The Temple of Misunderstood Returns
Millerna Aston huffed and puffed as
she moved back and forth across the temple grounds, carrying out random
chores quite hastily. Master Kanno, the little old temple owner, was baffled
and he watched her with his eyes bulging.
"Leina, I don't
think I have ever seen you work with such... intensity!" the small man
mused, sitting on the temple steps. Eriya was sitting next to him, acting
as a normal cat.
"I have a lot of
energy this morning." the raven-haired girl answered tersely, and the yellow
cat and Master Kanno exchanged frightened glances.
"Is something wrong?"
the temple keeper asked warily.
"NOTHING IS WRONG!!!"
Leina answered, and fires blazed behind her as she screamed the words out.
The old man made up some excuse about wanting to make himself some herbal
tea and scurried off.
"What is
eating you?" Eriya asked when the coast was clear.
Millerna didn't
answer. Instead, she spoke to herself. "'Oh yeah, she's just my cousin',
he says, 'from out of town,' he says, 'so I just wanted to show her around',
he says. 'Oh, I know she doesn't look anything like me,' he says.' But
she's my cousin, really.' Well then, why did I see you kissing
her as though she were your lover, huh, huh??"
"Did I interrupt
something?" a girl with short sandy-brown hair but with two long strands
falling down from the back asked as she shifted the dufflebag that was
slung over her shoulder.
"Noriyuki broke
up with Millerna." the feline answered. "She caught him cheating on her
with his 'cousin'."
"Ouch. Sorry to
hear that, Millerna."
"It's alright."
the princess grumbled. "So, how was school?"
"Same old, same
old. I have to stop by Yukari's so I can give her her assignments. It's
her punishment for leaving me alone in a gruelling chemistry class. Wanna
come?"
"No thanks." Millerna
replied hastily. "Master Kanno assigned me all these tasks to carry out,
so you know how it is."
"Liar." Eriya cut
in. "You just want to stay here so you can brood."
Leina sweatdropped
and swiped at the cat with her broom.
Hitomi laughed.
"That's okay, I understand. When I left Gaia..." she frowned, halting herself
in her tracks. "I'm.. I'm going to go see Yukari now."
Millerna cocked
her head to the side curiously as she watched the sandy-haired girl leave.
"Why was she so sad about leaving Gaia? I thought she wanted to be back
home."
"She's in love with
the king of Fanelia, you nitwit!" Eriya hissed. "Is this Yuki ordeal actually
shortening your memory??"
"Who are you?" the
princess jokingly asked.
"So not funny."
Van... Hitomi
sighed to herself, he shoulders slouched as she walked to Yukari's house.
I want to see you again. she rang the doorbell. It was Amano
who answered.
"Hitomi!" she greeted
with a smile. "So you finally did get off that hospital bench. I was worried
that you'd be late again."
She didn't return
his grin. "Well, I wasn't." she said curtly, stepping in and closing the
door behind her. "Where's Yukari?"
"In her room, watching
TV. I've been her personal slave all day, bringing the TV up to her room,
feeding her... 'Get me some water, Amano'," he mimicked her. "'No, no!
This water is too warm! Put ice in it! Get the remote control for me, would
you? It's too far a reach for my fragile body... no no no, this juice is
too red! I asked for pink juice. Yeesh! After all I've done
for you, Susumu! I saved your life you know! I told you my secret and let
my friends' out, too, all for the sake of saving your lousy hide. WORK
FASTER!'" he stuck out his tongue.
"But you'd do anything
for her because you love her... and she loves you." Hitomi said slowly.
"You'd travel the universe just to be with her, you'd slay 100 dragons
just to protect her, you'd keep loving her if she kissed another man in
the rain while you watched and she broke your heart... you'd keep loving
her even if she left you because she had to return back home, to her world..."
Amano looked at
her, curiously. It was clear that she wasn't talking about him anymore.
"Please, Hitomi..."
Yukari said. She was on crutches, having made her way downstairs just to
see her friend. "I know you'll see him soon...." she limped over. "He loves
you, I know he does, and I have this feeling that something is keeping
him from seeing you. You two will reunite eventually, and if that means
you're going to leave us for him, we'd understand." she put her arms around
her best friend's shoulders in a hug. "He's like your soulmate... you're
destined to be with him, just... not right now."
"Oh.." said Amano,
cluing in. "Van. The one who slew that dragon and then was carried up in
that light with you."
Hitomi nodded meekly,
wiping her eyes.
