THEME SONG: Oh Starry Night – Raye – [The Sailor Moon TV soundtrack]


"Someone wake them up," frowned Jesse through gulps of luke-warm porridge.

"It's no wonder they're bloody tired," yawned Trish, "I am as well! Erin tossed and turned all night long."

"What happened with their tent anyway?" Michelle asked curiously.

"Ugh, you don't wanna know!" answered Trish, her gaze wandering over to Tracey, who was sitting across from an exceptionally cheerful Richie, gazing into his lumpy porridge, as if he were waiting for it to magically turn to water and reflect the future or something. What made Trish feel most uneasy though, was the fact that he looked terrible.

Like he hadn't slept.

Like he had been having bad dreams.

Trish involuntarily gasped, and dropped her spoon into her bowl, splashing Mia with little dots of sloppy oats. Tracey looked up, startled, and his dark green eyes met with Trish's equally dark ones. He looked edgy; Trish's eyes narrowed.

"Well I'm glad that none of us had one of those dreams last night…" she said, airily, still watch Tracey closely. He flinched slightly.

"Yeah, me too!" piped Richie, happily, from where he was in the midst of what appeared to be a 'delightful' conversation about favoured flowers with a practically beaming Rachel.

"I'm gonna go wake Karlie and Erin up," he mumbled, climbing to his feet, and heading off towards the yellow and red tent, grinning half-heartedly at Gary and James, who were erecting the blue and orange tent once more – so they could find the cord that packed it all up again.

"Mia…" murmured Trish, and looked up when she received no response from the younger girl. "Mia? Are you staring at Gary? MARIA!?"

"Wa? Oh, sorry Trish," Mia grinned. "He's a prat… but he has his top off after all!" Trish rolled her eyes.

All conversations around the morning campfire ceased as Erin staggered out of the tent – holding upon her head hair that looked like it weighed more than her body.

"WAAA IT'S A WALKING HAIRBALL!" sniggered Ash, ignoring the tired death-glare sent his way.

"Yeah, I should have warned you…" smiled Michelle, as she rummaged around in her pink backpack for a hairbrush. "Erin's hair expands during the night."

Tracey re-appeared then, with Karlie hanging off his arm, rabbiting on about his sketches. Tracey was smiling at her in a slightly bemused, but fond way, and Trish put away her theory – for now.

~*~

This time, there will be no mistakes.

What are the ingredients for the Perfect Murder?

Miasmic mist, a starry sky, a loved one –

And a cliff.

Oh yes, he was as good as dead.

~*~

"Well, that was a bloody uneventful day," scorned Gary, as he crossed his arms and leaned back.

"We should consider ourselves lucky after yesterday," Mia growled in answer, moving to the left so Gary fell on the ground. "And DON'T lean on me."

"G-guys?" stammered Tracey, poking at the fire with a stick and looking around at all the sleepy, orange-tinted faces. "Do you think it's such a good idea that we camp near a cliff?"

"It's far enough away Trace," comforted Brock, curiously. "And besides, the cliff stretches on for miles – if we wanted to get away from it, we'd be going back on ourselves."

"Yeah – don't worry, cos tomorrow we'll be in Vermillion" murmured Misty, stroking the dozing Pikachu gently.

"Hey, where's Rach?" asked Michelle, suddenly, sitting up on her elbows slightly.

"She went off to draw something," answered Erin, trying to sound airy, but failing miserably as worry seeped from each and every word.

"Okay ladies, tents are up," sounded Brock, entering the circle dusting off his hands in a manly fashion.

"Good," murmured Karlie, staggering slightly to her feet. "I'm gonna crash – I don't feel so good… night everyone! Rin, don't make too much noise when you go to bed please." Erin nodded, and everyone warily bid goodnight to Karlie as she walked slowly to the cyan and amber tent, touching her throbbing temple slightly, and slipping off her glasses.

Maybe I'm being paranoid, thought Trish, but we're not exactly in a position to NOT be worried…

Mia looked around slowly, and wiped her hands on her thighs decisively as she stood up.

