Part Five

Part Five: The dreams of a shining star! Rei's soul fire

The enormous silver paper moon came down with a crash onto the stage, causing students to scatter all over in order to escape from it. There was a loud clanking noise as the pulley that had been attached to the moon decoration tumbled down too, landing in the middle of the fragile silver paper and tearing a big hole in the center.
"No, no, no, NO!!!!" Hino Rei bellowed, glaring furiously at the propsmaster, a first year junior high student who was at the moment wearing an expression of contrition combined with a little fear. Rei marched up to the stage and seized the unfortunate boy's collar. "Now look what you did!" she exploded at him, her deep purple eyes flashing dangerously. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to make that paper moon? You weren't listening to me. I said 'let the cord out slowly,' not 'let the cord go'!!!" She shook her head, her dark hair swinging. "I don't believe this! Less than three days before the Autumn Festival opens, and you people just keep making more work for me!"
The poor boy looked like he was about to cry. "I'm really sorry, Rei-san. I'll fix it--"
"Oh, no you won't. You'll just mess it up." Rei let go of his jacket and stalked over to survey the damage. "I'm going to have to do it myself, thanks to your ingenious bout of clumsiness." She bent over to pick up the heavy metal pulley, and set it aside so that she could lift the prop's wooden frame away. "Let's just hope I can salvage some of this." As she inspected the ruined paper, she grumbled under her breath. "Why do I do this to myself? Honestly, you'd think I'd have learned my lesson when I directed this show last year. What a mess!"
Rei looked up and noticed that all the other students were watching her apprehensively. "What are you staring at?" she barked at them. "Get back to work. We have ten billion things to do! This is not a circus, people!" Quickly scurrying out of her way, they did as she had ordered. Rei stood to her feet and pushed her bangs out of her face with one hand. "All right. Let's try it again, without the moon, this time."
She left the stage, brushing past the young propsmaster like he wasn't even there. "You ready, girls?" she called off stage right, where six other girls, mostly first-year students, wearing sequined leotards and sporting feathers in their hair, were trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. They nodded their reply to Rei, who returned to the sound booth where she had temporarily taken up residence.
"Well, at least she isn't yelling at us this time," one of the girls whispered to the others, and they giggled back. Rei had been focusing her energy on the six of them for most of the morning.
The music began again, and the dancers trotted out on the stage to begin their routine for the twenty-eighth time that morning.
"It seems that Hino-san is a bit of a slavedriver." This comment was made quietly, at the very back of the auditorium.
The tall, fair haired girl smiled down at her golden retriever. "Now, Centauri, be gracious. She just works very hard, that's all. Hino Rei has big dreams."
The guide dog looked up at her, and in the darkness his liquid brown eyes seemed to swallow up everything. "But she shouldn't be so rough on them. They're doing the best that they can. If you want my opinion, Hino-san is just directing this show for her own glory, to pamper her own vanity. She acts like she's a queen or something."
"Close." Shinzui smiled again mysteriously. "She's a princess. Remember?"
Centauri snorted. "Princess or no, she's one of the most self absorbed girls I've ever seen."
"Don't say that, Centauri." The young blind woman's voice suddenly took on a more severe tone. She inclined her head in Rei's direction as the sound of the fiery director's voice could again be heard, scolding the dancers. Shinzui smiled slightly. "She's not really vain. Hino Rei has just got a lot of passion for what she loves, and sometimes that passion doesn't express itself well." She turned her blank gaze back towards her guide dog. "A long time ago, I wasn't that much different from her."
Centauri looked down, remembering. "Well, maybe not," he answered. "But you couldn't help it. Hino-san knows better. After all, like you said, she is a princess."
Shinzui smiled. "Well, perhaps I should talk to her." Rei's voice again cut into her concentration as she began hollering at the costume manager. From what Shinzui could make out, the feathers on one of the dancer's headbands had come unglued and caused the girl to slip on the stage, resulting in another minor crisis. Shinzui shook her head slightly. "But I don't think now is a good time."
Suddenly, a pretty stone set into the blind girl's bracelet started to pulse with a soft light, and a gentle beeping noise was heard. Looking up at his mistress, Centauri sighed. "Sounds like you've got someone else to talk to right now, anyway."
Shinzui nodded, and rose to her feet, gripping her retriever's harness. "Let's go,then."
From somewhere in the back of the auditorium, Rei heard a faint beeping sound. "What's that?" she yelled, swinging around prepared to chew out yet another incompetent student. But all she saw was the back of a tall girl with a silvery blond bun and a large golden retriever as the two disappeared out the doors. Rei frowned. Who was that? She wondered. And how did she get in here? It's supposed to be a closed rehearsal.