"And besides," continued
Yukari. "Until it's time for you to be with him, you can keep crushing
on Tuxedo Mask! I've seen him in battle with you, Tomi. I think he likes
you, too!" she winked at her friend. "Now then, why am I getting a visit
from you? Is it because you wanted to see how I'm doing, and to bring me
chocolate? You did bring me 'get well soon' chocolate, right? That's why
the bag is so full?"
"Not quite. Mr.
Takanashi says that you have no excuse for not doing work, even if you
have a sprained ankle. So, I brought you your assignments."
"God bless best
friends." Yukari said sarcastically as she watched Hitomi unload her bag
textbook by heavy textbook.
"According to Masashi,
your teacher was absent from science so you get off the hook for that one.
But you still have math, technology, and history to catch up on." she plopped
the workbooks on Amano's arms, as his girlfriend was stuck on crutches.
The brunette faltered a little at the weight.
"Amano, dear, sweet,
Amano, the man who I love oh so much and was willing to die for, would
you be a peach and do my work for me? The stress of this sore ankle and
burn make me feel light-headed." the burgundy-haired girl fluttered her
eyelashes.
"Sorry love, you're
on your own for this one." her boyfriend answered. "My slave days are over.
I didn't tell you this, but your parents called earlier. They said that
tomorrow I can resume my college life and you, my sweet, are going back
to high school." he flashed her a grin that Hitomi guessed must have been
learned from Allen.
"I'll help you to
walk and carry books." Hitomi volunteered cheerily.
If looks could kill,
the leader of the senshi would be dead by her own best friend.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A little man with
3 long scars down his cheek approached the silver doors with extreme caution.
After his last experience, he didn't want to be near any of the Three.
Timidly, he knocked. There was no answer.
Good,
the messenger let out a sigh of relief. No one's here. I'll just
pop in, drop the letter on Kujaja's bed, and be gone. No more pain.
He pushed open one of the silver doors and crept inside, tiptoing towards
the NegaWorld minion's bed. But his heart stopped when he saw that the
piece of furniture was occupied.
"Forgive me!!" the
messenger bowed as low as he could, holding the letter out to Kujaja.
The figure in the
bed rolled over and sat up to look at the trembling man. "Please, stand."
he said softly. "I will not have a messenger cower before me."
Hesitantly, the
short man obeyed, still gripping the note tightly.
The pointy-eared
man cocked his head to the side, stroking the dark moon beneath his cheek
thoughtfully. "Did she do that to you?" he asked quietly,
pointing to the scars.
"O Great Goddess
Resie? Perhaps." he may have been small, but he was not stupid. This man
could have easily informed Resie that her messenger had tattled on her,
and that would cause the poor fellow to meet a fate worse than a few scratches
down the side of his cheek.
"I won't tell her,
don't worry," Kujaja said softly. "And I won't hurt you, or kill you, you
have my word. Now then, about that letter?"
The tension seemed
to ease in the messenger's heart and he was able to approach the dirty
blond-haired man and deliver the note.
Kujaja's eyes scanned
over it. His eyes grew hot with rage and he bared his teeth at the sheet
of paper, before letting it fall to the floor.
Prudently, the messenger
picked it up and read what had made the man of Three so furious. This is
what he saw:
My little
disobedient minion. Did you really think that our meeting was your discipline?
Oh ho, you have a lot to learn.
But you needn't
worry about your true punishment. You have just experienced it. For you
see, there is no greater torture than being turned away by someone you
hold dear.
"He
did this!" Kujaja was seething. He curled his fist into a tight ball, causing
his sharp nails to draw blood. He opened his palm, seeming to be in a trance
as he watched the blood seep out of the deep marks.
"Let me take a look,"
the messenger offered, surprising both Kujaja and himself by his boldness.
He ripped part of his cloak off its sleeve, forming a cloth bandage. "I
was a healer, before I was taken to this world." he explained. "Give me
your hand"
Kujaja was taken
aback by the man's sincerity and complied. No one had ever been so kind
to him, except for...
A sharp gasp pulled
him out of his thoughts, and he looked down at the little healer questioningly.
"You're not like
them, are you?" the stubby man asked carefully as he wound the cloth around
the punctures.
"What do you mean?"
Ku asked innocently, though he knew what the messenger was talking about.
"You're different.
You're so... kind. Had I given Resie a letter in the same fashion that
I had you, she would have my head. And your blood... it's not like theirs.
I don't mean to sound corny, but yours comes from the heart. It's real."
he watched Kujaja's reaction as he said this, and was startled to notice
that the dark moon on his cheek had begun to flicker.
