Disclaimer: I do not own anything of the "Sailor Moon" series. This goes along the lines of the original series, but an alternate dimension. Trust me, eventually, my knight will meet the scouts. Patience is a virtue, so awaiting that moment won't be so bad. REVIEW!!
Chapter 11
Cook-Off Kamikaze
~ Tsukikage Household ~
Cyrus was lounging on Stephen's stomach while the young teen was sprawled across his bed, half-asleep. Cyrus looked up at the youth occasionally to see if his eyes were open, but to no avail. Stephen only slept in his room, no matter what time of the day it was. He had no interest in going outside since the incident with his little sister Casey at the Candy Castle, and had taken it out on Cyrus by kicking the cat out of the house and locking al the doors and windows for a few days.
Cyrus had been eating out of garbage cans and stealing scraps from the arcade until he found Stephen sitting in his window one blessed knight, not really paying attention, so Cyrus stole his way back in. It wasn't hard at all, Stephen was off in another world once again, but different this time. It started to rain soon after Cyrus had made it back inside, but Stephen stayed in the window and got wet for hours before he actually came back in. He fell ill the next day after sleeping in wet clothes with the window open. Stephen had been so out of it for those few days, he'd even forgotten to lock his door, which was fortunate for his health since his mother barged in to make him go to school only to discover him sick as a dog.
That had been a over a week ago and Stephen was much better now, though he'd never explained to anyone why he wrecked his health and had shut out almost everything in life out. Cyrus was still waiting for the young teenager to open his eyes so he could grill him on those factors. Cyrus was tired of waiting, even cats knew when enough was enough.
Cyrus stood up and stretched, jumping with a start as Stephen mumbled something, stirring rather violently. His eyes snapped open a few seconds later, wide and….frightened? Stephen never looked like that, not since Cyrus had known him. The only emotions he had were anger, sadness, and slight joy, not fear.
"Stephen?" he asked, licking one paw gently as the teenager sat up slowly to give Cyrus time to move to his lap. "Dream….same dream." He mumbled, almost inaudible, but not to a cat. Cyrus perked a bit at the boy's statement, cocking his velvety head to the side. "What dream? You haven't spoken a word in over a week, kid." Cyrus spouted.
"I had my reasons, other than it hurting to talk with a sore throat and the like. Ever since Casey….nearly got involved in this whole mess you call the Galaxy Knights' quest….I started having dreams….well, more like a dream to nightmares." Stephen said simply, running a pale hand through his shock white hair.
"Mind telling me about it? Or is this a human thing I wouldn't be able to understand?" Cyrus replied, stretching his lean body again. Stephen gave him one of his best irritated glares, shoving the cat off the bed. "Its not a human thing….I don't know what it is….all I know it that some guy in black murders me in a cave at the end….everything else is pretty vague. Swords clash after I'm starting to have a nice normal dream, then blood, then I see these purple eyes hovering over me, attached to a tall man all in black. He rams a sword into me and then, I wake up. It wasn't so bad the first time, then it started happening whenever I went to sleep, even during naps. When I got sick…I had no choice. What do you make of it?"
Cyrus stood up on all fours indignantly. "Oh, now you want my advice. My opinion didn't matter when I tried to assure you that your sister wasn't going to find out who you really are, or when I said you shouldn't trust Glamour so soon, and you wound up in the hospital for not listening. And for not giving Angela a chance, and…." Cyrus began, which earned him a kick in the face from Stephen's bare foot. "All right! All right! Quit riding on me for minor things and tell me what you think!" Stephen growled.
Cyrus righted himself and frowned. "Fine….Perhaps your remembering yourself in the past….If you were reborn as Stephen Tsukikage now, you had to have been someone else way back during the Silver Millenium. It was a time of great peace and prosperity between all planets, until the Dark Universe destroyed it all. We all died during it and were reborn in this day and age. It's probably that, you remembering your death."
"He called me Moon Knight, real weird voice, very throaty and smooth, like devilish charm. You're probably right….I hope you are anyway. I do not want to be predicting the future this far into your mission." Stephen said hollowly, rubbing his chin.
"I doubt you've become psychic, let's not get too unrealistic here, and for your information, this is our quest, not mine alone. I can't fight like this. What would I do, scratch their eyes out and hope they bleed to death? Hah, I'd be Chinese food in no time flat."
"Now there's a thought….you'd be more useful feeding people than you are to the group. Words of wisdom seldom help when something is kicking our butts so far it's next year. Sure our weapons and a few mystical attacks have been getting us along so far, but the monsters will only get harder and deadlier. Raven isn't a sissy like Viper was. She's unpredictable. At least Viper stuck to certain groups habitually. Raven goes to a place once and vanishes. We've lost her twice before the carnival thing, she killed over a dozen people in each area." Stephen replied, shaking his head lightly.
"You're catching on at least. With the police calling it grand scale kidnapping, I'd hate to be the one to tell them those missing people are already dead. Yes, Raven is far more slippery and random than Viper was….which makes her far more deadly. We've only seen her one time and she's caused more damage than her predecessor. She nearly killed both you and Glamour, as unreliable as I still think she is, and all those people lost their lives to her….We were fortunate to have found the last batch of victims before they'd been consumed. Did you ever find out how that young man she possessed is doing?" the cat asked.
"Cyrus, I haven't been out of the house in a week, do you think I care how he's doing when he's already been saved. There are other people at stake you know….go check it out yourself since you're unable to fight. You had a few days to seek the guy out, as I recall. You're so lazy, Cyrus." Stephen scolded his tone mocking and amused for once.
The teen picked Cyrus up carefully, swatting at his head in the most cynical manner. 'Stephen is such an odd young man, one minute he's ready to blow, the next he's acting like a fool. This is the world's hope….dear lord, give me strength.' Cyrus thought, swiping his paw at Stephen's hand, getting toyed with against the young man's fingers. "Yeah right, you're the lazy one. You tried to get out of this super hero biz by getting sick. You could have died, you moronic human. That was pneumonia, you know. What were you thinking?" Cyrus scolded.
Stephen looked indifferent, as always. "I wasn't trying to get sick….I just drifted off….I lose track of time when I do that. You have only know me for a few months, you don't know all my bad habits. I was just thinking hard." Stephen replied in a devil may care tone.
"About Glamour again? She's going to be the death of you." Cyrus mumbled, wishing a few moments later that he had thought it instead. Stephen threw him off the bed for a drop kick, which hurt the both of them in the effort. Stephen was holding onto his throbbing foot, sprawled back on the bed with his eyes clenched tightly and Cyrus had land on all fours on the floor, with only a bruised rear end to scar him.
"We have to work on our communication here. You get all riled when she's mentioned in a negative way. You might as well consider factor that she might not be on the side of right. She could be a wild card in this for herself, not you. She could have ulterior motives compared to us. You have to at least put that in as a possibility. I don't recall her being a knight at all or anything else from the past either." Cyrus said indignantly, baring his little fangs.
Stephen never lost the cross look on his face. "You can't even remember what the prince and princess looked like or what the other knights look like until you feel something coming from them. You couldn't be able to find your own ass with both hands and a road map. You may know the real deal with our powers, but you can't remember how many are against us or what any of them or our allies looks like. Don't knock her until you grow those memories back in that small brain of yours," Stephen said simply, pulling off his shirt and tossing it at his light switch," I'm tired again….I do have school to return to tomorrow….with a ton of make-up homework to do as well. Good night, Cyrus. At least let my last day off be pleasant."
Cyrus just sat down on the carpeted floor in the darkness for a few minutes, waiting for the gentle breaths of the young man to reach his keen ears. Once he hard them, he pounced up to the bed and nestled himself atop the covers, right beside Stephen's blanketed legs. 'We're all afraid for this world, Stephen. Just don't let your guard down for Glamour just because she seems to be our ally. You have to depend on yourself sometimes.' Cyrus thought, then drifted peacefully to sleep.
