Chapter 5:
Pure Water:
Ami couldn't even begin to believe her luck! Here she was, in the United States with her parents for the International Medical and Sciences Convention in LA! And while she was quite interested in actually attending the conferences, her real reason for excitement was that she might somehow manage to bump into Lita, since she was here on the West Coast as well. Now if only she could remember his name or the town he lived in…
Ami stopped all her dubious thinking as she caught sight of a very familiar and very friendly face. "Hotaru?" Ami called out to the pale gangly black haired girl.
The girl in question stopped at the use of her name and turned to face Ami. They quickly locked eyes after that, and Hotaru's look of confusion vanished as one of overwhelming joy took its place. "Ami? Ami! I can't believe it! Is it really you?" the sickly girl that was in truth the most powerful Sailor Soldier next to Sailor Moon herself bubbled as she came over.
"Yep!" Ami answered excitedly. "Sure is! I can't believe that you're here as well! I take it your father is here for the Convention as well?"
Just as Hotaru was nodding, the man himself came up to the two young ladies at his mention. "Hello Ami," Dr. Tomoe greeted warmly. "What an unexpected pleasure at seeing you here. Now Hotaru won't be as bored out of her mind as she thought she might be." The three laughed.
Three others weren't laughing as they came right up to the meeting and a woman with short boyish blonde hair snapped, "Not that any of us would have been that bored to begin with."
Dr. Tomoe tried to repress a groan of frustration, and succeeded in keeping a degree of pleasantness in his voice. "Hello Hamara, Michelle, Trista," he greeted stiffly.
"What are you three doing here?" Ami asked, surprised beyond belief that the four Outer Sailor Soldiers would all be here at the same time that she had arrived.
Unfortunately, Ami didn't get her answer as her parents came up behind her and the other Sailors. Dr. Tomoe, who knew everything, was gracious enough to warn them by keeping up with his welcomes. "Tenchi!" Tomoe yelled, "You old dog! I take it that you and Ryoko are here for the Convention as well?"
"You better believe it Cyclops," Tenchi shot back. "Hey Ami, I see that you've found some friends."
"Dad, Mom, I'd like you to meet several of my friends. Hotaru Tomoe you already know, this is Trista Mayo, Michelle Kaiou, and Hamara Ten'ou," Ami introduced everyone all around. "These are my parents, Tenchi and Ryoko Mizuno."
Everybody bowed, except Hamara, who just tipped her head in greeting. It was felt that was the most anybody would get out of her. Ami decided to broach a subject since they had shown themselves and asked Hamara, Michelle, and Trista, "So what brings you three to the States? I'm sure it's not the Convention."
"No," Trista answered before the other two could even think of opening their mouths. "We're here on a work study. You remember our major, don't you Ami? Occult and dark arts?"
Ami started, but quickly regained control of herself. Then she silently nodded her head in understanding, but said no more. Dr. Tomoe thought that a conversation needed to start up again and he turned to his daughter.
"Hotaru, I'm afraid that all of the hotels in the city are booked solid because of the Convention," Tomoe explained. "The nearest place I could get us into was a Holiday Inn about a half hours drive from the city limits. And I need to check in with the Convention Committee and take care of some things. I'm sorry sweet pea."
Hotaru tried to give all she could of a smile, but there was no fooling anyone. "It's OK dad. At least I won't be lonely," she said looking hopefully at Ami. Ami looked uncertainly at her parents.
Tenchi just smiled at his daughter. "Unfortunately, we were in the same boat and we're in the same hotel in a little suburb called "Sunnydale." I'm not sure exactly where it is, but we were just planning on taking a cab anyway…" Tenchi said.
"That's funny, because the hotel I got us in is in Sunnydale," Dr. Tomoe interrupted.
"My what a coincidence," Michelle smiled secretively.
"Oh?" Ryoko intoned.
"We're in the same hotel, since the work we're doing is at the local college," Hamara explained.
"We'd be glad to give you two girls a ride," Trista added, "Since you're friends and all."
Ami and Hotaru turned to their fathers and got all hopeful and teary eyed, and whined as one, "Pleeeeeeaaaaaasse?"
Tenchi and Tomoe chuckled identically at the same time. They gave each other a look, and then nodded to their respective daughters. "Yesss!" Ami and Hotaru crowed, hugging each other.
"Just please…be careful," Tomoe begged as he hugged his daughter as the scientists were making ready to leave.
"Don't worry," Hamara clasped the Doctor on the shoulder, "We'll take good care of her. Of both of them."
Tomoe smiled dejectedly, but he finally left, following after Tenchi and Ryoko.
Ami turned to Trista, figuring she was the best chance she had of getting any answer at all, and asked, "All right Trista, what's going on? Why are you, Uranus, and Neptune here?"
Trista just held up her hand and Ami was forced to wait until they had rented a car and were on their way out of the city. Finally, Trista and Michelle turned to the other two girls, Hamara was driving.
"Something is going to be happening very soon," Michelle cryptically began. "None of us are sure what, but we are sure that it has something to do with the Moon Kingdom. It is no coincidence that all of the Sailor Soldiers are converging here at this time. You, Hotaru, Serena and her family, even Mars had a vision that she and the others she took with her had to be here at this time."
"I don't know exactly what is going to happen," Trista continued, "but I am sure that if we fail…"
She didn't have to say anymore. Ami and Hotaru's imagination could come up with enough scenarios on their own.
Thunder, Warrior, Lover:
Xander was driving along Highway 42, the quickest way from the airport to his and Anya's apartment, when Rei suddenly spoke up from the back. "Stop! Where are we going?" she shouted.
Xander was so surprised that he nearly drove off the road. "Geez!" he cursed, casting an annoyed glance back at the raven-haired amazon.
Lita answered in Japanese, "To Xander's house Rei. We kind of don't have enough money for a motel room, and Xander said he has the room. Why?"
"No!" Rei shouted again. "We need to go some place else. Some place different!" Rei was speaking English, her accent more than obvious and distorting her words. Xander sighed. He spoke back to Rei in Japanese, figuring that she would feel more comfortable conversing in her native language.
"Why is it exactly that you don't want to go to me home Rei?" Xander winced at his mistake, but it was said.
Mina giggled a little, bringing Rei's attention all the way to her. "Mina, remember those words or symbols or whatever! That I wrote down from my vision? That you said was actually English? What did it say again?" Rei shouted at the blonde.
Mina winced and pulled out the paper that Rei had written the sign from her vision on. "Well, the way drew it…it looks like," Mina started in Japanese and finished with the English, "The Magic Box."
Xander froze. The car began to slow down, but kept going at a decent rate. Slowly, he turned his head to look his fiancé in the eye. She looked back at him, and they saw the identical look of foreboding in each other's eye.
"Anya?" he asked, more for permission than curiosity.
The ex-demon just sighed and picked up her purse and opened it. Then she closed her eyes and counted to ten. Buffy told her to start doing that when she felt like yelling at Xander, since he didn't like that. Then she looked back at the man she loved and asked her own question, "Prophecy?"
Xander turned back to the road and nodded his head. He answered with the same dread that she had asked the question, "Prophecy." Xander changed his plans just a bit and made the next turn that would take them to the magic shop.
"Well, I've got the keys right here," she told him.
"Xander?" Lita asked, confused.
"Anya owns the magic store where we…have a special club meeting every no and again. It's called the Magic Box," Xander told her. Lita sat back and nodded, her eyes wide with the revelation. The three Sailor Soldiers turned to each other and set their faces with their determination at what the signs all were leading to.