When Lars got to the predetermined coordinates, Erika and Micheal were
already there. It was, as Christa had predicted, a lush, emerald park in
the middle of late-twentieth century Tokyo. The young prince of Jupiter
joined his friends on the sturdy wooden benches where they lounged. For a
moment, Lars wondered what it would be like if places like this still
existed in his time. But the moment ended all too soon, and he came back
to reality.
Something occurred to him then, "Where'd the dog come from Eri?"
Erika looked down at the round-bodied mutt affectionately. "He belongs to the body I'm inhabiting," she rubbed his short floppy ears, "He's so cute, isn't he?"
Lars blinked at the canine. Cute wasn't the word he'd use. The dog waddled around excitedly on his stumpy, comical legs. His fur was every color a dog had ever been, all mixed together in a rainbow of oddity. Lacking a tail, he wagged his whole hind end, and wore a cheerful dog-smile on his strange wide snout. But, the hunter-haired teen couldn't crush the look on his hyper friend's face.
"Well, he certainly is unusual, Eri."
His tactfulness didn't go unrewarded, as the Princess of Neptune beamed. At this point, Lars was saved from further diplomacy by the entrance of his sister. He watched her approach and grew thoughtful. Even here, far into the past and in a city they'd never seen, she walked like she owned the world. She was a hard figure to live up to. He knew that if she acted like she does in public when she was alone with her family, he'd harbor hard feelings toward her.
Yet, in the away from the prying eyes of the public, she showed such love for him. As strong and impenetrable as Glenki appeared in the outside world, the opposite was seen in her home. She was motherly and kind to her younger siblings, and never let them feel alone. This, perhaps, was Lars's most guilty pleasure, still he felt so special to get to see this hidden side of her.
She gracefully sat next to him, on his right and smiled at him before taking back up her all-business attitude. "What sort of hosts do you have?"
Mick flicked a small bug from the shoulder of his grey woolen school uniform, "Mine's a popular high school baseball player with two 'bratty' little sisters in junior high," he seemed greatly annoyed with this turn of events.
Lars then felt it was his turn to inform, "I'm a delinquent with an older sister in college in America, who lives with his sweet old grandmother because his parents couldn't take it anymore." These facts made him grin broadly. After hearing how his host had turned his parents' basement into a swimming pool, he could only guess at their reactions to having their punk replaced by an orderly intellectual like himself.
His sister frowned. "I am an only child over-achiever, of over-protective parents, who is studying at the University and has no life," her lip curled up, "Of no use to us."
Erika, though, brightened more, "Well, you'll love mine then! She's an orphan who lives alone and studies technology!" She patted the dog happily, who then jumped up and down awkwardly on his too-small feet.
Glen nodded slightly, "Yes, that is good. Eri's apartment will from now on become our meeting place."
The lime haired princess of Jupiter continued to speak, but Lars had stopped listening. As was to be expected, he was the first to spot her, he always was. That long serene braid, the decorative tendrils that framed the face, the both sweet and sad gleam in those violet eyes, all drew him in like a black hole. She was beautiful, there was no denying, but, enthralling as her outward appearance was, her inner self was a million times more attractive. He felt as though he had been blessed with the presence of some wayward goddess, a gift he was eternally grateful for. He long to greet her like a long-lost lover, but she did not know how he felt, and surely someone so perfect could not return such affections, so he remained in his seat, only to smile warmly in welcoming.
Christa, for her part, returned the greeting in a smaller measure, then averted her gaze. If he had not be so blinded by his own self-doubt he would have caught the slight hint of blush on her face, but for now, he grasped mightily to his ignorance.
The daughter of Saturn was clad in a junior high uniform, and held a rather uncomfortably large stack of textbooks. She bowed her head regally, "Sorry, I was in a class when I arrived, and it took me some time to slip away." She looked around the circle of her teammates regretfully, but Glenki waved this off carelessly.
"You got us all here, and for that alone we are grateful," she stated firmly. She then stood and stretched her arms. "And now that we are here, it is time for us to find Mariko and her kidnappers." She turned from the group and started walking north.
This received a snort and a short laugh from Micheal, "Where do you think you are going, Oh, Fearless Leader?" It was clear that he was still upset with the way Glen had called him back in the encounter with Procter.
No answer was made to this question, for as the "Fearless Leader" looked back over her shoulder, a plume of smoke rose to the sky directly in line with the path she had been walking.
The Prince of Uranus groaned. "Not again! Seriously, you couldn't have known that.."
Glenki smirked, "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't, but you had better follow me now, as our help may be needed," she walked a bit faster, and a bit more lightly.