~ Haitsuchi's Arcade Heaven ~
"So….how was your day, Stephen? Eventful?" Gary asked in a tired manner, more annoyed than anything. Stephen shrugged, putting away another assignment into his bag. "Well, everyone, thanks to my stupid mother, thought I got sick on purpose. She'll say anything to make it seem like its me going through a tough time in my life, not her. I just drifted off, that's it. Homework was monumental, so it was no sweat to finish off during lunchtime. I wasn't really hungry anyway. Why? Did you think I did it to hurt myself or something?" Stephen asked, his eyes showing nothing more than indifference.
Gary shrugged and made a light yawn. "I heard you were having problems. I….well, me and Alan came by your house a few days ago, to see how you were doing. Our parents were worried about you since you and Alan are such buddies. You were spouting all sorts of weird stuff in your sleep when we came in….real nasty things."
Stephen flinched a bit, wondering what was considered nasty to Alan and Gary. "I did? Well, I don't remember….I was out of it. If it was anything insulting, I'm sorry. I was sick." Stephen said lightly, finishing off the last bit of his soda.
"You were swearing up a storm in your sleep, not us. It was just disturbing is all, we thought you were a sailor for a second. Even my own father doesn't swear that much in front of us, or make death threats. Sounded like you were in one hell of a nightmare." Gary commented, his tone still upset. Stephen shrugged and said," Must have….been having bad dreams for the past week. I'm a big boy, Gary, I can take care of myself, especially in my mind. Sorry if my dirty dream mouth had to be heard. I must have been thinking about Angie again. She could give the devil himself nightmares." Stephen knew his comment about handling his dreams was a big, fat lie, but Gary didn't know that. Stephen couldn't really tell if Gary had bought it or not, the dark sunglasses on the slender young man hiding his eyes from Stephen's view.
"Speaking of which, you owe me big time for this whole week. Angela was hitting on me again, cause she knew Alan would fill you in on her behavior. That weirdo was groping and flirting like nobody's business," Gary said wryly, making a light snorting sound,"….No, I can't call it flirting. She threatened to break my nose if I didn't pay attention to her. Lucky me, I ducked and she decked some poor guy asking for change. She's been banned from the arcade again, for month this time, but that won't stop her. I am willing to bet that orchid lunatic would break down the door just to see you or make you jealous. When are you going to get through to her and tell her to lay off? She's no good for you."
Stephen understood his friend's feelings on the matter, but he was shocked as to how it was said. It was as if his friend was angry Angela was in love with him, like he wished his mother and father would be, the way he expected them to act when he was being harassed. "Don't be such a Dad, you're too young for that. I try, I do, I have been patient, nice, cruel, sarcastic, nasty….but nothing works. Eventually I might start screaming at her or yell at her in school, just so everyone can see me dump her. Hell, we're not even dating, there's nothing to dump. She's the only one that thinks we are an item. We're just friends and that's all I can tolerate, but even that is wearing thin with me. She's so damn pushy and brutal, not to mention ill mannered. It seems like all the nuts fall in love with me." He let out, sighing deeply.
"All the nuts? There's more than one fruitcake after you?" Gary spat out. "Yeah….its not like I encourage anyone. No nice, simple, caring girls ever speak to me….either their too shy or I haven't met them yet. I get all the crazies."
"That's bull." Gary said, his mouth opening slightly after he said it, realizing he'd spoken aloud. Stephen just gawked at him, his nose giving off a twitch. "Bull? Where do you get off saying that?" Stephen rasped out.
Gary looked over at him indignantly, his mouth the only indication that he was actually angry. "Its not hard to see….Alan told me plenty about how ditzy you are in school, not stupid ditzy, just oblivious. I've seen it too, when you're in the arcade playing games and even when you're eating. Every girl that walks in here and some that are too shy so they look through the window at you. They are practically drooling over the sight of you and you never even notice. Alan said you even turned heads when you visited his dorm room in college to give him a birthday present. Girls way older than you were fawning all over you," Gary sped out, " You're a major meathead not to notice all those nice girls doing that and only notice the lunatics that practically get in your face for reasons other than a relationship. It a wonder you never notice all these girls, they're no more than 10 feet away and you never notice them all fawning over you like some kind of god. I don't get you, man."
Stephen snorted at the accusations, but it was short lived. "What girls? I look, I never see them." He lied. He knew he had to lie because he never really looked anywhere except at what he was doing or eating, or paying close attention to things that could do him harm or annoyance. Maybe there were girls staring, and Gary and Alan had both noticed it, even if he hadn't. Then a question hit him, something to get Gary to drop the subject for a while. "Why are you two staring at me anyway? And how do you possible see them staring at me eating or playing? When I'm doing those things, you're supposed to be in class. You playing hookie or something?"
Gary's anger faded at that, and he started to bite his lip. "I….well….get off of my last class sometimes early and I come to the arcade when you're eating. Alan….told me about the video game stuff." He said, a bit too quickly.
"Oh, you just said you saw me getting stared at while I was playing. You said Alan saw it too, meaning you both have been spying on me. Or maybe you watch the tapes to make sure no one has tampered with the games and saw it? Which I call spying…so which is it? Huh?" Stephen asked, pushing harder for an answer with narrow blue eyes.
Gary seemed to freeze in place, barely breathing at the questions. "Well, answer me, Gary. We are friends, so you better fess up with the truth this time. Which is it?" Stephen pressed. Gary was still silent, his head only moving slightly to look away to his left. Stephen started to get out of his chair as the silence dragged on, ready to grab his friend by the shoulders and shake the truth out.
"STEPHEN!"
Stephen stopped in the middle of his rising as Lamont burst into the room, looking frantic and with beads of sweat all over his face and stained across his chest.
"I'm in the middle of something, what is it?" Stephen asked, trying to sound polite.
Lamont panted for a few minutes after the question, leaning both palms in his knees as he bent over to catch his breath. "F…..f….f….f….." he tried, but his ragged breaths kept cutting the rest of the word off.
Stephen got in a full standing stance and looked thoughtfully at the young redhead, forgetting for a moment about Gary. He didn't look injured or bruised, so it couldn't be the dark Universe he was rushing in about….unless he had seen them and they had not seen him. Then again, knowing Lamont, it could be about Cici or some other blonde that 'captured' his heart.
"Deep breaths, Lamont. You're going to swallow your tongue." Gary piped up suddenly and Stephen moved out of his train of thought to notice that Gary was beside Lamont, trying to fan him with one of Stephen's books. Lamont obeyed, still hunched over panting for a few more minutes. He righted himself after that, smiling softly at the floor, his eyes trying to focus on Stephen. "Favor…..time." he said finally.
Stephen shook his head, cracking a smile, not because the reason for barging in was so simple, but in secret relief that he didn't have to go out and save the world. "Fine, we can talk about it over some burgers….Gary and I were just ending our tutoring session. You just go order them from Alan, see you in a bit." Stephen said quietly, gesturing with the back of his hand for Lamont to go. Lamont nodded with his brightest smile, his green eyes almost alive with electricity, then bolted back out the door, leaving it wide open.
"If we promise not to discuss my life….at least until I see if what you say is actually true or just to tease me. Can you live with that?" Stephen asked quietly, stuffing his books into his bag, Gary still standing by the door. Stephen walked up to him casually and took the book from Gary's hand, noting the nod he gave him. "Ok then….see you next week." The youth let out dryly, walking out of the room without another word.
~
"A cooking contest? Out of all the favors you could have asked of me, money, a TV, stereo, a computer, clothes, house-sitting….I am used to getting those requests as favors, but asking me to be your partner in a cooking contest? Why would you want me in it?" Stephen asked, taking another bite out of his burger.
"Number one, you're my best friend, Stephen, and number two, the prize is scholarships to the college of your choice, for both contestants. Each place, from third to first, you get scholarships. And three….well, no one wants to be my partner anyway." He said, his final words said with a bit of embarrassment.
"Cause of your old school reputation. That's a bit cruel….but some people can't help it, on account of them being very ignorant….But….this would be earning money towards college….I have saved enough of my allowances for years now to afford a year of tuition, scholarships would help even better…." Stephen said, rubbing his chin in thought.
