William's Story
The Guardsman Chronicles, Chapter Three
by Rick Federle
Mina buried her nose in the warmth in front of her face, half
awake. She felt the gentle shifting of weight in front of her as the
warmth moved closer to her, enfolding her. She snuggled up closer
against whoever it was and then as the realization sunk into her half
awake brain, her right eye shot open. She was snuggled up against
William, her arms around his neck and his arms around her waist.
Mina tried to stretch her legs to take some of the kinks out
of them, but they were tangled up with his, too. She opened her
other eye to try to look down, but ended up having to choose
whether or not to lift her head. She decided to leave her face where
it was for a moment and closed her eyes, giving a small sound of
contentment as he tightened his grip slightly on her.
There had been no bad dreams to plague her sleep last
night, no nightmare visions, no feeling of emptiness that seemed to
be her ever present companion. Mina decided that she'd stay right
here and luxuriate in the feeling as long as she could. She was
content, she decided, and more than that, for the first time she
could remember, she felt secure. There was no hesitancy, no
tentativeness about it, feelings that had plagued her relationships for
so long.
And more importantly, she was no longer alone. That
aching feeling was gone, that had been a part of her for so long.
The feeling that an important part of herself was missing. She'd
know it all along, and had done her best to push it to the side, but
after Galaxia, it had become almost unbearable. Now she felt
complete and whole, that hollow part of her had been filled now
that William was back in her life again.
"Mina!" An angry voice cut through her train of thought.
"Get up!" When she didn't immediately stir, the voice cracked out
again, even more angry. "MINA!"
Mina opened her eyes and turned her head toward the
speaker. "I'm awake." She disentangled herself from William
carefully so as not to disturb him. She rolled over and landed on
her feet. She stood up and looked at the speaker.
A very angry Artemis was glaring at her from just inside the
doorway. Luna and Serena stood rather hesitantly on the other
side, finding something very interesting on the floor under their
feet. "I knew if I left you two alone something would happen."
Artemis began.
"Nothing happened." Mina glared back. "He was
thrashing in his sleep and when I went to tuck him back in, he
stopped thrashing when I touched him. So, I thought if I laid on
the covers with him until he went back to sleep it would help."
"A likely story. You two were sleeping together."
"We were not." Mina shook her head slightly, her eyes
locked with Artemis'.
"Yes, you were." Artemis continued. "The instant my back
is turned you go off and do something like this."
"We weren't doing anything!"
"Well, I don't believe you!"
"I'm telling the truth!" Mina insisted.
"What's all the yelling about?" William's voice interrupted
as he sat up to look at them. "What's so important that you have to
interrupt the best sleep I've had in I don't remember how long?"
"You and Mina were in bed together." Artemis stated.
William blinked in surprise. "I have no idea what you're
talking about. The last time I saw her, she was on the couch."
"When I came in, the two of you were all cozy." Artemis
declared.
"Well, she wasn't here when I went to sleep or when I woke
up."
"You were all snuggled up together like you'd been doing
something. Mina says otherwise, but I don't believe her."
Artemis gave a gasp of pain as William's fingers tightened
around his ribcage. He'd been a blur as his feet hit the floor and as
he grabbed Artemis, lifting him up to eye level. "We weren't doing
anything." William repeated angrily. "If you hadn't been there for
her when I couldn't be, I'd throw you out of here right now. I will
not listen to anyone, even you accuse her of something like that."
He dropped the cat to the floor and stormed out of the room. Mina
looked worriedly at Artemis and walked out after William.
Artemis didn't notice. He was too busy coughing from the
sudden tension and expansion of his ribcage. "Now you've gone
and done it." Luna said after a moment. "You should know better
than to upset a Guardsman like that." Luna and Serena had looked
up at Artemis' gasp of pain.
"Just lay off, Luna." Artemis wheezed.
"I told you that you could trust them, but you didn't believe
me."
"Well, I guess I was wrong." Artemis admitted after a
moment, his breathing finally returning to normal.
"I guess you were." Luna agreed. "But I'm not the one you
need to be telling that to."
Artemis gave a heavy sigh, dropping his gaze to the floor.
"All right, Luna." Resolutely, he turned and walked out of the
bedroom with Luna and Serena following him.
