As you should all know by know, I do not own Sailor Moon, Naoko Takeuchi does. I, of course, own the Caretakers, Prince Neptune, and the Knowledge Ruby. I want to thank Stef and Mercury Hime for letting me use them as a sounding board for my ideas and for giving me a few of their own. I want to thank Sadie (PriestessMars) for giving me the inspiration to write. Enjoy the fic!
Episode 5:
The Caretakers Feel The Pressure
As Jeff sat on the couch in Ami's living room, he stared out the window at the myriad of stars and wondered about what had brought him here. Not here on Ami's couch, here, but here in the existentialistic sense. In a universe of infinite choices, he had ended up here. Normally, this line of thought would really make someone feel small or insignificant because it would remind them of what might have been. Not this time. This time, Jeff looked away from the window to see Ami come from her bathroom where she had been finishing her make-up. This beautiful sight just reminded him of what he had and he thought that he had made the best choices possible.
"What are you grinning at? Is my make-up smudged?"
"No, it's perfect. I'm just thinking about how lucky I am to be here with you." Usually, Ami thought, guys only said things like this to compliment their dates for one reason or another, but this time Jeff was telling the truth, but she didn't know that. With a small smile that hid her disbelief on her face, she went to leave.
"Come on, we're going to be late."
Snapped from his train of thought, Jeff jumped up from the couch. "Right, we don't want to be later than Usagi. Let's go."
* * * * * * * * * * *
John didn't know how he got talked into this, but he was now going to go on a triple date consisting of Makoto and himself, Jeff and Ami, and Mamoru and Usagi. It seemed like such an odd thing to do. If he was going to be on a date with Makoto, he'd rather be alone with her. Still, they were going to a real nice restaurant. It was the kind you had to dress nice for. He looked over to the passenger side. Makoto was sitting there in an exquisite dress. He loved the way it emphasized her gorgeous figure.
"Uh, John."
"Yes, Makoto?"
"Shouldn't you be watching the road?"
John brought his attention back to the road just in time to swerve back into his lane an miss and oncoming car.
'I don't care how good she looks,' he thought, 'It'll do us no good if I get us killed.' He focused on the road until they got to the restaurant where they saw that Mamoru and Usagi had already arrived. They were sitting and nursing drinks until everyone arrived. At least, it seemed that way. John would have wagered his last dollar that Usagi had already had five or six sodas by now. Usagi got up to greet the new arrivals.
As they sat down and said hello, they saw Ami and Jeff walk through the door. As they heard Ami say "I won," to Jeff.
"What did you win, Ami?" asked Usagi.
"I had bet Jeff that we would be later than you guys because I took so long putting on my make-up."
"What did you win?" asked John.
"I have to do her a favor." grumbled Jeff. He didn't like losing.
"What's the favor."
"I don't know yet," said Ami, grinning, "but I'm sure I'll think of something."
"Hey," John nudged Jeff with his elbow, "It might even be one of those favors you like giving." John could be such a pervert, sometimes.
"I don't think so, John," replied Jeff, keeping his voice low, "I don't think she'd be the kind to be into that kind of thing. She's too proper."
"Aww, Jeff isn't getting any 'special attention' from his girlfriend?" Maybe John is a pervert all of the time. Neither Jeff or John knew this, but Ami could hear every word they said. Her first reaction was to yell at the both of them and stop that line of questioning. But she soon was getting ideas from the both of them. She realized that she could make Jeff do anything. Perhaps she'd give him a thrill later for being such a good sport.
At that moment, the waitress came to take their orders, and that little conversation had to end. Mamoru got a veal parmigania, Usagi got the chicken, but she kept stealing bits of food off of Mamoru's plate. Jeff was glad that Ami had enough sense to get what she could eat, but every time he looked down at his plate, he could swear that he didn't have as much as he did a moment ago. It was a shame. He really liked scallops and there just didn't ever seem to be enough on his plate. Makoto ordered more than the other two girls and she never had to steal from John's plate, which he was grateful for. He was very hungry. Makoto kept commenting on how good the food was, not as good as hers, of course, but good, nonetheless.