"Holy cow!" The young propsmaster came up behind Rei. He, too, had seen the pair leave. "I don't believe it! She was here, watching us!"
Rei spun around. "What are you blabbering about?" she demanded. "Do you know who that was?"
The boy's eyes widened. "Why, Rei-san, I thought you'd know her for sure. That's Giseino Shinzui. She's only one of the most famous musicians and songwriters in Tokyo, and to top it all off, she's blind." He turned to stare back at the door. "And she was observing our rehearsal! That's so cool!"
Rei's eyes narrowed as she turned to look again at the back of the auditorium where the girl and her guide dog had vanished. So that's Giseino Shinzui. I wonder what she wants.

The Sacred Child's voice tinkled sweetly against the steaming pipes. "What is it, Guardian Father?"
The golden robed figure leaned forward to place a kiss on her forehead. "Child," he greeted her, then stepped back to join the other two. "We have been observing your progress."
"It would seem that the Avatar's new quest commander has revealed himself to us." This was from Oberon, whose soft whisper reverberated in the empty quiet.
The Child nodded, her shimmering hair floating gently around her shoulders, glittering blue in the eerie electric light of the tunnels. "Yes. I do not think he will be much of a problem, however." The three Guardians could hear amusement in her voice. "Lord Narcissus has an ego nearly as large as the Avatar's, and no common sense whatsoever. He should not pose much threat to our quest."
The Guardian in the center lifted his head. "Are you sure of that, Child?" he asked. "What if he does find the Silver Dagger first?"
"Then we'll just have to take it away from him, Guardian Brother," the girl replied, and though Demetrius could not see her face in the dim light, he could hear the mischievously wicked grin in her tone.
"I almost wish the Negaverse would get it this time," Demetrius responded despondently. "At least then"
"Then, the world as we know it would come to an end, Guardian Brother. You know that." The Sacred Child's voice was gentle but surprisingly stern. "Because the Princess will give up her own life before she would let the Negaverse conquer her universe. And if the Princess dies, the Crystal dies. If the Crystal dies, everything will cease to exist. Unless we find the Silver Dagger and perform the Sacrifice, the Balance will forever be destroyed. Darkness will prevail for the rest of eternity. Do you really want to see that happen?"
Demetrius looked up, his sapphire eyes glinting from within the shadows of the golden hood. "Of course not, Child."
The Sacred Child reached out and touched the face hidden by the folds of the cloak he wore. "We do what must be done, Guardian Brother. Always. We do what must be done." A wistful smile curved her lips, though they could not see it in the darkness of the tunnels. "Listen to me. I sound like Sailor Uranus." She shook her head, and the Guardians looked at one another with unreadable expressions before turning back to the Child.
"How is that situation working out this time, Child?" Neophilus wanted to know.
The girl sighed, and it was the sound of unhappiness deeper than any words could express. "Oh, she still remembers at least, her heart remembers, even if her mind has forgotten. She still hates me as much as ever." In the dull light, Demetrius thought he saw the faint sparkle of a tear on the Child's cheek, and his heart went out to her. "But I'm worried. It's never bothered her this much before."
"Bothered her? What do you mean?" Oberon asked, again in that whispered tone.
"She's never had a problem hating me, in our past lives, even without knowing the reason why she feels this way. But in the past few lifetimes, she's become more and more sensitive to the fact that her hate has no reason." The Child smiled again bitterly. "At least, none that she knows of." Then she looked up at Demetrius. "She actually apologized to me."
"What?" Demetrius straightened in surprise. "Apologized? Uranus?"
The girl nodded. "Yes, apologized. And every time I see her, I can feel this guilt in her because of the way she feels." She shook her head slowly. "Hundreds of lifetimes It's been so long but I think the Princess' purity and love is finally beginning to heal some of the damage I've done."
Oberon nodded. "Let's hope so. It's about time. Sailor Uranus never was one to be injured easily, but she's even harder to heal."
The Child sighed. "It's just that I'm not sure if she is going to be able to handle her feelings this time. She's already starting to think there's something wrong with her. If she only knew" the girl was very quiet for a long moment, the skirt of her long white gown billowing around her legs as a draft from one of the steam grates blew moist, warm air around them.
"You shouldn't punish yourself like this, Child," Demetrius stated quietly.
At this, the young woman's voice turned even more sorrowful. "Have you forgotten what I did to her, Guardian Brother? On the contrary. I could never punish myself enough."
Oberon sighed, and put his hand on the Child's shoulder. "No more of this talk today. We have too many other things to worry about."
The girl nodded. "I should get back," she stated, still sounding more unhappy than Demetrius would have liked. She took Oberon's hand in a firm grip. "Safe questing, Guardian Friend." Then she hugged Demetrius. "Safe questing, Guardian Brother." And last, the Child turned and kissed Neophilus on the forehead tenderly. "Safe questing, Guardian Father."
