Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all characters contained within this work are the copyright of Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, Kodansya and probably lots of other big people I'm forgetting. I am using them without permission, but suing me because of it would be futile as I have nothing. Also Certain characters mentioned here are the copyrighted property of John De Chance. Any characters that are not copyrighted by other people are my own creation, and therefore copyrighted by myself... which means that if for some REALLY weird reason you decided you wanted to use them, (and why would you decide that?!?!?!?) you need to write me for permission.
Comments, Criticisms, and flames welcome... Starrngr@aol.com However, due to a large amount of spam I have received in the past, I have blocked off mail from some domains. Sorry if your one of them. And don't expect me to reply to mail that's nothing but Flames!
See the Character Bio for information on key people to this Fic....
The Wanderer: Wandering Moon: Episode ONE: Enter the Wanderer
"Co-ordinate Failure!! Somehow the co-ords to the portal just changed!!" warned FRED.
"And no room to stop," reminded Micheal as FRED continued to accelerate.
"Damn", they swore as one as they reached portal speed and disappeared into a new dimension not of their choosing....
As the flash of portal penetration cleared, Micheal saw the hand of approaching doom, in the form of a very LARGE truck of some form heading straight for them. Micheal hauled the wheel to the right just as he realized that the wheel was turning by itself... to the LEFT. The black HMMWV swerved out of the way of the incoming truck, across an unpaved divider, and slid neatly into the traffic on the left side of the road.
"Sheesh FRED, if you wanted to drive so badly, why didn't you say so?" Micheal quipped. Somehow though, the joke just didn't sound right, what with the small weak voice Micheal said it in. 'Definitely NOT home... traffic is on the wrong side of the road...' Micheal paused for a moment and focused on a few mental exercises to calm himself. "Well, FRED, off hand I'd say we are NOT home. Any ideas on where we are?"
"Hang on, Muck, I'm looking in to that right now.... OK, we are on earth, near the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, based on analysis of EM transmissions. Picking up GPS signals, radio and television band transmissions. Hey, your in luck! Listen..." Suddenly music filled FRED's interior. Music that was popular in the fifties and sixties in his home universe.
"That's not a contemporary station, is it??" asked Micheal.
"Nope. Armed Forces Radio. The other stations are in Japanese. Overall technological level seems to be slightly less than what you described as home. Cellular phone transmissions detected, but the quality is to low for wireless modem use. Now THIS is weird...."
"What is, FRED?"
"A message beacon. On our private channel. Either we have a temporal paradox, or someone is expecting us."
"Are you saying a future us will be in this dimension in their past?"
"Either that, or someone knew we were coming. Either guess requires access to facts not yet in evidence."
"What's in the message beacon?"
"Just a set of geographic co-ordinates. No way of knowing what we'll there."
"Then we will just have to find out, won't we, FRED?"
* * * * * * * * * *
Cabelite grimaced with disgust as he entered Tinkerer's domain. 'What is with this fool's reliance on machines?' he wondered. 'They do nothing that applied magic could not do better.' Aloud, he spoke, "What is so important that you would drag me away from planning our assault? We must start gathering energy soon or my Youma will be worthless."
"This," replied Tinkerer as he pointed to a monitor. Cabelite looked at what Tinkerer indicated, but the symbols Tinkerer used made no sense to the Negaverse general.
"And what exactly does it mean?" Cabelite was quite irritated by this time.
"This is the signature of a dimensional portal. And no, its not one of mine. I don't really know what to make of it. It may be nothing, or it could mean trouble."
"Trouble in what way, cripple?"
Tinkerer spun in his chair and stared at Cabelite. "Trouble as in people who have the knowledge and power to open such a portal could be as much a threat to us as the ones I brought you here to fight. And don't forget that _I_ brought you here, Cabelite. Remember that always. If it was not for me you would be nothing but free atoms in your precious 'Negaverse'. Without me you would be Dead now."