They finally located the two in the kitchen. William was
leaning over the kitchen counter next to the sink, his shoulders still
squared slightly in anger. Mina stood a step away from him, her
hands clasped together in front of her at shoulder level, the worry
visible even to Serena in her eyes when she glanced over at them.
Artemis hesitantly drew to a stop at the entrance to the
kitchen with Luna and Serena standing behind him. "Mina.
William. I'm sorry." Artemis said quietly. Mina's head turned
slightly toward him, but William didn't give any visible reaction. "I
guess I saw something where nothing had happened."
"I'm very sensitive about Mina." William told him as he
turned to Mina and gathered her in his arms. Mina buried her face
in his chest, her hands pressed in his back as she put her arms
around him, as he went on. "She was the only thing I had left to
cling to the whole time I was imprisoned by the Negaverse." He
buried his face in her hair for a moment. "The Negaverse put me
through every kind of torture they could think of to break me, but I
wouldn't give in. I clung to the love I shared with Mina, it was all I
had left. When they realized how I was resisting them, they tried to
turn that against me, too. I saw her killed a thousand different
ways, some of them by my own hand."
Tears began to roll down his cheeks and he pressed his face
back into her hair. "When that didn't work, they finally beat me
nearly to death and threw me into that temporal cell, whether I
lived or died they didn't care." His grip on Mina tightened as he
clung to her. "And the agony of being alone for so long nearly
drove me out of my mind. If it hadn't been for the love we shared,
it would have destroyed me." His voice was filled with sobs, and
they could hear Mina's crying as well as she shared in his pain.
"She's all I have left."
Artemis gazed at the floor as he thought it over, his ears
filled with the sound of the couple's weeping. "I'm sorry." He
apologized again, sounding rather lame to his own ears. "I guess I
overreacted."
"It's okay, Artemis." Mina said, her voice muffled, as the
sounds of weeping faded away.
"You were her guardian before and you were supposed to
watch over her." William raised his tear-stained face to look at
Artemis. "But now that I'm here, I can do that. Like I'm supposed
to."
"But . . . " Artemis began.
"I don't expect you to stop doing it overnight or anything."
William admitted. "But she means everything to me and I'm not
going to let anyone stand between us."
"I won't let anyone." Serena vowed, causing everyone to
look at her. "You two belong together. And I'll do everything I
can to see that it happens."
"Thank you, Serena." Mina murmured.
William nodded, his eyes distant. "Yes, thank you."
"After you two gain your composure, you can join us in the
living room." Luna said. "Come along, Serena, Artemis."
The trio drifted out of the view of the couple. William
buried his face back in Mina's hair. "I've missed the smell of your
hair." William commented. "I've always loved it."
"Really?" Mina looked up at him, causing him to raise his
head. "You never told me before."
William's eyes met hers. "That's because I had too many
other things to say. Things that were unimportant."
"Well, we're together now." Mina told him. "We'll have all
the time we need to say everything." She stretched up on her
tiptoes and kissed him.
"I love you." William said, his eyes searching hers. "I never
want to be separated from you ever again."
"I never want to be separated from you, either." Mina
pressed her face back into his chest. "And I love you, too."
William kissed her on the top of her head, causing Mina to giggle.
"What was that for?"
"Just because."
"Just because, huh?" Mina lifted her head to look at him
again. He smiled at her and she stretched back up to kiss him
again, this time wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Are we feeling composed enough to go talk to the others?"
William asked after she pulled her lips away from his a few minutes
later.
"Almost." Mina kissed him again, just as passionately.
"Now I'm ready."
They let go of each other and William took her hand in his.
Mina smiled back at him, and the two walked out of the kitchen.
They found the others waiting in the living room. Serena was
sitting, fidging really, in one of the armchairs with Luna curled up in
her lap. Artemis was laying in a circle with his head resting on his
paws at one end of the couch. He looked intently at them but said
nothing. Mina and William settled down on the other end of the
couch and Mina wormed her way into the circle of William's arms,
and interlaced his fingers with hers.
"There's a couple of things that I've been wondering." Luna
broke the silence after a moment.
"What?" William asked.
"Like how come you still had your sword and armor with
you. How come the Negaverse didn't take them away from you?"
