Disclaimers and author's notes are at the end of chapter four.
Sleeper
By: Masked Maiden
Chapter Four: Bad Dreams
The steam thickened into an opaque fog that wholly enveloped the
desolated and deserted city. In the manner of a blind woman she felt
her way through the moisture, soon coming across the two silhouettes,
one male and one female. And though she was once again unable to see
their faces, she watched them intently. They joined hands and kissed
as lovers would, soon floating high above Tokyo's mighty skyscrapers.
A ball of golden light engulfed their bodies, its brilliance causing
the fog to dissipate. As the freezing winds blew and collided with the
rising tsunami of seawaters, the entire world turned into ice…
"She's hiding something."
Hotaru stirred under her bedcovers and woke up to Michiru's soft voice.
She and Haruka were across the hall in their bedroom, and whom they
were talking about was no mystery to Hotaru. Even now, when she was
only two semesters away from graduating from college, her foster
parents assumed that she never heard their secret conversations about
their only daughter.
"What makes you think that?" asked Haruka. From the tone of her voice
Hotaru imagined Haruka lying on her side, buried under her comforter
and waiting for Michiru to stop talking so she could go to sleep.
"Hotaru tells us very little about the visions she's been having,"
Michiru replied. "It makes me wonder if she does know who initiates
the Great Freeze."
"I'm sure Hotaru will share with us when she wants to, but maybe she's
supposed to know and we're not. She's the one who's having the vision,
not us and not even Setsuna."
The mattress springs squeaked as Michiru crawled into bed beside her
partner. "Maybe you're right," she sighed, "but I can tell that
something is bothering her. I wish she would just tell me."
Hotaru grabbed her pillow and covered her ears, hoping to drown out her
parents' voices. It was too much. While their faces were hidden from
her in the vision, Hotaru knew that woman. The outline of her hair and
her sailor fuku were enough to reveal her identity. But she wouldn't
tell anyone. She couldn't. For if the rest of the Outer Senshi knew
the woman's identity, it would change everything.
~*~*~
The next day…
Tokyo, Japan
3:00 PM
Patience was a virtue, or so Usagi was told. She was about to accept
the face that patience was not a virtue she possessed, or at least when
it came to waiting to find out her baby's gender. The conversation she
had with her husband two nights ago only fueled her curiosity, a
curiosity she had successfully deferred until now. The suspense was
getting the best of her. She just had to know: was it a boy or girl?
"Chiba Usagi-san?"
Usagi looked up from the magazine she was absently staring at. A nurse
with a chart in her hand stood by the doorway leading to the
examination rooms, waiting for the next patient. Usagi arose from her
chair (which was low and difficult for a pregnant woman to get out of)
and followed the nurse to a vacant room. The nurse took her vitals,
wrote them down in the chart and then left, telling Usagi that the
doctor would be with her shortly. Usagi laughed to herself. She knew
Ami would never purposely make any of her patients wait, but she also
knew that her wait would not be a short one.
As Usagi gave a loud, impatient sigh there was a soft knock at the
door. Ami stepped inside, a warm and apologetic smile on her face, and
greeted her friend with a hug.
"So… where in the world is Mamoru-kun?" Ami asked.
Usagi laughed. "Mamo-chan and Shingo had a four-hour layover in New
York late last night, so they should be arriving in North Carolina any
time this afternoon. But it'll be morning to them since there's a 13-
hour time difference."
Usagi made Mamoru take his wrist communicator with him, telling him to
contact her the moment he was back in the air. So once Mamoru boarded
his plane in New York, and after the pilot announced that all
passengers were free to move around, Mamoru headed for one of the
lavatories and locked the door behind him. He called Usagi and told
her everything was okay. "So don't worry about me," he told her. That
was roughly an hour ago. The next time Usagi expected to hear from
Mamoru would be when he landed in North Carolina, which would be any
minute now. Usagi's communicator was in her purse, just in case.
"Well, let's see what this baby is up to." Ami rolled the ultrasound
machine towards her and turned it on. "Lie down and raise your shirt
for me, Usagi-chan."
Ami found the bottle of clear gel and squeezed a small amount on her
friend's round belly, smiling at her reaction to the very cold matter.
She then took the transducer and slid it around until a grainy black
and white picture of a baby's profile came into view. Usagi stared at
the screen, completely amazed. That was her child. She just couldn't
wait for the day she could hold her or him in her arms.
"Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?" Usagi asked.
Ami replied, "I thought you wanted to be surprised."
"I changed my mind…" Besides, she mused, it gives me something to tease
Mamo-chan with until he comes home. "So, can you tell me?"
"Well, let's see…" Ami gradually moved the transducer as she tried to
decipher the baby's gender. Her eyes soon widened in astonishment.
"Oh my God!"
Usagi raised an eyebrow, not quite knowing that to think. "What is
it?" she asked the obstetrician.
Ami wheeled around on her stool so her friend could have a better view.
She pointed to a small form located off center on the screen. "Right
here you can see your baby's profile. And right here…" She pointed to
a round area close to the baby's feet. "… You can clearly see your
other baby's head."
Usagi's mouth gaped open. "What…?" She stared at the grainy picture
and could clearly see the outlines of the two babies, her babies. She
disbelieved yet believed with her eyes at the same, overwhelmed with
such pure joy. After all those years of trying to have a baby, this
was a wonderful surprise!
"Oh my goodness… Twins! Mamo-chan is going to flip out!"
"Would you still like to know the sexes?" Ami asked, though already
knowing the answer to the question.
