Hi all, sorry for the long delay. If anyone out there is still reading
this, more power to you. I'll be trying to get chapters out more quickly
now. I have a vague idea of where this will go; the characters have finally
found a life of their own. As usual, any criticisms, flames, or ideas are
welcome. Thanks in advance for reading and enjoy!
As usual, Sailor Moon does not belong to me, this is as close to the greatness as I can get. And thanks again to Rupert Holmes and his Pina Colada song.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 3 I'm the love that you've looked for
Serena paced in front of her open closet. A myriad of clothes littered her floor and bed; she had been rummaging through it all afternoon. She stood admiring the short black skirt and choral pink top she had found. Bending down she picked up a pair of pantyhose and flopped onto her bed to pull them on. She stepped into a pair of short black heels and picked up her make-up case.
She unzipped the bag and sat it on top of her bathroom counter and closed the door behind her. Sighing resignedly at her reflection she began to unpack her makeup. I don't know what I'm even doing, she thought. Is this crazy? I guess I could always hide and see who shows up first. With a deciding nod, she picked up her eye liner and applied a light coat over each eye. She added some coral colored eye shadow, finished that with some mascara, and powdered her face.
She headed back into her room and snatched up her small black bag from her bed. Glancing at the clock she realized she had just enough time to dash across town and be five minutes early. She pulled her lip gloss from her bag as she dashed down the stairs. "I'll be back a little later, Mom." She called as she reached the door.
"I realize its Friday night, dear" Said Serena's mom as she appeared in the hall. "But try not to stay out too late. Your Father will worry."
Serena rolled her eyes and kissed her mother on the cheek. "I won't. Tell Dad I love him." She said closing the door and dashing off down the street.
"That girl is going to be the death of me." Serena's mom sighed and turned back to the kitchen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The four girls arrived outside the north end of the Arboretum just as the clock struck eleven-fifteen. Added to the black ensembles they had been wearing were black gloves and a pair of binoculars for each. Lita helped Ami and Rei up into the nearest tree and was hoisting Mina when Andrew arrived.
"Lord, your heavy! Stop eating cake!" Exclaimed Lita as Mina crushed her ponytail in her haste to find a good foothold. Finding a seat, Mina turned around and stuck her tongue out at Lita who threw the remaining bags up at her. Mina, unprepared for the bags flying at her, lost her balance trying to grab them and without some quick moving on Rei's part, would have fallen out of the tree. Andrew caught the tail end of Lita's comment and the ensuing struggle and started to laugh to announce his presence when one of the bags Mina hadn't quite gotten hold of clobbered him. This caused Rei to laugh and lose her precarious hold on Mina, who, with a short cry, fell from her low branch and took out Lita who had just started to climb the tree. Poor Ami, having witnessed the whole ordeal from the topmost point, was holding her sides with laughter at the group tangled below the tree, and trying to remain seated herself.
"Ugh." Came a voice from the bottom of the pile "Lita was right, stop eating cake Mina!" The rest of the group cracked up again and Mina stood and brushed herself off unceremoniously. "You're a bunch of uncoordinated apes." She replied tossing her golden hair behind her shoulder and crossing her arms. "I'm finding my own tree."
"Aw, come on were just kidding." Said Rei from her branch, trying not fall from her subsiding giggles.
"I'll even help you up this time." Offered Andrew, giving her his brightest smile.
She stood for a moment deciding whether or not she could trust him. "Alright, as long as you don't drop me." She replied walking to Andrew and getting a boost up. Once they all placed themselves into the tree, Andrew opened the bag he had insisted he bring up. Inside was what he considered the ultimate in revenge type arsenal: a digital video camera. Complete with super night shooting mode and flip out swivel monitor. He had spent an arm and a leg on his most coveted possession and he planned on making sure it earned its keep.
"Alright, now we just wait." He said setting his camera into the crook of two branches. The girls looked at each other and grinned, this was going to be fun!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Serena glanced at her watch as she dashed through the park to the Arboretum. She figured she'd be able to shave off a few more seconds if she went that way instead of taking the sidewalks. The dimmed lighting of the building came into view and she slowed her pace to catch her breath. The wispy, white clouds parted overhead and the night was pierced with the bright light of the moon at the moment the girls and Andrew caught sight of her. Rei leaned over and slapped a hand over Mina's mouth to keep her from squealing with excitement and giving away their positions.
Serena looked around as she headed inside, it was fairly quiet except for the far off rushing of a fountain in another area of the indoor Arboretum. The whole rose garden area, although very popular usually, seemed deserted. She picked out a nice spot far enough from the door so as not to be seen and sat down on a bench to hide her position.