"No! Stop!" the
blond man ordered himself. "Stay focused. Defeat the Sailor Idiots and
get the crystals, so you can be with her, away from the mages, away from
Wande-hari, away from this damned place!" he fell off the bed, to his knees,
clutching his head.
"Are you alright?"
the healer asked, crouching down to be at the man's level.
"I'm fine. Thank
you." Kujaja bowed his head slightly. "You must go now. They will get suspicious
if you don't return."
The short man nodded
and turned to leave.
"Wait." called Kujaja.
"Before you go, I would like to know the name of the man who showed me
compassion at a time when I needed it most."
The healer turned
around and smiled. "My name is Shumi. And now I must be leaving before
they discover I am still here and destroy me."
That was the last
time Kujaja ever saw the healer who had bandaged his wound.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's strange...
Allen thought to himself as he demonstrated a proper defense position where
you
could also strike your apponent. The
more I use my sword, the more I am reminded of Tuxedo
Mask...no, he shook his head
mentally. Van.
"Now, let's see
you dirtbags try it!" Allen returned to a normal stance. This was a night
class, which
meant it consisted of about twelve
15-to-18 year-old boys who thought they were pretty hot stuff. The
youths reminded Allen so much of the
Crusade crew members, and he addressed them as such.
They didn't mind, though. They returned
his snarky comments.
One by one, the
boys showed him their defense poses. Allen stopped at one particular boy
with
long purple hair.
"Put more weight on your
hind leg." the blond instructed, lightly tapping the boy's right leg with
his
sword. "Otherwise you'll be vunerable,
and your opponent would easily be able to push you over
with his attack."
"Yes, sir." the
boy quickly adjusted himself, avoiding his teacher's questioning gaze.
Allen sensed
that there was more to this particular
student than met the eye... he was a very cautious, serious
fighter. He didn't joke around as his
classmates did. He never addressed Allen in a sarcastic
mannered "Sarge", but rather a very
intense "Sir". He didn't hang around in the class's cluster, and
the Knight Caeli guessed that it must
have been because of his young age. Though Allen didn't know the boy's
true age, it wasn't hard to decypher, as the purple-haired student's voice
had not yet
deepened. The blond's estimate was
14 or 15.
"Much better." he
smiled at his student, and moved on. "Excellent." he said, after making
the
rounds. "Now I'll allow you some free
time to spar any way you wish, but I highly encourage that you
practise what you have just learned."
He stepped back and allowed them to go at it. Out of the corner
of his eye, he spotted a man a little
younger than him, with dark hair, leaning against the post,
watching.
"Class dismissed."
Allen bellowed. He waited for his young apprentices to leave for the student
changerooms before walking by the man.
"I'll be right out," he informed him. "But first I need to
change."
True to his word,
Allen was out within 36 seconds.
"You came all this
way to see me? How kind of you." Allen commented as he zipped up his jacket.
It was a bit crisp for early fall.
The dark-haired
man smirked as they walked along. "'All this way?' Allen, I only came from
Yukari's. The fencing place was on the way home and I knew your class was
over at 8, so I decided to stop by
and walk with you."
"And what were you
doing at Yukari's so late, hmm, Amano?" Allen chuckled. "Or would it be
better that I not know? Is it that you have some special methods of making
her feel better?"
Amano rolled his
eyes at the elder. "F.Y.I., Al-man, I've been posing as her personal slave
for the past 12 hours, and no, not that kind of slave." he
added quickly. "Actually, the bossing around somewhat stopped around 4
or so when Hitomi came by to drop off some of Yukari's assignments. She
stayed a while, helping with homework and such, and... things got pretty
quiet."
"Quiet? With the
two women there who are best friends and love to gossip?" Allen was
dumbstruck.
Amano shoved his
hands in his coat pockets as he continued to walk. "She wasn't exactly
giggly
when she arrived. Someone had said
something, or something had reminded her of that guy she's in
love with.... Van, or something."
Allen nodded his
head solemnly, once again reminded of his masked comrade.
The brunette stopped
walking abruptly, turning to his roomie. "Allen, tell me about your world.
All
that I've heard about it so far is
quite intriguing... I want to know more, from someone who spent his
whole life there. I don't like all
these lies that have passed in order to conceal your 'other' work and
your origin. Now that I know most of
it, I may as well know all of it. I want to know about your
family,
about your parents and your brothers
and sisters, about your country and what you did for a living
before you came here. I want to know
the differences between this world and yours."