Usagi wiped away the tears from her eyes and broke in a huge grin. "Of
course!"
~*~*~
Durham, North Carolina
9:00 AM EST
Located on campus of Duke University was the Washington Duke Inn,
Durham's only four-star and four-diamond hotel. Four the next six days
and five nights the one hundred microbiologists and emergency room
physicians invited to the medical conference would lodge there and
attend the seminars held in the meeting hall. It was an exquisite
building, but the moment Mamoru and Shingo stepped into their hotel
room, they immediately knew there was going to be a problem.
Shingo pointed out, "There's only one bed."
Mamoru swore under his breath. He had made all the arrangements for
Shingo to travel with him that week, and so he had certainly informed
the hotel manager months in advance that he would need a room with
*two* beds. Now what were they going to do? Mamoru did love his
brother-in-law, but not enough to sleep with him!
"Well we can forget asking for another room," Shingo commented. "With
this conference taking place I imagine all the rooms are booked. We're
going to have to ask for a cot."
Mamoru shook his head and grumbled, "No wonder that lady at the front
desk looked at us funny…"
"Hey, don't worry about it." Shingo walked over to the telephone and
searched through the nightstand drawer for a list of phone numbers.
"You call Baka and I'll call the front desk. It shouldn't be too hard
to get some service around here." He looked up at Mamoru with his
famous mischievous grin on his face. "So what should I say? Hello, my
partner and I--"
"Shingo, you're pushing it," Mamoru warned. "Keep this up and one of
us will need a coffin instead of a cot."
"Okay, okay, I'll be serious."
Mamoru sighed in frustration and sat down on the edge of the bed. He
took out his wrist communicator from his pants pocket and flipped it
open, yawning as he did so. He had to envy his brother-in-law. Shingo
was used to traveling. He'd slept through half the flight to New York
and through the entire flight to North Carolina. Mamoru, though he
tried, couldn't even relax. He just managed to make it through the
trip without losing his mind (and his lunch when the second landing was
a tad bumpy). Mamoru pressed a button on the communicator and waited
for his wife to answer.
Usagi's beautiful face appeared on the tiny screen. Just seeing her
with her cheerful smile lifted Mamoru's spirits and washed away part of
his fatigue, and it made him wonder how he was going to cope without
for an entire week.
"Hi, sweetie!" Usagi chimed. "How is everything?"
Mamoru faintly smiled and replied, "Hey… We're at the hotel. Shingo
and I just stepped our room a few minutes ago. How is everything with
you?"
"Great! I did start to worry about you when I didn't hear from you
around four, but I figured you wanted to wait until you got to the
hotel before calling me. But anyway… how's Shingo?"
"He's driving me crazy," Mamoru rolled his eyes. He suppressed his
laughter when he noticed that Shingo was giving him the finger.
"Don't worry, you'll learn to ignore him," Usagi assured. Then she
paused for a moment, as if she were mulling over what to say next.
With that her smile brightened, now with a mischievous glint, causing
Mamoru to become somewhat suspicious.
"Guess what!"
"I don't know," Mamoru gave up easily, not really wanting to play
along. "What?" He wondered if he really needed to ask. At this time
in their lives, there was only one thing Usagi would tease him about.
Usagi taunted in a sing-song voice, "I know something you don't know."
Now his suspicions were confirmed. "Usako, you didn't…"
"I did!"
"Well you're going to tell me, aren't you?"
"Maybe… Or maybe not."
"Usako, don't you dare tease me. If I remember correctly, I'm the one
who wants to know if the baby is a boy or a girl. You didn't want to
know. You wanted to be surprised."
"I changed my mind."
"Well, now that you know I think you should tell me… please?" Mamoru
couldn't believe how desperate he sounded. He looked over at Shingo
was more, who was now on the phone with someone at the front desk. He
turned his attention back to the communicator's screen. "Please,
Usako?"
Usagi merely giggled. "Bye, Mamo-chan!" she said, and signed off.
~*~*~
1:00 PM EST
The central building of Duke University's campus was its chapel, a
majestic and gothic-influenced structure that towered over its
surroundings. That was the intention of the university's founder, a
man who believed that the chapel would have a profound impact on the
spiritual lives of those who attended the school and those who lived in
the neighboring communities. Since its dedication ceremony in 1935 the
Duke Chapel had served the community through providing opportunities of
worship, Bible Studies, outreach programs, weddings, funerals, concert
festivals, convocations and even graduation ceremonies.
But it was never intended to house a meeting of destruction.
Stephen stood in the nave of the chapel, gazing at the massive stained-
glass windows. His attention was focused on one of the chapel's most
famous windows. It depicted the story of Noah and the Ark. Stephen
knew that tales quite well from his childhood days of being dragged to
church by his parents. God saw how wicked and depraved His creation
called Man had become. He soon regretted ever making Man and planned
to wipe out the entire populace of Earth, including all animals. But
there was Noah, the sole righteous person on Earth, and he found favor
with God. Because of Noah, with his ark and animals two-by-two, Man
and all creatures continued to live on Earth to this day.
Stephen didn't like Noah.
A small group of college students walked past Stephen and headed for
the main entrance. Though it was mid-February the day's temperature
was in the low 70s. Since it was such a beautiful, sunlit afternoon,
the group decided to have their Bible study outside on the grass. It
was for the best, Stephen thought. Except for the minister, who was in
his study, there was no one to disturb him.