'No, I will not forget this, _cripple_,' Cabelite fumed as he left the laboratory. 'And when these 'Sailor Scouts' lay dead at my feet, you will be next.'
* * * * * * * * * *
"Well, What did you find?" Asked FRED, as Micheal climbed back behind the wheel.
"An envelope, hidden in a tree. Inside was some local currency, a credit card, a bank card, an American passport, a work visa, and this," replied Micheal, pulling out a CD. He inserted the disk into FRED's reader slot. He waited in silence for FRED to tell him the contents of the mystery disk.
"Oh boy. This reeks of serious cheddar, Muck. This disk has translation software, street maps for my database, copies of a couple of recent ads, and account information for a computer access account. Whoever set up the beacon and planted that envelope knew just what we would need to fit in around here. The ads are only two days old."
"What are the Ads for?"
"One lists an apartment vacancy, and the other is for a teaching position at a local school."
"Well, now we know what happened. Somehow, someone re-directed the portal to bring us here." Micheal mused out loud. "Whoever it is also made sure we would blend in. They must expect us to do something for them."
"Ok, but WHO is it, and what is it they want us to do?"
"That's the sixty four thousand dollar question, FRED."
* * * * * * * * * *
Darien Chiba smiled to himself as he closed the door behind him and tossed his jacket on the couch. He had just gotten back from a date with Serena, and wasn't quite in the mood for homework at the moment. 'Everything is as it should be,' he thought to himself. 'All the powers of the Negaverse nor my own loss of memory could keep us apart. And now with Ann and Alan gone, we can finally have our happily ever after.' He wandered out on the balcony where he could look at the lights of Tokyo. He had just settled against the rail of the balcony when he became aware of a commotion on the balcony of the next door apartment. The door to the balcony was suddenly thrown open and a wave of smoke swirled out. Darien couldn't help but grin to himself, 'Looks like I've found someone more disastrous in the kitchen than Serena!' A pair of male voices could almost be heard from the other apartment. Darien listened for a moment, and realized that he couldn't really hear what was being said, other than the two were talking in English, rather than Japanese. 'So, it looks like Mr. Tomota finally got someone to rent the place. I wonder what these Americans are like.'
After a moment the conversation stopped abruptly and one of his new neighbors emerged onto the balcony, carrying a microwave meal and a can of soda. Darien gave his new neighbor the once over as he sat down. The neighbor was actually average height, about 5'7, rather than the six foot or more of many gaijin. His physique reminded Darien of an athlete, and at the moment his neighbor was wearing a dark T-shirt with an American warplane on it and a pair of gray sweatpants. His hair was a fiery red that reminded Darien of Serena's sensei Ms. Haruna. Green eyes shone between the short red hair combed straight back and a rather bushy red mustache. He looked up and caught Darien looking over at him.
"Oh! Hello," The stranger spoke in acceptable, if slightly accented, Japanese. "Hope my little kitchen disaster didn't disturb you!"
"Not at all," chuckled Darien in reply. "It has to be the most interesting way I know of to meet ones new neighbors!"
"It most certainly beats ducking bombs," was the dry reply. Micheal looked at Darien's expression and knew he was going to have to come up with an explanation. He was just glad he had had FRED raid the newspaper archives so he knew what the local history was. "I was a pilot for the United States during the Gulf War. I 'd say we learned more from the hours spent with the Saudi's in the shelters during the SCUD raids than during the all lessons about their culture before we left."
"And what brings you to Tokyo? Its not exactly where I would expect to find a fighter pilot."
"I'm not anymore. After the war, I saw the carnage my bombs caused. After that, I lost what we called the edge. So I resigned. Made a bundle in business, and now I am sort of wandering, a soul quest, you might say." 'Just enough truth to be convincing.' Micheal Noted to himself.
"I don't know if you'll find much help here. I know someone who might help, but many people are still very uncomfortable around gaijin," observed Darien.
(Gaijin - Japaneese term for forigner / outsider)
"I know. Your not though," observed Micheal.