"But you're family is richer than rich? Won't they just pay your way through?" Lamont asked, getting a wry look out of Stephen. "They have offered, and they keep offering….for law school or medical school, but I don't want that. I want to be a scientist, you know, make things to benefit others like cures, clean cars, waste eating bacteria that helps the environment….you know, do things other than just go for a career to make money. I may be a bit of a daydreamer, but with the right schooling, I can do a lot. Work on genetics, technology, medicine, agriculture, the works….my parents think doing that will make the work harder on the real professionals that lose patients and clients when such advances are made. They're so old fashioned….so stuck on themselves, stuck on money. Even if I need it to go to college, it's not going to rule my life. This scholarship….provided we win, cold really help me out with my tuition at the scientific institute."
Lamont looked dumbstruck for a moment, then let out a cheerful smile. "Then I take it you'll be my partner for the contest?"
Stephen nodded, sticking his hand out to Lamont to shake on it, and they did, but then Stephen tensed when he heard a faint sighing a ways behind him. "What's wrong? Cramp in your fingers?" Lamont joked, but Stephen gave an expression of nervousness as he began to stare at the table. "Are there girls staring at us….just nod if there are. And don't look like you're actually trying to see them, be casual."
Let go of my hand and I will." Lamont said plainly, and Stephen did so, staring down at his half eaten burger as if it was very fascinating. He waited a few moments before looking back up at Lamont, who nodded quickly for few seconds. "How many…and make it quiet." Stephen mumbled.
"I'd have to really look to do that, but to make a guess….over a dozen, black hair, red, blonde, colored….short long, pretty, slender, average. We have quite an audience….must be the hair." Lamont whispered back.
"Hair?"
"Yeah, my bright red and your shock white, they make us stand out. I'm surprised your asking me this, I thought you knew the girls were a stalking you. Who can ignore how nearly every girl in school, here, and on the street stare at you with puppy dog eyes and grins? They are hard to miss." Lamont replied, making a suggestive grin,
Stephen shrugged, silently cursing himself for not noticing something everyone else did. "Gary was right….he'll never let me hear the end of this now….hell. Ah, can't be helped….Maybe if I just admit I was mistaken, he'll leave it at that. Maybe," Stephen said lightly, not really hungry anymore," So, when's this contest?"
Lamont wagged his finger at him, a mock scolding look on his face. "No fair trying to change the subject, you shy violet….but, then again, I understand how you would feel a bit embarrassed about not noticing all that. I would be. Heh….well, the contest in Monday afternoon, right after school in the courtyard. We have the whole weekend to shop for ingredients and practice on my Dad. He loves food more than me, and it shows more too."
"What are we making?" Stephen asked, fingering his food with benign interest. "Chicken curry with a wild rice mixture….the theme is spicy dishes and that's my best….and it's the best I can afford on my crummy allowance. So, my Dad will come by with me to take of to the market tomorrow at noon, ok? That good for you?" Lamont said brightly.
"No problem. I'll be ready and happy for once, Mom's taking Casey to a new movie that morning with some of her little friends. Anything to get out of the house and do something." Stephen replied.
~ Haruka Supermarket ~
Stephen, Lamont, and Lamont's rather portly father walked into the local supermarket, getting few stares, mostly young women. Stephen looked at his feet the entire way in, well aware of the stares. 'Not one stared at me when I wore that brown wig. Why do I have white hair….Mom, Dad, and Casey don't, my grandparents never did. Do they think it's cute or odd? Why don't they say something, I hate to be stared at.' He thought uncomfortably.
He balked as Lamont's father slapped him cheerfully on the back, chuckling in his deep and happy voice. "Boy, don't be so glum, cooking doesn't make you any less of a man. What if the woman you marry can't cook? Then you'll both be reduced to TV dinners, like I used to be until Lamont came along and learned to cook. Such a cute kid, huh?" his father chortled, and Stephen found it was Lamont's turn to look depressed.
"Daaaaad….not in front of my friend. Girls, remember, girls." Lamont mumbled, getting a hearty slap of his own from his father. "He's so modest, my son the lady killer, just like I used to be till his cooking fattened me up, but I don't need to be that way anymore. I have his mother….lovely woman," his father was saying as they entered the meat aisle," Now you boys just stuff your arms with what you need for your meal. I'll wait near the registers. You two have fun."
Lamont's father walked off, leaning over at the end of the aisle to snatch off some doughnuts. "Ah dad….don't listen to him. He was portly before I learned to cook….his mom was a fantastic cook. I'm sorry I never got to meet her….she died before….well, just before me."
"I'd rather have your father than mine….a few good natured slaps on the back beat screaming matches each night at the table. I hate fighting with him, but he expects too much of me. He's been riding me ever since I could walk and talk to grow up fast and become a rich doctor or lawyer to make him and mom look good," Stephen sighed, grabbing up some chicken breast packages," Casey they are biding their time with. I bet by the time she's ten, they'll be signing her up for law school. Ah well…."
"Yeah, the way you talk about him, I don't think I ever want to meet the guy…but fear not, my friend. This weekend will be devoted to the glory of food. No more moaning and groaning about family or the fillies that gaze upon you. Now is the time for our love of cooking, and the scholarships it will win." Lamont chirped, grabbing up another two pounds of boneless chicken breasts.
"What else do we need….should I go back and get a basket or something for all of it?" Stephen asked.
Lamont chuckled. "You go to the produce section and I'll meet you there with a cart. Take the list with you. There should be fresh garlic bulbs there, some bottled mango chutney, and lemon juice bottles. You hold onto all that and I'll be there lickety-split." Lamont said, slamming the list into the chicken package Stephen was holding and walked off. Stephen just nodded and went towards the produce section.
~ The Inabikari Household ~
"Ok….this is going to be chicken curry with scallions and wild rice, my mother's personal Friday favorite. A heartburn nightmare if Dad overdose his eating of it, so we keep plenty of stomach medicine in the fridge for him. He loves my cooking way too much." Lamont said cheerfully.
"Not something to be proud of, Lamont. Having an upset stomach hurts…even if what caused it tasted good." Stephen said, trying to suppress a laugh.
"I'm not proud of it, its just funny how my dad never learns to cut down. He knows its spicy stuff, but he loves my cooking so much he can't help himself. He's a good sport about it though, every time. He just hugs me when its all over and says better luck next time. My dad's such a card," Lamont chuckled, then gestured at all the ingredients," Now, with that all explained, let's get down to business. I'll explain it first then we cook, so we don't waste any food. Then we take the duplicate purchases of meat and such to the cafeteria fridge. Everyone places their stuff inside labeled with their names and takes them out to the cooking booths set up for them from the people that run the contest. This includes electric stoves, counters, a couple mixing appliances of choice for all, and things to measure, cut and mix with. Ok?"
Stephen nodded, and saluted his friend with a measuring spoon he picked off the counter. "I'm not an idiot in the kitchen, Lamont, I'll be the best help you can hope for….I hope. Just tell me once, I'll remember, I have a good memory. You should know that by now."
"I know that. Man, I just wanted to bring you up to speed with what we'll have available. You know, just so you don't think I'm wasting time," Lamont replied, then started to count off on his fingers," First we make the sauce in a food processor, I already signed for what we need, so don't worry about us being left empty handed up at our booth. But the processor is not what we need, trust me."
"I didn't doubt with all your claims of being a good cook that you'd forget to ask for the essentials. Go on….and tell me why the processor isn't included" Stephen replied.
Lamont grinned and went on. "Ok then, we put two crush garlic gloves, three tablespoons of white wine vinegar and four of lemon juice, freshly squeezed mind you for better taste, one and half tablespoons of the curry powder, and three of the chutney and blend. I really don't like salt in it, so just put a dash of ground pepper in the mixture at least a couple times until the stuff is really smooth. I'll add the water and olive oil, so don't worry about those being in your corner. When that's all mixed, you turn the processor off and pour the mixture into the bowl I put the coriander in. We're going to make that today twice. This stuff has to be properly chilled for a day to be just right. So if we mess it up the first time around, which I doubt, we can redo it later on today. There's no rule against having previously sauces or dressing, there's not much to food processor in artistic interpretation. Some people are making fancy desserts that have fillings that require a day to settle, like sugar cookies, special pies, all that stuff."