Stephen glared at the stained glass window one last time and strolled
down the nave, soon entering into the south transept of the grand
sanctuary. Between the Memorial Chapel and the lectern was a stairwell
leading to the Crypt, the place where the secret meeting of C.O.M.E.
was about to begin.
C.O.M.E. -- Children of Mother Earth -- was a secret organization
comprised of 12 radical visionaries, all of who considered themselves
to be the bright beacon of hope for the future. They gathered around
the 30 or so chairs in the dimly lit Crypt and conversed amongst each
other, all speaking in English. With two exceptions, the men and women
were between the ages of 20 and 35. One of the exceptions was a 16-
year-old runaway from Romania, who currently lived with one of the
older members. The other exception was the uncharted 13th member, Dr.
Stephen Lehmkuhl of Johannesburg, South Africa. He was the oldest
member of C.O.M.E., its founder and its leader.
To the public eye Stephen was considered a miracle worker, for he
funded and headed the research program that searched for the antidotes
for viral hemorrhagic fever diseases, such as Ebola and Lassa. Yet
during those 12 years of research there was little documentation of
Stephen's findings. Nothing was published in the most prestigious of
medical journals, and the media hounds were only given a few pages of
notes to go by for all newspaper articles and special TV reports. Most
people assumed Stephen was a paranoid man: he did not wish for his
discoveries to be seized by terrorists.
In reality, he and the C.O.M.E. were the terrorists. There were no
antidotes, only the terminal disease known as Sleeper. After seven
years of studying the basic structures of VHF diseases, from their
physical appearances to their genetic makeup, followed by five years of
creating and perfecting a genetically engineered version of Lassa
Fever, Sleeper was now ready to be unleashed… whether the world was
ready or not.
A Brazilian man asked his confidants, "Has anyone thought about the
reason why the university is sponsoring this medical seminar?"
"I certainly have," a college student from Chicago remarked, "and it's
ironic. It's to protect themselves from being eliminated, yet there
will be no way of protecting anyone when Sleeper is released."
"A man can only hide in his home for a short time," added a Russian
woman. "He may survive for a couple of months, but eventually Sleeper
will infect the very air he breathes. No one shall escape."
"How very true," Stephen agreed. He stepped out of the blanketing
shadows cast by the stairwell and entered the Crypt. As he walked to
his disciples their conversation ceased. Every eye and all attention
were directed towards him.
"Before I call this meeting into order, let me set aside a moment for
those who waver. This is the time for you to back down, if that is
what you wish. And if that is your decision, I ask for you to leave
immediately."
No one moved. The idea of leaving was considered a blasphemy, for it
would mean regretting the one thing they believed in. Yet the leader
stared at the Romanian teenager, hoping to lock eyes with him. There
was something about Bodgar that made Stephen… cautious.
"Very well," Stephen broke the silence. "Atsuko, dear, do you have the
tickets?"
"They're right here." Atsuko produced 13 plane tickets from her clutch
purse, each with a name and a different destination written on them.
She passed them out to their assigned owners and kept hers.
"Miguel and Katrien," Stephen asked the Brazilian and the Russian, "do
you have the backpacks?"
Both radicals nodded their heads. "We placed them at the end of the
stairs," Miguel said. "Each of us can pick one up on our way out when
the meeting has ended."
An Aussie pointed to the pile of backpacks and smirked, "Hey, mates,
wouldn't it something if one of those cans inside went off?"
Everyone was aware that the joke was intended to lighten the mood, yet
it was hard to find humor in their consecrated mission. A couple of
scattered chuckles were all that was heard. Stephen cleared his throat
to regain the floor.
"I want us all to remember our mission until the very end. Mother
Earth has given birth to life for over six thousands years. Now is the
time to relieve her from all her heavy burdens, even if it means
martyrdom. Her children have taken her for granted, us included. They
have abused her, despite all of her sacrifices. She is tired,
depleted, and needs rest and solitude. Mother must be saved and her
wretched, spoiled children must be aborted. We, the Children of Mother
Earth, are now the arbiters of life, and we choose for Mother to live."
The radicals chorused, "Long live Mother!"
~*~*~
Tokyo, Japan
4:15 PM
Artemis loved Mondays, for he had the entire apartment to himself until
Minako came home from work. He yawned and stretched his front paws,
sharp claws digging into Minako's new and expensive floral bedspread.
It was one of those long and lazy wintry days, when a person wanted to
do nothing but sleep late, lounge around the bedroom or living room and
order pizza instead of cook. That also included white kitty cats with
crescent moon insignias on their foreheads.
Of course, Artemis couldn't exactly order pizza but there was a
leftover slice in the refrigerator. He made the mental note to eat it
before Minako got her "paws" on it, but right now he was going to take
a nap. Luna had just left a few minutes and informed him that Usagi
was having not one, but two babies. Artemis couldn't tell if Luna was
excited or only pretending for Usagi's sake. (Females of all species
were near to impossible to understand.) Perhaps it was a mixture of
both. In the histories of the Silver Millennium and the Golden
Kingdom, the royal families never had a set of twins.
Just what we need, Artemis silently jeered: something else to worry
about. But the news of twins did bring up a few speculations. If
ChibiUsa was the inheritor of the Ginzuishou then who would inherit the
Kinzuishou? Someone had to. Was it one of the twins, or perhaps both?
The guardian cat didn't know the genders of the twins because Usagi was
keeping it a secret from everyone until Mamoru came home. (In fact,
only he, Luna, and Ami even knew about the twins.) And when it came to
the two elusive crystals, gender did make a difference.