The blond nodded,
smiled, and began to tell Amano his past.
"Linaddua, my dear."
Wiseman hoarsed to the figure who bowed before him. "How nice to see you
again, up and ready to fight."
"Yessss, Lord Dornkirk."
the 17 year-old hissed. "I am ready to serve you again, and seek revenge
on that damn Scout who put me 'out
of order' for a time. Wretched witch!"
"All in good time.
However, we must first gather all 7 Rainbow Crystals." he lifted up his
gnarled,
wrinkly hand, and a small velvet platter
appeared and descended on a table in front of Linaddua. On
the platter, there were 7 indents,
3 of which were occupied by a red, green, and blue crystal.
"We have already
located our next target," the old wrinkly guy droned on. He presented the
Dark
Crystal, which projected the image
of the Crystal Carrier.
"Oh, please, Lord
Wiseman, let me retrieve this crystal! I won't disappoint you!"
The old geezer stroked
his chin thoughtfully. "Well, Kujaja is 'out of commission' for the moment
and I do believe that Resie must be
tired after fighting Sailor Jupiter..."
Lina quirked a brow
at the last statement.
"Very well, minion.
Bring me back the indigo crystal and prove your worth to me! Mwah ha!"
he
faded back into the darkness and Linaddua
bowed her head respectfully. Then the flames engulfed
her and she was gone.
A man no taller than
4 foot 1 sat happily on his temple's roof after having consumed a lovely
dinner. The stars twinkled merrily before him as he licked his lips, remembering
the delicious delicacies from
moments before.
Leina soaked
blissfully in a warm bath, her hair wrapped in a red towel. She had been
scurrying
around all day, trying to get her mind
off of Noriyuki and his new girlfriend. Now she was enjoying the heated
water against her sore body. She glanced up at the window, where a yellow
cat was perched.
"It's a beautiful night," she commented
with a smile.
"It appears old
fogie Kannogie holds the same opinions as you." Eriya commented. "He looks
like
he's having fun sitting on the temple
roof."
"What? He's on the
roof??" Millerna couldn't believe it. What was he doing there? But within
moments her surprise subsided and she
added, "And I've told you 100 times not to call him that."
"Lovely night indeed."
Master Kanno said gleefully. "A perfect---"
"..time to steal
your Rainbow Crystal!" cackled a young woman who appeared in thin air.
The
fireball that had introduced her vanished.
"What? How did you
get up there??" Master Kanno was frantic.
"It doesn't matter,
your crystal is MINE!" Linaddua sent the Dark Crystal hurling at the little
man.
Eriya continued to
watch the man on the roof. She let out a quirky "mreow", causing the Asturian
princess to look up curiously. "Oh
God, Eriya, is he doing something weird up there?"
The yellow cat didn't
let her gaze stray from the window. "Oh, you know. Nothing out of the
ordinary. Just some woman in midair
with a fiery-looking outfit and silver hair talking to him with an
evil grin plastered on her face."
"WHAT??"
The sound of splashing bathwater was heard as Millerna moved to the window
to see.
She let out a gasp and scrambled to
get out of the tub. Somehow, the transformer appeared in her
hand and she shouted, stark naked in
the middle of her bathroom, "JUPITER POWER!"
When nothing happened,
she looked at her pen curiously, then at her cat, then back to the pen.
Eriya rolled her
eyes."This ordeal with Noriyuki really HAS taken its toil on your mind!
You're Sailor Mars, remember?"
"Oh yeah." Millerna
sweatdropped and tried again. "MARS POWER!" this time, fires
swirled around
her as her leotard-like uniform appeared
on her body.
This is the
work of an evil force is here... Master Kanno dumbly decided as
he felt the dark rays
penetrate his body. I must evict
it from this holy place... it will not take me! he crossed his arms
over his chest and let out a cry of anguish. A strange white light appeared
where his arms were crossed, and the Dark Crystal was sent hurling behind
Linaddua.
"What?" she hissed,
looking down at the man who was clutching his heart and breathing heavily.
Before she could question more what
had happened, she flew backwards to retrieve the crystal.
"You will not take
me, vile witch!" the little man spat, still heaving.
"We'll see about
that, old man!" she returned. "Zoi!" an energy blast sent him hurling off
the roof.
He landed with a dull thud, surprisingly
unharmed for the most part. Linaddua slowly descended to
the ground. "You have been most annoying."
she snarled at him. "I want that crystal, and I want it
now." she sent out her Dark Crystal
and the rays washed over him again. This time, however, he was
too weak and couldn't defend himself
from the evil force. He gave in and allowed her to take the
indigo crystal that had appeared at
his chest. Once the gem was removed, a cloud of smoke began to encircle
him.