The three golden robed figures bowed slightly to the Sacred Child. "Safe questing, Child." Another cloud of steam from the pipes obscured the Guardians from view, and when it had lifted, they were gone.
The girl spun on her heel and strode out of the tunnels, and the clicking of her heels resounded hauntingly against the hollow metal of the pipes.

"Cut! Cut the music!" Rei sighed wearily. "Akiyama. How many times do we have to go through this? This is a dance song. A song of joy. Not a rock concert. I want spirit and life, not rebelliousness and anger. Can't you feel the music, even a little?"
The young guitar player pushed his sweaty bangs out of his face. "Rei-san, we've gone through this song fifty different times. I guess I just don't understand what you're wanting from me."
"I want music!!!" Rei bellowed in fury. "Not noise. Music. Why do you insist on playing the song like it's heavy metal?"
"Perhaps I can help with that."
Rei spun around to see the tall blind woman and her guide dog standing at the edge of the stage. "How did you get in here?" she demanded rather rudely. Looking around the auditorium, she shouted to no one in particular. "I thought this was a closed rehearsal. Who let her in?"
Shinzui seemingly ignored the angry director's remark and instead turned to the boy with the guitar. "I understand what it is Hino-san wants," she told him gently. "But sometimes it helps to have someone demonstrate it for you. May I?"
Akiyama stared at her for a minute. "I uh yeah. Of course, Giseino-san." He removed the electric guitar's strap from his shoulders and handed the instrument to her.
Smiling as she accepted it, Shinzui replied, "Oh, please, call me Shinzui." She slipped the strap around her own head and cradled the guitar, testing the strings with her fingers and then strumming a few practice cords. "All right. Now listen to this and see if you can hear the difference." Tapping out the beat with her toe, Shinzui began to play the song she'd heard them practicing, not missing a single chord.
Rei's mouth dropped open as the music enveloped them with its light, happy sound. "That's it that's it exactly. That's just what it's supposed to sound like." She grabbed the microphone and began to sing with the guitar. The drummer in the back picked up the rhythmn, and then the second guitarist jumped in. Akiyama was just staring at Shinzui in surprise as the bouncing, joyful melody swelled through the auditorium. It didn't even sound like the same song he'd been trying to play, and understanding finally dawned in his heart as he finally comprehended what Rei had been asking of him.
"In the light of your angel eyes," Rei sang, her voice carrying clear and true through the auditorium. She was startled as, on the last line, Shinzui sang with her, choosing a perfect harmony with which to end the song.
"In the light of your sweet angel eyes."
Rei put down the microphone and stared at Shinzui, whose sightless eyes were closed with rapture as she struck the final chord and let the tone fade away. "I don't believe it You learned that song just from listening to it? You can play it on the guitar, and harmonize with the words too? And we haven't even been able to go all the way through it even once today."
There was a faint smile on the blind woman's face as she removed the guitar and handed it back to its owner. Akiyama took the instrument from her with an expression of awe. "You really are a musical genius," he breathed. "But I thought musical geniuses were only into classical music, and jazz, and stuff like that."
"Well, I guess I'm not really a musical genius, then," Shinzui responded with a smile. "Because I love dance music, and techno, and rock, and pop, and, well, just about every kind of music there is. They all make me feel something." Then she turned to Rei and spoke to her for the first time. "I'm sorry for disturbing your rehearsal, Hino-san."
Rei's eyes narrowed. "Well, you really don't have any business being here," she pointed out. "I mean, I don't care if you are a musical genius. This is a closed rehearsal. So what exactly is it that you want?"
Shinzui inclined her head slightly at the mistrust in Rei's tone, sensing exactly where it came from. "I'm not here to spy on you, Hino-san."
Rei blushed furiously then, and was grateful that the other young woman's blindness would keep her from seeing her embarrassment. How did she know I was thinking that? Rei wondered. But she kept silent as Shinzui continued.
"To be honest, I think you have a lot of talent for songwriting, and you have a beautiful voice. I enjoy listening to your music." Shinzui smiled. "But I have noticed that you seem to be having some difficulties in the administration department. I was wondering if you'd like a hand in the production of this show. I'd be more than happy to help you out, if you'd like."
Rei frowned. She didn't really want help. I want to do this all by myself, she thought. But then she took a look around her, at the half-constructed sets, the costume chaos, and the wearied faces of her dancers and singers, and she sighed. "I don't think I have a choice," Rei conceded. "Just one more day before we open, and at this rate we're never going to be ready."
Shinzui cocked an eyebrow. "So you'll let me help?"