Or did it? Artemis always assumed that the Ginzuishou was "feminine"
while the Kinzuishou was "masculine." That kept the powers of Earth
and the moon in balance, and that was essential since their kingdoms
were once so close together, at least in distance. Then again, he
could be wrong. In the great scheme of things, what did he know?
Artemis rolled onto his side and deeply exhaled. It was difficult to
decipher the future when he remembered so little of his past. Luna
knew less than he did, and perhaps it was for the better. When she
broke the news to him, Artemis recalled an ancient superstition that
the Golden Kingdom populace heavily believed in. Identical twins were
considered to be freaks of nature, second class citizens. Families of
nobility would have the second twin murdered minutes after birth, just
to uphold their honor. Those from families of poverty were simply cast
out of the community.
This was not something Artemis would ever share with Usagi, or anyone
else for that matter. But one thing's for certain, Artemis concluded.
Those twins would never know how lucky they were to be born in the 21st
century, and to have parents like Mamoru and Usagi.
~*~*~
Durham, North Carolina
5:00 PM EST
The enemy silently lurked amongst the blanketing shadows before it
screeched and leapt towards his wife, grasping her, a hand around her
neck and a hand upon her round stomach. Mamoru charged towards the
phantom, yelling Usagi's name, yet it seemed the hallways was unending.
The more he ran, the farther away he was from the only family he had.
Still he persisted.
"Hey, Mamoru!"
Shingo watched his brother-in-law jump ten feet off the bed, and
practically out of his skin. It's just as well, Shingo mused. He'd
been trying to wake Mamoru up for the past minute or so. Usagi said
that her husband was a light sleeper, but this contradicted her
statement. It made Shingo speculate… For a moment it was as if sleep
refused to let Mamoru go, but why?
"What do you want?" Mamoru asked, sounding perturbed.
"Don't get mad at me," Shingo fended, "I'm doing what you told me. You
said you wanted me to wake you up an hour before the banquet so you
could get ready."
"Not by shouting in my ear!"
"Well, excuse me. Next time I'll pretend that I'm your wife and kiss
you full on the lips. How does that sound? And I'll make sure it's a
slobbery kiss."
Mamoru rolled his eyes and rose from the bed. There were times when he
wondered what it would've been like to have a brother. But with Shingo
as his brother-in-law, there were also times when he didn't want to
know.
"I'm going to take a shower," said Mamoru as he headed from the
bathroom. "If Usako calls me, just say I'll talk to her before I leave
for the banquet."
Shingo gave him the A-OK sign. "No problem," he assured.
Once his brother-in-law closed the bathroom door, Shingo searched for a
phone jack and connected his laptop's modem with a phone line. It was
such a hassle whenever he traveled. To access the Internet he had to
change all area codes, all phone numbers and even program his provider
to dial a certain number before he could reach an outside line. He
wanted to upgrade his laptop so it would have wireless connectivity but
that cost money, and Shingo was more interested in paying back his
college loans before he did any splurging on himself. (Splurging on
Mika was another story…)
Once Shingo was settled, lying on the queen-size bed with his laptop in
front of him, he logged onto his email account. There were four new
messages. One was an e-card notification from Mika, another was from
his boss, and one was from Usagi. The last message was the one Shingo
ignored two nights ago, the one from Hu Yen Li.
The young reporter studied the e-mail subject. "To the Most Important
Man in the World," it read. Shingo was unsure whether or not to open
the e-mail. If it weren't for the foreign name, he would've suspected
that someone was sending him yet another chain letter. Yet his
journalist instincts told him to pursue, and so he did.
Mr. Shingo Tsukino:
Because of your reputation I decided to send you these
documents. All necessary information and details are in
the attached files. Do not ask questions. Do not contact
me. Just read over the information and decide for
yourself.
Dr. Hu Yen Li
"Right…" Shingo muttered in Dr. Evil fashion. From the short note he
concluded that this was something he shouldn't be involved with. If Hu
Yen Li requested not to be contacted then he was either in serious
danger or playing a terrible, international prank. Still curiosity got
the best of him, as it always did, and he clicked on the attachment and
downloaded it to his computer.
~*~*~
Tokyo, Japan
4:00 AM
Covered in a cold sheen of sweat Usagi writhed under her bed sheets, a
maddening vision playing in front of her mind's eyes. Her panicky
breathing and escalated heart rate accompanied her rising fear. And as
she fought to awaken, shaking her head and digging her fingers into her
pillow, she was only forced deeper into the nightmare that illustrated
what she prayed would not happen.
The corridors of Tokyo Memorial Hospital were a contrast to their usual
state; they were dark, defiled, and deserted, leaving the impression
that the building had been abandoned many years before. Usagi stood in
the middle of a hallway wearing a tattered hospital gown and bathrobe.
In her arms were the twins. She clutched her babies to her bosom,
shielding them from the dangers that approached them.
An agonizing wail penetrated the silence. The determined mother raced
through the halls, opposite the direction she heard the screams. Yet
Usagi was brought to a dead end. She frantically spun around and
wondered if there was another hallway she could take or if danger was
near. With no where to flee Usagi crouched in the corner and fervently
prayed that the shadows were veil her and her babies from the unknown
enemy.
One of the newborns started to cry, giving away their hiding place. As
Usagi tried to soothe her child the unknown force confronted its
victims. It ripped the twins from Usagi's embrace and immediately
disappeared into a state of oblivion. Shocked and torn Usagi reached
out to the nothingness surrounding her, screaming at the top of her
lungs.
"NO!!!!"
