lyrasoze@hotmail.com
This is my email address, as opposed to someone elses email address.
That sentence makes no sense when I think about it, because this is
the story I wrote and so you would naturally be emailing me and not
somebody else about it......now I'm confused. I must take great care
not to confuse myself further. Anyway, email ME!!! Or look my up on
the ASMR message board. My ID is Lyra.
Hi everyone! What's going on? Well, if you are reading this, you
are here to read Chapter 6 of 'All The World's A Stage' and not
to listen to me babble on. So a couple thank you's and then
off we go!
Thanks (as always) to my best friend in the whole wide world (not
to be confused with world wide web...) Mary Ann! And yes, for those
of you who are wondering, Mary Ann made her first fanfiction
appearance in the last chapter as Dr. Chiba's secretary. She's
the coolest, and I love her to death. Also thanks to Corie for
her never ending support of my writing. And again to ASMR for
posting all this fanfiction and to all my friends on the ASMR
message board and to Spring-chan who is an all around wonderful
person, not to mention a fab web mistress and to all alien beings
in the universe.
DING! Round 2 of your favorite game, and mine, Hidden Movie Lines!
There are movie lines interspersed throughout this chapter. See if
you can find em!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything! I am alone in the world! All
Sailor Moon characters belong to Naoko and all song
lyrics belong to their respective writers, preformers
and record labels and Rikashi Stadium belongs to the
little green men who live on Planet Zog.
All The World's A Stage
Chapter 6
Rated PG13 (language)
Serena was feeling bouncy and fresh when she arrived at the
stadium. She had the perfect dress, the perfect job and the perfect
date for tonight. Life was good. But life-goodness had a way of
dissolving just when she was beginning to enjoy it, and today was
no exception.
SCREECH!!!
"Sorry, sorry..." Michael yelled as Serena, Raye, Chad and
Andrew stepped through the doors of the stadium and into chaos.
The Three Lights were tuning up, though what they were playing didn't
sound like much of a tune. Serena cringed as Taiki riffed on the
guitar, squealing the chord. Raye and Chad rushed off to adjust
a few lights and Andrew was motioned over to the stage by one of the
grips. The man seemed annoyed, and he kept pointing in the stage
left direction and gesturing wildly. Serena shook her head in amusment,
and moved off toward the light booth, still singing "Have You Ever Seen
The Rain."
"Serena!" Seiya called to her from the stage. Serena responded
with a saucy little wave and a smirk before continuing toward the light
booth. She looked over her shoulder at her best friend who was currently
engaged in walking towards her. Serena's eyes widened as she saw the black
electrical cord that was strung across his path.
"Seiya watch out for that...!" Seiya walked right into the chord,
which happened to be connected to a very heavy speaker. Seiya and the 200
lb. speaker had a brief tussle. The speaker won (as heavy inanimate objects
are prone to do), moving a scant two inches across the stage
while Seiya plummetted to the floor. Serena winced, and turned around with
a pained expression on her face.
"Too late," she muttered.
Seiya lay still for a few moments before jumping to his feet.
"I'm all right! I'm okay! No worries."
Applause and whistles echoed throughout the auditorium as Seiya
swept everyone an exageratted bow before continuing on his original course,
this time stepping over the cord with great care. Serena shook her head
in wry amusement as Seiya walked down the stairs and up the ramp toward her.
"Seiya, I have a tip for you. Do not attempt to learn to swan dive
unless there is water under you. Though I have to admit, that was at least
a seven pointer."
"Only seven? Damn, and here I thought that I was ready for the
Olympics. So, how'd it go last night?"
Seiya had an expression of absolute and utter innocence on his face,
his eyes wide. Serena looked back at him just as innocently.
"I can't imagine what you are talking about."
"Oh, come on. The time has come to spill your guts and tell all.
What did you guys talk about? Where did you go after we parted company?"
"We went to a meeting."
Seiya looked nonplussed. "A meeting?"
"Yup," Serena said, hugging her bag to her chest, and plastering
her most starstruck expression on her face. "It was so romantic."
Seiya looked at Serena with an incredibly skeptical expression
on his face. "What meeting?"