"They tried, but every time they did, it just reappeared back
on me, like it was part of me or something."
"That sounds strange." Serena said.
"I know." William frowned. "No matter what they did to
try to keep it from me, I always had it back. They must have given
up eventually." He looked inquiringly at Luna. "What else?"
"How come you aren't speaking in Lunarian? How do you
know exactly what to say?" Luna asked hesitantly.
"Yeah." Artemis looked up. "That's a good question."
William shrugged. "I just do. It's always been that way.
Whenever I've need to know something in a hurry, it just kind of
pops into my head like someone or something put it there."
"Sounds weird." Serena commented. "Cool, but weird."
William shrugged again. "I stopped paying attention to it
years ago."
"Well, Amy brought your dress by last night on her way
home." Luna said. "It's over on the foyer table."
"I forgot all about it." Mina admitted. "I had other things
on my mind."
"Things?" William asked.
"Yes." Mina elbowed him gently in the stomach. "This
thing right here."
"Now I'm a thing, huh?"
"Yes." Mina confirmed. "And you're all mine."
"Whatever you say, Highness."
"Quit that." Mina giggled.
"Not a chance." William disagreed, putting his other arm
around her. "If I'm yours then you're mine."
"Works for me." Mina agreed, snuggling back up against
him. She began tracing a pattern on the back of his right hand and
he smiled slightly.
"Uh, Mina." Artemis said carefully. "You should probably
get home, now."
"Already?" Mina asked.
"Yes. You don't want your parents asking too many
questions." Artemis reminded her. "Besides, you do have
homework."
"All right." Mina sat up. "Let me kiss William then we'll
go."
"No tongues." Artemis said.
"Spoilsport." Came the simultaneous reply.
* * *
"You sent for me, Great Negaforce?" Azmaria asked as she
entered the chamber which was dominated by the presence of the
Negaforce.
"Why didn't you collect the energy I required?" The
Negaforce asked.
Azmaria stopped, her eyes wary. "The Sailor Scouts,
master."
"And what else?" The voice was impatient.
"The Guardsman." Azmaria said hesitantly after a moment.
"He must have slipped out when we weren't looking."
"Well, find him and capture him." The Negaforce
commanded. "I want him enslaved and broken. No matter what
the cost. I will have him as a slave, as a sign of my power for all to
see. Bring him to me in chains, Azmaria, and destroy the Sailor
Scouts as well."
Azmaria bowed. "As you wish, my master."
* * *
"So, there's no sign of Negaverse activity?" Serena asked as
the five girls sat in Raye's room a couple of days later. They had all
stopped by home after school to change out of their uniforms and
into casual clothes.
Amy shook her head. "None."
"Any idea what they're after?" Lita asked.
"I'd say they're trying to collect more energy." Amy
commented. "Based on what happened at the mall the other day,
anyway."
Lita frowned but said nothing. Mina emptied her tea cup
and lowered it back on the saucer. "Well, if we're finished, I want
to go make sure William is doing okay. I haven't seen him since he
moved into Darien's apartment."
"Yeah, sure Mina." Serena sounded hesitant. "Go ahead."
"Thanks." Mina got to her feet and disappeared out the
door with a wave.
Raye shook her head after a moment of silence. "Talk
about weird."
"What was that, Raye?" Serena asked.
"I was referring to William's uncanny ability to pick up
information just like that." Raye raised her hand from her tea cup
long enough to snap her fingers once.
"Yeah, really weird." Lita agreed.
"I don't think he's from the Negaverse or anything." Amy
put in. "I did a scan of him that first day."
Three sets of eyes fastened onto the blue-haired girl.
"And?" Serena asked.
"There's definitely some strange energy patterns about him,
almost as if he's got some immense power he's not aware of, but
even then, I can't find anything negative about it." Amy told them.
Raye tilted her head. "I got the same general feeling, almost
as if something was hidden there. Whatever it is doesn't seem to be
evil, though."
"Then you don't think he presents any threat to us, then?"
Serena asked.
"Us, no." Lita put in. "Mina, yes."
"And why?" Serena asked.
"It's just too convenient." Lita explained. "He shows up
just in the nick of time to save Mina from a very painful experience.
And if he's not really who he seems to be, it will kill her. There's
something strange about him, and I don't like it."
