS OO~
...or is it?
1. Due to the fact that she only read the rough draft of The Dangers of Truth or Dare, and that I didn't communicate the original story time line to her, there are inconsistencies between Antares' Diary and other related works by Focora, and my own Songs of the Stars arc. Originally, The Dangers of Truth or Dare was only supposed to occur over a two day period. I had just started typing up Truth or Dare when Focora wrote Antares' Diary, in which the time line had been extended to one week and a few scenes were added.
Also, Focora read the completed rough draft during Chemistry and decided that the original ending was too sad, and that we should write an alternate ending, which we did. Focora decided to follow the alternate ending when writing Antares' Diary, complicating matters when I went to write the sequel to Truth or Dare, Suzaku no Senshi.
2. Bunny (Sailor Gemini) has a way of hugging people in which she wraps her arms around you, squeezes as hard as she possibly can, an rocks back and forth. A very painful way of showing affection to say the least. This "technique" is also called an "Usagi Special".
3. Mica and Rica, a.k.a. Virgo and Cancer, are cousins in real life.
4. Niu tu, according to an online dictionary (read 'don't trust it') is Chinese for "little rabbit".
5. Think Titanic. Bow scene at sun down ^ ^.