"I've had a few broadening experiences," replied Darien dryly. 'After being brainwashed and living in the Negaverse, no mere human could ever be a gaijin to me!' "I'm Darien Chiba."
"Micheal Thunders. Nice to meet someone who can forget fifty years ago."
"Welcome to Tokyo, Micheal. What exactly happened in there, anyway? I see the smoke has stopped."
"I plugged in my coffeepot. However, FRED, BAKA that he is, didn't remind me about the difference in the electrical supply. I'm afraid its perked its last pot." Micheal looked decidedly unhappy about this fact.
"FRED is your roommate, ne? I would have thought he would be out here with you, avoiding the smoke."
'URK! of all the bonehead stunts to pull!' cursed Micheal to himself. 'I hope my cover story holds up.' "FRED isn't exactly my roommate."
"Oh! I didn't figure you for one of _them_."
"One of _them_?? No, that's not it at all. FRED is, well, FRED. Damn, the only real way to explain this is to introduce you to him. Come on over for a moment, OK?"
The scent of smoke was still faintly present in the apartment when Micheal let Darien in. Micheal lead Darien over to a desk covered with electronic equipment. Darien barely managed to hold in a gasp as a video camera swiveled to point at him.
Micheal indicated the desk. "Darien Chiba, FRED. FRED, Darien Chiba, our next door neighbor. He heard you after I had to open up the balcony to let the smoke out." /Which wouldn't have happened if SOMEONE had reminded me about the differences in electrical current before I plugged in the coffeepot,/ he concluded in English.
/What exactly _IS_ FRED?/ inquired Darien in English, which was about the most tactful way he could find to tell Micheal that he could understand what Micheal was saying quite well.
"I am honored to meet you, Neighbor Darien Chiba," replied FRED in perfect Japanese. "FRED stands for Fantastically Ridiculous Electronic Device. Micheal has a very warped sense of humor. Basically, I am the result of an over active mind with WAAAAAAAY to much time on his hands."
Micheal looked over at Darien, who was just sort of staring at FRED. "He's a prototype, the next step in AI development. I'm not sure the general public is ready for it. Another reason for my 'quest', you might say. The fact that I built a companion rather than meeting people was the cause for a bit of soul searching." 'I hope he buys this. I don't know what to do if he doesn't. I doubt he could accept the whole truth.'
"Absolutely Amazing..." was the best that Darien could come up with. 'I wonder if I can introduce him to Amy sometime. This sort of thing is right up her alley.' "I know a friend who would be fascinated to meet the two of you."
"Uh, I would prefer if you didn't say anything about FRED to anyone, Darien. A lot of people don't react well to the thought of AI. They think its going to run amuck and kill everything in sight. Like the evil computer in the Terminator movie, you know?"
"Oh. I can understand that. I could guarantee my friend wouldn't react like that though." Darien shrugged, but made a mental note to ask again sometime for Amy's benefit.
"I'll think about it. In the meantime, please don't say anything to anyone about FRED here, OK? The only reason I told you was cause I opened my mouth and stuck my foot in it."
"OK, I promise. So, how long do you plan to be staying in Tokyo?"
"It's hard to say," Replied Micheal. "A couple of months at least. It depends on a great many things." 'Like how fast FRED can get readings on the multiverse and compute new co-ordinates! I'm not sure I want to hang around and be someone's puppet. But I'm not going to make a blind jump either!'
"Any plans? I mean, you must have a reason for coming here." Inquired Darien.
"It's hard to say. I'm sort of going to go with the flow for a while. Even managed to finagle a work visa and a job."
"Those are hard to come by. I guess you do intend to stay for a while then. What kind of job?"
"I'm a teacher at Juuban Junior High school." answered Micheal, causing Darien to break out lauging, and leaving Micheal wondering what it was he said that was so incredibly funny....
