"So who are these 'new friends' and why do we have to be out here so late?" grumbled Serena. She was dressed in more layers than an onion and had not stopped complaining for the last fifteen minutes as the group gathered near the steps where Bronx and Angela slept. They had also asked Lita Kino (Sailor Jupiter) and Amy Mizuno (Sailor Mercury) to come over to the shrine as well. Serena had, of course, also brought her boyfriend Darien Chiba, and their future daughter from thirtieth century Crystal Tokyo, Rini as well as Luna and Artemis, the guardian cats who were the Senshi's mentors, and were waiting inside the shrine out of the cold.
Lita stood admiring Bronx in the failing light. "These are pretty neat statues Raye," she said. "Where did you get them?"
"Oh, they just 'showed up'," replied Raye in an airy tone.
Rini was looking at the statues as if she expected them to come to life. Darien noticed this and knelt down next to her. "These gargoyle statues don't frighten you do they?" he asked her quietly.
"No, they don't scare me at all!" she replied. "And who says they're statues anyway?"
Darien was struck with understanding. "Raye," he said urgently, "Are these real gargoyles, like we've been seeing in the new reports?"
Raye sighed. She had hoped that they could play out this joke to the end, but her friends had just seen through it. "Yes," she said quietly, "They're real gargoyles."
Serena gasped. "Shouldn't we call someone!" she cried. "The police or a S.W.A.T. team or animal control or something!?"
"These gargoyles are the new friends we told you about Dumpling Head," said Mina.
"They look scary but she's actually really nice."
Serena had stepped close to Angela and was studying her features closely. "So why are they statues now?" she asked. "I thought that gargoyles were supposed to be living creatures."
"They are," said Raye. "They turned to stone when the sun rose, so we're assuming they become flesh again when the sun sets."
"It's only a minute to sunset," said Amy, checking her watch. "They should be flesh very soon now."
As Amy monitored her watch to see when the sun set, Rini rushed over and grabbed the back of Serena's coat and tried to pull her away from the stone gargoyle.
"It's ok, Rini," said Serena. "These gargoyles don't scare me. But if you're so frightened of them maybe you ought to go back home," she added rather nastily.
"I'm not frightened of them!" said Rini angrily, tugging even harder. "Now step back! They need room to-!"
"What's happening!" cried Lita. She scrambled away from Bronx and stood next to Mina.
The statues of Angela and Bronx were beginning to crack. Angela roared and Bronx howled as they burst from their stone shells, their eyes glowing brightly.
Serena was caught completely off guard. Flakes of stone showered her as she tried to backpedal away from Angela, but slipped and fell on her behind, nearly landing on top of Rini. She stared, her mouth moving silently as Angela and Bronx yawned as stretched.
Angela took a quick look around her. Bronx was shaking the last bits of stone skin from his back, and she saw Mina and Raye with a group of people who had to be the rest of the Senshi they had talked about last night. There was a young man with dark hair, almost as tall as she was who was staring not at Angela with disbelief, but at a little girl with fluffy pink hair who was beaming up at her with a wide exuberant smile on her face. Standing with her new friends, Mina and Raye were a tall, strongly built young woman with long curly brown hair who had just dropped into a defensive crouch, and another young girl with short blue hair whose expression of shock was even now changing to curiosity. And finally, lying on her back in the snow was a young woman with long blonde hair pulled into two pigtails topped by curiously shaped buns.
"It's ok," said Angela, crouching down and extending a hand to the frightened young girl. "I'm not going to hurt you." The girl took her hand and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.
"You'll have to excuse Serena," said the pink haired girl with a rather smug look in her face. "She gets a bit excitable sometimes. I'm Small Lady Serenity, but you can call me Rini!" She curtseyed and Angela smiled indulgently at the little girl.
"I'm Angela, and this is Bronx," said Angela as Bronx came over to sniff Rini. "Could one of you introduce the rest of us?"
"Sure," said Mina. "Rini has already introduced herself, but this is Lita Kino," she gestured at the tall girl who stood with her arms folded and still had an suspicious glint in her eye, "Amy Mizuno," the blue haired girl waved shyly, "that's Darien Chiba," the dark haired man smiled and said hello, "And last but not least Serena Tsukino."
"It is a pleasure to meet you Angela," said Serena, giving a short formal bow. She walked around Angela, looking her up and down curiously.
"Are you always like this with strangers?" Angela asked Serena.
"I'm sorry," said Serena. "It's just that I've never seen a real gargoyle before. Can you really fly with those wings?"