"Anyway," Lamont went on," Once that's complete, and it will be, we started up the wild rice mix. This is the good part, where artistic points and timing are everything. We use a big saucepan and put about six and half cups of cold water in it, then two and half of the wild rice. I'll take care of the salt the water needs to give the rice more flavor, I want you to chop up the scallions. We'll let the rice simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes. I'll start cutting up the chicken once the rice is halfway done. Then when the rice is all cooked, we drain it and then put it in a new bowl with a tablespoon of the white wine vinegar and two of olive oil. Then we put it on ice for a little while, to keep it well while we cook the chicken up in the olive oil mixed in with three tablespoons of the curry powder. Once the chicken is done, get the rice out and set a few neat scoops on a dish, then the chicken and pour a decent helping of the chilled dressing lightly on the chicken. Overly wet rice tastes funny."
Lamont took a breath when he finished, smiling proudly. "So, any questions?"
Stephen looked thoughtful a moment, but shook his head. "As long as you don't change your mind about what you just said, no problems here. So can we get started on this dressing or what?"
Lamont smiled wider. "I thought you'd never ask, let our path to free tuition begin. Yeah!" he crooned, grabbing up the ingredients faster than Stephen could blink.
~ The Dark Universe ~
-Raven's Grotto-
"Oh my dear Raven….these knights seem to know what you're doing before you do it. Perhaps it would be wise to stray from those young men with the bright white and red hair. It seems they are always around when you send something after them." Xeno coaxed his young student, her head in his lap. They were sitting by the green pond of her grotto, rather he was the only one sitting and she was simply lying near him, her dark hair spread over his crossed legs.
"I want their energy, you should have felt it. Not only are they beautiful men, but they have such delicious and over-abundant energy. It seems all those around them have great energy, the two dark-haired ones as well. I will not give up, I will just be more careful….I still have my trump cards. If Moon and his knights interfere with my plans again….well, there will be more lambs to the slaughter. I will break his very soul if he takes those beautiful ones away from me once more….I don't care. I want them." Raven whimpered, punching her lithe fist against his leg. He didn't bother to wince, only shook his head with a smile.
"Lord Specter didn't give you your brother's mission for the hell of it. He did it expecting better results. You have provided him with many succulent ones and their energy, but if you have more, why don't you drain them? Specter will be enraged if he hears about this. Raven, you can't be so impulsive." Xeno replied, stroking her forehead delicately.
"Oh Xeno, I have made sure he'll never find out. I know you won't tell him, I know that. Moon Knight is too cocky, I need to break his spirits….these humans I have been collecting on the side will be perfect. I found a very cherry blonde girl the red-head likes….hah, hah, hah….he will soon weep over her corpse and Moon Knight will be to blame because he won't be able to stop me. Not to worry, love, everything will go perfectly, well, it would go better if I had that witch Glamour in my collection. That would drive Moon to the brink of insanity. Trust me, they will all suffer for messing with me." Raven snapped, lifting her body up quickly to stand over him.
He looked up with mild amusement, smiling thinly. "Just watch yourself. Maybe I wouldn't give you away, but there are others who would. I would talk about this anymore….how about we discuss what you are up to aside from that?"
"Mmm, fine, you're the teacher, and I am merely the student. Yes, I am doing something quite lovely this time. There's this stupid human contest for cooking in the beautiful ones' school. They get worthless money to attempt to become smarter and more rounded for their feeble jobs. Hah, when the Dark Universe rules the world, the only job humans will have is to serve us. My monster will gather up a lot of energy with a sneak attack. They'll all be so into the contest, they won't have time to run from him."
"Another possession, love?" Xeno asked, still smiling. "Oh course, he's not the most perfect looking man, but he was simple enough to trick into my sweet web of power. He'll do just fine," Raven chuckled, then suddenly faded out in whirlwind of black feathers," I have to go watch the fireworks, the sun has nearly risen on Earth. Time to play."
Xeno watched her vanished, getting up slowly as his own body faded out of the grotto in a hail of metal. "I pray that you don't get burned, my sweet. May the Dark Goddess protect you."
-Takozona Junior High -
~ Monday Morning ~
The weather had been absolutely perfect all day and still was, no matter how often the weathermen on TV said it would be a cloudy day with possible showers. There hadn't been a cloud in the sky, or a cloud in Stephen's good day. He didn't see Angela all day and there were no confrontations with students or teachers that he didn't care for.
As he and Lamont carted their supplies for the contest through the halls, not a soul in sight, he actually smiled. He liked the fact he was doing something beneficial to his own future and not his father's ambitions, and for the fact he was with a good friend. He was still a little miffed that Gary had to be the one to tell him he was being adored. It wasn't a terrible thing to find out his daydreams had cost him the knowledge of a lot of female affections, he was a bit flattered that he was looked at so fondly. He was angrier that it took so long for someone to let him in on it after a nutcase amazon staked her claim on his rump.
'Ah, don't let it bother you, this is supposed to a be a fun day….just like most days used to be before you became the guardian of Earth. I wish Cyrus had hired the army instead, we can't save everyone. We're not fighters, we're just teenage students….Ray and Angie may know how to fight right, but I'd rather help with my brain, not my fists. I could die out there….its not like the Dark Universe has done much to be noticed.' He thought, pushing open the courtyard door with his back, allowing Lamont to pass through before he moved away from it.
"I have a good feeling about today….I just know we're going to win. Follow me, Stephen, our booth is the green one. Sorry, you may be our leader, but I reign supreme in cooking." Lamont chuckled, walking spryly off toward the green counter littered with bowls, spoons, measuring tools, plates with an electric stove beside it, a pale white colored one. Stephen followed his friend to their counter and helped him spread out all their ingredients across the table.
"Let's get all the right proportions measured out, ok? This contest only lasts a couple hours, so its good to be all prepared to cook and not worry about spillage and measuring time. We've got enough time before the contest starts, just take your time. You take the coriander, chutney and oil. I have to go get the water put into the bowl for the rice and the dressing. Guard the fort with you life, Stephen." Lamont chirped, running off towards a water fountain, which already had a small line of people behind it, with a large measuring cup and a bucket-like bowl.
"Yes, mon capitan. I will not desert my post….heh, what a card he is. Ah well, time to get down to business." Stephen said quietly, grabbing up another measuring cup and bowls for the chutney and coriander. He poured them into their respective bowls with ease, smiling as he reached for the olive oil bottle. He was shocked when his hand met with something warm and clothed.
"Hi Stephen….what are you doing out here?" Stephen flinched slightly as he turned his head towards the familiar voice. "Mark? Hey, uh, hi." He stuttered out, letting go of his friend's arm and grabbed up the olive oil, but didn't open it.
"Hi too, so what are you doing here? I didn't know you had a thing for cooking…." Mark smiled, his husky face grinning from ear to ear. 'Oh please, you know this won't make me blush, Mark." Stephen thought sorely.
"I am Lamont's cooking partner, no one wanted to help him." Stephen replied, measuring up the oil.
"The blonde crazy bully? You're friends with him?! Heh, typical, your girlfriend is crazy, figures you'd make friends with another lunatic." Mark teased, chuckling.
"Very cute, Mark….go figure, this whole school is paranoid about a guy with a slight reputation from his old school. He explained it all to me, I don't see what's so bad about him. The prize for winning a scholarship to a school of choice. And Angie is not my girlfriend. Stop teasing me about that annoyance." Stephen chuckled, setting the oil aside, closing the lid.