=======
End of chapter four
09.11.02
Sleeper
By: Masked Maiden
Chapter Four: Bad Dreams
The steam thickened into an opaque fog that wholly enveloped the
desolated and deserted city. In the manner of a blind woman she felt
her way through the moisture, soon coming across the two silhouettes,
one male and one female. And though she was once again unable to see
their faces, she watched them intently. They joined hands and kissed
as lovers would, soon floating high above Tokyo's mighty skyscrapers.
A ball of golden light engulfed their bodies, its brilliance causing
the fog to dissipate. As the freezing winds blew and collided with the
rising tsunami of seawaters, the entire world turned into ice…
"She's hiding something."
Hotaru stirred under her bedcovers and woke up to Michiru's soft voice.
She and Haruka were across the hall in their bedroom, and whom they
were talking about was no mystery to Hotaru. Even now, when she was
only two semesters away from graduating from college, her foster
parents assumed that she never heard their secret conversations about
their only daughter.
"What makes you think that?" asked Haruka. From the tone of her voice
Hotaru imagined Haruka lying on her side, buried under her comforter
and waiting for Michiru to stop talking so she could go to sleep.
"Hotaru tells us very little about the visions she's been having,"
Michiru replied. "It makes me wonder if she does know who initiates
the Great Freeze."
"I'm sure Hotaru will share with us when she wants to, but maybe she's
supposed to know and we're not. She's the one who's having the vision,
not us and not even Setsuna."
The mattress springs squeaked as Michiru crawled into bed beside her
partner. "Maybe you're right," she sighed, "but I can tell that
something is bothering her. I wish she would just tell me."
Hotaru grabbed her pillow and covered her ears, hoping to drown out her
parents' voices. It was too much. While their faces were hidden from
her in the vision, Hotaru knew that woman. The outline of her hair and
her sailor fuku were enough to reveal her identity. But she wouldn't
tell anyone. She couldn't. For if the rest of the Outer Senshi knew
the woman's identity, it would change everything.
~*~*~
The next day…
Tokyo, Japan
3:00 PM
Patience was a virtue, or so Usagi was told. She was about to accept
the face that patience was not a virtue she possessed, or at least when
it came to waiting to find out her baby's gender. The conversation she
had with her husband two nights ago only fueled her curiosity, a
curiosity she had successfully deferred until now. The suspense was
getting the best of her. She just had to know: was it a boy or girl?
"Chiba Usagi-san?"
Usagi looked up from the magazine she was absently staring at. A nurse
with a chart in her hand stood by the doorway leading to the
examination rooms, waiting for the next patient. Usagi arose from her
chair (which was low and difficult for a pregnant woman to get out of)
and followed the nurse to a vacant room. The nurse took her vitals,
wrote them down in the chart and then left, telling Usagi that the
doctor would be with her shortly. Usagi laughed to herself. She knew
Ami would never purposely make any of her patients wait, but she also
knew that her wait would not be a short one.
As Usagi gave a loud, impatient sigh there was a soft knock at the
door. Ami stepped inside, a warm and apologetic smile on her face, and
greeted her friend with a hug.
"So… where in the world is Mamoru-kun?" Ami asked.
Usagi laughed. "Mamo-chan and Shingo had a four-hour layover in New
York late last night, so they should be arriving in North Carolina any
time this afternoon. But it'll be morning to them since there's a 13-
hour time difference."
Usagi made Mamoru take his wrist communicator with him, telling him to
contact her the moment he was back in the air. So once Mamoru boarded
his plane in New York, and after the pilot announced that all
passengers were free to move around, Mamoru headed for one of the
lavatories and locked the door behind him. He called Usagi and told
her everything was okay. "So don't worry about me," he told her. That
was roughly an hour ago. The next time Usagi expected to hear from
Mamoru would be when he landed in North Carolina, which would be any
minute now. Usagi's communicator was in her purse, just in case.
"Well, let's see what this baby is up to." Ami rolled the ultrasound
machine towards her and turned it on. "Lie down and raise your shirt
for me, Usagi-chan."
Ami found the bottle of clear gel and squeezed a small amount on her
friend's round belly, smiling at her reaction to the very cold matter.
She then took the transducer and slid it around until a grainy black
and white picture of a baby's profile came into view. Usagi stared at
the screen, completely amazed. That was her child. She just couldn't
wait for the day she could hold her or him in her arms.
"Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?" Usagi asked.
Ami replied, "I thought you wanted to be surprised."
"I changed my mind…" Besides, she mused, it gives me something to tease
Mamo-chan with until he comes home. "So, can you tell me?"
"Well, let's see…" Ami gradually moved the transducer as she tried to
decipher the baby's gender. Her eyes soon widened in astonishment.
"Oh my God!"
Usagi raised an eyebrow, not quite knowing that to think. "What is
it?" she asked the obstetrician.
Ami wheeled around on her stool so her friend could have a better view.
She pointed to a small form located off center on the screen. "Right
here you can see your baby's profile. And right here…" She pointed to
a round area close to the baby's feet. "… You can clearly see your
other baby's head."
Usagi's mouth gaped open. "What…?" She stared at the grainy picture
and could clearly see the outlines of the two babies, her babies. She
disbelieved yet believed with her eyes at the same, overwhelmed with
such pure joy. After all those years of trying to have a baby, this
was a wonderful surprise!
"Oh my goodness… Twins! Mamo-chan is going to flip out!"
"Would you still like to know the sexes?" Ami asked, though already
knowing the answer to the question.