The topic of conversation drifted from this to that, briefly touching on John's life and what he did when he was younger. As much as John was on stage, he just couldn't stand attention from people sitting right next to him, so he quickly changed the subject to get away from that uncomfortable topic.
"So, uh, what are we celebrating tonight, anyway?"
Usagi and Mamoru looked at each other and smiled.
"We're celebrating our 1003rd anniversary," answered Usagi.
"And that would make it our 1002nd," added Jeff, motioning to Ami and himself and she nodded in agreement. It took John a moment, but remembered what they had told him about their past. He still thought that it was silly, being royalty from the Moon and other planetary bodies, but after seeing costumed heroes fighting monstrous attackers, he supposed anything was possible.
"Then why are we here?" John asked. He and Makoto weren't celebrating any anniversary.
"We like your company, John, and we wanted to get to know you better," said Ami. She stole another scallop off of Jeff's plate when he wasn't looking.
The conversation wandered around in that fashion until the meal came to an end. They all paid their respective parts of the bill, Mamoru's part was bigger than Jeff or John's due to the desserts Usagi ordered, and they left.
"I still say the tip should have been bigger," said Ami.
"I tipped her 10%," said John.
"I usually tip 15%," said Jeff.
"It doesn't matter. We can't go back in there and change it, so let's just leave," said Mamoru. He heard way to much bickering from Rei and Usagi when they were together. He wasn't going to let anyone else start any fights.
Walking to their cars, John suddenly stopped and looked a little embarrassed.
"Uh, I have to go the bathroom."
"Why didn't you go before you left?" Makoto berated him, "Hurry up!" John dashed off and the others decided to wait for him before they left.
"I love him, but sometimes..." said Makoto.
"I know how you feel," said Ami, "Jeff can be that way sometimes, too."
"Hey!" Jeff exclaimed. The group started laughing. Usagi was about to make some off-handed comment about Mamoru when the five of them were rudely interrupted.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Three street punks were walking across the parking lot towards them. They obviously thought that five people, three of which were female, all dressed up like some fancy, rich people must not only be easy targets, but have a lot of money as well.
Jeff, Mamoru, and Makoto positioned themselves between Usagi and Ami and the thugs. Each thug walked right up to an opponent and sized them up.
"Look at this one," the one in front of Makoto said, "She thinks she's tough!"
"This one don't look like too much," said the one in front of Jeff. Jeff grinned at that because this guy was going to be in for a surprise.
The other thug, whom appeared to be the leader, got right up in Mamoru's face. "Well, it looks like you go two choices, punk. Either you give us you're money, or we'll take it from you, only that wont be so pleasant for you." He laughed.
If looks could kill, Mamoru's would have destroyed the thieves where they stood. "You'll leave us alone. Now." His tone said he would have it no other way.
"You tell him Mamoru!" shouted Usagi.
"Shut up back there, girl!" shouted the leader of the thugs. He didn't notice the change in his opponent's eyes. It's really a shame because if he did, he would have run like a little girl from a big, nasty bully.
Mamoru gave him one more chance. "You will leave." The thugs didn't move. The one in front of Jeff grabbed the front of Jeff's shirt. Makoto's opponent pushed her shoulder. The leader reached back for a punch. That was all they did.
Like a flash, Makoto grabbed the thug's arm and threw him clear across the lot into another car. Don't worry. The car was undamaged. In the same amount of time, Jeff threw two quick punches to his opponent's stomach and then introduced his knee to the thug's head. Mamoru moved so fast that his fist seemed to appear on the leader's face. He didn't even put his arm down as the street punk slid off of it.
The three would-be thieves got up and ran. They had had enough for one night. Usagi was cheering her head off and Ami moved to Jeff, telling him that they might have pulled a gun or a knife, or something. He could have been killed! But as upset as she was with him for risking his life, she still seemed proud of him for risking it for her.
John came around the corner of the building just as the street punks were running past him. "What happened?" He had the most confused look on his face.
"Nothing much," said Jeff, "Just a little scuffle." Ami gave him a look that said she thought it could have turned into a trip to the hospital if he was any less careful, but he didn't notice.