"Sorry, man, it's just a shock to see you showing off anything in public. You even refused to be in the school play when we were still in pre-school over your shyness. Now look at you, a teenager and the new kid has you in a contest with him. You sure have changed since we were kids." Mark commented, trying to finger the chutney. Stephen rapped on his hand with a wooden spoon, making his hand shoot back. "Don't touch the ingredients….Well, we were only eight when your parents and mine refused to let us play together. A lot of things changed after that night. Parents are such a pain….they claim to be looking out for your best interests, but they're really looking out for themselves."
"Yeah, you've changed more than me. We're still friends at school and all and can make each other laugh, but you're real cynical now. But, you're still my friend, Stephen." Mark let out, offered a cheeky smile, rubbing his hand.
"I know I am, and yes, we'll always be friends Mark. We just can't go to the arcades or play video games and such at each others houses cause of that one night." Stephen sighed, patting his friend on the shoulder.
"What night!? And who's he?" Lamont near shouted at them when he came back and set down the water he'd collected. Stephen just turned towards the redhead, but Mark leapt four feet in the air from shock. "Jeez, you're as sneaky as mugger! Don't do that." Mark rasped. Lamont just smiled brightly, giving off a faint blush on his cheekbones. "Sorry, habit of mine. Hi, I'm Lamont Inabikari. Pleased to meet you." Lamont let out, extending a wet hand as he chuckled.
Mark briefly shook Lamont's hand, then wiped his hand off on his school uniform, offering a slight smile. "Mark Tepes, Stephen and I have been friend since we were toddlers."
"Cool….so how come I never see you over at his house or at the arcade?" Lamont asked. "Our parents hate each other." Mark replied, nudging his head at Stephen, who looked a bit unsettled.
"Why?" Lamont asked, looking at Stephen. "It was just a silly dinner thing, my mother and his father were both in the same firm and they always invited each other and their spouses over for cocktails and a catered supper….me and Mark would play in our rooms, depending on what house we were in. We were watching TV that night, and there was wine at the table as always. Our moms got really drunk this time, and as luck would have it….my mother had a bad day. So, she took it out by insulting his mother, then his father, Stephen explained," Being the understanding man my father is, he blamed it all on Mark's parents because they provided the wine and apparently provoked my mother to insult them. Dad was too big-headed to admit his wife could ever be at fault, so he punched mark's father, then yanked me off the couch and told me we'd never see the Tepes ever again."
"That sounds a bit stupid. But you and Mark still went to the same school, didn't you?" Lamont piped. "Our parents may have been stubborn and stupid, but not that stupid as to waste money on moving or sending us to different schools. We were just banned from each other's houses….I doubt Mom even recalls that night, she was so smashed that night, she could have met a werewolf and not remembered it." Stephen replied, shrugging gently.
"Yeah, too stubborn to forgive, but too cheap to make their new rules really stick. I'm on curfew too, so I can't go anywhere unless my mother or father goes with me. Seeing each other at school is ok for now. Once we get into college, we can get around the rules easier. I don't know….it's a couple years away, maybe out parents will forgive each other before then." Mark said blissfully.
Stephen snorted. "Yeah, and pigs can talk and fly to heaven."
Mark shrugged, eyeing their food suddenly. "What do you do with the food after the contest is over?"
Stephen chuckled at that, and Lamont stifled a laugh. "We eat it….but then again, I had this dish three nights ago. It's not good to over indulge. That and Stephen ate our test dish on Saturday….if you can wait a couple hours, you can have it. Usually I give it off to anyone who asks….lucky day, its you, Mark." Lamont chirped.
"Honestly?" Mark asked, getting a nod from both young men. "Mark, just go and sit at the lunch tables. Wait there when the contest ends too, we'll bring it all over." Stephen chuckled. Mark smiled wide and bright, clasping his hands together tightly.
"All right, free food. Good luck guys….I'll be waiting….And Stephen, try and live a little more often. Like ditching that Amazon nut, be more impulsive."
"I am plenty impulsive….and I have been trying to ditch her. Get out'a here, Mark, or you'll be on the menu. "Stephen teased.
"Yeah, yeah, just think about it. I've never seen you smiling and laughing this long since we put frogs in my mom' bubble bath. Try and live a little more often, a little advice from an old friend." Mark chuckled, running off towards the lunch tables.
"Frogs in a bubble bath? Heh, Stephen has an impish side to him. Hah, hah!" Lamont chuckled. Stephen promptly bopped him on the head, a sore look on his face.
"Quit it….I was six years old. Stop poking fun at me and straighten up, the judges are coming." Stephen said quietly, planting his arms at his side.
~
"Lovely, yes, oh, that pastry looks lovely, Aiko….Mina, yes, very lovely. Just take your time." A thin judge was saying, accompanied by two other rather husky bearded men. The two brunettes smiled cheerfully at them as the thin judge complimented them. Stephen could see that they were making berry tarts with homemade shells, filling and strawberry cream. He wondered if they'd let him have one after the contest, they looked good enough to eat raw, he bet they'd taste even better cooked. 'Not if we win, or the other way around. How does victory taste when you eat the losers' food. Heh, food is food….does it matter?' Stephen thought, as he put the rice away in the cooler Lamont had carted the food in from home. It wasn't terribly big, it original red color a faded and rusty pink with a few white cracked lines along the edges. It kept things cold, that was all that mattered, but it looked like Lamont habitually abused it.
He relaxed his best as he chopped up the scallions on the counter into perfect half cylinders, as perfect as the knife permitted, looking up briefly to smile at the judges. Lamont had stressed that ignoring the judges any time they were nearby was considered rude, so smiling was essential. Lamont was throwing the fat from the chicken away and washing his hands with soap in the basin of water the judges had dropped off at each booth. Stephen was happy about that, he had initially cringed mentally when he saw there was nothing to clean their hands with at the booth, and they were working with raw chicken after all. He had a right to be worried about getting the judges sick with salmonella.
Lamont was up before the judges reached them, using a fork to put the chicken in the curry and garlic butter sauce he'd made during the rice boiling, for an extra kick for the taste buds. The judges got there as he was turning the chicken over to cook the remaining raw side, the cooked side dressed in baked redness and pressed garlic. Stephen admitted it on Saturday, as funky as it looked, it smelled heavenly. He could see that the judges agree, their appreciative smiles growing wider, the thin man coming right up to the wooden edge of the counter just to take a deep sniff of it all.
"I guess young men can cook just as well as young ladies around here finally. We rarely see boys entering our contest, the college students have more men that the junior high schools have entering the contests. It smells divine, boys….Keep up the good work." He said, then after a few minutes more of staring at their booth, the man and his companions walked off to the next booth, which had two other girls roasting up a crown rack of lamb with new potatoes.
"I guess that counts for something….But I can't get over how we're to only guys in this contest." Lamont chuckled, flipping the chicken over with a new, clean fork, the spicy scent of chicken and curry sauces wafting up his and Stephen's nostrils. "Its very stereotypical at this school….I don't know, Dad normally raise their sons to the idea that cooking and cleaning is woman's work. I'd think that if my mom could cook. Our maid does all the cooking, she taught me how cause I was afraid I'd be made to marry someone as lousy in the kitchen as mom was. Its not so hard, once you get used to it." Stephen replied, dropping the scallions in a colander and poured the measured bowl of raisins with them.
"I'll be back in a minute, rinsing time….speaking of which, how much time is left on the clock for this contest. I forgot my watch." Stephen added. Lamont looked down at his watch and his eyes widened slightly. "We have about a half hour left, plenty of time. I'll get the dishes set up for the final presentation, sauce and all." Lamont told him, shuffled the pan with the chicken a bit over the heat, making loud sizzles erupt from it.
Stephen saluted and trotted off to the water fountain. 'If we win, I'll forget all the times this fountain sprayed me in the face….and rained on me. Only if….' Stephen thought mildly, glad there was no line at the water fountain. He started to rinse off the colander's contents, taking his time there and occasionally looking from it to the booth that still held Lamont.