Usagi wiped away the tears from her eyes and broke in a huge grin. "Of
course!"
~*~*~
Durham, North Carolina
9:00 AM EST
Located on campus of Duke University was the Washington Duke Inn,
Durham's only four-star and four-diamond hotel. Four the next six days
and five nights the one hundred microbiologists and emergency room
physicians invited to the medical conference would lodge there and
attend the seminars held in the meeting hall. It was an exquisite
building, but the moment Mamoru and Shingo stepped into their hotel
room, they immediately knew there was going to be a problem.
Shingo pointed out, "There's only one bed."
Mamoru swore under his breath. He had made all the arrangements for
Shingo to travel with him that week, and so he had certainly informed
the hotel manager months in advance that he would need a room with
*two* beds. Now what were they going to do? Mamoru did love his
brother-in-law, but not enough to sleep with him!
"Well we can forget asking for another room," Shingo commented. "With
this conference taking place I imagine all the rooms are booked. We're
going to have to ask for a cot."
Mamoru shook his head and grumbled, "No wonder that lady at the front
desk looked at us funny…"
"Hey, don't worry about it." Shingo walked over to the telephone and
searched through the nightstand drawer for a list of phone numbers.
"You call Baka and I'll call the front desk. It shouldn't be too hard
to get some service around here." He looked up at Mamoru with his
famous mischievous grin on his face. "So what should I say? Hello, my
partner and I--"
"Shingo, you're pushing it," Mamoru warned. "Keep this up and one of
us will need a coffin instead of a cot."
"Okay, okay, I'll be serious."
Mamoru sighed in frustration and sat down on the edge of the bed. He
took out his wrist communicator from his pants pocket and flipped it
open, yawning as he did so. He had to envy his brother-in-law. Shingo
was used to traveling. He'd slept through half the flight to New York
and through the entire flight to North Carolina. Mamoru, though he
tried, couldn't even relax. He just managed to make it through the
trip without losing his mind (and his lunch when the second landing was
a tad bumpy). Mamoru pressed a button on the communicator and waited
for his wife to answer.
Usagi's beautiful face appeared on the tiny screen. Just seeing her
with her cheerful smile lifted Mamoru's spirits and washed away part of
his fatigue, and it made him wonder how he was going to cope without
for an entire week.
"Hi, sweetie!" Usagi chimed. "How is everything?"
Mamoru faintly smiled and replied, "Hey… We're at the hotel. Shingo
and I just stepped our room a few minutes ago. How is everything with
you?"
"Great! I did start to worry about you when I didn't hear from you
around four, but I figured you wanted to wait until you got to the
hotel before calling me. But anyway… how's Shingo?"
"He's driving me crazy," Mamoru rolled his eyes. He suppressed his
laughter when he noticed that Shingo was giving him the finger.
"Don't worry, you'll learn to ignore him," Usagi assured. Then she
paused for a moment, as if she were mulling over what to say next.
With that her smile brightened, now with a mischievous glint, causing
Mamoru to become somewhat suspicious.
"Guess what!"
"I don't know," Mamoru gave up easily, not really wanting to play
along. "What?" He wondered if he really needed to ask. At this time
in their lives, there was only one thing Usagi would tease him about.
Usagi taunted in a sing-song voice, "I know something you don't know."
Now his suspicions were confirmed. "Usako, you didn't…"
"I did!"
"Well you're going to tell me, aren't you?"
"Maybe… Or maybe not."
"Usako, don't you dare tease me. If I remember correctly, I'm the one
who wants to know if the baby is a boy or a girl. You didn't want to
know. You wanted to be surprised."
"I changed my mind."
"Well, now that you know I think you should tell me… please?" Mamoru
couldn't believe how desperate he sounded. He looked over at Shingo
was more, who was now on the phone with someone at the front desk. He
turned his attention back to the communicator's screen. "Please,
Usako?"
Usagi merely giggled. "Bye, Mamo-chan!" she said, and signed off.
~*~*~
1:00 PM EST
The central building of Duke University's campus was its chapel, a
majestic and gothic-influenced structure that towered over its
surroundings. That was the intention of the university's founder, a
man who believed that the chapel would have a profound impact on the
spiritual lives of those who attended the school and those who lived in
the neighboring communities. Since its dedication ceremony in 1935 the
Duke Chapel had served the community through providing opportunities of
worship, Bible Studies, outreach programs, weddings, funerals, concert
festivals, convocations and even graduation ceremonies.
But it was never intended to house a meeting of destruction.
Stephen stood in the nave of the chapel, gazing at the massive stained-
glass windows. His attention was focused on one of the chapel's most
famous windows. It depicted the story of Noah and the Ark. Stephen
knew that tales quite well from his childhood days of being dragged to
church by his parents. God saw how wicked and depraved His creation
called Man had become. He soon regretted ever making Man and planned
to wipe out the entire populace of Earth, including all animals. But
there was Noah, the sole righteous person on Earth, and he found favor
with God. Because of Noah, with his ark and animals two-by-two, Man
and all creatures continued to live on Earth to this day.
Stephen didn't like Noah.
A small group of college students walked past Stephen and headed for
the main entrance. Though it was mid-February the day's temperature
was in the low 70s. Since it was such a beautiful, sunlit afternoon,
the group decided to have their Bible study outside on the grass. It
was for the best, Stephen thought. Except for the minister, who was in
his study, there was no one to disturb him.