"If he was really trapped in the Negaverse . . . " Amy began.
"Like he says." Lita interrupted.
"Yes, like he says." Amy continued. "Then the only way he
could have gotten out was if the Negaverse opened a portal to our
universe. The only time that's happened since we fought Beryl was
a couple of days ago."
"And he didn't show up before then, so he probably just
escaped recently." Raye added.
Lita crossed her arms. "Well, I think he needs to be
watched closely."
"I don't." Serena disagreed. "He seems to be who he says
he is and Mina trusts him. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt,
okay?"
Lita didn't look convinced. "Oh, I'm giving him the benefit
of a doubt, but the instant he does anything to hurt Mina, he's
toast."
"Somehow, I doubt that will happen." A new voice said
from the doorway. The four girls turned their heads to see Susan
standing in the doorway. "You really should be sure to close the
door, I could hear you outside."
Raye waved her in and Susan closed the door after stepping
into the room. She sat down in the space Mina had vacated earlier.
"Did you find out anything new?" Serena asked her.
Susan shook her head. "The disturbance in the time stream
seems to have stabilized." Amy took on a look of interest. "But,"
Susan continued. "I still don't know what caused it."
"Could William's appearance have anything to do with it?"
Amy asked.
"It could, yes." Susan tilted her head thoughtfully for a
moment. "If it isn't, it's an awful big coincidence."
"What do you mean?" Serena asked around her tea cup.
Susan paused as if struggling to put a concept in words.
"There was a disturbance in the time stream that started just before
William showed up. The effects of the disturbance didn't smooth
out right away, which suggests that it's long term."
"Long term?" Raye asked.
Susan nodded. "Yes, as if they go far into the future."
"Which suggests what?" Lita asked.
"Which suggests whatever caused the disturbance in the
first place will have a profound impact on the future."
"Oh." Serena settled her tea cup back on its saucer, her
eyes examining the design on the cup to cover her obvious lack of
understanding.
"If William is the cause of the disturbance, then what?"
Amy asked.
"Then whatever he does will cause changes which cover a
long time." Susan concluded. "Possibly far into the future."
The Guardsman Chronicles, Chapter Three
by Rick Federle
Mina buried her nose in the warmth in front of her face, half
awake. She felt the gentle shifting of weight in front of her as the
warmth moved closer to her, enfolding her. She snuggled up closer
against whoever it was and then as the realization sunk into her half
awake brain, her right eye shot open. She was snuggled up against
William, her arms around his neck and his arms around her waist.
Mina tried to stretch her legs to take some of the kinks out
of them, but they were tangled up with his, too. She opened her
other eye to try to look down, but ended up having to choose
whether or not to lift her head. She decided to leave her face where
it was for a moment and closed her eyes, giving a small sound of
contentment as he tightened his grip slightly on her.
There had been no bad dreams to plague her sleep last
night, no nightmare visions, no feeling of emptiness that seemed to
be her ever present companion. Mina decided that she'd stay right
here and luxuriate in the feeling as long as she could. She was
content, she decided, and more than that, for the first time she
could remember, she felt secure. There was no hesitancy, no
tentativeness about it, feelings that had plagued her relationships for
so long.
And more importantly, she was no longer alone. That
aching feeling was gone, that had been a part of her for so long.
The feeling that an important part of herself was missing. She'd
know it all along, and had done her best to push it to the side, but
after Galaxia, it had become almost unbearable. Now she felt
complete and whole, that hollow part of her had been filled now
that William was back in her life again.
"Mina!" An angry voice cut through her train of thought.
"Get up!" When she didn't immediately stir, the voice cracked out
again, even more angry. "MINA!"
Mina opened her eyes and turned her head toward the
speaker. "I'm awake." She disentangled herself from William
carefully so as not to disturb him. She rolled over and landed on
her feet. She stood up and looked at the speaker.
A very angry Artemis was glaring at her from just inside the
doorway. Luna and Serena stood rather hesitantly on the other
side, finding something very interesting on the floor under their
feet. "I knew if I left you two alone something would happen."
Artemis began.
"Nothing happened." Mina glared back. "He was
thrashing in his sleep and when I went to tuck him back in, he
stopped thrashing when I touched him. So, I thought if I laid on
the covers with him until he went back to sleep it would help."