"I do not fly," said Angela. "I can glide on the winds but I cannot take off from the ground like a bird."
"Come on!" said Serena, taking Angela's hand and pulling her to the shrine. "We've got to introduce you to Luna and Artemis!"
As the group made their way into the shrine, Darien put a hand on Rini's shoulder.
"Rini, wait a moment," he said in a hushed tone. "How did you know those gargoyles would come to life like that?"
Rini grinned and began explaining…
-:-:-
Luna and Artemis were just as shocked as the girls by the appearance of the gargoyles. Artemis dashed under a bookcase and refused to come out for almost fifteen minutes. Luna, on the other hand, stood her ground when Bronx came to sniff her, although the fur on her tail stood out at right angles, making it look like a bottlebrush.
After everyone had settled down again and Darien entered with Rini Angela retold her tale for the rest of the Senshi.
"Well, I for one think we should go," said Lita. "They need our help, and the dark kingdom is our particular are of expertise."
"Well, I don't know," said Serena in a quiet voice. "I really was hoping that we had put an end to all this nonsense. I was hoping we could finally, you know, lead normal lives."
"We are going Serena," said Darien, a hint of sternness in hi voice. "We have to. It has already been set in the flow of history that we go and defeat this evil."
Serena gave a sigh of resignation. She sat quietly for a moment in deep thought before a broad smile lit up her sullen features. "Hey!" she exclaimed. "We get to see New York City! The Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the Lincoln Memorial..!"
"The Lincoln Memorial is in Washington DC, Dumpling Brains!" cried Raye, a look of absolute incredulity on her face. Everyone broke out in hearty laughter at this point, except for Serena who looked rather hurt and whose lower lip started to tremble.
"Hey it's ok," said Angela, patting Serena on the back. "It's a mistake I could expect anyone from overseas to make."
"Now that we've decided that we're going to New York," said Amy. "How are we going to get there, and more importantly, how do we keep the fact that we are going there hidden from our parents? None of them know we are the Sailor Senshi, and I think a trip to New York is going to be very hard to explain without revealing our secret to them."
"The how we get there is easy," said Angela. "Avalon will take us there. But I can't really think of any ideas on how to fool your parents. I was raised in a completely open and rather secluded family and none of us ever had to resort to trickery for any reason. Maybe it time you told them who you are, surely they would understand?"
"My grandfather, maybe," said Raye. "Lita and Darien are orphans and don't have anything to worry about, I'm not sure how Amy and Mina's families would react," she cast a sidelong glance at Serena. "Serena's father would probably freak out if he ever found out that she is Sailor Moon."
"We'll think of something," said Lita. "Mina and I will try to come up with some way to trick our parents into letting us go to New York for an undetermined amount of time. Ami, you should work out the details, you're the best at this type of stuff."
"Right," said Mina with a tremendous yawn. "I'll get to work on it first thing tomorrow. But I think I should go home and get some sleep. I didn't sleep at all last night and I only got a short nap today."
"I agree, you should probably all go home to get some rest," said Angela. "A tired mind is no good for making detailed plans."
"What about you, Angela?" asked Serena. "What will you do tonight?"
"I should stay here at the temple," said Angela. "It will do us no good if Bronx and I attract too much attention to ourselves."
"I'll stay up with you guys for as long as possible," said Raye. "I think that it would be best if you told me what I can expect when we arrive in New York. Plus I need to do a fire reading anyway."
"What's a 'fire reading,'" Angela asked.
"I communicate with the kami spirits through the flame at the altar," said Raye. "They show me things that I need to know; the future, the present, the intents of friend and foe…"
"It sounds rather like sorcery," said Angela.
"It sort of is," said Raye. She scratched her head as she searched for the right words. "Its probably more akin to the natural magic of this world, like Avalon or the Magus would use, than it is to our powers given to us by the ancient Silver Millennium."
"If you will excuse us," said Darien. "But it is getting late and I'm probably in hot soup with Serena's father for keeping her and Rini out so late."
"Right, we don't need to give my dad any more reason to dislike you than he already does," said Serena. She scooped up Luna and walked over to Angela and surprised her by giving her a quick hug. "Thanks for sticking up for me earlier tonight. I really appreciate it."
"Oh, it was nothing," said Angela, slightly embarrassed. "I'll see you guys tomorrow night."
As Darien drove Serena, Rini, and Luna home, Luna spoke up from where she was curled in Serena's lap.
"You know, I have got the strangest feeling," she mused, "that I remember Angela from somewhere before."