"I'm gonna go into the tent too Sarah," she told her 'room-mate', clutching the dark green jotter pad and fountain pen. "I feel... somewhat inspired," she grinned.

And with half the gang in tents, and the other half lounging lazily around the warm and cheerful fire; and with the only two people who would have really noticed his absence – Rachel and Karlie – gone as well… Richie resolutely slipped away. Of his own accord.

~*~

You've got to learn not to be so bashful, Richie scolded himself sternly, as he watched Rachel. From a bush. At a safe distance of oh, say, 15 metres. I mean, you're a boy, and she's a girl…

Well, she's not JUST a girl – she's the nicest and most beautiful girl you've EVER met in your ENTIRE life.

No pressure.

~*~

Tracey sat, staring at the fire, worriedly. He'd just noticed that Richie was gone.

What did he think he was playing at? Richie KNEW they were near a cliff; he KNEW the weird situation they were in – and he KNEW that he had had a dream about falling last night…

Tracey scowled as he prodded a semi-black, semi-orange piece of kindle. Richie had begged – made him PROMISE not to tell anyone that he had been the one to have a foreseeing dream.

He didn't want to make Rachel, Karlie or anyone else worry.

I can take care of myself, Richie had laughed. It was probably nothing anyway – a run-of-the-mill dream. I don't want everyone obsessed with protecting me, because that will produce the perfect opportunity to attack one of the girls, won't it?

…will it?

~*~

"It's a- it's a- it's a –" stammered Richie, holding the small pinkish flower straight outwards like some kind of army salute. Rachel smiled, and gently placed the greyish white jotter set she had been doodling in on a nearby rock.

"It's a water-lily," she filled in, delicately smelling it.

"Yeah – you said you liked lilies… and I couldn't find an actual lily… and there's a little pond over there so…"

Shut up shut up you're blabbering! Richie's mind reprimanded in horror. Rachel smiled sweetly. God… is it just me or are all her movements suddenly – somehow – more… alluring?

I hope these 'alluring motions' Trish taught me are working, Rach thought at the same time.

"Thank you Richie, that was very sweet," she twittered, as she sat cross-legged on the soft grass, and patted next to her as an invitation for him to sit with her. He did.

~*~

Erin held up a small riceball in her hand, and sighed.

"Okay Brock, one more time. What. Is. This?"

"It's a jelly-filled donut," came his assured response. Erin's fingers tightened on the food item.

"No. No. NO. Mochi. YOU COOKED IT!"

"I'm sorry! This is strange and unusual!"

"Okay, one more time: what is this?

"Donut."

"ARG!" Losing patience rapidly, Erin shoved the riceball into the nearby gaping mouth of James, stopping his incessant snoring. James spluttered and sat up, abruptly.

"Oooooo donut!" he squealed, tucking in, regardless to Erin's protesting screams of annoyance.

~*~

Richard Hiroshi Dervan, read the words on the coppery piece of paper.

You're dead, read the callous smile on Author's lips.

~*~

"Aw you lot are boring," complained Gary, as he stood up and began to make his way over to where he shared a tent with Todd. He ran his fingers through his russet spikes, and managed to trip over Sarah, who was lazily lounging against the tree watching a Rock-Paper-Scissors tournament between Jesse and Trish.

Yelping, he dived head first through the flap of the nearest tent.

The green and purple tent.

Everyone's eyes immediately widened through the following silence. A silence that was followed with a gulping intake of breath, and Gary staggering out, clutching at his stomach. Mia appeared at the flap, wearing her teeshirt and a pair of boxer-shorts. Everyone turned to her for explanation.

"He er, tried to kiss me," she shrugged.

"I did not! I just landed on you!" Gary squeaked, blushing furiously. "Talk about illusions of grandeur! Ha! And those are MY boxers! Give them back!"

"What NOW?" Mia asked, incredulously.

"Yes now!"