"A likely story. You two were sleeping together."
"We were not." Mina shook her head slightly, her eyes
locked with Artemis'.
"Yes, you were." Artemis continued. "The instant my back
is turned you go off and do something like this."
"We weren't doing anything!"
"Well, I don't believe you!"
"I'm telling the truth!" Mina insisted.
"What's all the yelling about?" William's voice interrupted
as he sat up to look at them. "What's so important that you have to
interrupt the best sleep I've had in I don't remember how long?"
"You and Mina were in bed together." Artemis stated.
William blinked in surprise. "I have no idea what you're
talking about. The last time I saw her, she was on the couch."
"When I came in, the two of you were all cozy." Artemis
declared.
"Well, she wasn't here when I went to sleep or when I woke
up."
"You were all snuggled up together like you'd been doing
something. Mina says otherwise, but I don't believe her."
Artemis gave a gasp of pain as William's fingers tightened
around his ribcage. He'd been a blur as his feet hit the floor and as
he grabbed Artemis, lifting him up to eye level. "We weren't doing
anything." William repeated angrily. "If you hadn't been there for
her when I couldn't be, I'd throw you out of here right now. I will
not listen to anyone, even you accuse her of something like that."
He dropped the cat to the floor and stormed out of the room. Mina
looked worriedly at Artemis and walked out after William.
Artemis didn't notice. He was too busy coughing from the
sudden tension and expansion of his ribcage. "Now you've gone
and done it." Luna said after a moment. "You should know better
than to upset a Guardsman like that." Luna and Serena had looked
up at Artemis' gasp of pain.
"Just lay off, Luna." Artemis wheezed.
"I told you that you could trust them, but you didn't believe
me."
"Well, I guess I was wrong." Artemis admitted after a
moment, his breathing finally returning to normal.
"I guess you were." Luna agreed. "But I'm not the one you
need to be telling that to."
Artemis gave a heavy sigh, dropping his gaze to the floor.
"All right, Luna." Resolutely, he turned and walked out of the
bedroom with Luna and Serena following him.
They finally located the two in the kitchen. William was
leaning over the kitchen counter next to the sink, his shoulders still
squared slightly in anger. Mina stood a step away from him, her
hands clasped together in front of her at shoulder level, the worry
visible even to Serena in her eyes when she glanced over at them.
Artemis hesitantly drew to a stop at the entrance to the
kitchen with Luna and Serena standing behind him. "Mina.
William. I'm sorry." Artemis said quietly. Mina's head turned
slightly toward him, but William didn't give any visible reaction. "I
guess I saw something where nothing had happened."
"I'm very sensitive about Mina." William told him as he
turned to Mina and gathered her in his arms. Mina buried her face
in his chest, her hands pressed in his back as she put her arms
around him, as he went on. "She was the only thing I had left to
cling to the whole time I was imprisoned by the Negaverse." He
buried his face in her hair for a moment. "The Negaverse put me
through every kind of torture they could think of to break me, but I
wouldn't give in. I clung to the love I shared with Mina, it was all I
had left. When they realized how I was resisting them, they tried to
turn that against me, too. I saw her killed a thousand different
ways, some of them by my own hand."
Tears began to roll down his cheeks and he pressed his face
back into her hair. "When that didn't work, they finally beat me
nearly to death and threw me into that temporal cell, whether I
lived or died they didn't care." His grip on Mina tightened as he
clung to her. "And the agony of being alone for so long nearly
drove me out of my mind. If it hadn't been for the love we shared,
it would have destroyed me." His voice was filled with sobs, and
they could hear Mina's crying as well as she shared in his pain.
"She's all I have left."
Artemis gazed at the floor as he thought it over, his ears
filled with the sound of the couple's weeping. "I'm sorry." He
apologized again, sounding rather lame to his own ears. "I guess I
overreacted."
"It's okay, Artemis." Mina said, her voice muffled, as the
sounds of weeping faded away.
"You were her guardian before and you were supposed to
watch over her." William raised his tear-stained face to look at
Artemis. "But now that I'm here, I can do that. Like I'm supposed
to."
"But . . . " Artemis began.
"I don't expect you to stop doing it overnight or anything."