Rei nodded. Then she realized that Shinzui could not see the nod, and so she spoke out loud. "Yeah. I guess."
"Good." The tall blind woman put out a hand. "By the way, I'm Giseino Shinzui."
"Hino Rei." Rei reached out and took Shinzui's hand. "But no more of this Hino-san business. If we're going to work together, you'd better call me Rei."
Shinzui nodded. "And you may call me Shinzui."
"Well, Shinzui-san. Where do you want to start?"
The fair haired girl cocked her head. "How about if I handle the sets and props for a while? That should give you more time to concentrate on the performances."
To tell the truth, Rei felt a bit relieved now that she had some help. Maybe this won't be such a disaster after all. She grinned and turned back to the band. "You hear that, guys? Let's go through it again. All the way through, this time." Then she turned to Akiyama. "Think you can do it now?"
Akiyama nodded enthusiastically. "I probably won't be as good as Shinzui-san, but I get it now."
"All right. From the top, people!" The band struck up the introduction to the music, and Shinzui smiled down at Centauri.
"Well, let's get to it," she said very quietly to her pet. Centauri did not respond for fear of being overheard, but he did brush up against her leg a little. Then he led her off stage right, where the propsmaster sat puzzling over a damaged cardboard sword that was used in one of the dances.
"Hey there," Shinzui greeted him. "Need a little help?"
The boy looked up gratefully, and Shinzui sat down next to him, taking the sword from his hands and evaluating it carefully with her delicate fingertips. "How about if we do it like this"
Three hours later, Rei called a break. "All right, everyone. Time for lunch. We're all going to meet back here in a half an hour, okay?"
The students all seemed to instantaneously relax, as though they had been holding their breath all this time and were only now letting it out. Chattering happily, they began to disperse out the auditorium doors towards the school cafeteria. It was Thursday, but all the students involved in the program had been dismissed from classes yesterday,today and tomorrow in order to get the show ready for its opening on Saturday night.
Rei sighed again and went down into the rows of seats to locate her backpack, which she had left in the sound booth. She pulled out a brown paper bag and drew a sandwich out. Settling in the sound booth's chair, she took a bite of her sandwich and began flipping through the pages of notes she'd been making as to the lighting and music cues. Since Rei herself was going to be in the show, she wouldn't be able to run the sound booth; so her notes had to be clear enough for someone else to follow.
"Mind if we join you?"
Rei nearly jumped out of her chair at the sound of Shinzui's voice. "Shinzui-san! You scared me."
"I'm sorry," the blind girl replied, and she really did sound sorry. "I didn't mean to." Shinzui put her hands up on the edge of the sound booth and lifted herself up until she could sit, perched on the top of the four-and-a-half-foot wall that surrounded the sound equipment. Centauri settled himself on the floor beneath her. Shinzui pulled a small container of something green and squishy looking out of her own bag, as well as a pair of chopsticks.
Rei raised one eyebrow as she looked at the stuff in Shinzui's hand. "What is that?" she wanted to know.
"Asparagus. It's one of my favorite vegetables," Shinzui responded with a smile. She used the chopsticks to place one of the green stalks in her mouth, and closed her eyes with pleasure as she chewed. "Mmmm."
Rei made a face. "Ugh. I hate asparagus."
Shinzui swallowed, then giggled. "Well, I suppose for some it is an aquired taste." She took another bite, and Rei shivered in exaggerated disgust.
Hoping to change the subject, Rei gestured towards the stage. "Well, I must admit, I'm impressed. Only three hours and you've already got more than half of the sets settled."
Shinzui nodded. "Well, a lot of that is thanks to my helpers," she conceded. "I just delegated the responsibilities out; they were the ones who took it from there."
Rei looked up defensively. "I know what you're going to say, so don't bother."
"What do you mean?"
The dark haired girl frowned. "I know I'm hard on them. Maybe I do get a little carried away with wanting to do everything myself. But they don't know anything and they don't listen to me. I have to tell them the same things over and over. That's why I really don't like giving them responsibilities that I know I could handle better myself." She took another bite of her sandwich and chewed vigorously.
Shinzui shook her head with a soft smile. "I can certainly understand your desire to have everything perfect for the show. You have a lot of passion and enthusiasm for what you do, Rei, and I admire that. But you do have a tendency to make things harder for yourself. As much as you'd like to, you simply can't do everything."
Rei felt a little upset at this. "Sure I can. It just takes me a little longer."
"Exactly." Shinzui's voice was surprisingly gentle. "It takes longer. And it's much more frustrating for you and everyone else. Rei-san, you have so much talent. No one would deny that. But even so, you have to let other people participate too, or you will never be able to put the show together."