Lars got up to leave the little bit of paradise he had enjoyed for those few minutes, and trailed his sister. "I may just have the strangest friends and family in the history of the world..." he mused, and quickened his step.
Tsukino Usagi was having a bad day. First, she had overslept, even though she had vowed not to the night before, and she missed her breakfast, which was homemade hotcakes, her favorite. Then, her teacher gave an unplanned quiz that she had most surely failed. After school, Rei-chan had made fun of her, and all her other friends had laughed too.
But now, this, THIS, was the icing on the cake, or the sour end to a sour day, however one shall like it. A very strange, shadowy youma that was 20- odd feet tall, had no hint of color, humanoid, with gigantic, sharp teeth, and one ugly face, was burning things near her best manga shop. So, as could be predicted, Usagi and her friends had to transform, again, into Sailor Senshi and save the world, again. This was getting very tiresome.
"It doesn't seem to have a purpose in its actions, it just looks like it's trying to do as much damage as possible," Sailor Mercury puzzled, as Sailor Mars charged the monster.
Both Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus had both already tried their hands at stopping the creature, and though they had been unsuccessful, they had escaped it wrath unscathed. The unfortunate Senshi of Fire did not share their kind fate. She found herself wrapped tightly in a big thick smelly hand, quite some distance up in the air.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" was her calm, thoughtful reaction to this.
The blue-haired Senshi stopped her analysis of the youma, and prepared to launch her own assault. After a moment she exhaled sharply and shouted, "The way that thing is flailing about, I can't attack without hurting Mars as well!" The frustration written on her face was so clear that even the usually oblivious Sailor Moon got it. She searched high and low for an opening, but to no avail.
"HEEEEEEELP MEEE!!!" the usually well collected Shino Priestess wailed unceremoniously as the arm that imprisoned her jerked violently through the air. Her face had an ominous green tinge to it, which only underscored the need for the next warrior to make her move.
Usagi was unsure of what the nest action should be, or even how they were going to be delivered from this mess. As she was potting, as much as she does, anyway, a new voice overtook the street:
"Drop that girl!" It was strong feminine sound that washed over the area like ice.
The monster stilled, and looked to the source of this interruption, almost like it recognized what it heard. It roared in the general direction of the demand, and tightened its grip on its prize, much to Mars's ill.
"Titan Gas Blind!" came another voice at that, and following the sound was a wave of dense fog, and the street was completely obscured.
Sailor Moon, against all of instinct and good sense's counsel, ran wildly to where she'd last seen the enemy. "Rei-chan better appreciate this!" Suddenly, the dark outline of the giant materialized through the mist, and she crouched low behind a car, to see what had happened in the time of blindness.
The next thing she saw shocked her more than anything else had so far that day, and this was a relatively odd day, even for a girl with a talking cat. Another form had approached the creature as well. She could tell that this new person was a female, albeit with close-cropped tresses and either pants or shorts. This short-haired girl leaped high, and punched the enemy's nose, kicked it's wrists, and hit the backs of it's knees so quickly that it seemed to all happen at once.
The youma screamed, dropped Sailor Mars, and stumbled forward. Its attacker picked the now unconscious black-haired warrior and darted away. Two more shadows formed from the haze, once unnaturally tall and obviously female, leaning on a magnificent staff, and the other an average sized male, who had a weird circle floating near his side. The woman nodded curtly, and the guy raised his arms.
"Miranda Sphere Splash!" crimson sparks showered through the opaque air and disassembled the giant into dust.
From a low building top, a piercing screech cut through the atmosphere. "You killed it!!! YOU KILLED IT!!!" A skin-creeping shriek followed the statement, and Usagi cringed.
"Hush, Abigail," soothed a male voice, "With our 'New Friend' we can make you many new pets. This disturbed Sailor Moon further. The sweet and smooth tone that the male had before processed was gone in his next words, "Sailor Europa! We WILL meet again!" There was a popping sound in that general direction, and nothing more from those particular interlopers.
"They escaped!" the male that had destroyed the creature punched some unlucky car's hood. He sounded greatly perturbed, and clenched his fists and tensed his body, even though it was plain that the fight was over.
"He was right, Sailor Miranda," the tall girl put a hand on his shoulder and applied pressure. "We will meet them again, all too soon, I fear," with that she melted into the thickly shrouded air, and her companion soon followed.
Usagi was now alone, and she groped her way over to the fallen comrade, who was slowly regaining her wakefulness. A few minutes passed, and the cloud lifted, and the rest of the team joined them one by one.