William admitted. "But she means everything to me and I'm not
going to let anyone stand between us."
"I won't let anyone." Serena vowed, causing everyone to
look at her. "You two belong together. And I'll do everything I
can to see that it happens."
"Thank you, Serena." Mina murmured.
William nodded, his eyes distant. "Yes, thank you."
"After you two gain your composure, you can join us in the
living room." Luna said. "Come along, Serena, Artemis."
The trio drifted out of the view of the couple. William
buried his face back in Mina's hair. "I've missed the smell of your
hair." William commented. "I've always loved it."
"Really?" Mina looked up at him, causing him to raise his
head. "You never told me before."
William's eyes met hers. "That's because I had too many
other things to say. Things that were unimportant."
"Well, we're together now." Mina told him. "We'll have all
the time we need to say everything." She stretched up on her
tiptoes and kissed him.
"I love you." William said, his eyes searching hers. "I never
want to be separated from you ever again."
"I never want to be separated from you, either." Mina
pressed her face back into his chest. "And I love you, too."
William kissed her on the top of her head, causing Mina to giggle.
"What was that for?"
"Just because."
"Just because, huh?" Mina lifted her head to look at him
again. He smiled at her and she stretched back up to kiss him
again, this time wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Are we feeling composed enough to go talk to the others?"
William asked after she pulled her lips away from his a few minutes
later.
"Almost." Mina kissed him again, just as passionately.
"Now I'm ready."
They let go of each other and William took her hand in his.
Mina smiled back at him, and the two walked out of the kitchen.
They found the others waiting in the living room. Serena was
sitting, fidging really, in one of the armchairs with Luna curled up in
her lap. Artemis was laying in a circle with his head resting on his
paws at one end of the couch. He looked intently at them but said
nothing. Mina and William settled down on the other end of the
couch and Mina wormed her way into the circle of William's arms,
and interlaced his fingers with hers.
"There's a couple of things that I've been wondering." Luna
broke the silence after a moment.
"What?" William asked.
"Like how come you still had your sword and armor with
you. How come the Negaverse didn't take them away from you?"
"They tried, but every time they did, it just reappeared back
on me, like it was part of me or something."
"That sounds strange." Serena said.
"I know." William frowned. "No matter what they did to
try to keep it from me, I always had it back. They must have given
up eventually." He looked inquiringly at Luna. "What else?"
"How come you aren't speaking in Lunarian? How do you
know exactly what to say?" Luna asked hesitantly.
"Yeah." Artemis looked up. "That's a good question."
William shrugged. "I just do. It's always been that way.
Whenever I've need to know something in a hurry, it just kind of
pops into my head like someone or something put it there."
"Sounds weird." Serena commented. "Cool, but weird."
William shrugged again. "I stopped paying attention to it
years ago."
"Well, Amy brought your dress by last night on her way
home." Luna said. "It's over on the foyer table."
"I forgot all about it." Mina admitted. "I had other things
on my mind."
"Things?" William asked.
"Yes." Mina elbowed him gently in the stomach. "This
thing right here."
"Now I'm a thing, huh?"
"Yes." Mina confirmed. "And you're all mine."
"Whatever you say, Highness."
"Quit that." Mina giggled.
"Not a chance." William disagreed, putting his other arm
around her. "If I'm yours then you're mine."
"Works for me." Mina agreed, snuggling back up against
him. She began tracing a pattern on the back of his right hand and
he smiled slightly.
"Uh, Mina." Artemis said carefully. "You should probably
get home, now."
"Already?" Mina asked.
"Yes. You don't want your parents asking too many
questions." Artemis reminded her. "Besides, you do have
homework."
"All right." Mina sat up. "Let me kiss William then we'll
go."
"No tongues." Artemis said.
"Spoilsport." Came the simultaneous reply.
* * *
"You sent for me, Great Negaforce?" Azmaria asked as she
entered the chamber which was dominated by the presence of the
Negaforce.
"Why didn't you collect the energy I required?" The
Negaforce asked.
Azmaria stopped, her eyes wary. "The Sailor Scouts,
master."
"And what else?" The voice was impatient.
"The Guardsman." Azmaria said hesitantly after a moment.
"He must have slipped out when we weren't looking."