When he saw the judges circling back around to check on the tart baking girls, he knew he had to get back to the booth. He walked back as casually as possible, keeping a small smile on his lips in case the judges bothered to look at him. They did and smiled back, returning their attentions back to the girls slowly as Stephen reached his booth again. "Everything's done. Mix up the scallions and raisins up with a spoon before you litter them onto the rice….argh, the rice. Its still in the cooler. You just mix. I already did the chicken, the sauce is last." Lamont sputtered out, sounding more nervous suddenly.
"Relax….they won't ban you from your dreams, you know. It's a contest….breath, Lamont, breath. Freaking out now will lose you points. Just stay calm." Stephen coaxed, grabbing up a wooden spoon to stir up the contents of the colander gently. Lamont smiled at him, taking a few deep breaths before opening up the cooler.
Stephen looked up from his efforts to where he'd last seen the judges, seconds before he heard females screaming. "What the? Oh no, not now!" Stephen choked out, nearly breaking the spoon inside the colander. He dropped what he held onto the counter, scaring Lamont so bad, he accidentally made the cooler lid slam down on his fingers. "Ow! What did you do that for, Mr. Calm?" Lamont griped.
Stephen stayed standing with a scared looked on his face. "Dark Universe….is here." Was all Stephen could say. Lamont did a double-take at those words, then cautiously peered over the counter to where Stephen was staring. He saw a giant gold and necrotic looking beetle, more like a bug-man in torn clothing holding the two husky judges in his pincer-like hands. They were alive, but bleeding and groaning in his deadly grip. "Kato! Stop, you're a public official, for God's sake!! What the hell has happened to you?!" one of them screamed, getting throw into the tart girls' booth rather hard, sending tarts and kitchenware flying in every direction.
"Kato is no more, I am Tweedle, Dark Universe Warrior. And you are all dead! Give me the beautiful ones and I might make your deaths quick!" the beetle-man cackled in a crackly and fuzzy sounding voice. Stephen knew who Tweedle meant, Raven had made it a fine point with Flux and Dream Weaver that she wanted both Lamont and himself for her own sadistic purposes, whatever they were.
'Our energy, if she knew we were knights, she wouldn't send such rejects after us….What kind of a name for a monster is Tweedle? Sounds like a wussy bug.' Stephen thought, trying not to laugh when the monster announced its name. Lamont was smirking, holding in his laughter as best he could as well.
"He wants us…That Raven has good taste, but this is considered to be inter-dimensional stalking. She's making me sick," Lamont whispered, grabbing the colander and stuffing it inside the cooler," I have an idea, but it involves us being bait. You up for it?"
"He's hurting people, hell yeah I'd love to be injured instead. Not….but we have no choice, we can't transform here. Damn that stupid cat….the least Cyrus could have done was give us some kind of tracking device or something so we'd know when they were around. We don't have bad-guy senses….ah forget it, what's the plan?" Stephen whispered back.
"This. HEY TWEEDLE! I STEPPED ON YOUR MOTHER! CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!" Lamont yelled at the top of his lungs, flinging a dirty, glass bowl at Tweedle. The bug-man looked up at the screaming youth, his mandibles clicking wildly at the sight of both of his targets, then spread them out as he saw the bowl lined with raw chicken grease and curry sauce flying at him. It connected with his face with a an explosion of food remnants and shattering glass.
"That's your plan!? Pissing him off?" Stephen yelped, then felt his friend yank him away from the booth.
"Yes, now run for the school. We lure it to the roof…for a big surprise. Just make sure no one sees you, transform in a closet if you have to…just get there!" Lamont said in a harsh whisper and dragged his friend in a sprint towards the school.
Tweedle had gotten the glass and food off his golden face by the time they rammed through the doors, all of the other contestants and the tart smeared judge had run off and out of his reach.
'Later, I'll feast on their bodies once I get the pretty boy's for the mistress.' Tweedle though, tossing the other judge away into a cherry tree and charged off at the school.
Stephen had ducked into the chemistry lab room and hid under one of the counters with a bunch of microscopes. He heard Tweedle rage by the room, the class on the door and lockers outside shattering at the sound of his shrill voice. 'I am going to get Raven for this….why can't she go after someone else, someone I can save and then plant my sword up her butt?' he thought, waiting patiently for the screeching insects voice to fade away.
Stephen climbed out quiet and pulled out his pendant. He stared at a moment, shaking his head. "Why couldn't I have just gotten a job I could quit from. This is just not something I want to do, what's point of fighting when we're just fighting the lackeys and not the leader. Or what's the point at all, I'd rather be reading that saving people who have nothing to do with me….ah well, quit griping or Lamont will be on his own. He'd hate me for that.' He thought, then held up his pendant and whispered," Moon Sword, transform. Oh!"
~ The Roof ~
Jupiter Knight had made his transformation in a janitor's closet on the second floor, far from where Tweedle was, or so he thought. As he emerged from it, he saw Tweedle entering the hallway, screaming at the top of his lungs, mandibles snapping. Jupiter sprinted off for the roof the second the scream was made, trying to ignore the sounds of Tweedle's murderous clawed feet racing after him. When he'd reached the roof door, he found it locked, but that was a brief realization. Tweedle came charging at him up the stairs and rammed into both him and the door, shooting both of their bodies out onto the roof. Now they were at a standoff, Tweedle's golden beetle face littered with food and glass, mandibles snapping wildly and angrily while Lamont stood stifle with his pole-arm.
"Make your movie, bug breath. Tweedle, what kind of a stupid name is that for a Dark Universe monster. You must be a real puss in battle, total wimp!" Jupiter taunted, rapping his pole-arm on the ground.
"Wimp, huh? How's this for wimpy? Sonic Buster! Yaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Tweedle screamed, yellow rings of light raging towards Jupiter. He'd been so fixated on taunting the thing, he hadn't bothered to move out of the way and took the sonic attack in full. He was blown back hard, the attack vibrating painfully throughout his body as it threw him against a roof ledge, the cement ledge cracking inward on impact.
Jupiter coughed up blood as he picked himself up, managing a faint rap of his pole-arm as Tweedle laughed at him. "Let's see you laugh this off. Spiral Shocker!!"
He shouted, the cyclone of electricity spinning around him madly before shooting off towards Tweedle.
Jupiter swore under his breath as Tweedle only laughed at his attack and leapt out of the way like a bullet, suddenly appearing in front of his face. Tweedle grabbed Jupiter by his throat before he could react and slammed him into the ledge again, forcing Jupiter's weapon out of his hand. Jupiter grabbed the thing's arm, his hands clawing at the tough skin littered with sharp golden barbs to break free. Tweedle went on laughing.
"Good fight…not. I win, you pitiful human! Now prepare to lose face, literally. I am starving!! Hah ha haaaaaaa!!" Tweedle laughed, his mandibles snapping over and over again, dripping with clear drool over their golden, razor-sharp edges.
"Sorry, contest isn't over yet, Twittle. Celestial Beam!!" a voice boomed, moments before Tweedle felt a searing hot pain shoot into his spine. He leapt up hoping to avoid another hit, but it had cost him Jupiter, who was already righting himself.
"Spiral Shocker!!" the youth shouted, aiming his pole-arm to where Tweedle was about to land. Tweedle knew he could leap away in time, he could if nothing got in the way.
"Didn't I say it wasn't over, bug brain?! Hah!!" Moon Knight shouted, leaping up at Tweedle to prevent his escape and slashing out at his chest. Tweedle screeched in pain, reaching out wildly at his attacker. He managed to get the young knight's arm in one pincher and dragged him down with him to crash into the roof. He turned around swiftly as Jupiter's attack neared them, laughing hoarsely. "You may defeat me, but he won't live to see another battle!! Congratulations, Jupiter Knight, you've just murdered your leader!! Ah ahahahahahaaaa!" Tweedle cackled, Jupiter's face filled with horror as he raced at them.
Tweedle held the silver knight close to him, laughing still as the cyclone of lightening was nearly upon them, but then things got fuzzy. He felt something jab his side, pain erupting there as if he'd been impaled. Then he felt a swift breeze fly by him with another eruption of pain in his stomach. By the time the last pain had begun, he found the silver knight was gone and the lightening cyclone was upon him.