Outside, perched in their tree, the spies continued to set up their surveillance. Amy set up her binoculars and her minicomputer, safely out of Andrews's sight, Lita was unpacking her own bag of gear, while Rei was trying to maneuver into a better position, although Mina was almost hopping on the branch they shared muttering "I knew she'd do it!"
"Knock it off, you're making me sea sick." Complained Rei, as she slid further away from Mina on the branch.
Darien sighed as he entered the Arboretum from the east. He had decided that since Andrew and the girls would be waiting outside in the trees looking in from the north, the best entrance was one where he could walk in with his side to them. It might give him a few minutes before they realized it was him. His stomach continued to plague him as he adjusted his jacket for the tenth time. I never said I had to tell her everything, he thought to himself, I could even tell her the whole thing was Andrew's idea of a bad joke. But the thought of the hurt look that would probably appear on her face changed his mind immediately.
He approached the entry to the rose gardens and took a deep breath before walking through the door. He looked around quickly and didn't see her. He scanned the area a second time. He started to scare himself into thinking she wouldn't show when he remembered this was Serena. He looked at his watch, it was only eleven-twenty, and with her sense of timing she wouldn't run in here for another ten minutes. With this thought he began to wander around the gardens aimlessly smelling roses and checking out the new hybrids the gardeners had been working on.
Serena was so intent on keeping an eye on the door she had entered that she hadn't seen Darien's entrance through the other. She sat looking around and enjoying the silent evening sitting in the roses. The scent around her was so thick she was sure she would leave smelling like them. She reached out and touched a blood red petal of a rose on the bush beside her. She ran its softness between her thumb and forefinger gently.
As Darien rounded one of the paths he caught sight of Serena sitting on the bench. For a moment he took a step backwards so he could watch her for a moment without being seen.
Although being seen was exactly what had already happened. The moment Darien had entered the rose gardens a gasp was heard from Rei. She had found what she considered a great spot for spying and was sweeping the room with her binoculars when he walked through the door. Andrew, hearing Rei gasp, turned his camera in the direction she was looking and broke out into a giant smile as Darien came into focus.
"Is he here?" asked Mina leaning closer to Rei on the branch they shared.
"It's Darien." said Rei in a breathy voice.
"What's he doing here?" asked Lita picking up her own binoculars and watching the scene below.
"The ads from him." Explained Andrew as he tried to get Serena and Darien into focus on his camera.
"What?!" exclaimed four female voices in unison.
"Well, actually, I put the ad in, because he never would have done it himself, but it's from him." Said Andrew matter-of-factly.
"Is this some sort of sick joke?! I'll pound him into the ground!" exclaimed Lita as she began to climb back down the tree.
"No! No!" said Andrew quickly, "Haven't you ever seen the way he moons over her when she's near? He's got it bad for Serena, and this tape I'm making of him spilling his guts to her will be worth twice its weight in revenge for years to come!" Andrew patted the side of his camera gently and aimed it back on Serena and Darien. He watched as Darien came into sight of Serena and retreated back into a bush. Lita gave an audible "Humph" and climbed back onto her branch.
From the earpiece Amy had attached to her mini-comp a low beep began eliciting. She typed a few commands and a program began to run on its own, a moment later another beep started and another program began running. Amy watched the figures zoom by on the screen. "Uh oh." she muttered quietly, furiously typing commands as figures continued to zoom down.
From the garden, Serena continued unaware that she was being watched. Darien stood on the far side of the bush and watched as she audibly sighed and began scanning the door for a sign of anyone. He decided it was now or never and continued to walk down the path as if he hadn't seen her.
Serena caught a movement from the other direction and turned her gaze towards the path leading to the bench she was on. To her surprise Darien was walking her way. She felt her shoulders stiffen in response to his figure and set herself up for another war of the wits that was sure to occur.
"Just what are you doing here?!" she asked standing from the bench.
"I'm meeting someone." He said nonchalantly, stopping a few feet from her form. His eyes raked over her body taking in the skirt and makeup she was wearing. She'd dressed up for him and he felt suddenly special realizing she had wanted to look her best. Although, she didn't know it was you, he thought to himself.
Serena raised an eyebrow warily. Things were starting to make sense and she wasn't sure she wanted them to. "Is this a joke?" she asked defensively.
"No." He answered simply.
"Listen here," she began, pointing a finger at him "If you think you can lure me out here for some kind of pick on Serena day you really have outdone yourself this time. If you wanted to find out how angry I can get by pulling a stunt your about to find out."