"Well, find him and capture him." The Negaforce
commanded. "I want him enslaved and broken. No matter what
the cost. I will have him as a slave, as a sign of my power for all to
see. Bring him to me in chains, Azmaria, and destroy the Sailor
Scouts as well."
Azmaria bowed. "As you wish, my master."
* * *
"So, there's no sign of Negaverse activity?" Serena asked as
the five girls sat in Raye's room a couple of days later. They had all
stopped by home after school to change out of their uniforms and
into casual clothes.
Amy shook her head. "None."
"Any idea what they're after?" Lita asked.
"I'd say they're trying to collect more energy." Amy
commented. "Based on what happened at the mall the other day,
anyway."
Lita frowned but said nothing. Mina emptied her tea cup
and lowered it back on the saucer. "Well, if we're finished, I want
to go make sure William is doing okay. I haven't seen him since he
moved into Darien's apartment."
"Yeah, sure Mina." Serena sounded hesitant. "Go ahead."
"Thanks." Mina got to her feet and disappeared out the
door with a wave.
Raye shook her head after a moment of silence. "Talk
about weird."
"What was that, Raye?" Serena asked.
"I was referring to William's uncanny ability to pick up
information just like that." Raye raised her hand from her tea cup
long enough to snap her fingers once.
"Yeah, really weird." Lita agreed.
"I don't think he's from the Negaverse or anything." Amy
put in. "I did a scan of him that first day."
Three sets of eyes fastened onto the blue-haired girl.
"And?" Serena asked.
"There's definitely some strange energy patterns about him,
almost as if he's got some immense power he's not aware of, but
even then, I can't find anything negative about it." Amy told them.
Raye tilted her head. "I got the same general feeling, almost
as if something was hidden there. Whatever it is doesn't seem to be
evil, though."
"Then you don't think he presents any threat to us, then?"
Serena asked.
"Us, no." Lita put in. "Mina, yes."
"And why?" Serena asked.
"It's just too convenient." Lita explained. "He shows up
just in the nick of time to save Mina from a very painful experience.
And if he's not really who he seems to be, it will kill her. There's
something strange about him, and I don't like it."
"If he was really trapped in the Negaverse . . . " Amy began.
"Like he says." Lita interrupted.
"Yes, like he says." Amy continued. "Then the only way he
could have gotten out was if the Negaverse opened a portal to our
universe. The only time that's happened since we fought Beryl was
a couple of days ago."
"And he didn't show up before then, so he probably just
escaped recently." Raye added.
Lita crossed her arms. "Well, I think he needs to be
watched closely."
"I don't." Serena disagreed. "He seems to be who he says
he is and Mina trusts him. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt,
okay?"
Lita didn't look convinced. "Oh, I'm giving him the benefit
of a doubt, but the instant he does anything to hurt Mina, he's
toast."
"Somehow, I doubt that will happen." A new voice said
from the doorway. The four girls turned their heads to see Susan
standing in the doorway. "You really should be sure to close the
door, I could hear you outside."
Raye waved her in and Susan closed the door after stepping
into the room. She sat down in the space Mina had vacated earlier.
"Did you find out anything new?" Serena asked her.
Susan shook her head. "The disturbance in the time stream
seems to have stabilized." Amy took on a look of interest. "But,"
Susan continued. "I still don't know what caused it."
"Could William's appearance have anything to do with it?"
Amy asked.
"It could, yes." Susan tilted her head thoughtfully for a
moment. "If it isn't, it's an awful big coincidence."
"What do you mean?" Serena asked around her tea cup.
Susan paused as if struggling to put a concept in words.
"There was a disturbance in the time stream that started just before
William showed up. The effects of the disturbance didn't smooth
out right away, which suggests that it's long term."
"Long term?" Raye asked.
Susan nodded. "Yes, as if they go far into the future."
"Which suggests what?" Lita asked.
"Which suggests whatever caused the disturbance in the
first place will have a profound impact on the future."
"Oh." Serena settled her tea cup back on its saucer, her
eyes examining the design on the cup to cover her obvious lack of
understanding.
"If William is the cause of the disturbance, then what?"
Amy asked.
"Then whatever he does will cause changes which cover a
long time." Susan concluded. "Possibly far into the future."