"Noooooooooo !!!!!!!!!!" he screamed, feeling every part of his body go alive with burning pains, everything felt like it was being attacked at once and repeatedly. He was being burned alive.
~
Moon was sure he was going to die when Tweedle got hold of him, prepared to take him into hell with Jupiter's own attack. It wasn't Jupiter's fault, far from it, Moon couldn't blame him for what was happening.
'God….don't you dare blame yourself for this, Lamont. This Dark Universe trash is playing with your mind.' He thought, shutting his eyes as Jupiter's attack was getting closer. The next thing he knew was that he heard Tweedle screaming and smelled something burning, not like flesh or anything, more acidic smelling than anything. 'Like burning a beetle with a magnifying glass….a very large beetle.' He thought, aware that arms were around him, soft and slender, the faint scent of roses close to him. He unconsciously nuzzled against what was holding him, opening his eyes very slowly.
"Glamour…." He whispered quietly, finding his cheek on her right arm and chest armor, looking up at her as she looked at the dying Tweedle. He could almost see under her mask, the faint sight of her full lashes, closed halfway, the scent of her skin taking him in, like she was a living rose. He could see a tear fall out of the mask, pity for not being able to save Tweedle's host body, the man that Raven had possessed with dark energy.
'It's all my fault….I should have been more careful and freed his mind instead. What she must think of me….what is she thinking? Glamour….' He thought, unconsciously gripping her hand.
"I'm sorry." He said, not really knowing what he was sorry for, not saving the human Tweedle once was or for making her risk her life for him again. She looked down at him when he did that, her lips of pure red in a thin luscious line, not smiling or frowning. Then the corner of her mouth lifted, a small smile, so soft and delicate, he swore a master artist sculpted them. So inviting and gentle, it made him forget his troubles.
"You did all you could. The darkness ruined his life in this one moment, we set him free. Now no one will hate this poor man for what Raven made him do," she said, her voice as soft and sweet as her skin," There are always casualties in war, and this is a war we all must win, no matter the price. Some must sadly pay it. This is cruel to say, but there is no avoiding it all the time. You must understand that."
"I understand….but please, stay. We could use your help….you might be a knight like us. Who gave you your powers, please tell me. Who are you?" he asked, his voice very calm.
She shook her head, not moving. "I don't know who I really am and I don't know what created these powers. I don't have control over them….they only appear when you are in danger. It is my duty to protect you….but finding the moon prince and earth princess is my life's quest. Only then will I be told the truth. That's all I care about, finding the truth." She said, then gripped her head.
"I must go, she said sharply, getting up. Moon Knight gripped her arm tightly as she did, making her stop short.
'Do it….at least get it off your chest….Let her know you care….that you care enough to die for her, to help her.' He thought, lifting his face up to hers. He took her shocked red lips in his, kissing her softly for a brief moment before falling back on the ground. She was up in an instant, her lips trembling at his action. He was fearful for a moment that his boldness just cost him everything. Glamour just stood there, then touched her lips thoughtfully. "I'd do anything for you, Glamour. The Galaxy Knights will help you, our quests are the same. Let us help you, you can trust m….us." he said quietly, standing up slowly and looking right at her.
"Moon Knight….I….you would do that?" she said softly, then gripped her head again.
"Glamour! What's wrong?" he yelped, reaching out towards her, but she knocked his hand away and started to run.
"I must go….be well Moon Knight. I wish you all luck in this battle! Farewell!" she shouted, leaping off the roof.
"GLAMOUR!!" Moon Knight screamed, rushing to the roof's ledge to see if she was all right. He was slightly relieved that he'd gotten his wish, she wasn't hurt….she had also disappeared.
'Gone again, with my heart, but at least you know how I feel….oh please, don't let me have ruined it now. She's wonderful….she didn't pull out of the kiss….maybe she feels the same way about me. The last thing I need her to think is that I'm a total ass.' He thought, smiling as he turned about. Jupiter was there to greet him with his own smile, clapping his gloved hands lightly.
"Well, well, well, living a little….at last. What was it like? Huh? Tongue?" Jupiter snickered.
Moon shook his head at his friend, waving him off. "Don't be such a pervert….I didn't want to make her think I was a jerk by playing tonsil hockey with our first kiss. Its none of your business how I kissed her, all that matters is that I kissed her, and she didn't pulled away or yell at me. I think she likes me….God knows I love her." He grinned, walking off towards the roof door, his transformation fading away. Jupiter forced his away too, but ran ahead of Stephen and stopped him.
"Ah ah ah, Romeo, no way you're facing the judges with lipstick on you mouth. They'll think you're a fruitcake." Lamont snickered, wiping Stephen's lips free of the red lip marks he'd made when he kissed Glamour. Stephen sputtered and pushed Lamont's hands away and wiped the rest of the lipstick off with his own hands.
"Knock it off and let's go see how everyone is doing down there. I kind'a lost track of the rest of the contestants after Twittle the Stain back there raised hell." Stephen replied, racing down the stairs, Lamont following after him.
~ Meanwhile ~
Mark Tepes had been hiding under a lunch table when the giant beetle monster had appeared and he was still cursing at himself for not calling the police sooner. Stephen and Lamont were yelling at it before and it had chased them into the building. A few minutes later, explosions and screaming could be heard from the roof of the school, bits and pieces of the roof flying down to the ground.
He came out from under the table when the sounds ceased, but he saw no one else was around to share in the silence, or they were all too scared to come out to enjoy it. Mark wondered where Stephen was and if he was all right when he felt a slender hand wrap around his shoulder.
He yelped slightly, turning around his husky body in fright….to see the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life. Her eyes were sort of purple, the skin was pale and exotic smelling and her long, shimmering black hair hugged around every curve of the tight fitting black dress she was wearing. What was even more shocking was that she was smiling at him, seductively, and winking at him.
"Hi, cutie….awful brave to come out of hiding with some monster attacking. Brave and handsome, just the way I like my men." She cooed, playing with his lanky hair.
"Handsome? Me?" he yelped, then felt rhythms of shock pour all over his body when she kissed him hungrily. He knew he should be stunned or at least fight a little bit when a strange and drop dead gorgeous woman just up and starts to French kissing him. He knew he should, but he'd never been kissed before, and he was damn sure he was going to enjoy this fluke of life. After a few more minutes, he couldn't think at all.
Raven stepped back from the rather portly young man, the one she'd seen the white-haired boy. Stephen was his name the handsome target's name, he'd been taking to this Mark boy when she saw them. Friends since childhood, she heard from her eavesdropping, very close friends.
"Very good bait, that's what you are, honey. Now you're my slave….my….my, latest toy. You'll come in handy later on….so follow me, lover boy, time to meet your fate, as the main part of my plan. Oh…Moon Knight….you will be sorry when my target finds out what you couldn't do for this lost soul. Oh, I can hardly wait." She laughed, grabbing the entranced Mark up close to her side. The pair disappeared in a haze of dark feathers, not a cry for help to ever be heard.
Stephen and Lamont made it back outside in the courtyard the minutes later, finding the place devoid of life and full of empty food booths.
Stephen was about to suggest they look around more thoroughly when Lamont cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled," COME OUT, COME OUT WHEREEVER YOU ARE!!! THE GIANT BEETLE GOT KILLED!!"
Stephen kept his hands over his ears as his friend began screaming, annoyed at the childish manner he chose to get everyone out, but it worked. People popped out from behind their booths and out of trees and bushes nearby.
The remaining judges were at the head of the pack with questions, the few contestants who came from the trees and bushes all going back to their booths to check on their dishes. Stephen and Lamont could see plenty were abandoned, leaving only six teams left, including themselves.
"What happened? Who killed it? You two?" the two judges asked in unison.
Stephen and Lamont looked at each other with, looking at each other with amused smiles, then back at the adults. "No, those heroes on the news reports on sometimes, The Galaxy Knights. Jupiter and Moon Knight saved the school and all of our lives." Lamont said, as if he were born to act.