"I'm sorry I missed it."
"It's not like you would have missed anything, sweetie," said Makoto, "We took care of them." John looked a little surprised, and then he remembered how strong his girlfriend was and that there were three thugs, so she would have had to take care of them. This must have shown on his face, because the other started laughing.
"Aww, my sweetie's ego is bruised," Makoto joked, "Don't worry, honey. I promise that I'll let you protect me sometimes."
John managed a somewhat amused grin and everyone said good bye and got in their respective cars and left.
* * * * * * * * * * *
High in orbit, the Caretakers watched the whole thing and discussed their next plan.
"Would you look at them!" exclaimed the Second Caretaker.
"They don't look like much. They're only commonplace thieves," said the Third.
"Not them, you idiot! The two guys, Mamoru and Jeff."
"Oh."
"They seem so confident and sure. I'd really like to take them down a notch."
"Why are you so vindictive?" interrupted the First. Not waiting for an answer, he continued, "I do appreciate the sentiment, though. Select two collectors and proceed with the mission."
The other two Caretakers were stupefied, "Two at once?" asked the Third at the same time that the Second said, "We don't have the resources!"
"Of course we don't have the resources!" yelled the First. He never let anything get to him this much, so something must be bothering him. "But, we must collect energy from these humans if we are to survive against our enemy." The other two silently agreed and got to work.
* * * * * * * * * * *
At the temple, Rei was sweeping, again. She was always sweeping. Just her and had to help Grandpa around the temple, so it's not like she could complain about it. She was doing all she could to help, and it even seemed Chad was doing more than he usually did, so all in all, it was a pretty good, if boring, day.
As she continued with her chores, she noticed that a rhythmic clack, clack, clack noise like someone whacking two stick together. She began to search for the source of the noise. Wandering towards the front of the temple, and the street, the sound grew fainter. 'It must be behind the temple,' thought Rei. As she went towards the back of the temple, the clack, clack, clack, noise became louder and it was joined by the sound of shuffling footsteps and grunts. She noticed a pair of shirts tossed on the ground, soaked with sweat.
Rei rounded the corner to find Jeff and Mamoru practicing with wooden weapons, Jeff with a quarterstaff, blunt, of course, and Mamoru with a wooden sword. Sweat glistened on their arms, chests, and foreheads. They looked like they had been practicing for a while. A look of frustration painted Jeff's face. He obviously wasn't having an easy time. Mamoru looked focused. He was concentrating solely on the mock duel in front of him. Jeff went on the offensive, the quarterstaff whirling about him almost too fast for the eye. Parrying with the wooden sword, Mamoru moved backward at a constant rate. Rei thought Jeff was going to win this fake little fight, but in the blink of an eye, Mamoru dropped to one knee, brought the sword slashing across Jeff's ankles. Jeff, having been a little bit off balance from thrusting with the staff, fell right over and landed rather roughly face down on the ground. Rei winced in sympathy. That had to hurt.
Mamoru helped Jeff up and Jeff brushed himself off. Jeff was scowling, as would be expected of one who just got a mouthful of dirt. As they walked over to get their shirts, they gave a start at seeing the Shinto priestess standing there.
"Oh, hi Rei," said Mamoru, "What are you doing here?"
"I live here," said the priestess.
"Right, I knew that."
"So," said Rei, "Do you guys always do this?"
Jeff grinned and answered, "Why? Do you like watching us?" His tone implied that she had another reason to watch than just admiring the martial arts display. She almost hit him with her broom. He saw the look in her eye and continued in a more mature tone, but the smile never left his face.
"Well, we always used to spar on the Moon and since we haven't done that in so long, we decided to give it a shot. He's still better than me." That last part came grudgingly.
"Oh, don't worry Jeff," said Mamoru, "You just fall for the same trick all the time. You'll catch on sooner or later."
Rei's jaw dropped. Jeff, who prides himself on being able to see a thing once and learn it, and who prides himself on learning from his mistakes, has fallen for the same trick EVERY TIME?!
As Rei was going to ask him how that was possible, a man came walking up to the three of them. He was tall, his face was shaped a little oddly, but he wasn't ugly, just different somehow. He had a big grin on his face and he walked right up to the to guys and started talking without even introducing himself.