* * * * * * * * * *
"IIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! Not _AGAIN_?!?!?!?" Micheal paused for a moment at the door to the school office. Someone inside obviously had just received some bad news. 'I just hope it doesn't involve me,' he concluded to himself and proceeded into the office. Inside, a very attractive teacher was complaining to someone about one of her students.
"Why me again? I had her last year! Let someone else take the problem student this year!" protested Patricia Haruna to a rather unsympathetic clerk. "She's always late, she doesn't study, and she falls asleep in class! Why do I have to be the one saddled with her?"
"Because," replied the clerk, "Your the only instructor who can get her to do anything. In fact, except for one other instructor, they all threatened mass resignation if we put her in their classes. Unless you want to find another job, your stuck with her."
Ms. Haruna sighed heavily. "Who are the other unfortunate souls?" she inquired. Micheal surmised that whoever this student was, she was well known to the other instructors at the school.
"One of the gym coaches actually volunteered to take her. Said she made the rest of the class look positively gifted. Fortunately for you, you only have her in the morning periods. After lunch we have placed her with the new science teacher." When the clerk imparted this news, Ms. Haruna visibly relaxed.
"Who would be me, I presume." Micheal couldn't help a sudden, correct, feeling of dread. "Micheal Thunders, instructor of math's and sciences. And you are?"
"Patricia Haruna. Instructor of History, composition, and the English language." 'Hey, he's cute!!! I almost feel sorry for him!' she thought as she looked him over. 'Although I'm not to sure about his taste in clothes.' Micheal was wearing black slacks and a tropical print shirt under a long black overcoat. 'All he needs is the right hat and he would look like a tropical cowboy!' "Your obviously not from around here, are you? Red Hair of our shade isn't exactly common."
"No, I'm not. Yes, it is, but I wont embarrass you by asking you where you got yours if you'll tell me about this student everyone else seems to know about," replied Micheal as he signed some forms the clerk handed him and picked up his attendance sheets.
"Her name is Serena Tsukino, and if I were to take the time to tell you all about her, we would be late for class. When is your open period?"
"You both have fifth period open. That's the one right after lunch, Thunders-san," provided the Clerk. "And as the first bell is about to ring, I suggest you get moving, unless you want to be as late as your pet student, Haruna-san. You're in room 215, Thunders-san."
"That's right next to mine. I'll show you where it is, and I can show you around the rest of the school during lunch. You might even get a glimpse of your new 'prize' student," commented Patricia as she grabbed Micheal by the arm and lead him out of the office.
* * * * * * * * * *
Serena was moving at her usual pace, which many claimed was just short of the speed of sound. 'Why me?' she wailed to her self. 'Why did my gym locker have to stick closed like that? I'm going to be late to class!!' Which, of course, meant that she was NOT looking where she was going. Which, one might suppose made the collision inevitable. All Micheal really knew was that one second he was almost to the classroom door with the hand-outs he had finished copying and the next he was sitting on the floor in a blizzard of falling paper.
Serena, true to form, was almost instantly on her feet, apologizing just as fast as her mouth could move. Micheal looked at the young girl who ran him down and knew who she was as soon as he saw the distinctive hair style Ms. Haruna had described to him. "Ms. Tsukino, I presume. I do believe there is a school policy about running in the halls?"
"Yes, and I'm so sorry! Its just that my gym locker jammed and it took forever to get it open and now I'm so incredibly late for my next class..."
Micheal cut the young girl off. "Ms. Tsukino. I would greatly prefer help in gathering these papers than an apology."
Serena just nodded and instantly fell to helping gather up the wayward papers. As she did, she looked over her latest victim. 'Rather kawaii for a teacher, but he's no Darien.' "I still am so sorry about this, sir. I was trying to get to class on time and make a good impression on my science teacher."
Micheal could only grin as he realized that this girl did not realize that he was her new teacher. "Oh, somehow I _DON'T_ think you have to worry about that," was his comment as he gathered up a last errant paper and stood up, collecting the papers Serena had gathered, and opening the door to the classroom.