Sailor Jupiter, who was the last to find her friends, sat nest to the still disoriented Mars and cocked her head. "Who the HELL is Sailor Europa?"
And, sadly, this was a question to which Usagi had no answer.
Something occurred to him then, "Where'd the dog come from Eri?"
Erika looked down at the round-bodied mutt affectionately. "He belongs to the body I'm inhabiting," she rubbed his short floppy ears, "He's so cute, isn't he?"
Lars blinked at the canine. Cute wasn't the word he'd use. The dog waddled around excitedly on his stumpy, comical legs. His fur was every color a dog had ever been, all mixed together in a rainbow of oddity. Lacking a tail, he wagged his whole hind end, and wore a cheerful dog-smile on his strange wide snout. But, the hunter-haired teen couldn't crush the look on his hyper friend's face.
"Well, he certainly is unusual, Eri."
His tactfulness didn't go unrewarded, as the Princess of Neptune beamed. At this point, Lars was saved from further diplomacy by the entrance of his sister. He watched her approach and grew thoughtful. Even here, far into the past and in a city they'd never seen, she walked like she owned the world. She was a hard figure to live up to. He knew that if she acted like she does in public when she was alone with her family, he'd harbor hard feelings toward her.
Yet, in the away from the prying eyes of the public, she showed such love for him. As strong and impenetrable as Glenki appeared in the outside world, the opposite was seen in her home. She was motherly and kind to her younger siblings, and never let them feel alone. This, perhaps, was Lars's most guilty pleasure, still he felt so special to get to see this hidden side of her.
She gracefully sat next to him, on his right and smiled at him before taking back up her all-business attitude. "What sort of hosts do you have?"
Mick flicked a small bug from the shoulder of his grey woolen school uniform, "Mine's a popular high school baseball player with two 'bratty' little sisters in junior high," he seemed greatly annoyed with this turn of events.
Lars then felt it was his turn to inform, "I'm a delinquent with an older sister in college in America, who lives with his sweet old grandmother because his parents couldn't take it anymore." These facts made him grin broadly. After hearing how his host had turned his parents' basement into a swimming pool, he could only guess at their reactions to having their punk replaced by an orderly intellectual like himself.
His sister frowned. "I am an only child over-achiever, of over-protective parents, who is studying at the University and has no life," her lip curled up, "Of no use to us."
Erika, though, brightened more, "Well, you'll love mine then! She's an orphan who lives alone and studies technology!" She patted the dog happily, who then jumped up and down awkwardly on his too-small feet.
Glen nodded slightly, "Yes, that is good. Eri's apartment will from now on become our meeting place."
The lime haired princess of Jupiter continued to speak, but Lars had stopped listening. As was to be expected, he was the first to spot her, he always was. That long serene braid, the decorative tendrils that framed the face, the both sweet and sad gleam in those violet eyes, all drew him in like a black hole. She was beautiful, there was no denying, but, enthralling as her outward appearance was, her inner self was a million times more attractive. He felt as though he had been blessed with the presence of some wayward goddess, a gift he was eternally grateful for. He long to greet her like a long-lost lover, but she did not know how he felt, and surely someone so perfect could not return such affections, so he remained in his seat, only to smile warmly in welcoming.
Christa, for her part, returned the greeting in a smaller measure, then averted her gaze. If he had not be so blinded by his own self-doubt he would have caught the slight hint of blush on her face, but for now, he grasped mightily to his ignorance.
The daughter of Saturn was clad in a junior high uniform, and held a rather uncomfortably large stack of textbooks. She bowed her head regally, "Sorry, I was in a class when I arrived, and it took me some time to slip away." She looked around the circle of her teammates regretfully, but Glenki waved this off carelessly.
"You got us all here, and for that alone we are grateful," she stated firmly. She then stood and stretched her arms. "And now that we are here, it is time for us to find Mariko and her kidnappers." She turned from the group and started walking north.
This received a snort and a short laugh from Micheal, "Where do you think you are going, Oh, Fearless Leader?" It was clear that he was still upset with the way Glen had called him back in the encounter with Procter.
No answer was made to this question, for as the "Fearless Leader" looked back over her shoulder, a plume of smoke rose to the sky directly in line with the path she had been walking.
The Prince of Uranus groaned. "Not again! Seriously, you couldn't have known that.."
Glenki smirked, "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't, but you had better follow me now, as our help may be needed," she walked a bit faster, and a bit more lightly.
Lars got up to leave the little bit of paradise he had enjoyed for those few minutes, and trailed his sister. "I may just have the strangest friends and family in the history of the world..." he mused, and quickened his step.