Stephen glared at the stained glass window one last time and strolled
down the nave, soon entering into the south transept of the grand
sanctuary. Between the Memorial Chapel and the lectern was a stairwell
leading to the Crypt, the place where the secret meeting of C.O.M.E.
was about to begin.
C.O.M.E. -- Children of Mother Earth -- was a secret organization
comprised of 12 radical visionaries, all of who considered themselves
to be the bright beacon of hope for the future. They gathered around
the 30 or so chairs in the dimly lit Crypt and conversed amongst each
other, all speaking in English. With two exceptions, the men and women
were between the ages of 20 and 35. One of the exceptions was a 16-
year-old runaway from Romania, who currently lived with one of the
older members. The other exception was the uncharted 13th member, Dr.
Stephen Lehmkuhl of Johannesburg, South Africa. He was the oldest
member of C.O.M.E., its founder and its leader.
To the public eye Stephen was considered a miracle worker, for he
funded and headed the research program that searched for the antidotes
for viral hemorrhagic fever diseases, such as Ebola and Lassa. Yet
during those 12 years of research there was little documentation of
Stephen's findings. Nothing was published in the most prestigious of
medical journals, and the media hounds were only given a few pages of
notes to go by for all newspaper articles and special TV reports. Most
people assumed Stephen was a paranoid man: he did not wish for his
discoveries to be seized by terrorists.
In reality, he and the C.O.M.E. were the terrorists. There were no
antidotes, only the terminal disease known as Sleeper. After seven
years of studying the basic structures of VHF diseases, from their
physical appearances to their genetic makeup, followed by five years of
creating and perfecting a genetically engineered version of Lassa
Fever, Sleeper was now ready to be unleashed… whether the world was
ready or not.
A Brazilian man asked his confidants, "Has anyone thought about the
reason why the university is sponsoring this medical seminar?"
"I certainly have," a college student from Chicago remarked, "and it's
ironic. It's to protect themselves from being eliminated, yet there
will be no way of protecting anyone when Sleeper is released."
"A man can only hide in his home for a short time," added a Russian
woman. "He may survive for a couple of months, but eventually Sleeper
will infect the very air he breathes. No one shall escape."
"How very true," Stephen agreed. He stepped out of the blanketing
shadows cast by the stairwell and entered the Crypt. As he walked to
his disciples their conversation ceased. Every eye and all attention
were directed towards him.
"Before I call this meeting into order, let me set aside a moment for
those who waver. This is the time for you to back down, if that is
what you wish. And if that is your decision, I ask for you to leave
immediately."
No one moved. The idea of leaving was considered a blasphemy, for it
would mean regretting the one thing they believed in. Yet the leader
stared at the Romanian teenager, hoping to lock eyes with him. There
was something about Bodgar that made Stephen… cautious.
"Very well," Stephen broke the silence. "Atsuko, dear, do you have the
tickets?"
"They're right here." Atsuko produced 13 plane tickets from her clutch
purse, each with a name and a different destination written on them.
She passed them out to their assigned owners and kept hers.
"Miguel and Katrien," Stephen asked the Brazilian and the Russian, "do
you have the backpacks?"
Both radicals nodded their heads. "We placed them at the end of the
stairs," Miguel said. "Each of us can pick one up on our way out when
the meeting has ended."
An Aussie pointed to the pile of backpacks and smirked, "Hey, mates,
wouldn't it something if one of those cans inside went off?"
Everyone was aware that the joke was intended to lighten the mood, yet
it was hard to find humor in their consecrated mission. A couple of
scattered chuckles were all that was heard. Stephen cleared his throat
to regain the floor.
"I want us all to remember our mission until the very end. Mother
Earth has given birth to life for over six thousands years. Now is the
time to relieve her from all her heavy burdens, even if it means
martyrdom. Her children have taken her for granted, us included. They
have abused her, despite all of her sacrifices. She is tired,
depleted, and needs rest and solitude. Mother must be saved and her
wretched, spoiled children must be aborted. We, the Children of Mother
Earth, are now the arbiters of life, and we choose for Mother to live."
The radicals chorused, "Long live Mother!"
~*~*~
Tokyo, Japan
4:15 PM
Artemis loved Mondays, for he had the entire apartment to himself until
Minako came home from work. He yawned and stretched his front paws,
sharp claws digging into Minako's new and expensive floral bedspread.
It was one of those long and lazy wintry days, when a person wanted to
do nothing but sleep late, lounge around the bedroom or living room and
order pizza instead of cook. That also included white kitty cats with
crescent moon insignias on their foreheads.
Of course, Artemis couldn't exactly order pizza but there was a
leftover slice in the refrigerator. He made the mental note to eat it
before Minako got her "paws" on it, but right now he was going to take
a nap. Luna had just left a few minutes and informed him that Usagi
was having not one, but two babies. Artemis couldn't tell if Luna was
excited or only pretending for Usagi's sake. (Females of all species
were near to impossible to understand.) Perhaps it was a mixture of
both. In the histories of the Silver Millennium and the Golden
Kingdom, the royal families never had a set of twins.
Just what we need, Artemis silently jeered: something else to worry
about. But the news of twins did bring up a few speculations. If
ChibiUsa was the inheritor of the Ginzuishou then who would inherit the
Kinzuishou? Someone had to. Was it one of the twins, or perhaps both?
The guardian cat didn't know the genders of the twins because Usagi was
keeping it a secret from everyone until Mamoru came home. (In fact,
only he, Luna, and Ami even knew about the twins.) And when it came to
the two elusive crystals, gender did make a difference.