Serena was glad to see that her friend, Lita Kino, had managed to save her a seat near the back of the classroom. As she sat down, she realized that the person whom she had run into in the hall was sitting down at the teachers desk and preparing to check the attendance roster. 'OH NO!!! He's not _A_ new teacher, he's _MY_ new teacher! He probably thinks I'm a total space case now!!!' As that thought rolled through Serena's head, she sunk down lower in her seat. 'I'm a total baka odango atama!!!'
"You OK, Serena?" asked an increasingly worried Lita.
Serena shook her head no and wondered if it was possible to crawl under one of the Lab tables and die of shame...
* * * * * * * * * *
Micheal sat on his balcony and brooded as he sipped his coffee and looked out across a darkening Tokyo. FRED had just informed him that there was something disturbing the quantum flux of this universe. And until it resolved itself, they were stuck, because there was no way to open a stable portal. Which meant that they were probably going to have to deal with whatever it was the force that brought them here intended them to deal with. And that thought lead him to wonder what he was going to do about Serena Tsukino.
On the surface of things, she was everything Patricia complained of that first day of school. 'I wonder how much TV she watches. She behaves just the way Blondes are portrayed on TV.' However, having her in his classes all afternoon had shown glimpses of something more below the surface. 'I need to find a way to test her for a learning disability without suggesting she's stupid. Lord knows her ego is fragile enough. Look at the way she reacted that first day when she bumped into me. Maybe if I pair her up with Amy Mizuno for some tutoring. Might help the both of them.'
With that, his mind turned to what he considered his other student problem. Amy Mizuno and Serena Tsukino were as different as night and day. Where Serena was outgoing and personable, Amy was shy and introverted. According to the school records, she scored a 300 on her last IQ test. Attentive and intelligent, she seemed driven by something. Micheal worried about the fact he had overheard her mention to someone that she was only five chapters ahead of the assignments. And she was in his ADVANCED physics class! 'Your being silly,' he told himself. 'This is NOT your dimension. Just because she is hyper-intelligent does not mean she is going to become some obsessed maniac trying to take over the world to fill a gap in her emotional make-up. Still, getting her to loosen up just a hair probably wouldn't hurt either.'
* * * * * * * * * *
'Ooooh, I could stay like this for DAYS!' decided Serena as she cuddled up next to Darien in the elevator. She was feeling guilty, because their time that afternoon had been cut into because she had drawn detention again. Unfortunately, Darien had to work tonight, so there wasn't a chance to make up for it. Then an idea hit her. "Darien, since it was my fault I was late, let me make dinner for you tonight? That way you won't have to rush to get to work!"
"I don't know Serena. I mean, its a lovely offer but I don't think we have time." 'Not to mention the fact that my kitchen may not recover!' Darien concluded to himself.
"Nonsense! It will be great! Just you wait and see!" bubbled an enthusiastic Serena as she grabbed his arm and drug him down the hall towards his apartment. "Trust me," she said over her shoulder to Darien, which meant she didn't see Darien's new next door neighbor coming out of his apartment, and ran right into him. Her apology died on her lips as she saw who it was. 'KAMI-SAMA!!! Its Thunders-Sensei!!!'
'WHY ME???' was clearly written in Micheal's expression. "Good evening Ms. Tsukino. Can I assume that since your spending time with your boyfriend that all your homework is done for once?"
The look on Serena's face all but screamed that she hadn't even started it. "Oh, umm, yes, of course it is." Which might have even sounded believable if it wasn't for the tiny voice she said it in and the giant sweat-drop on her head. Suddenly she gave him a double take. "Hey, how did you know this is my boyfriend?"
"Because most people don't drag complete strangers down the hall telling them they're going to cook for them," Micheal observed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm late." As Micheal started down the hall, he couldn't help but comment over his shoulder, "Don't forget Ms. Tsukino. ALL of your homework. MONDAY."
Serena hung her head in defeat and sighed. "And Luna wonders why I hate Mondays so much."
To be continued.......