"No now!" cried Trish in horror, jumping up to take the seemingly absent mother-role. "Mia, don't take off your underwear! Gary! For lack of a better phrase – GO TO BED!"

"In YOUR tent!" Erin called after him.

"And the rest of you! No kissing!" Trish scolded. "Unless it involves me and Drake or Danny," she grinned. "Or both…"

"And men!" Mia stuck a dramatic pose as she was about to re-enter her tent. "Watch your underwear!" she teased.

~*~

"So," smiled Rachel, desperate to strike up a conversation as the two of them sat on the grass in a small clearing, near to the main campsite.

"So," Richie repeated, smiling back at her, but completely unable to think of anything decent to say. Rachel sighed as she hoisted herself to her feet, and began brushing blades of grass off the back of her calves.

And standing above Richie in a short grey skirt, gave him the opportunity for the perfect peek…

Richie shot to his feet like he'd been electrocuted, and Rachel looked at him in puzzlement, and he sweatdropped.

Okay, you really like this girl, tell her, came that annoying voice again. What's the worse that could happen?

She could HEAR me.

Rachel's really… really nice though, and if she doesn't feel the… same way, she'll understand…

But I WANT her to feel the same way. That's the problem.

And tapping into a courage inside he either never knew he had, or normally had reserved for Elite Pokémon battles and future marriage proposals, Richie grabbed Rachel's arm.

Rachel's breath caught in her throat – this was it! She could tell by his face! He was going to take her in his arms, and tell her that he was truly, madly and deeply in love with her!

Richie smiled sheepishly, and leant gently forwards…

Or… just kiss me, Rachel thought, as his lips brushed gently across hers. Subconsciously rolling her eyes, Rachel reached her arms behind his head and pushed him closer, until the kiss told her very plainly, everything that she wanted to know.

When they pulled apart, Richie looked as if he were about to erupt – his face fed due to both lack of oxygen and embarrassment. Rachel wrinkled her nose in a cute smile, as she waited for him to either kiss her again or to faint.

"Okay, Rach, er, el, I've gotta get back to camp now!" Richie rambled, horrified at what he'd just done. Rachel smiled, taking it as a compliment that she 'messed with his head' so. Richie untangled his arms from her waist, and handed her back the water-lily that had fallen discarded to the floor during the kiss. "See you later," he smiled, as he set off at a very fast pace into the trees.

Rachel smiled secretly to herself, as she lightly stroked the petals. But her fingers came to a horror-struck halt, as she realised something.

"Richie!" she called into nothing but the starry sky. "Camp's the other way! You're running towards the-"

~*~

Richie's feet slapped against the mud, as he sometimes made half hearted jumps over pieces of rotting trees during his frantic flight through the forest.

Stupid. Idiot. Baka, he thought. WHY did you leave?

Go back and kiss her again you fool – that was the best moment of your life!

Richie clenched his eyes shut as if he wanted to get rid of the voices, that were part of this giant testosterone headache pounding in his head and every vein.

Slap, slap, slap, went his feet. And then there was silence.

~*~

A scream of anguish, and the entire campsite jumped up, immediately alerted. An amber beam of light seemingly came ripping through the top of Karlie and Erin's tent, as it became apparent that Karlie was screaming with pain.

In a split second, everyone piled in or outside the tiny tent. Karlie was lying on her bed with her back severely arched – she shone all over with a warm orange glow, and an ever-thickening beam of light was shooting from her pendant.

"Karlie! Karlie what is it?" Erin called frantically, latching on to her friend's seized up arm.

"R-richie, Karlie managed to labour, through gasps of the body-wrenching agony that was coursing through her.

Her punishment for not protecting.

~*~

It took them two minutes to find Rachel.

She was kneeling in the middle of a picturesque forest clearing, sobbing into her arms that she had folded across her chest. A discarded pink-tinted water-lily blossom lay just a few inches away from her.

But she was all alone, save for the romantically starry night's sky, and the wind that seemed to be laughing victoriously, as it ruffled the pages of her jotter pad.

And it took them two hours to find Richie's body.