"Wow! I've never seen anything like it! You guys were moving so fast I could barely keep up!" The stranger moved to shake both Mamoru's and Jeff's hands. Each time he did, Rei had this overwhelming sensation of something evil in the area. She reached into her robes for an ofuda to ward it off, but it was gone so quick, she never had a chance to use it. She looked up and noticed that the strange man was gone, too, and both Mamoru and Jeff had the most confused looks on their faces.
"Who was that?" asked Mamoru. Jeff could only shake his head in reply.
"My head feel stuffed full of wool. I must have hit the ground harder than I thought."
"Didn't you guys sense anything just then?" asked Rei. Mamoru said he didn't feel a thing. Jeff still looked like he was trying to remember something.
"Hey, Jeff," said Mamoru, trying to relieve his friends confusion, "Didn't you have a date with Ami?" Jeff's head snapped up with a startled look. With a cry of "I'm late!", he sped off down the steps in front of the shrine, into his car, and off to his apartment to get ready.
Rei and Mamoru exchanged worried glances.
"Maybe Usagi is rubbing off on him," said Rei.
"God forbid!" exclaimed Mamoru, "I don't think we can handle two people like that!" Rei laughed and said good bye to her friend. As she went back to sweeping, again, she forgot all about the brief feeling of evil and lost herself in the rhythmic motions of the broom.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Walking down the street, Usagi was arm-in-arm with her beloved. Looking up at him, she saw Mamoru gaze down at her with a warm and loving smile. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world.
Laden with numerous shopping bags, Mamoru wondered how he let himself get talked into this. Looking into Usagi's pure, blue eyes, he reminded himself it was because he loved her with every fiber of his being. He looked up and noticed a group of guys, only two or three, standing not too far away and they appeared to be leering at his girlfriend and making gestures in their general direction.
Full of fury, he set the bags down and marched over to the group of young men.
"Are you looking at her?" he demanded. The guys didn't know why he was so pissed. They were only looking, and briefly, at that. They, of course, took offense to Mamoru's tone of voice.
"So what if we were?" said one of the guys. He tried his best to seem bigger than Mamoru, but that really wasn't possible, due not only to Mamoru's size, but the fact that Mamoru was furious. Mamoru towered over the three.
"Um, Mamoru, darling? It's no big deal. They were only looking." Usagi tried her best to clam him down. She had no idea why he was flying off the handle like this. Hell, she always looked at other guys and he had never said anything.
Mamoru looked at her, the fire in his eyes was raging out of control, and he looked like he was ready to kill. Usagi was shocked to see him like this, but she kept her calm and gave him a level look.
"Mamoru, please."
Mamoru looked back to the guys, who had now backed quite a ways away due to the look in his eyes, and then looked back to Usagi.
"C'mon, let's go," he said. The fire had gone out of his eyes, but he was still as stiff as a board. Usagi didn't feel like clinging to him, anymore. He was too tense. Instead, she just walked beside him and wondered what was wrong. He was just staring straight ahead, not saying anything. The rest of their walk was finished in silence.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Sitting in the kitchen, Michiru was holding a cup of tea and staring at it as if it could held the secrets of the universe. Something was wrong, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.
"What's up, Michiru?" Haruka just walked into the room, looking for something chocolate. She had had one of those days and needed a boost. Michiru looked up from her cup.
"Hmm? Oh, nothing." She looked back into her tea.
"Something is wrong."
"The Sea is restless," said Michiru, "But I don't know why."
"Maybe it has something to do with Jeff. He's just lying on his bed, looking at the ceiling as if there were something he had to do written on it." Thinking that Haruka was on to something, she got up and went to her brother's room. The usual strewn clothing and random crumpled papers lay about the room and soft, low music was playing from the CD player on Jeff's shelf. The room was also in darkness. Jeff had apparently forgotten to turn on the light.
Jeff was just as Haruka said he was. He had a look of complete and total confusion on his face. It was as if he was trying to force thoughts to the front of his mind, but they just wouldn't come. Michiru moved to sit on the edge of his bed. He gave a start, sat up, and looked at her like she had just appeared there. He obviously hadn't noticed her come in.
