Chapter 4: Visions
By: Kohan
Disclaimers: ...you know...
***
Micharu walked into the Linen Shop, she had Haruka at hand, and looked very
aggravated.
"What kind of parent must I be!?" Micharu asked Haruka.
"I was joking... Micharu,"
"Letting her go into a gun shop with a guy who doesn't have a death wish...
what was I thinking?!"
"Micharu..."
"No... This wasn't *my* fault..." Micharu glared at Haruka. "*You* did this!"
Haruka looked very embarrassed at being held by the arm by a raving mad woman.
Usagi turned around, as did Rei and sighed.
"She's at it again," She whispered to Rei.
"Yes, looks like she's really mad this time."
"Wonder what she'll do?"
"Probably make Haruka go get Hotaru... Which I don't think is right, Hotaru's
like...18 by now, and it's not like she hasn't lived several times." Rei said.
Duo had heard their hushed conversation and had a strange look on his face.
"'hasn't lived several times'?" He asked, Usagi looked around and then acted
like she didn't know what Duo was talking about. Rei turned red at almost
exposing the secret of their immortality to the young soldier.

"Would you shut up you onna! I am tired of your constant bickering!"
"Don't speak to her like that, Chinese-boy!" Haruka yelled at Wufei, pulling
forcefully on her arm to free it from Micharu's grasp.
"WEAK ONNA!!! I COULD TAKE YOU DOWN IN 5 SECONDS!!" Wufei yelled, getting
quite a few stares. Rei acted like she didn't know the eccentric Chinese, and
Usagi just stared. Duo, however went over to Wufei and started making motions
with his hands that said to cut it out.
"What are you doing, Maxwell?! You know I can't speak sign language!"
"I'm not through with you yet, China man!" Haruka yelled, she was again in
the hold of Micharu, who was dragging her to the bed section of the store.
***

Heero entered the shop with Hotaru behind him. He immediately went to the
front desk where they carried the really lethal weapons. Hotaru came up to the
desk too, and pointed at a sharp looking dagger.
"Could you hand that to me, please?" She asked the clerk. The clerk opened
the case and handed Hotaru the dagger. Hotaru weighed it in her hands, Heero
looked at her, to him she was extremely hidden. Hotaru ran her finger across
the blade of the dagger, drawing blood. She laughed at herself, Micharu thought
that she was going to buy a gun. Yeah, right. The clerk then got very uncomfortable
and went to the back room, out of sight. 'So I do bleed,' Hotaru thought, she
had wondered that since she had been reborn again. 'Am I immortal?'
"Why...?" Heero said,
"Just checking the blade," Hotaru said quietly, which was a lie of course.
Heero looked back at the guns, which, he saw from the first moment were not
worth his time or money. 'What a wasted day,' he thought, he looked again at
Hotaru's spilled blood, so red...
***

"Usagi, I don't actually want to be in this store." Said Rei, "I personally
don't take an interest in linen."
"I know, but where else can we go... we're going home after this... it's
almost 5 o'clock."
"I hope we don't get stuck walking home in the rain," Rei said, looking at
the darkening sky. An image struck her mind, it was of Prince Edymon with the
golden crystal... he was sitting on a throne. Rei closed her eyes and cleared
her head.
"You okay, Rei-chan?" Usagi asked.
"Yeah. I'm good."

"Haruka, what do you think, white or off white?" Micharu asked, holding up
two pillowcases.
"Why don't you just get one that matches the other one we have?"
"Well they both would match," Micharu said
"I don't care which one, Micharu, I really don't."
"Well I just thought you might care, since your the one who will be using it."
"..."

Quatre looked at Micharu and Haruka from a different isle. 'Just wrong...'
innocent Quatre thought. He and Trowa had been listening to the two all day,
and watching them. He had one word for people like that... wrong. Quatre
shivered, and walked to the door and let himself out. He was surprised to see
Wufei and Duo standing outside, he hadn't seen them come out.
"Hi Quatre, me and Wu-man were just standing out here... talking." Duo said.
"Don't call me Wu-man." Wufei muttered, he had lost a lot of energy on this
trip between Haruka and Rei.
"Anyway, Wu-man was just telling me how he thought that women would never get
enough sense to do anything useful, isn't that right, Wu-chan?"
"I told you NOT to call me that!" Wufei yelled.
"Please don't fight," said Quatre.
"We're not fighting, Quatre, we're having a discussion."
***

"Are you going to buy that?" Heero asked Hotaru.
"No," She said, and wiped her blood off with a shirtsleeve. "Are you done?
Because it's 5 o'clock."
"Hai." Heero said, and Hotaru put the dagger down on the counter, and walked
out the door. The sun had since been covered by acceding clouds, and Hotaru
looked around nervously. The two had to walk in front of an alleyway to get
to the other side of the section of stores where the Linen Shop was located
around a corner. While crossing the sidewalk in front of the alley, Hotaru
heard a crash of garbage bins, and she spun around to face the alley. Heero
did the same, and had his gun out in a flash. Up from the ground rose a body
of shadows, a creature that the had seen once before. Heero took a shot at
it, but the bullet passed through it harmlessly.
"Saturn Crystal Power! Make-up!" Sailor Saturn, done with her heshin, struck
a pose, and then grabbed her Silence Glaive from space. The shadow creature
sent out ribbons of red power, which snaked towards Heero and Sailorsaturn.
"Silence Wall!" Saturn blocked the attack with her wall of purple power, and
the red ribbons burned up in the power. Heero moved closer behind the wall
and put away his gun, seeing no use for it. "Silence Glaive Surprise!" The
creature went down, but was still alive after Saturn's attack. She ran
up to it, even after Heero's wish against it. She positioned her Glaive above
the throat of the creature, ready to strike if it made a move.
"Who do you work for?" She asked with rage.
"eeee..." The creature replied, then lifted it's hand and hit Saturn across the
face, she looked back to it, taking the blow easily, even though it drew blood
under one eye.
"Don't talk that shit with me! I know you can speak, do it!"
"The Dark Prince..." The creature said, it's head swayed, unstable.
"How did you get here, what do you want with us?"
"The Time Gates... we want the defenders of the White Princess..."
"Why?"
"Then the path to the Princess will be clear..."
"Why do you want the Princess?"
"eee..." The creature gasped, then it's body went limp and disappeared. By
then rain had started to fall, and Saturn threw her Glaive into space.
"Shimatta," She muttered before turning back to a stunned Heero.
***