Normally Rei would have been angry. She could hear the little voice in the back of her head telling her that now was the time to get furious, and yet, somehow, her smoldering temper didn't feel so smoldering at the moment. Something about the sweetness in Shinzui's voice Rei couldn't bring herself to feel angry. All she really felt at the moment was a slight sense of guilt at the honesty and truth of Shinzui's words. Slowly Rei lowered her head. "I guess I guess you're probably right," she admitted, surprised at herself even as she said it. She almost never admitted to being wrong, especially not in front of a complete stranger. And yet, somehow, Shinzui didn't feel like a stranger at all
"Do I know you from somewhere?" Rei asked suddenly, forgetting what they had been talking about before.
A mysterious smile crept over Shinzui's face, but she did not reply directly. Instead, she responded in a flippant tone. "Oh, perhaps, in another life. Perhaps in a former life we were sisters or something. You think?"
Rei cocked her head, wondering. "Are you teasing me?" All she received was another sweet smile. Rei shook her dark hair. "Well, at any rate, thanks for helping me with the program. Maybe we will be ready on time, at that."
Shinzui swallowed another piece of asparagus as she responded, "You should thank the other students, too, for their hard work."
Rei nodded slowly. "I should," she agreed.
The two girls finished their lunches quickly as students began to file back into the auditorioum, ready to go back to work.
"Ummm hey, people!" Rei declared in a loud voice as the others began to resume her tasks. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at her apprehensively, expecting another scolding. Instead, to their surprise, they received a nervous grin. "Ummm listen. I want to apologize to all of you for being so tough on you. I know you're all doing your best, and I just wanted to say thank you. If this show is a success it will be your success just as much as mine." The students got very quiet, and looked at each other, uncertain as to how to respond to this very unexpected comment from their usually tempestuous director.
Shinzui stood behind Rei, and put her hand on the other girl's shoulder as she smiled sweetly at the students. "All right, everybody. You heard her. It's up to you to make this talent program work. So let's get going!"

"And she finished all the sets last night, by herself?"
Rei nodded at Minako. "Yeah. Even after working all day yesterday, we were still behind. Shinzui-san must have stayed at the school until well past midnight to get it all done." Rei shook her head. "I don't know what we would have done without her. Thanks to Shinzui-san, our opening tomorrow is going to be able to occur right on schedule."
"Shinzui-san is so cool" Usagi mused dreamily, fingering the pencil in her hands.
"Usagi-chan you've been staring at that paper for the last half an hour, and you haven't done a single problem," Ami reminded her.
Usagi sighed and put the pencil down. "It's too hard I can't do math," she complained, stretching her arms above her head for a moment. Ignoring Ami's frown, Usagi turned to Rei.
"So, Rei-chan. Is Shinzui-san going to perform in the show tomorrow night too?"
Rei shook her head. "No, unfortunately. I tried to talk her into it you know she can play just about any instrument there is? And she can really sing, too. But she can't even come to the show tomorrow night. She has a charity concert to give over at the Banpuku center at the same time as our Autumn Festival."
"Shinzui-san is giving a concert? Ooooh. I wanna go!" Usagi squealed with delight. Rei shot her a dirty look, and Usagi abruptly wiped the smile from her face. "But of course, I won't, because my dear friend Rei has a talent show that night." Rei cocked an eyebrow and looked as if she was about to say something, but Ami interrupted her.
"Let's just hope that this year's Autumn Festival goes better than the one last year," she broke in calmly. "Remember the yoma that nearly destroyed everything?"
"Remember!" Rei shuddered. "Of course I remember. I was so mad"
"Well, let's just hope that a jaki doesn't decide to show up to this year's program," Ami commented dryly.
Rei rolled her eyes. "Oh, thanks a lot, Ami-chan. Now I have something else to worry about."
"You'll be fine," Minako said soothingly, patting her stressed friend's shoulder. "Everything's going to work out great, you'll see. You and the others have been working so hard. Nothing to worry about."
Rei tossed Minako a grateful look. "Thanks, Minako-chan. But I don't think I'm going to be able to stop worrying until all of this is over."
Minako patted her shoulder again sympathetically.
"All right everybody, back to business," Ami ordered. "Usagi-chan, I want to see you finish the first ten problems before you can go home tonight."
Usagi's eyes flew wide and she groaned melodramatically. "Ten problems! Are you trying to kill me, Ami-chan?" The other scouts rolled their eyes and giggled.

In the field outside Toyko, the black monument was again humming as the jagged tear in space leaked another drop of the black, greasy liquid onto its surface. Sizzling, the dark substance began to expand and swell, taking on a form with long legs, longer arms, an apelike face, and three pointed feline ears atop its head. The skin of the creature glistened wetly, black and shiny like the stone of the monument it stood upon. Another peal of dark laughter emanated from the hole.