"Um, can I help you?" he asked. The usual focus in his eyes was gone. The cool blue-gray looked less like a storm and more like a drizzle.
"I was just wondering how you were," said Michiru. Jeff flopped back down on the covers.
"I don't know. I can't seem to think of anything. I feel so confused."
"About what?"
"I wish I even knew what I was confused about!" he chuckled softly, "I wish someone else knew, because I'm lost." The Knowledge Ruby floated up from a wadded up shirt it had been resting on, floated over to Jeff, and started to blink like light was hitting it, but there wasn't enough light in the room to make that happen. Michiru knew the Ruby must be saying something to him.
"Oh, geez! That's right! I have to go meet the girls to talk about..." he trailed off. The Ruby flashed again. "Right! About our enemies! I knew that." Michiru's face was a mask of concern.
"I think Haruka and I had better go with you." Jeff only nodded in agreement. She got up to get her coat. He followed her like he would get lost in the apartment without her. 'This is serious,' she thought, 'I had better keep a close eye on him.'
* * * * * * * * * * *
This time, the Scouts decided that a walk in the park would be quite nice while discussing tactics, instead of sitting around the Temple. Besides, Rei had finished her chores and got Chad to finish the rest. She didn't want to spend a minute more at the Temple today, if she didn't have to. Usagi had convinced Mamoru that a walk in the park would be quite romantic, but he looked none too pleased about it, for some reason.
There was a gentle wind blowing through the trees and the sun was shining. All in all, a picturesque scene, but the Collector didn't like it. He sat in wait for the group of Scouts to get closer and for his two subjects to reach their peak. He'd much rather be on the ship among the technology and machinery, particularly the engines. The pulse of life in a serene park had nothing on the hum of power from powerful engines driving a starship across the galaxy. He heard the Scouts approach and turned his attention to them. His engines weren't going anywhere if there was no energy to propel them.
Walking among the trees, Rei should have had a sense of well-being. The pulse of life surrounding her seemed distant when compared to the overwhelming feeling of something evil nearby.
"What's wrong, Rei?" The little, pink-haired girl never missed as much as you thought she did. ChibiUsa was quite perceptive for a little girl.
"I guess it could be nothing," lied Rei. She didn't want to upset ChibiUsa, or anyone else for that matter.
"You're lying." Like I said, ChibiUsa was very perceptive. By this time, every one was listening. Rei knew she was trapped, so she told everyone of her feeling. Everyone tensed, except Mamoru.
"Be careful, Usagi," Rei warned, "There might be one of those collectors here."
"Oh, that's all you do is warn her." Everyone's head whipped around, even Jeff's, who still looked lost in a fog. "It's my job to protect her, not yours." Mamoru, of all people, was yelling at the Scouts. They couldn't believe their ears. Jeff gave his head a vigorous shake to clear it and stepped forward.
"Um, Mamoru," Jeff even seemed unsure of his friend's name, "what are you saying?"
"Back off, Royal Protector. You have no right to keep Usagi safe." There was a dangerous light in Mamoru's eyes. Jeff still seemed as lost as a rat in a maze and could only stare blankly at his old friend.
Seeing that Jeff wasn't getting anywhere, Usagi tried to talk to her boyfriend. She never should have convinced him that a walk in the park would be relaxing.
"Mamoru, Jeff has just as much right to act as my Protector as any of the Sailor Senshi do."
"The same goes for them!" Mamoru yelled. His eyes grew a little softer as he looked into her eyes. "Only I can be your Prince."
In the bushes, the collector watched a little screen on a little device made to monitor the two subjects. It beeped. It was time for him to act. The sooner this was done, the sooner he could get back to his engines.
He leapt from cover and landed in front of the Scouts. In the moment of confusion, he activated his little device and Jeff and Mamoru stood ramrod straight. The Scouts all backed away, because they knew of the explosion that would follow. 'I'm such an idiot!' thought Rei, 'I should have guessed that weird guy was a collector when he came to the Temple.'