"Oh no, I'm too
late!" Sailor Mars cried at the sight of the smoke. Then, the billowy clouds
cleared
and a hideous monster that looked somewhat
like a gorilla turned and faced her.
"Rrhaaaaaaaaa!"
he shouted, and charged at the senshi. Her instincts took over and she
did the
normal princess thing. She began to
run.
"The senshi of fire?
Running?" Linaddua began to laugh at the raven-haired girl. Suddenly,
something struck her hand and she dropped
the crystal. She glowered at the caped man who was
standing on the roof. "Tuxedo Mask!"
she shouted with mock-pleasantry. "How nice it is to see you
again."
The man jumped down
from the roof, incredulous. "Linaddua? You're alive? But how??"
"No time for explanations,
rose-boy." the silver-haired woman bent down to pick up her indigo
prize. "I have to return this to Lord
Wiseman."
"No you don't! Give
me that crystal!!"
"You humans are
so stupid. Do you really think that by demanding something, you're going
to get
it? Fool!" she dodged away, and Tuxedo
Mask ran after her.
Meanwhile, Sailor
Mars was continuing to dash away from the gorilla-thing that was once the
owner of the temple. Eriya watched
the spectacle from a high branch in a cherry blossom nearby.
"Honestly, Sailor
Mars," she yawned. "You'll have to heal him eventually. Besides, you can't
run
forever in those flimsy heels."
"I *puff* don't
see *puff* you *puff* trying to do *puff* anything, Eriya!!"
Mars retorted.
The yellow cat examined
her nails as she spoke. "What do you expect me to do? I'm only a small
cat. Had I been in my original form
I would help you, but, you know how it is."
Swiftly as she ran,
the Scout pulled out her communicator and tossed it to Eriya. "Call Hitomi!"
she
shouted.
So Eriya did just
that.
"Eriya, what's wrong?"
Hitomi asked when her face appeared on the globular screen.
"Well it would seem
that Millerna is having a bit of trouble because there's a gorilla-thing
who was
once Master Kanno chasing her and trying
to kill her. I think she needs your help, but I'm not sure.
Hang on a second, I'll ask. Hey Millie,
do you need backup?" she shouted down to the panting scout.
"What do you think??
Did you think I asked you to call her to invite her over for tea and biscuits??"
The cat turned back
to Hitomi. "Did you catch that? I think it was her form of a 'yes'."
"Got it. I'm there."
the green-eyed girl answered quickly, and the screen fizzed out.
"Okay, enough running.
I'm spent." Sailor Mars stopped and spun on her heel. "Mars fire ignite!"
an array of fire launched itself
at the gorilla-man.
"RAHHHH!" it screamed
with rage, trying to block the flames. When they died down, the gorilla
glared at the scout and let out another
cry, heaving himself at her. The force of the blow sent her
hurling backwards and she hit the ground
with a shriek of pain. The beast towered over her weak
body, prepared to be rid of her. But
then...
"Venus love chain
encircle!" came a deep, rich voice. A string of golden links surrounded
the
gorilla and tugged him away from Mars.
"Sailor Venus!"
the red scout cried thankfully.
"Hey, don't forget
about me!" a girl's voice added.
"Sailor Mystic Moon!"
"Yes, and now it's
time to return this guy to his proper form!" she pulled out the Crescent
Moon
Wand. "Moon.... healing... activation!!"
The monster cried
out in protest and fell to the ground, returning to his human form.
Tuxedo Mask had cornered
Linaddua in the forest behind the temple. "There's no escape." he said
in a low voice. "Give me that crystal or..." he pulled out half a dozen
white roses and prepared to launch them at here.
Much to his shame,
Linaddua just cackled. "Humans! You never learn!" she levitated, showing
him the crystal in a mocking manner.
Fed up, the masked
man released the roses at her. At that moment, Linaddua disappeared in
her usual surrounding of flames, the crystal along with it. Her departure
left a scorched mark on the forest floor.
"I win again,
cape- boy!" her voice surrounded him. "And when I get all
the crystals, I'll come for you!"
"I put him in his
bed." Sailor Mars informed her allies. "He had fainted during the metamorphis,
as all the carriers do."
Sailor Mystic Moon
nodded and stole a peek at Venus, who was watching Sailor Mars intently.