"Did you hear that?" Whispered Haruka to Micharu.
"Haruka, you are not getting out of this, I told you before..."
"No, I'm serious!" Haruka said. Rei had also heard the strange noise, and so
had the G-boys that were outside. Everyone looked around frantically. Micharu
stopped talking long enough to listen, but the sound didn't come again.
"It was probably just a cat knocking some garbage bins down or something," she
said.
"No... it sounded something like 'Silence Wall'"
"Do you think Hotaru is in trouble?"
"No, she can take care of herself. Do you think we should go look, though?"
Haruka asked.
"I'm sure Hotaru is fine." Said Rei, coming up behind the two. "She is 18,
she can take care of herself. Besides, Heero's with her... he wouldn't let
anything happen."
"It's possible that your right, Rei. I hope so."
***

"Your bleeding." Heero said blankly. Sailorsaturn sighed, and looked at her
purple boots. The Princess was wanted. She, herself was wanted... and all she
wanted to do, or cared about, was going home. By that time it had begun to rain.
Heero put his thumb on Hotaru's cut and wiped away the blood.
Hotaru blinked at him. "That was a close one, Firefly." He said.
"Yeah..." She said, and touched her face, still shocked at Heero's actions.
"I have to warn Serenity," She said.
"Serenity?"
"Usagi... The Princess."
"Yes. That might be a good idea." Heero said, and Hotaru and he walked to the
Linen Shop to talk to Usagi.
***

Outside the shop, Duo, Wufei, Quatre and now Trowa were standing in the rain.
Heero stopped outside to talk to them, while Hotaru continued on inside.
Haruka and Micharu saw Hotaru when she came in, and it was no wonder that
Micharu practically jumped on Hotaru at the state she was in. Since it had
been raining, Hotaru was soaked to the skin, and even though Heero had wiped
the blood away, her cut had begun to bleed again.
"What happened!?" Micharu yelled, Usagi and Rei heard and came over.
"Heero and I...ran into a little...trouble on the way here..."
"Ha! I *told* you, Micharu!" Said Haruka, Micharu ignored her.
"Well are you okay? You look like Hell!"
"Thanks." Hotaru said, frowning.
"That's not how I meant it, Hotaru..."
"Where's Usagi?"
"I'm right here," Said Usagi from behind Haruka.
"I got some information out of the creature that attacked us. It said that it
worked for the Dark Prince, and I asked it why it wanted the protectors of the
Princess. They want you, Usagi."
"How did they get here?" She asked, stunned.
"The Time Gates" Hotaru said, "Though I don't know how, Setsuna is there right
now, I don't think anything could have gotten through."
"I think it's best if we go home, and contact Sailorpluto." Haruka said.
"That's the first good idea you've had all day." Said Micharu, and she walked
outside. Haruka shrugged and followed, along with Rei, Usagi and Hotaru.
***

The G-boys were standing outside, each was quiet, thinking his own thoughts.
Some looked at the sky, like Duo, some, at the ground, such as Wufei, but
each was thinking. Micharu came out, followed by the others, and suggested
that they all go to the apartment to wait for Setsuna. Quatre agreed for them,
seeing that the others were still deep in thought, and they walked off through
the rain to the apartment.

Upon entering, everyone took off their shoes, as customary in Japanese homes,
along with their coats. Many shook water from their hair, and they all sat
down in the large living room. All except for Hotaru and Rei, who had gone
into the bathroom to clean Hotaru's scratch.
"Haruka is going to call Setsuna in a minute." Said Rei. Hotaru nodded, Rei
had a piece of cotton in her hand, as well as the hydrogen peroxide. "I've
never seen a cut like this," She said. "you may have a scar, but I don't see
so, because it has already started to heal. You didn't use your powers on it,
did you?"
"No," Said Hotaru.
"Maybe it was the rain."

"Hotaru, Rei!" Haruka called, "Sailorpluto just...appeared...out of nowhere..."
Hotaru and Rei came out of the bathroom, Hotaru's cut was now clean. Sailorpluto
was standing in the middle of the room with her time staff.
"Hi, Setsuna, that was fast." Said Rei.
"What?"
"Oh, I was just about to call you," Said Haruka, "I hadn't yet."
"So... why are you here?" Asked Usagi.
"To tell you... the Inner Senshi and Mammoru are here." Mouths dropped open
at the words.
"You let them through?!" Said Micharu
"Here where?" Haruka said.
"Here?" Was what Usagi said. Hotaru, Rei and the G-Boys remained silent.
"I had to let them in! Mammoru is the Prince of Earth! He ordered me to!"
Sailorpluto defended herself.
"You didn't let any monster creatures in, did you?"
"No, but it's possible that they may have slipped through while I was letting
the others in. Why?"
"We have monster troubles." Said Rei
"So, do the Inners know where we are?" Asked Micharu.
"No, but it won't be too hard to find out. Your not listed in the phone book,
but when you start school, they will be able to get at your information there,
I'm afraid."
"Thank you, Pluto." Said Haruka. Pluto left.
"Shit." Said Micharu.