The release of light and energy caused the Scouts to cover their eyes. When they were able to look back, they were greeted by the now predictable sight of doubles of Tuxedo Kamen and Prince Neptune. The doppelgangers stared at each other. Eventually, the two Prince Neptunes shrugged as if this was something they had to do, like a chore, and attacked each other with relentless fury. Neither one landed a blow. The metallic clang from the collision of the Tridents was evidence enough.
Each of the Tuxedo Kamens had moved away from the group of girls, neither one wanting to risk injuring Usagi. No one noticed them leave due to the show that Prince Neptune and his double were providing.
"Ready?" Tuxedo Kamen asked his counterpart. He indicated that he was. With an amazing amount of grace and skill, they flew through the space between them and met in the middle with a flurry of blows and they each parried the other's attacks with the same style and grace. Backing off from each other, they reached into the folds of their tuxedos and threw a barrage of roses, all of them colliding in mid-air.
Settling back at the approximate distance they started at. They regarded each other carefully.
"Good warm-up," said one.
"Yes, it was," said the other. Each of their tuxedos shimmered for a moment to be replaced with a set of armor and a sword. They each drew their sword and faced off. Circling around each other for a moment, they looked for an opening. When neither found one, they decided that an all out attack was best to weaken their opponent's defenses.
For all their similarities, and all of their skill, one of the Princes was getting more and more frustrated as the fight went on. The other, as if feeding of the other's frustration, was getting more and more calm and collected. The frustrated one started attacking more and more aggressively. The other just kept blocking and parrying, waiting for his chance.
All of a sudden, the calm one dropped to one knee, brought the sword around, and caught his opponent's ankle with it. The duplicate went down and Mamoru brought his sword up. A quick downward thrust and it was over. The double vanished without a trace and Prince Endymion reverted back to Tuxedo Kamen and went to see how Neptune was doing.
The Storm Prince was doing well, but it still seemed like the fight was even. Mamoru didn't get much of a chance to examine it more, because the collector, who was until then calmly keeping the Scouts occupied, flew into a rage that Mamoru had killed the double that he was supposed to take back to the Caretakers. Focusing his attack on the caped one, the collector didn't notice the Scouts getting ready for a massive blow.
From behind, the Scouts fired their assorted attacks, most of which hit. The collector was able to dodge a few of them, but he still took the brunt of their attack. In a weakened state, he was only able to crouch on the ground and cough. He had just enough left for one more attack...
But Usagi wouldn't have it. She lifted the Silver Crystal high above her head and the collector was vanquished by pure white light.
Prince Neptune's fight was finished shortly thereafter. During the fight, one of the Princes had a revelation. 'Hey, wait a minute!' he thought, 'He's composed of pure confusion. I wonder if...'
"Hey! What's that?!" He pointed wildly to nothing in particular. His double turned and looked. 'Holy shit!' he thought, 'I can't believe that worked!' Prince Neptune brought his Trident up, charged for the attack, and let the energy fly, destroying his double.
"Mamoru, Jeff, I want to apologize," said Rei, "I should have known that something was wrong with that guy when he entered the Temple." Before the got a chance to tell her that it wasn't her fault, Usagi interrupted and started one of the now famous fights between her and Rei.
"Yeah, Rei, I bet you were too busy looking at Chad to notice."
"Shut up, Meatball head! Chad had nothing to do with this!"
"Yeah, right..." The two just kept going on and on like this. The others could do nothing but laugh about it.
"Don't they ever stop?" asked Haruka.
"No, not really," said Ami, "It seems like the same argument. They just pick up where they left off."
Everyone decided that they should just leave Usagi and Rei to each other than wait through another tongue war. When the two of them noticed that everyone else had left, they stopped bickering, for now, and raced to catch up.
* * * * * * * * * * *
On their ship, the Caretakers watched this newest tragedy unfold before them.
"Another one wasted." sighed the Third Caretaker.
"This isn't good," said the Second, "The L'Tari will be here any day, now."
"I would thank you not to remind me." said the First. He was very irritated and under a lot of pressure. They needed energy now. If they didn't get out of this system soon, they were as good as dead.