"Well, my jaki. We have another chance. You will find the humans and drain them until we find the one in whom the Silver Dagger has been reborn."
"Human juice?" The evil spirit's eyes lit at the thought.
"Yes." Lord Narcissus' voice was as cold as ever. "And if those ridiculous little girls show up again, I'm taking over your body. This time they won't drive me away. Now go, jaki, and find me that Dagger!"
The monster grinned in agreement, and leapt from the monument, rolling tightly into a ball as it flew. The black ball bounced against the ground three times, then entered the sky, flying towards Toyko's skyline with nearly untrackable speed.

"Everything ready to go?" Rei asked softly into the headset she was wearing.
"Yes, Rei-san, we're all ready back here." The girl's voice crackled into Rei's earpiece from the sound booth, where the technician team was waiting for their cue to begin the show.
Rei nodded with satisfaction. "Any last minute questions?" she whispered, keeping her voice down so that the crowd gathering in the auditorium would not be able to hear her. "Speak now, if you've got any problems."
"Well, actually, I do have one question, Rei-chan." This was Minako's voice. Minako had been recruited at the last minute into helping with the sound equipment for the night's show.
"Oh? Fire away, Minako-chan."
"How much are we getting paid to do this again?"
Rei scowled. "Minako"
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You'll do great. Break a leg, okay?"
"I certainly hope not!" Rei hissed back. She could hear giggling on the other end.
"Oh, Rei-chan, it's just an expression. For good luck. Because it's bad luck if I say 'good luck'."
Rei sighed. "You just said it, Minako-chan."
"Oh."
Rei rolled her eyes, even though her friend couldn't see it. "Just pay attention to my notes, okay? We've got five minutes to curtain. I'll speak to you again then to give you the cue." With that last statement, Rei switched the headset off and removed it, carefully fluffing her hair out again. Then she took a deep breath and willed herself to be calm. Everything's going to be all right. Nothing to worry about. Still, she couldn't help sneaking a peek around the backstage area, looking for any sign of a jaki. Please, not this time. Please just leave me alone tonight.
Precisely five minutes later, Rei picked up the headset again, but did not put it on. Instead, she just flipped the switch and spoke into the little microphone. "Okay, everybody," she whispered. "It's showtime." Putting the headset down and taking another deep breath, Rei strode out onto the darkened stage behind the curtain.
She closed her eyes and counted slowly to five. Perfectly on cue, the heavy red velvet curtain lit up as the spotlight was turned on, and Rei could hear the audience quieting as they settled down to watch the show. The curtains slid open then, to an energetic musical fanfare, and Rei put on her brightest smile. Time to shine. She stepped forward to the microphone.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to Brookdale School's twenty-first annual Autumn Festival." The audience clapped and whistled, and above the rest Rei could hear Makoto's voice cheering her on. She had to grin at this, and she looked down at the front row to see Usagi, Ami, Makoto and Chibiusa all waving and smiling at her. Feeling encouraged, Rei continued. "We hope you'll enjoy the talents presented here tonight. I'd like to thank all the students, who worked so hard to make this Festival a success. And a very special thanks goes out to Gisieno Shinzui, who unfortunately could not be here with us tonight. Without her help I don't think any of us would be here." Again the audience cheered and applauded. Rei smiled again, sweetly. "So without further ado, I present to you the students of Brookdale Private School. Let the show begin!"
Right on cue, the lights blacked out so that Rei could escape offstage. The band in the orchestra pit then struck up the chords of the first song, and the six dancing girls, with feathers firmly sewed to their headbands this time, pranced out onto the stage to begin their routine.
Rei began to relax more and more as the night progressed. So far, everything had been working perfectly. The light and curtain cues couldn't be more precise, none of the dancers missed a single step, the saxophone player had managed to fix the timbre of his instrument so it wasn't sharp, and even Umino, who had insisted on participating in the Festival (even though he didn't attend Brookdale-he had somehow managed to sweet-talk the headmistress into allowing him to join the talent show) with a dramatic science demonstration, was able to pull off his entire act without a single unwarranted explosion or random fire. Rei had already gone through three of her solos and the two group numbers she was in. Now all that remained was the grand finale.
"I have to hand it to you, Minako-chan," Rei whispered into the headset as Umino came off the stage, his jacket still emanating blue and purple smoke. She coughed a little as the pungent smoke passed by her, and waved her hand in front of her face to clear the air. "You guys have done a perfect job tonight."
"See? Like I told you. Nothing to worry about." Minako giggled over the microphone. "You're doing great, everyone loves it, and there's not a jaki in sight."