"It was a meeting of a club he belongs to."
"Really." Seiya's tone was growing sarcastic. "I didn't know Darien
belonged to any clubs. Which club?"
"The Organization of the United Brotherhood of It's None Of Your
Damned Buisness, Seiya! And by the way," Serena's eyes narrowed. "Who's
brilliant idea was it to give Darien my phone number, life history,
and a box of condoms?"
Seiya blanched as his best friend advanced on him. Serena looked
calm and reasonable, but he could practically see the smoke coming out
of her ears. He was a dead man.
"Seiya? Hey, Seiya! Were you thinking about maybe, I don't know,
PRACTICING sometime today?" Yaten yelled. Seiya whipped his head around
in time to see Taiki looked up from tuning
his guitar and give Michael a thumbs up as Kakyuu took her place behind
the drums and Yaten played a chord on the piano. Seiya waved at the stage
and turned back to his best friend.
"Sorry, Serena, got to run. The life of a megastar, you know."
Grinning at her rakishly, Seiya ran back toward the stage. Serena stood
where he had left her, still glaring at him. Seiya waved cheerily and
Serena's stern mouth turned up at the corners. Seiya stepped over the
electric chord comically, and the turned up corners developed into a
full fledged smile. Seiya sighed in relief. Maybe she would forget
about the condoms thing. Nonetheless, it would seem that a dozen pink
roses and the new Matchbox 20 CD were in order before tonight.
Hey, better safe than sorry! Seiya walked centerstage and gripped
the mic, looking around at the rest of the band. Taiki nodded and Yaten
grinned. Kakyuu raised an eyebrow, waiting for Seiya to give the
signal. Seiya nodded and Kakyuu raised her drumsticks.
"One...two...one, two, three, four!"
Hotel California (Eagles)
On a dark desert highway
Cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas
Rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance
I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself
This could be Heaven or this could be Hell
Then she lit up the candle
She showed me the way
There were voices down that corridor
Thought I heard them say
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (any time of year)
You can find it here
Her mind is Tiffany twisted
She's got the Mercedes bends
She's got a lot of pretty, pretty boys
That she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard
Sweet summer sweat
Some dance to remember
Some dance to forget
So I called up the Captain
Said please bring me my wine
he said, we haven't had that spirit here since 1969
And still those voices are callin'
From far away
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)
Bring your alibis
Mirrors on the ceiling
Pink champagne on ice
She said, we are all just prisoners here
of our own device
And in the master's chambers
They all gathered for the feast
They stab at it with their steely knives
But they just can't kill the beast
Last thing I remember
I was running for the door
I had to find the passage back to the place
I was before
Relax said the nightman
We are programmed to recieve
You can check out any time you like
But you can never leave
Serena shook her head tolerantly as she climbed up to the light
booth. 'They'd better mix in a few original tunes or the crowd'll riot,'
she reflected. 'Not that I'm complaining...Wake you up in the middle of
the night...' Halfway up the ladder, Serena froze. She had left her
shopping bag on the floor.
'Ditz,' she reprimanded herself. "Melvin, I'll be up in a few.
Gotta visit my locker, and then I'll be back. Will you be okay?"
"Yeah, Serena, not a problem," Melvin called down.
Serena nodded, a slightly worried frown marring her brow. She hated
turning the board over to someone else. Fears harbored mainly because
Zoicyte seemed unable to manage even the simplest combination of que's.
'I really need to work on trust. Melvin is a competent and
intelligent guy. He's done fine so far, and there is no reason for me
to believe he won't do fine now,' she rationalized as she picked up her
bag and started towards the cement ramp leading to the crew's lounge/
locker room. To the haunting strains of 'Hotel California' Serena entered
the locker room. Moving with practiced ease she stepped over the various
technical items and leftover food containers strewn about the floor.
'God, we live like animals. Someone really should clean this up...'
Serena thought briefly. Then she paused and chuckled to herself.
"Nah!"
Serena kicked a pizza box out of her way and opened her metal locker.