-:-:-
The following afternoon found most the Senshi as well as Darien gathered in the public library. Raye was off doing something that she said was important and would help them in the long run, but she would not say what. Rini had left early that morning with most of her allowance. They rest of the Senshi crowded around Ami, who had been searching the internet most of the day.
"So what exactly have you been searching for, Ames?" said Lita. They had finally decided to fake that the local high school had sponsored a trip for them to New York, but so far had not gotten the slightest idea as to how they were going to make the ruse look real or how to convince their parents to let them go.
"I've been looking for any information as to what we will face in New York," said Amy,
"So far, no luck. The press is apparently being kept out of the investigation concerning the Harvesters. I did find two very interesting things about our new friends."
"I thought we were supposed to be finding a way to sneak you guys out of the country without freaking your parents out," said Lita.
"Don't worry; Raye took care of that this morning. But I really think you guys will want to see this." Amy quickly brought up a website. It showed a bushido temple with dozens of gargoyle statues facing into the grounds.
"Hey," Serena squealed. "They look a bit like Angela!"
"We're in a library, Serena!" Amy hissed. "Keep your voice down."
"Sorry," Serena whispered. She leaned in to read the website information.
"The Ishimura temple of bushido has long attracted the curious with its many gargoyles. While the acolytes are more than happy to give tours of the grounds during the day they enforce a very strict policy of no visitors between sunrise and sunset as they have urged the public to respect the gargoyles right to privacy and have given their assurances more than once that gargoyles are no threat and in fact have an instinctive need to protect their friends and homes." Serena finished reading the article in a low whisper. "So there are gargoyles in Japan."
"Just one point of Angela's story I wanted to confirm," said Amy. "But I saved the real good stuff for last! It's a couple of news clips from New York that you should find very interesting."
Amy quickly pulled up another website and began playing two videos. The entire group's jaws dropped as they watched; a group of gargoyles, one carrying an unconscious Angela, flew away from a building that looked as if it had been blown up wit them inside it. The other was a clip of light rail car that had been saved by the same group of gargoyles.
"This is all well and good Amy," said Darien. "But it still doesn't help you guys convince your parents that your 'school trip' is real."
"I think we can help with that," said a very happy looking Rini as she skipped over to where the group was sitting. Close behind was Raye who had a very satisfied look on her face.
"Where were you this morning?" demanded Serena. "And how can you help us?"
"I had to go buy something at the market," said Rini huffily, glaring right back at Serena. "Just get everyone together at the shrine later. We will need to explain this trip to your parents before sunset."
"How are you going to trick all of our parents?" said Serena snidely.
"Just make sure they're there. And make sure you bring these with you." Rini quickly added, handing them a short stack of permission forms.
Darien looked them over and smiled broadly. "This is brilliant Raye," he said. "According to these permission forms you faked, Xanatos Enterprises was sponsoring a surprise trip to New York City and Amy, because of her constant top marks, was awarded the trip and, get this, they're going to let the other five of you go to because of 'her merit and outstanding academic achievements'! How did you manage to cook this up, Raye?"
Raye beamed at Darien. "Angela and I talked for most of the night and I learned that her clan actually lives with David Xanatos. I bought a calling card, called Xanatos up and Angela explained the situation to him. We'll still have to return to New York by way of Avalon as he can't raise any suspicions about Angela and Bronx by bringing us by commercial airline."
"And he has my sincerest gratitude for that!" said Lita. She was terrified of airplanes.
"Anyways, Xanatos had these faxed to Amy's house early this morning and Rini and I made enough copies of them for all of your parents. We've been delivering the duplicates this morning."
"Well, well" said Darien slowly. "You two have certainly managed to put together as neat a package as I've ever seen." He gave them a broad smile. "I would recommend that everyone act surprised at this outcome. The next few hours are going to depend on how much of this your parents believe."
-:-:-
It was about an hour later when the parents of the Senshi were all gathered together at Hikawa Shrine. All but Mr. Tsukino looked happy to be there. He alone wore an expression of suspicion.
"This all seems very convenient," said Kenji Tsukino. He looked the form up and down. "It seems odd that this sponsorship would be directed at graduates."
"It's probably so that Xanatos Enterprises could have first pick of new talent directly out of high school," said Darien. "With Amy's top marks in science and mathematics it surprises me that other major corporations involved in technology and research haven't been breaking down the door of the Mizuno residence."