Just then, there was a bloodcurdling scream from the back of the auditorium. Minako's voice crackled through the microphone. "Uh Rei? You're not going to believe this, but"
"Let me guess," Rei groaned. "Speak of the devil?"
"Uh-huh. You'd better transform right away. Usagi and the others are already heading out the back."
Rei dropped the microphone. "It's just not fair!" she complained to no one in particular. "Why does this always happen to me? That stupid evil spirit's going to pay for ruining my show!" She pulled out her transformation pen. "Mars Star Power, Makeup!" The red fires swirled around her, embracing her with that delicious, familiar power that Rei relished. After a few moments, Sailor Mars was ready to go kick a little jaki butt.
Sailor Mars leapt out onto the stage and siezed the microphone. "Stop right there!" she bellowed at the glistening black monster. Suddenly it seemed like everyone in the auditorium had frozen. Mars could feel two hundred pairs of eyes watching her with interest. They all think this is part of the show! She realized with a start. Then a smile curved her lips. Well, we did promise a big finale. I guess it's up to the Sailor Scouts to give them one. Raising her arms dramatically, Sailor Mars cried out, "I am the agent of love and fire, a pretty Sailor Soldier, Sailor Mars. You are a thing of evil, and evil will not be tolerated so long as the Sailor Senshi are here to protect the world."
"Sailor Mars! What on earth are you doing?" Sailor Venus had come up right behind her on the stage, followed closely by Sailor Moon and the others. Mars spoke softly out of the side of her mouth so the audience couldn't hear her.
"Everybody thinks this is part of the Festival," she whispered to her friends. "So let's give them an encore to remember!"
Sailor Venus caught on first, and grinned. Striking a melodramatically defensive position, she yelled, "I am the agent of love and beauty, a pretty Sailor Soldier, Sailor Venus. I will fight to defend the people of my world from evil creatures that wish them harm."
"I am the agent of love and lightning," Sailor Jupiter jumped in, "a pretty Sailor Soldier, Sailor Jupiter. My powers are dedicated to the preservation of goodness, and you, ugly, are on your way out!" Jupiter raised her fist so that the power rod from her tiara crackled demonstratively.
Sailor Mercury stepped forward. "I am the agent of love and air, a pretty Sailor Soldier, Sailor Mercury. In the name of Mercury, I will not forgive you, evil spirit, for disturbing the peace of our world."
Then it was Sailor Moon and Sailor ChibiMoon's turn. Jostling each other for a position in the front, the two of them lifted their hands.
"We are the agents of love and justice" Sailor Moon began.
" pretty Sailor Soldiers" ChibiMoon broke in.
"Sailor Moon!"
"Sailor ChibiMoon!"
"In the name of the moon, we will punish you!" the two girls finished, pointing their fingers at the astonished jaki, who had not even had the time to drain a single human from the audience before the Scouts had arrived.
The evil spirit's three catlike ears flicked back and forth. It opened its mouth and hissed at the Sailor Senshi, but instead of sending out the usual bolts of black energy, the creature's body began to morph into some odd shapes, lengthening and slenderizing, and taking on a decidedly lavender shade. A moment later, Lord Narcissus was standing there in the aisle, staring up at the Sailor Team on the stage. Sailor Mars heard astonished gasps from the audience, and the voice of one woman in the front who remarked on how wonderful the special effects were ("Oh, did you see? That ugly costume just changed into a pirate.")
Lord Narcissus laughed, and the chilling sound filled the auditorium. "We meet again, Sailor Brats. But this time you're not going to drive me away."
"Don't be so sure about that!" Sailor Mars interrupted furiously. "Burning Mandala!" Her circle of fiery spheres formed, then shot straight at the violet-clad admiral. The sudden attack caught him off guard, and he was knocked to the ground. Before he had the chance to recover, both Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mercury had blasted him with their attacks as well, so that the unfortunate Lord Narcissus was now covered in singed clothing, crackling with electrical energy, and dripping wet all at the same time. He certainly didn't seem too pleased about it.
"Sailor Scum!" he hollered in rage, his pale face turning a very interesting shade of pink. "I'll destroy you all!" A lavender-colored ball of negatively charged lightning began to form in his hands.
"Venus Lovely Chain!" The chain of magic golden hearts knocked the powered up attack from Lord Narcissus' fingers, causing it to evaporate harmlessly in the aisle. Several of the audience members clapped and whistled, evoking a glare from the violet Negaverse admiral.
As Lord Narcissus prepared to make another pretty speech, Sailor Mars pulled out one of her ofuda, her evil banishment scrolls, and held it up. "Haven't used this attack in a year," she called to the admiral, "but it seems appropriate." Holding the ofuda to her face, she concentrated for a moment, then threw the strip of paper with Japanese symbols straight at Lord Narcissus. Interlocking her fingers and keeping her index fingers extended, Sailor Mars raised her hands to the sky. "Fire Soul Bird!" she exclaimed, and then let one of her fireballs fly right after the ofuda. The fire engulfed the sacred paper, and took the form of a giant phoenix which swooped down towards the lavender Lord.