Tsukino Usagi was having a bad day. First, she had overslept, even though she had vowed not to the night before, and she missed her breakfast, which was homemade hotcakes, her favorite. Then, her teacher gave an unplanned quiz that she had most surely failed. After school, Rei-chan had made fun of her, and all her other friends had laughed too.
But now, this, THIS, was the icing on the cake, or the sour end to a sour day, however one shall like it. A very strange, shadowy youma that was 20- odd feet tall, had no hint of color, humanoid, with gigantic, sharp teeth, and one ugly face, was burning things near her best manga shop. So, as could be predicted, Usagi and her friends had to transform, again, into Sailor Senshi and save the world, again. This was getting very tiresome.
"It doesn't seem to have a purpose in its actions, it just looks like it's trying to do as much damage as possible," Sailor Mercury puzzled, as Sailor Mars charged the monster.
Both Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus had both already tried their hands at stopping the creature, and though they had been unsuccessful, they had escaped it wrath unscathed. The unfortunate Senshi of Fire did not share their kind fate. She found herself wrapped tightly in a big thick smelly hand, quite some distance up in the air.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" was her calm, thoughtful reaction to this.
The blue-haired Senshi stopped her analysis of the youma, and prepared to launch her own assault. After a moment she exhaled sharply and shouted, "The way that thing is flailing about, I can't attack without hurting Mars as well!" The frustration written on her face was so clear that even the usually oblivious Sailor Moon got it. She searched high and low for an opening, but to no avail.
"HEEEEEEELP MEEE!!!" the usually well collected Shino Priestess wailed unceremoniously as the arm that imprisoned her jerked violently through the air. Her face had an ominous green tinge to it, which only underscored the need for the next warrior to make her move.
Usagi was unsure of what the nest action should be, or even how they were going to be delivered from this mess. As she was potting, as much as she does, anyway, a new voice overtook the street:
"Drop that girl!" It was strong feminine sound that washed over the area like ice.
The monster stilled, and looked to the source of this interruption, almost like it recognized what it heard. It roared in the general direction of the demand, and tightened its grip on its prize, much to Mars's ill.
"Titan Gas Blind!" came another voice at that, and following the sound was a wave of dense fog, and the street was completely obscured.
Sailor Moon, against all of instinct and good sense's counsel, ran wildly to where she'd last seen the enemy. "Rei-chan better appreciate this!" Suddenly, the dark outline of the giant materialized through the mist, and she crouched low behind a car, to see what had happened in the time of blindness.
The next thing she saw shocked her more than anything else had so far that day, and this was a relatively odd day, even for a girl with a talking cat. Another form had approached the creature as well. She could tell that this new person was a female, albeit with close-cropped tresses and either pants or shorts. This short-haired girl leaped high, and punched the enemy's nose, kicked it's wrists, and hit the backs of it's knees so quickly that it seemed to all happen at once.
The youma screamed, dropped Sailor Mars, and stumbled forward. Its attacker picked the now unconscious black-haired warrior and darted away. Two more shadows formed from the haze, once unnaturally tall and obviously female, leaning on a magnificent staff, and the other an average sized male, who had a weird circle floating near his side. The woman nodded curtly, and the guy raised his arms.
"Miranda Sphere Splash!" crimson sparks showered through the opaque air and disassembled the giant into dust.
From a low building top, a piercing screech cut through the atmosphere. "You killed it!!! YOU KILLED IT!!!" A skin-creeping shriek followed the statement, and Usagi cringed.
"Hush, Abigail," soothed a male voice, "With our 'New Friend' we can make you many new pets. This disturbed Sailor Moon further. The sweet and smooth tone that the male had before processed was gone in his next words, "Sailor Europa! We WILL meet again!" There was a popping sound in that general direction, and nothing more from those particular interlopers.
"They escaped!" the male that had destroyed the creature punched some unlucky car's hood. He sounded greatly perturbed, and clenched his fists and tensed his body, even though it was plain that the fight was over.
"He was right, Sailor Miranda," the tall girl put a hand on his shoulder and applied pressure. "We will meet them again, all too soon, I fear," with that she melted into the thickly shrouded air, and her companion soon followed.
Usagi was now alone, and she groped her way over to the fallen comrade, who was slowly regaining her wakefulness. A few minutes passed, and the cloud lifted, and the rest of the team joined them one by one.
Sailor Jupiter, who was the last to find her friends, sat nest to the still disoriented Mars and cocked her head. "Who the HELL is Sailor Europa?"
And, sadly, this was a question to which Usagi had no answer.