"Well I think it's wonderful that our daughters have been awarded a special trip to New York City!" said Mrs. Mizuno. She stood beaming next to her daughter, Amy, who wore a very sheepish expression on her face. She was very uncomfortable with tricking her mother any more than she had since she had become a Sailor Senshi.
"I still don't see how Serena is involved in this," said Mr. Tsukino. "Her marks when she graduated wouldn't suggest that any major corporations are interested in hiring her." He fixed his daughter with a stern glare and adjusted his glasses. "If she hopes to get through college she needs to be a bit more focused on her academic studies and spend less time playing video games and shopping."
"It's obvious why the rest of us are going," said Lita. "Xanatos Enterprises wants Amy to feel as comfortable as possible while they try to convince her to start a career with them and the more familiar faces she has with her, the more comfortable she would be."
Serena was beside herself with glee. She didn't have to fake her excitement at the prospect of going to see New York. Her father seemed torn between being happy for his daughter and his suspicion at these unusual circumstances. Finally a broad smile appeared on his face and he took the permission form. "Well, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and what kind of father would I be if I didn't let my daughter go." He signed the permission form and handed it back to Serena. "Now you behave yourself while you are away," he said to his daughter. "Stay with your tour group at all times and don't go buying anything from street peddlers. New York can be a dangerous city."
"I'll be careful daddy," said Serena as she hugged her father. "I'll be sure to have loads of pictures to bring back."
"I wish we could go see our daughters off," said Mrs. Aino. "But, I suppose that airport security measures have to be enforced for a reason; what with all these gargoyles that have been popping up everywhere." Raye and Lita exchanged a quick nervous glance at that last statement.
The parents of the Senshi signed all the fake forms and congratulated their daughters on being awarded this special trip. Once they had all departed, Darien left to grab a few things from his apartment.
"Where is he off to in such a hurry?" asked Serena.
"He went to go get some of your clothes that I packed this morning," said Rini. "They're at Darien's apartment and he will bring them later. Now, I believe I deserve a sincere, heart-felt 'thank you, Rini' from all of you."
"Thank you Rini," said all the Senshi at once.
"Darien will be here just before sunset with the things that I packed for all of us," continued Rini. "He said there wouldn't be room for a lot of stuff on one raft so we had to pack light."
"Good thinking," said Amy. "We should also leave just before dawn to make sure we arrive after sunset New York time."
"That will give me time to run back to the house and get Luna," said Serena. "You should probably get Artemis as well, Mina."
"Right," said Mina. "The sun sets in two hours. We had all better get whatever we need taken care of now so we can meet back here in time for Angela and Bronx to wake up."
The Senshi quickly departed from the temple to get various small items. Rini stayed behind with Raye and Lita to help make sure that Angela and Bronx had dinner waiting for them when they awoke…
-:-:-
When the sun dipped below the horizon, Angela and Bronx burst forth from their stone shells. As Angela expected the Senshi were all waiting for her to wake up. She followed them into the shrine where she could smell dinner waiting. For the first time since she had arrived in Tokyo, Angela realized just how hungry she was. She ate ravenously as Mamoru explained the plans to her.
"You guys have really put a lot of thought into this," Angela said around a mouthful of rice and fish. "I wish I could have helped you out with the planning."
"It was mostly Raye and Rini," said Serena. She too was stuffing her face like she had survived a ten season famine. "They pulled it off."
Angela watched Rini for a moment. She was sitting next to Bronx near the fire altar and had pulled several packages of hot-dogs from a brown paper bag. She was busily alternating between feeding Bronx hot-dogs and scratching his massive belly and chest. Bronx was sprawled on his back; all four of his paws were waving in the air and he was grunting like a pig in warm mud.
Angela smiled at the scene. "There is one thing that has puzzled me about her," said Angela, "she alone seemed totally unsurprised when she met me. If it weren't for the rest of your reactions I would swear she had met gargoyles before."
"It's possible," said Serena. "Rini is from the future. She could very well have met other gargoyles before being sent back in time to us."
They continued talking for quite some time before Amy announced it was time to go. Angela went ahead of the group to where her skiff was hidden. The rest of the Senshi followed with Bronx, who was being ridden by Rini. It was roughly three o'clock in the morning and the streets were for the most part deserted. They all arrived at the skiff where Darien and Mina had already loaded the few bags they were taking. After some pushing and shoving, nearly resulting in Luna falling into the water before being caught by Raye, they had all settled into the cramped skiff. Lita and Angela pushed the heavy-laden skiff into the lake and quickly hopped aboard. Within moments the mists arose about them and carried them away.