"They were here? My God, if only they had stayed we would have thanked them ourselves." The men said, making the two younger men step back. 'Weirdoes, must be twins in their minds or something.' Stephen thought.
"They said they were just trying to make the school safe from evil…all that hero jazz. They disappeared before we could thank them too, so don't feel so bad. At least no one was hurt too badly." Stephen assured them, getting smiles from the men.
Once again, they said together," Then back to the contest….Kato would have wanted it this way, before that horrible creature destroyed him. We do this in his living memory. Oh, sniffle."
Stephen and Lamont shrugged and went back to their booth, arranging their dish slowly. The contestants that were still around got extra time on account of Tweedle interrupting them so suddenly. The tart baking girls were gone, and Stephen felt bad for them. Those tarts looked really good, he felt terrible that Tweedle chose to freak out near them and ruin their chances just because it could.
'I should give them my apologies….but then again they'd say I'm being big headed and snooty no matter what. Lamont and me are still in the contest, they lost because a giant bug landed in their food. Just leave them be.' He thought, sprinkling on the scallion and raisin mixture onto the steaming wild rice. It hadn't been kept cold long enough, but that's how Lamont wanted it, the mix of hot and cold giving it a built in steam effect. Stephen could have cared less, but Lamont was the chef in charge, not him.
Lamont poured the dressing onto each chicken breast carefully and then set the gravy boat the dressing was in beside the plate. He started waving his hand at the judges, then stopped when he saw they were being bandaged and treated by the school nurse.
'Just her luck she stayed for the contest and had to drag her skinny butt back to her office to get medical stuff. Least it's not me she's treating, she's sick of healing my constant daydreaming injuries.' Stephen thought.
Another ten minutes passed before the judges were properly taken care of and rest of the other contestants had completed their dishes. Lemon meringue pie, seafood gumbo, homemade dumplings and spicy swordfish, sourdough cookies, apple cobbler with caramel cream icing, and their own curry chicken with wild rice….that's all there was to judge. The judges started by the pie and were given a cool slice, each took a bite, one smiling and the other not. The girls there frowned, but they both assured them not to frown so soon. They had only judged one booth after all.
The next booth was the gumbo, made by two portly dark-haired girls, and both judges smiled at the taste. They went on, trying to sample the dumplings, but they fell apart on the fork that jabbed them. The judges grimaced when they managed to taste them. The swordfish was burnt too and the girls cried when they were told the food wasn't very tasty.
The two whimpered that the giant beetle had ruined their food, they were too scared when it showed up to turn the stove off. The judges shook their heads and said they saw them turn their stove off. The food was already ruined before the beetle showed up. The two girls ran off wailing at the top of their lungs.
"Cheaters never prosper." The judges said together, shaking their heads at the sad meal, then walked up to the next one that had the cookies. They both smiled again, delighting at the buttery richness of the little and soft desserts. This team had a blonde girl and curly redhead, both hugging each other and jumping up and down at the judges' words.
The apple cobbler drenched in hot caramel cream sauce was next, and the two judges took forkfuls each from the delicious looking dessert. They chewed it slightly then one spit his up, the other looking at his comrade with dismay. The one who enjoyed it asked him quietly what was wrong and Stephen knew he heard the guy swearing. They had taken bites from different sections of the cobbler.
"Raw?" the other judge said, and the spitting one nodded. The other judge took a forkful from his comrade's side, noting the panicked looks on the two motley looking girls. They were in Stephen's science class, the ones that nearly got expelled for putting stolen frog innards in their teacher's soup. The man had lived and they were suspended for a month. They hated school with a passion, but getting free tuition would get them anywhere they wanted.
'To learn how to kill people better….or shut their parents up. Lunatics.' Stephen thought and bit his lip as the other judge spit up his new forkful.
"It is raw over here….What are you trying to do? Poison us??" he yelled. The girls shrugged, the one on the right saying dryly. "We got impatient….It looks the same raw as it does cooked, what's the big deal. Looks are everything."
"Not in this contest, young lady. Forget it….food poisoning gets you no points….and no wins in this business." The judges said together, walking towards Stephen and Lamont at last. Lamont grabbed his the dish and ducked down, Stephen following him with the gravy boat as the motley girls tossed their disaster cobbler at them and the judges, hitting the judges both in the back in a hailstorm of raw cobbler dough and hot caramel sauce. They were less than pleased, as was the nurse and the principal, who had finally come out of hiding, to grab both girls by their hiking up skirts and dragged them off kicking and screaming into the school.
Lamont and Stephen got back up when the noise was muffled by the doors shutting, finding the judges staring them down, both soiled with raw cake and caramel sauce. They set the dish and gravy boat down in front of them slowly, staring back with small smiles and worried eyes.
The men sighed together and first dipped their forks into the wild rice mixture. They both mumbled our surprised "Mmmm's" for a few moment, then used their forks to chop off some of the curried chicken, making more of the sounds. They looked at each other a moment, nodded and then put their forks down near the dish. They walked a ways off so all the booth tenders could see and hear them.
"After tasting al of your wonderful dish, we have narrowed down the three winners for the scholarship prizes of the contest. In third place, Liana Tuska and Amy Voygt with their luscious lemon meringue pie, and win the prize of a semester scholarship of the college of each of their choice. Congratulations, Liana and Amy." The judges announced.
The girls hugged each other, bouncing around in circles at their winning. "All right, in second place, for a spectacular mouth-tingling sweetness, Naga and Haruka Saiklune. Let's give a big hand to this sister act that makes a mean batch of cookies who have won two years of paid tuition, also for the college of their choice." The judges went on. These girls were practically screaming out their praises and love for the judges leaping up and down in place.
"And for the grand prize winners of the full tuition payments, as well as the medals for best cooks of the Tokyo school district for this year's cook-off." the men said, eyeing each other, then the remaining contestants.
"For really spicing up our lives….not to mention the richest and most tantalizing meal we've ever sampled at any of our annual contests, Lamont Inabikari and Stephen Tsukikage with their curried chicken and wild rice dish. Congratulations, young men, you are the winners." The men finished.
Stephen was stuttering at their win, not because they'd won, but because Lamont had not told him the prize was full tuition. Lamont was chanting out a fresh string of "Yes's" and "Kick ass's" during this, pounding on the counter happily, not even noticing that Stephen's legs were giving out until he fell into his side.
"Whoa….don't die of happiness here….breath, Stephen. We won!" Lamont chirped, shaking his friend to get him out of his initial shock.
"Full tuition….any college….I'm dreaming….no, don't let me be. Full tuition, I can go to the best college in the world now….my parents can't hold me back…ha….hahahahaaaa. God….any school…." Stephen was uttering, his face looking very flushed and uncontrollably happy.
"Now, to those of you that won and lost, follow us and we'll take care of the final paperwork to get your prizes all set up and the consolation prizes sent out. Come on, don't be shy, not after today." The judges said, leading off winners and losers back to the school. Lamont had to help Stephen up and to the door because he was still mumbling out his disbelief and sudden joy.
"Heh, see Stephen? Mark said for you to live a little and look what it got you. Glamour likes you, we won this contest, and our college futures are made. Not even the Dark Universe can ruin our day." Lamont smiled, but then he felt Stephen stopped him.
"Where is Mark?" he asked, pointing at the deserted table area. Lamont shrugged. "He's only human, most of the actual contestants ran off, he probably went with them. He's probably just fine. I'll make him up a batch of curried chicken and we can give it to him for Friday. He won't mind a little wait, I'm sure. Seems like and ok guy." Lamont assured him, getting a nod from Stephen.
"Yeah, he's not the bravest person in the world either. He's probably home by now. I can't call to be sure….his parents hate me too." Stephen replied.
"Yeah, we'll see him tomorrow probably, don't worry. Now let's go sign up for our prizes. My parents are going to freak when they find out we won. This is all legal, so your parents can't interfere with it either. Let's get going, bud." Lamont said rapidly, running off and inside the school. Stephen just laughed and gave off a pleased smiled, following his friend's lead happily.