For a moment, no one could see anything as the villain was surrounded by the flames of the firebird. But when the attack had dissipated, it was easy to see that Lord Narcissus was not feeling half so cocky. Clutching one arm, which seemed to be badly burned, he glared at the Sailor Soldiers. "You haven't won, girls. I'm coming back. The Negaverse will prevail!" With that, the Avatar's admiral shimmered out of focus, returning ownership of the jaki's body back to the creature. The audience began to cheer, but it was not over yet.
"Runs away quick, doesn't he?" Sailor Jupiter commented dryly.
"Sailor Moon! I think the grand finale should now be finalized," Sailor Mars stated.
Raising her Spiral Heart Moon Rod, Sailor Moon grinned. "You got it, Mars. Moon Healing Escalation!" She spun around in a circle, activating the power of her Rod, and send the cleansing, purifying beam straight at the evil monster.
Howling its displeasure, the jaki's oily body melted away into a puddle of shiny black goo that was absorbed into the floor. The audience roared with delight and rose to its feet, whistling and cheering. The applause was so deafening that the Senshi wanted to cover their ears, but they did their best to smile, and wave, and bow, and blow kisses, as they walked off the stage.
The first person they met offstage was
"Sailor Orion!" Sailor Moon's eyes widened in surprise. "You're here!"
"Of course, Princess Serenity." Sailor Orion's voice tinkled. "I told you I would always be looking out for you but it doesn't seem like you really needed me this time." She smiled, her silvery dove-colored eyes glinting, and turned to the dark haired Sailor Scout.
"Sailor Mars. Well done."
This quiet praise somehow meant more to Mars than all the applause in the world, and she wasn't quite sure what to say. "Oh, I thank you."
Sailor Orion smiled. "I know the passion in your heart is to be a star, Sailor Mars. And that is a worthy dream. But you must always remember that it is your passion that will make you a star. If you want people to love your music, you must make music they can love. You must make music from your soul, music of fire and light." She inclined her head at Mars' startled expression. "Don't be so surprised, Mars. I've known you longer than you can even remember." She turned to the other Soldiers. "And that goes for the rest of you, too. Each of you has big dreams, you always have. Just don't let the dream stifle the passion behind it." The peach and black clad senshi raised her arm. "Until next time, Princess." She pressed the peach stone on her bracelet, and vanished.
"Psst. Guys. We'd better detransform right now, before the rest of the performers get back here where they can see us." This remark was made by the ever-conciencious Ami. The other Scouts nodded and all six powered down at once, and not a minute too soon.
"Rei-san! Rei-san! Did you see? The Sailor Scouts!" Akiyama ran up to her, breathless.
Rei struck a casual tone. "Oh, yeah. They're friends of mine. I asked them to come give a little surprise demonstration for the Festival, and they were kind enough to agree."
"It was a surprise, all right! That's the coolest thing I've ever seen! Everybody here is going to be talking about this Autumn Festival for a long time." Then he gave Rei a little shove towards the stage. "Come on," he urged. "We still have our big final number to do."
Rei turned back uncertainly. "After what just happened in there? We can't follow the Sailor Scouts! It will be a let down to end the show that way now."
"Don't be silly, Rei-san. Your song can top anybody else's performance."
Rei spun around to look at him, her deep indigo eyes searching his face. "Do you really think so, Akiyama?"
"Of course. Now go!"
Rei turned to her friends, who all flashed her encouraging smiles. Taking a deep breath, Rei took to the stage once more.
"Ladies and gentlemen. I'm so glad you all could make it tonight, and that you've enjoyed our program." This was met by another loud roar of applause. "We're going to end our show tonight with a final number that I wrote for some of my dearest friends in the world." Rei cast a glance offstage where those same friends were standing in the wings. Makoto winked at her, and Rei smiled, then turned back to the audience. "It's called 'Angel Eyes'."
As the first chords of the song began, the tall young woman at the back of the auditorium looked down at the golden retriever at her side. "What did I tell you?" she said softly with a hint of a smile. "Passion. The girl has passion."
Centauri nodded in agreement. "You were right, Shinzui-san. I'm glad the concert over at the Banpuku center ended in time for us to get here for the last song."
Shinzui nodded. She could tell by the stillness and quiet in the auditorium that the audience was completely entranced by the raven-haired singer on stage, and she smiled again. "So am I, Centauri." She closed her eyes and let her body sway to the joyous music. "So am I."


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