The inside door was hung with various pictures of her and Seiya amoung
flyers and programs from The Three Lights concerts. Serena pressed the
corners of it, securing the tape.
"Custom-made memory sheet. Just unroll and hang," she muttered,
stashing the shopping bag on the floor of her locker. She remembered
making the sheet, generalizing the size to fit any standard full length
locker. Her eyes lingered on a blank space toward the top, perfect for
a 3 x 5 photo. She had meant that space for a picture of her significant
other, but had never had a photo to fill it with. A smile touched her lips.
Maybe it wouldn't be empty for much longer. Serena closed her eyes and
conjured an image of Darien whirling her about the dance floor, dressed
in a black tuxedo and a white domino mask. She sighed, picturing his
sapphire eyes and midnight hair. A crackling an abrupt buzzing pulled her
back to reality. But when Serena's eyes opened, she saw only the black
of Darien's hair. Blinking to clear her vision, Serena opened her eyes
once more. It wasn't a figment of her overactive imagination. The room
had been plunged into total darkness.
"Well, hell."
*************************************************************
*BEEP* The fax machine in Darien's office startled him out
of his reverie. His mail had contained bills, a letter from a
colleague working out of Los Angeles in the U.S. and medical
magazine, along with the usual proposals of marriage. He disregarded
the proposals and moved on to the others. His messages, on the other
hand, were not been nearly that concise, pleasant, or easily pushed aside.
Inquiries from several newspapers and gossip columnist were near the top.
All offered extraordinary amounts of money for an interview,
or the name of his mystery girlfriend. Preferably the name of his
girlfriend. The phone had rung so many times that Mary Ann had been
forced to take it off the hook. And now FAXES!!!
Darien shook his head and rose from his very comfortable leather
chair and walked across the room to the fax machine. He watched as a
piece of paper slowly unrolled from the machine. Cover letter first.
Typical. He lifted the cover sheet off the metal paper-catcher thing
(he really needed to improve his office equipment vocabulary) and
glanced at it.
Attn: Darien Chiba, M.D.
From: Andrew
Place of Buisness: Crown Enterprises
Re:
Darien blinked. The Re space was blank. That was typical Andrew.
Why call when you can fax? Darien rolled his eyes and sighed, wondering
about his best friend. Shaking his head, Darien heard the final *BEEP*
that signaled the machine had finished its transmittion. He lifted the
second piece of paper of the paper-catcher (hey, why mess with a
perfectly acceptable term?) and turned it over, and almost dropped it.
It was another article about last night: and this one had a *picture*.
Serena's face was turned away, but his was perfectly visible. They were
sitting at the coffee shop, talking. Serena had turned to accept her
mocha, and the movement had caused her to present a very lovely view of
her graceful neck and back. Not only that, but her long, slim, gorgeous,
and bare legs could be seen through the window. Darien groaned. What sort
of moron took pictures of coffee house couples in the dead of night?
A smart one, he conceded. The newspaper must have paid a fortune for
this, and odds were, it wasn't the only print the nosey photographer had.
Darien cursed, and then noticed a note scrawled across the bottom of the page.
'Darien,
Imagine what a surprise it was for me to wake up and see this picture
(and subsequent article) on the front of the Gossip page. You've been
holding out on me! Who's the girl? Do I know her? If not, I want to.
Call me, and we'll set up a double date. Me and Reika with you and
this mystery girl, whom I sincerly hope has a name. Call me, A.S.A.P.
I want the details!
Andrew'
Darien shook his head, trying to sort his thoughts. Damn, but she looked
good in that picture. Darien glanced at the note in his hand. Even his best
friend was obsessed with his love life. Darien covered his eyes and groaned.
He had deadlines for his research, not to mention a stack of files delivered
to him by other scientists and doctors. He pulled a hand through his hair and
looked at his desk, and all the beatiful piles of work he had been trying to
get through all morning. Unfortunately, this was proving difficult due to the
fact that the image of a certain blond haired, blue eyed nymph kept crossing
his mind. Nymph! What kind of infatuated ignoramus used a word like that to
describe a woman he had just met!
