"This can't be happening!" shouted Tessia, as she fell to the ground. Her friends were in a heap nearby. They lay still until the earth stopped shaking. Just as Anemone started to climb to her feet, a great rumble shook the earth again; this time causing the street to split open. Nem fell back once again.

"Don't move yet!" Cried Kari. "It's not over!" The shaking got more ferocious, and the girls screamed as the tree next to them split and fell, landing just inches from Ariana's head. Ren looked up and saw the powerlines whipping viciously. Any second, they would snap and the girls would be electrocuted. What could they do? Kariana had an idea. She managed to shout over the noise of destruction:

"TRANSFORM!" And they did.

"Why?! What can we do?!" Tess shouted, just as the powerlines finally gave up their fight to remain connected to the pole. The thickest one swooped down and was about to hit a frozen-with-fear Anemone but it just stopped, suspended in mid-air thanks to Ren yelling "GRAVITY REPEL ATTACK!" at the offending cable.

"Tess! Use your powers! Stop the quake!" Kari shouted. By now, they had figured out that Tess could control nature if she tried hard enough. She was doubtful on this occasion.

Tess climbed to her feet, swaying slightly, but miraculously remaining standing amid the chaos. She concentrated very hard and lifted her hands above her head. A ball of green energy formed, glowing brightly as she continued to focus her power. Then, she yelled "NATURE CALMING POWER!" and the light expanded over the entire sky, and then, with a noise louder than any thunderclap, seemed to explode. As it did so, everything stopped shaking. The girls gaped at each other.

"Wow. That was really cool, Tess," said Anemone. The others agreed, after they had transformed back. A man ran up to them.

"Are you all right? Was anyone hurt? Do you need to go to a hospital?" He asked, as he ushered them away from the rubble and fallen lines. The girls looked at each other and burst into giggles. Concerned, the man began forcing them towards the nearest ambulances, but Anemone interrupted that they were fine. Giving them a strange look, he hurried off to 'help' someone else.

"That was one hell of an earthquake! There hasn't been one of that caliber for I don't know how many years!" exclaimed Anemone. "We're lucky we're alive." The others agreed.

"We've gotten more use of our powers in the past two days than in the whole time we've known we had them!" griped Ariana. Kerensa found that funny, for some reason, and could hardly surpress her laughter. She literally fell onto her knees in a fit of hysterics. Gasping for breath, she finally managed to contain herself, as her friends looked at her in a mixture of fascination and agitation. Climbing to her feet, Ren apologized and the group continued walking. Apparently, they had been standing over the origin of the quake and the location was most badly hit.

The building they had just come out of was now a pile of rubble, but luckily everyone had managed to get out at the first signs of an earthquake. The people of Tokyo were used to this kind of thing. The four Americans were not, and the five girls had been very lucky indeed. No one had a reasonable explanation for what stopped the earthquake so suddenly, or why Anemone hadn't been hit with the cable. Apparently, someone had seen them snap, but hadn't seen any of the Sailor activity.

The girls headed home, anxious with worry over Ryo, Akira and their respective parents. Fortunately, no one had been harmed, and the parents had been franctic trying to find the five girls. When they appeared, Mrs. Takeshi hugged Kariana; her husband hugged the twin. Mrs. Marcellin grabbed her daughter and her husband hugged Tess. Akira held Ren tightly. Paul and Ryo, feeling left out, hugged each girl in turn, except for Ren, because Akira still hadn't let her go.

"We were so worried! The news report said the library was located right over the focus of the quake, and we knew you were all studying there. How did you get out? Are you sure you're all right?" Mrs. Takeshi asked. The girls nodded and explained they had just left the library and were in the street. At this, the parents faced became more harried looking.

"You were in the STREET? With the building crumbling and the trees and the, oh God, the powerlines!" The girls were afraid Mrs. Marcellin would faint. They didn't feel it imperative to tell the woman the powerlines had indeed fallen.

Once everyone had calmed down, the teens went upstairs to the computer/TV room to hang out. The girls told the guys everything that happened. Anemone remembered to thank Kerensa for saving her life. Ren just blushed in reply.

"Always modest, right?" Teased Akira, kissing her on the cheek.

"I wonder what caused the earthquake. Like Nem said, there hasn't been one this strong since, well, I don't know! It seems strange that there should be one suddenly like that, so strong," Kari said thoughtfully.

"Right over where we were, too. Coincidence?" Ariana threw in, darkly. Tess' eyes grew wide at this.

"You don't think that had anything to do with it, did you? Where's Eclipse and Hoshi?!" The cats, having been on their way in, made their entrance into the room a little faster.

"Hoshi! Eclipse! That earthquake today, did it have anything to do with, well, us?" Anemone was quite frank. The cats blinked.

"No? We don't believe so. Why would you think that?" Asked Hoshi.

"Oh, I dunno. Just some coincidences. Ya know, no really bad quakes for a while, all of a sudden, there's one, right where we are... Just thought maybe one of the baddies could control nature like our friend Tess here," Kari said, good-naturedly.

"Oh. Well, that is a bit of a coincidence. Like Hoshi said, we don't think so," said Eclipse. The girls sighed in relief. Diana looked at Eclipse, but nothing seemed out of place at all.

"There is one thing, though," Diana started. The girls looked up sharply, as did the boys. "The, er, other scouts... They aren't stupid. They're going to realize that earthquake didn't just... stop. I think maybe you guys should, well, meet." Hoshi and Eclipse were nodding, although even Diana didn't seem convinced this was an entirely good idea. The girls pondered.

"Well, it doesn't seem like you are all endorsing this as much as you'd like. If the scouts are going to figure it out, why not just let them? Then we can all talk or whatever," suggested Ren. It was the cats' turn to sigh in relief. Hoshi then coughed.

"Erm, good idea, yes," he said. So that was settled. Secretly, everyone wondered just how long of a wait it would be. Apparently, not that long.

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A/N: Sorry it took so long to write, I had something but decided not to use it till a later chapter... Possibly the next one, or the one after that. =) Also, I've been bogged down with schoolwork, but hey, here it is, chapter ten! I know it's a bit short, but what do you want for a half hour or so worth of writing? Now if you'll all excuse me, I have to go work on the never-ending pile of English III homework. *cough begs for sympathy and reviews cough*