He's still hung up on her! ..and he doesn't know that she and Noriyuki
broke up! a devilish gleam shone in her eyes, and she shoved the
male senshi into the fire one, causing him to latch onto her for support.
Their eyes met and they were both locked in the moment.
"Millerna..." Sailor
V whispered.
"Allen," she returned,
and giggled slightly. "Did I mention that I broke up with Noriyuki?"
The globular screen on Merle's Communicator
crackled and fizzed out. She had just come from talking to Allen, who had
explained the whole Linaddua-return thing. He had also mentioned that a
certain Fanelian king (in costume of course) immediately went to battle
with her, but something happened and it was the NegaWorld woman who had
immerged victoriously.
"Oh Lord Van...
you can be so careless." Merle sighed.
"Excuse me, miss?"
came a young voice. Merle looked down to see a little boy with big, bright
eyes staring up at her.
"Hey there, cutie."
she grinned and crouched down to be at his level. "What are you doing out
at this late hour? Your mother must be worried. What's your name?"
"I'm Johanas." he
said in a timid voice. "And I'm here to give Lord Van a letter. The messenger
was gonna do it but he had to go. So he asked me to. Here it is!" he handed
the puzzled catgirl the letter and dashed off.
Without hesitation,
Merle used her claw to slash open the letter. Her eyes traveled over the
words inscribed into the page, and she gasped, nearly dropping the paper.
She rocketed towards the king's chambers.
"Merle!" he welcomed
with a grin, oblivious to her extremely worried state. "It's good to see
you after such an irritating and pointless battle."
"Lord Van, I think
you need to see this." her paw-like hand was shaking as she handed over
the letter, setting herself next to him on the bed.
Van's eyes widened
as he read.
Dear King
Fanel
We are desperate for answers, and regret that we did not contact you sooner,
as we heard that you have relations with Allen Schezar, a knight of Caeli
who has been missing for over nearly half a year and is presumed dead.
Millerna Aston, 3rd princess of Asturia, disappeared as well, leaving only
a note that said she would be on leave until further notice. But that is
not the purpose of this letter. This letter was sent to you, asking for
your help.
About one week after
Allen left for your country, his sister, Celena vanished. Automatically,
we assumed that Zaibach might have been behind her disappearance, but after
scouring what was left of the country, we discovered nothing and she is
now feared to have joined her brother in the Heavens.
We write to inform
you that Princess Eries Aston of Asturia has now also vanished. Her disappearance
was noted about 2 months ago, and we apologize for not informing you sooner.
If you are able to, we would greatly appreciate a helping hand in her discovery.
Though we were unable to ever locate the Schezars, we feel greater hope
for the Princess. Please aid us in our search.
Sincerely,
Dryden Fassa and the Asturian Council
"Celena... was missing?"
Van was quite shocked. He looked down at Merle, and was even more taken
aback by the fact that she was sobbing openly. "What is it?" he asked gently,
wrapping his arms around her in a protective hug.
"Celena... is dead?"
the catgirl couldn't believe it. "No! She can't be! Allen's been through
enough, he doesn't need this!!"
Van stroked her
pink hair. "Merle..." he soothed. "We spoke about this before... Allen
is... gone. He's with his sister now, and his mother and father... he can
rest in peace now. I know it may be hard for you to accept, but our friend
is dead."
"No." Merle said
in a low voice. "He's not."
__________________________________________________________________________________________
A/N: Sorry for taking so long to post, guys. I was planning on posting
Thanksgiving weekend, but my computer decded to crash on me for the 2nd
and final time. I am now a proud owner of a 1.3 MHz, 128MB Ram memory,
40gb hard drive, 32x cd rom drive, and the new Windows XP. That's an intense
improvement compared to my last comp (200MHz, 32 megs of ram, 4 GB hard
drive, 2x CD rom and Windows 98). Unfortunately, I lost a lot of files
(again... including all my MP3s, sob!) luckily, I had SMM and Falling both
in hard copy AND uploaded to my server, so I managed to retrieve them.
Eventually I'll get around to resaving my whole site, but it's going to
take a LONG time.
ANYWAY! So, this chapter was much more interesting, ne? The last one
was a filler, I know, but necessary. This one is one of my faves (I like
the next one as well) and in order to see chap 22/ep20, you know how it
works. 10 reviews please! ^_^
P.S. And for all you fans of Falling, don't worry. I'm busily working
on it. Chapter 16 is LONG, and with new-curriculum science, I don't get
a lot of spare time. But it should be posted before Halloween. Ja ne!