"Your kind, sir," Mary Ann commented, setting a mug on his desk and
picking up a large stack of paper work he had finished with. Darien blinked,
his eyes focusing on the steaming cup of coffee Mary Ann had left behind.
It took a few more moments for him to realize that he had spoken aloud.
"Hot date last night?" Mary Ann inquired. Darien's head snapped up,
his eyes narrowing on his efficiant and terribly nosy seceratary. As always,
Mary Ann looked the very epitome of innocence, leafing through a research
file. Mary Ann raised her eyebrows and looked straight at him. Darien held
her eyes for a moment, then dropped them back to the computer readouts in
front of him and grunted. Mary Ann couldn't help but notice that a fax
with a picture, news article and handwritten note was on top of the
printouts he was supposed to be looking at. She narrowed her eyes
speculatively. Time to stir the pot.
"I'll take that as a yes," Mary Ann commented, turning towards the
door. Darien didn't acknowledge she had spoken. Mary Ann rolled her eyes
and opened the door, swinging it wide.
"Not to be disrespectful sir, but I'd say you've got it bad," she
said, closing the door behind her before her incredibly gorgeous and
defiantly single boss could form an adequate reply. Grinning devilishly,
Mary Ann set the stacks of paperwork and files down on her desk, and raised
her wrist, exposing a tasteful gold watch.
"5,4,3,2,1..." On the count of 1, Dr. Darien Chiba snapped open
the door to his office and strode into the reception area.
"I'm taking the rest of the day off. Direct all calls to my voice
mail," Dr. Chiba said vaugely as he strode towards the mahogany front door.
Mary An looked toward his briefcase. She'd bet next months paycheck that fax
was in there, and on the top, too! This was really too good to keep to herself.
Mary Ann grabbed the phone. The number was dialed before she sat down.
Tapping her foot impatiently, Mary Ann waited for an answer. When it came,
she could barely contain her excitement.
"Mika, babe, get the gossip mill primed. Have I got news for you..."
***************************************************************
It took approximatly ten minutes for Darien to drive from his office
to Rikashi Stadium. He knew because he glanced at the clock every time he was
forced to pause at a red light. He groaned, placing his head on the warm
leather steering wheel. This was truly pathetic. There was no other word for
it. He, Darien Chiba, M.D., was chasing a woman. He, who had never had to do
that in his entire life. Darien was still kicking himself, and calling himself
stupid is five different languages, when he arrived at Rikashi Stadium. He
didn't even know what he was going to say to her.
'Hi, Serena, I went to work and spent the entire morning trying to
convince myself you were no different from any other woman I've ever met,
and finally realized that you are nothing like any woman I've ever met, and
so I gave in to impulse and came over here to see you. So, got any definite
plans for the rest of your life? Damn, that is SO ridiculous.'
Fuming, Darien stalked inside the stadium, Andrew's fax in his back
pocket. The Lights were up on stage, playing a beautiful tune with a nice
beat. Something about a hotel in california. Darien payed no attention to
the melody. Instead he started looking around for couple he had met at
Seiya's last night, the ones who worked with Serena. He spotted a slim,
raven haired beauty slipping through the auditorium. Okay, now all he
had to do was remember her name...something like a beam of sunlight...
"Raye!"
The raven head turned, and a shining smile broke over the woman's
countanance. She shook her head and made her way towards him, dodging
people and stepping over insulated wire.
"Dr. Chiba. What a surprise," she drawled, tipping her head
to the side saucily. "I don't suppose you are looking for a certain
'blond, with legs up to her chin' are you?"
Darien smiled charmingly, aware that his 700 watt grin had
reduced many a woman to quivering piles of jelly. Unfortunatly, it
did not have the desired result on this ornery female. But he
didn't stop smiling, even in the face of her open mockery. Raye
finally chuckled and shook her head. The motion caused her raven
locks to shimmer in the low light. Darien glanced over her shoulder,
his eyes finding the face of the young man he had seen last night.
Chad, if he remembered correctly. Chad appeared one step away from
entering a shock induced coma. Darien chuckled too, aware that
if Mary Ann's reaction was any indication, that look had been
pasted on his face since early that morning.