Or did it? Artemis always assumed that the Ginzuishou was "feminine"
while the Kinzuishou was "masculine." That kept the powers of Earth
and the moon in balance, and that was essential since their kingdoms
were once so close together, at least in distance. Then again, he
could be wrong. In the great scheme of things, what did he know?
Artemis rolled onto his side and deeply exhaled. It was difficult to
decipher the future when he remembered so little of his past. Luna
knew less than he did, and perhaps it was for the better. When she
broke the news to him, Artemis recalled an ancient superstition that
the Golden Kingdom populace heavily believed in. Identical twins were
considered to be freaks of nature, second class citizens. Families of
nobility would have the second twin murdered minutes after birth, just
to uphold their honor. Those from families of poverty were simply cast
out of the community.
This was not something Artemis would ever share with Usagi, or anyone
else for that matter. But one thing's for certain, Artemis concluded.
Those twins would never know how lucky they were to be born in the 21st
century, and to have parents like Mamoru and Usagi.
~*~*~
Durham, North Carolina
5:00 PM EST
The enemy silently lurked amongst the blanketing shadows before it
screeched and leapt towards his wife, grasping her, a hand around her
neck and a hand upon her round stomach. Mamoru charged towards the
phantom, yelling Usagi's name, yet it seemed the hallways was unending.
The more he ran, the farther away he was from the only family he had.
Still he persisted.
"Hey, Mamoru!"
Shingo watched his brother-in-law jump ten feet off the bed, and
practically out of his skin. It's just as well, Shingo mused. He'd
been trying to wake Mamoru up for the past minute or so. Usagi said
that her husband was a light sleeper, but this contradicted her
statement. It made Shingo speculate… For a moment it was as if sleep
refused to let Mamoru go, but why?
"What do you want?" Mamoru asked, sounding perturbed.
"Don't get mad at me," Shingo fended, "I'm doing what you told me. You
said you wanted me to wake you up an hour before the banquet so you
could get ready."
"Not by shouting in my ear!"
"Well, excuse me. Next time I'll pretend that I'm your wife and kiss
you full on the lips. How does that sound? And I'll make sure it's a
slobbery kiss."
Mamoru rolled his eyes and rose from the bed. There were times when he
wondered what it would've been like to have a brother. But with Shingo
as his brother-in-law, there were also times when he didn't want to
know.
"I'm going to take a shower," said Mamoru as he headed from the
bathroom. "If Usako calls me, just say I'll talk to her before I leave
for the banquet."
Shingo gave him the A-OK sign. "No problem," he assured.
Once his brother-in-law closed the bathroom door, Shingo searched for a
phone jack and connected his laptop's modem with a phone line. It was
such a hassle whenever he traveled. To access the Internet he had to
change all area codes, all phone numbers and even program his provider
to dial a certain number before he could reach an outside line. He
wanted to upgrade his laptop so it would have wireless connectivity but
that cost money, and Shingo was more interested in paying back his
college loans before he did any splurging on himself. (Splurging on
Mika was another story…)
Once Shingo was settled, lying on the queen-size bed with his laptop in
front of him, he logged onto his email account. There were four new
messages. One was an e-card notification from Mika, another was from
his boss, and one was from Usagi. The last message was the one Shingo
ignored two nights ago, the one from Hu Yen Li.
The young reporter studied the e-mail subject. "To the Most Important
Man in the World," it read. Shingo was unsure whether or not to open
the e-mail. If it weren't for the foreign name, he would've suspected
that someone was sending him yet another chain letter. Yet his
journalist instincts told him to pursue, and so he did.
Mr. Shingo Tsukino:
Because of your reputation I decided to send you these
documents. All necessary information and details are in
the attached files. Do not ask questions. Do not contact
me. Just read over the information and decide for
yourself.
Dr. Hu Yen Li
"Right…" Shingo muttered in Dr. Evil fashion. From the short note he
concluded that this was something he shouldn't be involved with. If Hu
Yen Li requested not to be contacted then he was either in serious
danger or playing a terrible, international prank. Still curiosity got
the best of him, as it always did, and he clicked on the attachment and
downloaded it to his computer.
~*~*~
Tokyo, Japan
4:00 AM
Covered in a cold sheen of sweat Usagi writhed under her bed sheets, a
maddening vision playing in front of her mind's eyes. Her panicky
breathing and escalated heart rate accompanied her rising fear. And as
she fought to awaken, shaking her head and digging her fingers into her
pillow, she was only forced deeper into the nightmare that illustrated
what she prayed would not happen.
The corridors of Tokyo Memorial Hospital were a contrast to their usual
state; they were dark, defiled, and deserted, leaving the impression
that the building had been abandoned many years before. Usagi stood in
the middle of a hallway wearing a tattered hospital gown and bathrobe.
In her arms were the twins. She clutched her babies to her bosom,
shielding them from the dangers that approached them.
An agonizing wail penetrated the silence. The determined mother raced
through the halls, opposite the direction she heard the screams. Yet
Usagi was brought to a dead end. She frantically spun around and
wondered if there was another hallway she could take or if danger was
near. With no where to flee Usagi crouched in the corner and fervently
prayed that the shadows were veil her and her babies from the unknown
enemy.
One of the newborns started to cry, giving away their hiding place. As
Usagi tried to soothe her child the unknown force confronted its
victims. It ripped the twins from Usagi's embrace and immediately
disappeared into a state of oblivion. Shocked and torn Usagi reached
out to the nothingness surrounding her, screaming at the top of her
lungs.
"NO!!!!"
=======
End of chapter four
09.11.02