From up in the tree, Amy watched as both of their body temperatures began to increase at an alarming rate. Whatever she's saying is not making either of them happy, she thought glancing up and watching Serena wag her finger at Darien. Meanwhile she switched the program back to the other open window and watched as a dark field of energy began to grow nearby in the park. This is not going to go well, Amy thought again to herself. She looked down to see Rei momentarily forget her binoculars and raise her head as if catching the scent of something. She looked up at Amy who nodded almost imperceptibly, and swore under breath.
Mina suddenly seemed to come to life as well and was already reaching for her henshin wand before remembering they had Andrew in their midst. Mina looked down at Lita and whistled low to her. Lita looked up and Mina mouthed youma to her. All four girls exchanged looks of apprehension. They couldn't very well jump out of the tree and rush to the park suddenly, not to mention change in front of Andrew.
Meanwhile, Darien continued to stare at Serena as she ranted on about tricking her. He put his hands up in defense as she walked closer. He didn't know if she was going to deck him or run out the door.
".and another thing, this whole meatball stuff has got to stop. I." Serena trailed off as her watch started to beep. She looked at it as if it would bite her. "Geez, it has to happen now." She muttered. She looked at Darien quickly. "I have to go. You'll have to explain this whole thing later to me, and it better be good." She finished glaring. She turned and dashed for the door, the moment she disappeared Darien let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He loved the way she looked when she was mad. She got all flushed and her eyes brightened as if she enjoyed yelling at him.
He started to walk toward the door himself when he felt the urge suddenly to change into Tuxedo Mask. He bent over in pain, his previous stomach ache long forgotten. Falling to his hands and knees, he tried to control the change. A light flashed brightly and the clothes he had painstakingly picked out earlier were replaced with his signature tuxedo. He dashed toward the door using his sixth sense to find where Sailor Moon was sure to have appeared by now.
Up in the tree Andrew gave a gasp finally taking in a breath after watching the scene through his camera. The girls all sat as still as statues. One by one they looked at each other.
Finally Amy spoke, "Well Andrew, I suppose you'll just have to keep four more secrets." She held out her henshin wand and called out the now familiar phrase, the other girls following suit.
As they dashed from the tree and headed toward the spot Amy had detected the anomaly at Andrew shook his head. "I can't.I can't believe." He was stuttering to himself as he climbed down the tree, the camera clutched unconsciously in his hand. He ran in the direction he had seen the girls run, to catch the infamous Sailor Scouts, people he now knew as friends and colleagues, in action.
As usual, Sailor Moon does not belong to me, this is as close to the greatness as I can get. And thanks again to Rupert Holmes and his Pina Colada song.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 3 I'm the love that you've looked for
Serena paced in front of her open closet. A myriad of clothes littered her floor and bed; she had been rummaging through it all afternoon. She stood admiring the short black skirt and choral pink top she had found. Bending down she picked up a pair of pantyhose and flopped onto her bed to pull them on. She stepped into a pair of short black heels and picked up her make-up case.
She unzipped the bag and sat it on top of her bathroom counter and closed the door behind her. Sighing resignedly at her reflection she began to unpack her makeup. I don't know what I'm even doing, she thought. Is this crazy? I guess I could always hide and see who shows up first. With a deciding nod, she picked up her eye liner and applied a light coat over each eye. She added some coral colored eye shadow, finished that with some mascara, and powdered her face.
She headed back into her room and snatched up her small black bag from her bed. Glancing at the clock she realized she had just enough time to dash across town and be five minutes early. She pulled her lip gloss from her bag as she dashed down the stairs. "I'll be back a little later, Mom." She called as she reached the door.
"I realize its Friday night, dear" Said Serena's mom as she appeared in the hall. "But try not to stay out too late. Your Father will worry."
Serena rolled her eyes and kissed her mother on the cheek. "I won't. Tell Dad I love him." She said closing the door and dashing off down the street.
"That girl is going to be the death of me." Serena's mom sighed and turned back to the kitchen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The four girls arrived outside the north end of the Arboretum just as the clock struck eleven-fifteen. Added to the black ensembles they had been wearing were black gloves and a pair of binoculars for each. Lita helped Ami and Rei up into the nearest tree and was hoisting Mina when Andrew arrived.
"Lord, your heavy! Stop eating cake!" Exclaimed Lita as Mina crushed her ponytail in her haste to find a good foothold. Finding a seat, Mina turned around and stuck her tongue out at Lita who threw the remaining bags up at her. Mina, unprepared for the bags flying at her, lost her balance trying to grab them and without some quick moving on Rei's part, would have fallen out of the tree. Andrew caught the tail end of Lita's comment and the ensuing struggle and started to laugh to announce his presence when one of the bags Mina hadn't quite gotten hold of clobbered him. This caused Rei to laugh and lose her precarious hold on Mina, who, with a short cry, fell from her low branch and took out Lita who had just started to climb the tree. Poor Ami, having witnessed the whole ordeal from the topmost point, was holding her sides with laughter at the group tangled below the tree, and trying to remain seated herself.
"Ugh." Came a voice from the bottom of the pile "Lita was right, stop eating cake Mina!" The rest of the group cracked up again and Mina stood and brushed herself off unceremoniously. "You're a bunch of uncoordinated apes." She replied tossing her golden hair behind her shoulder and crossing her arms. "I'm finding my own tree."
"Aw, come on were just kidding." Said Rei from her branch, trying not fall from her subsiding giggles.
"I'll even help you up this time." Offered Andrew, giving her his brightest smile.
She stood for a moment deciding whether or not she could trust him. "Alright, as long as you don't drop me." She replied walking to Andrew and getting a boost up. Once they all placed themselves into the tree, Andrew opened the bag he had insisted he bring up. Inside was what he considered the ultimate in revenge type arsenal: a digital video camera. Complete with super night shooting mode and flip out swivel monitor. He had spent an arm and a leg on his most coveted possession and he planned on making sure it earned its keep.
"Alright, now we just wait." He said setting his camera into the crook of two branches. The girls looked at each other and grinned, this was going to be fun!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Serena glanced at her watch as she dashed through the park to the Arboretum. She figured she'd be able to shave off a few more seconds if she went that way instead of taking the sidewalks. The dimmed lighting of the building came into view and she slowed her pace to catch her breath. The wispy, white clouds parted overhead and the night was pierced with the bright light of the moon at the moment the girls and Andrew caught sight of her. Rei leaned over and slapped a hand over Mina's mouth to keep her from squealing with excitement and giving away their positions.
Serena looked around as she headed inside, it was fairly quiet except for the far off rushing of a fountain in another area of the indoor Arboretum. The whole rose garden area, although very popular usually, seemed deserted. She picked out a nice spot far enough from the door so as not to be seen and sat down on a bench to hide her position.
Outside, perched in their tree, the spies continued to set up their surveillance. Amy set up her binoculars and her minicomputer, safely out of Andrews's sight, Lita was unpacking her own bag of gear, while Rei was trying to maneuver into a better position, although Mina was almost hopping on the branch they shared muttering "I knew she'd do it!"
"Knock it off, you're making me sea sick." Complained Rei, as she slid further away from Mina on the branch.
Darien sighed as he entered the Arboretum from the east. He had decided that since Andrew and the girls would be waiting outside in the trees looking in from the north, the best entrance was one where he could walk in with his side to them. It might give him a few minutes before they realized it was him. His stomach continued to plague him as he adjusted his jacket for the tenth time. I never said I had to tell her everything, he thought to himself, I could even tell her the whole thing was Andrew's idea of a bad joke. But the thought of the hurt look that would probably appear on her face changed his mind immediately.
He approached the entry to the rose gardens and took a deep breath before walking through the door. He looked around quickly and didn't see her. He scanned the area a second time. He started to scare himself into thinking she wouldn't show when he remembered this was Serena. He looked at his watch, it was only eleven-twenty, and with her sense of timing she wouldn't run in here for another ten minutes. With this thought he began to wander around the gardens aimlessly smelling roses and checking out the new hybrids the gardeners had been working on.
Serena was so intent on keeping an eye on the door she had entered that she hadn't seen Darien's entrance through the other. She sat looking around and enjoying the silent evening sitting in the roses. The scent around her was so thick she was sure she would leave smelling like them. She reached out and touched a blood red petal of a rose on the bush beside her. She ran its softness between her thumb and forefinger gently.
As Darien rounded one of the paths he caught sight of Serena sitting on the bench. For a moment he took a step backwards so he could watch her for a moment without being seen.
Although being seen was exactly what had already happened. The moment Darien had entered the rose gardens a gasp was heard from Rei. She had found what she considered a great spot for spying and was sweeping the room with her binoculars when he walked through the door. Andrew, hearing Rei gasp, turned his camera in the direction she was looking and broke out into a giant smile as Darien came into focus.
"Is he here?" asked Mina leaning closer to Rei on the branch they shared.
"It's Darien." said Rei in a breathy voice.
"What's he doing here?" asked Lita picking up her own binoculars and watching the scene below.
"The ads from him." Explained Andrew as he tried to get Serena and Darien into focus on his camera.
"What?!" exclaimed four female voices in unison.
"Well, actually, I put the ad in, because he never would have done it himself, but it's from him." Said Andrew matter-of-factly.
"Is this some sort of sick joke?! I'll pound him into the ground!" exclaimed Lita as she began to climb back down the tree.
"No! No!" said Andrew quickly, "Haven't you ever seen the way he moons over her when she's near? He's got it bad for Serena, and this tape I'm making of him spilling his guts to her will be worth twice its weight in revenge for years to come!" Andrew patted the side of his camera gently and aimed it back on Serena and Darien. He watched as Darien came into sight of Serena and retreated back into a bush. Lita gave an audible "Humph" and climbed back onto her branch.
From the earpiece Amy had attached to her mini-comp a low beep began eliciting. She typed a few commands and a program began to run on its own, a moment later another beep started and another program began running. Amy watched the figures zoom by on the screen. "Uh oh." she muttered quietly, furiously typing commands as figures continued to zoom down.
From the garden, Serena continued unaware that she was being watched. Darien stood on the far side of the bush and watched as she audibly sighed and began scanning the door for a sign of anyone. He decided it was now or never and continued to walk down the path as if he hadn't seen her.
Serena caught a movement from the other direction and turned her gaze towards the path leading to the bench she was on. To her surprise Darien was walking her way. She felt her shoulders stiffen in response to his figure and set herself up for another war of the wits that was sure to occur.
"Just what are you doing here?!" she asked standing from the bench.
"I'm meeting someone." He said nonchalantly, stopping a few feet from her form. His eyes raked over her body taking in the skirt and makeup she was wearing. She'd dressed up for him and he felt suddenly special realizing she had wanted to look her best. Although, she didn't know it was you, he thought to himself.
Serena raised an eyebrow warily. Things were starting to make sense and she wasn't sure she wanted them to. "Is this a joke?" she asked defensively.
"No." He answered simply.
"Listen here," she began, pointing a finger at him "If you think you can lure me out here for some kind of pick on Serena day you really have outdone yourself this time. If you wanted to find out how angry I can get by pulling a stunt your about to find out."
From up in the tree, Amy watched as both of their body temperatures began to increase at an alarming rate. Whatever she's saying is not making either of them happy, she thought glancing up and watching Serena wag her finger at Darien. Meanwhile she switched the program back to the other open window and watched as a dark field of energy began to grow nearby in the park. This is not going to go well, Amy thought again to herself. She looked down to see Rei momentarily forget her binoculars and raise her head as if catching the scent of something. She looked up at Amy who nodded almost imperceptibly, and swore under breath.
Mina suddenly seemed to come to life as well and was already reaching for her henshin wand before remembering they had Andrew in their midst. Mina looked down at Lita and whistled low to her. Lita looked up and Mina mouthed youma to her. All four girls exchanged looks of apprehension. They couldn't very well jump out of the tree and rush to the park suddenly, not to mention change in front of Andrew.
Meanwhile, Darien continued to stare at Serena as she ranted on about tricking her. He put his hands up in defense as she walked closer. He didn't know if she was going to deck him or run out the door.
".and another thing, this whole meatball stuff has got to stop. I." Serena trailed off as her watch started to beep. She looked at it as if it would bite her. "Geez, it has to happen now." She muttered. She looked at Darien quickly. "I have to go. You'll have to explain this whole thing later to me, and it better be good." She finished glaring. She turned and dashed for the door, the moment she disappeared Darien let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He loved the way she looked when she was mad. She got all flushed and her eyes brightened as if she enjoyed yelling at him.
He started to walk toward the door himself when he felt the urge suddenly to change into Tuxedo Mask. He bent over in pain, his previous stomach ache long forgotten. Falling to his hands and knees, he tried to control the change. A light flashed brightly and the clothes he had painstakingly picked out earlier were replaced with his signature tuxedo. He dashed toward the door using his sixth sense to find where Sailor Moon was sure to have appeared by now.
Up in the tree Andrew gave a gasp finally taking in a breath after watching the scene through his camera. The girls all sat as still as statues. One by one they looked at each other.
Finally Amy spoke, "Well Andrew, I suppose you'll just have to keep four more secrets." She held out her henshin wand and called out the now familiar phrase, the other girls following suit.
As they dashed from the tree and headed toward the spot Amy had detected the anomaly at Andrew shook his head. "I can't.I can't believe." He was stuttering to himself as he climbed down the tree, the camera clutched unconsciously in his hand. He ran in the direction he had seen the girls run, to catch the infamous Sailor Scouts, people he now knew as friends and colleagues, in action.