"Hey, earth to Chiba. Paging Doctor Chiba. Are you still with
me?"
"Yes, of course. You were saying?"
"She headed down to the locker room. Alone. Maybe you should
go protect her or something," Raye smiled catily at him and sauntered
away, hips and hair swinging. Chad's eyes glazed over as he watched her
go. Darien didn't notice. He waved absently at Seiya as he walked by
the stage, missing the sly winks and rolling eyes that followed in his
wake.
As he descended the cement ramp that led to the locker room, Darien
reflected on how oddly he was behaving. Ordinarily, women held little
interest for him. He found them demanding, time consuming and above all,
clingy. Beryl, and last night's fiasco, were prime examples of why Darien
normally opted not to date. But Serena, with her crystal blue eyes and
winning personality, appeared to be none of those things. She was an
independant woman, fully capable of surviving without any male. Damn,
that was attractive.
Darien followed the paper arrows directing him to the locker room.
Smiling when he arrived, he stepped inside the room...and blanched. Empty
food cartons, boxes of leftover Chinese take-out and pop cans lay strewn
about the floor. He was fairly certain that the bulge toward the back of
the room was a couch, though it was hard to tell what with all the clothing
and various wiring instruments draped all over it. Wincing, Darien pushed
a pile of pizza boxes with his foot, and glanced about the room. He smiled
upon glimpsing a leggy blond in the corner, placing a shopping bag inside a
metal locker. He shoved a hand through his hair and took one step towards
her.
And everything went black.
*************************************************************
Serena closed her eyes in horror.
"This is not happening. I'm *hallucinating*..."
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Thud. Serena squeaked and took
a step back, coming into contact with the lockers. She squinted into the
darkness, trying to decide where that ghastly noise had come from. Finally,
she realized that there was no way she would be able to see what was going
on.
"This is *so* cliche," she muttered, closing her locker door. "Who's
there?"
"I believe that I can say with all confidence that you are not
hallucinating," came the reply. Serena held in a gasp. She knew that deep,
warm, and utterly sexy voice...
"DARIEN?!?!?! What are you *doing* here?" Serena asked, dropping to
her knees. "Where are you? No, don't answer that, Just start talking and I
will crawl towards you. You're likely to get lost in here if I don't. As
I'm sure you noticed, techies are not compulsive neat freaks..." Serena
gasped as a hand closed over her knee.
"Found you," came that gorgeous voice. Serena gaped, glad that he
couldn't see her while her mouth was hanging open.
"Darien, what are you doing here? Did you fall down? Are you hurt?"
Questions fell from Serena's lips so quickly, she was amazed that she didn't
stutter. Darien silenced her with a finger. Or he tried to. In the dark it
was a bit hard to gauge where her mouth was, so Darien ended up placing a
finger on her eye, by her nose and on her cheek before he managed to land
it on her mouth.
"I tripped over a wire. As you may have noticed, there are quite a
few of them in here. And I fell on what felt like a stack of old magazines.
I tumbled off those and onto a forest of cardboard boxes of assorted shapes
and sizes. So yes, I fell. Hard."
"Oh, poor baby. Do you want me to kiss it better?" The words were out
before Serena realized what she was saying. She blushed furiously.
"Actually, that might just help," Darien murmured. Serena gasped, and
pulled away.
"Come on. If we can get to the hall, there should be emergency lights
on. We're paying for them to be on in a situation like this anyway, so they
had better be on. Otherwise..." Serena let the sentace trail off, her tone
murderous.
She began crawling toward the door (at least she thought the
door was over in that direction) when she felt a hand grab her ankle, pulling
her back the way she had come.
"And where do you think you are going?"
"In case it has escaped your notice, we have a bit of a problem here,"
Serena retorted, miffed.
"We most certainly do. I drove across town, breaking speed limits and
numerous traffic laws to end up here. I will not be deterred." That said,
Dr. Darien Chiba yanked Serena Tsukino toward him, half covering her body
with his.
"Ummm, Darien? What are you do..." Serena's last thought as Darien
covered her mouth met his was 'Damn, is there anything this man isn't?
Intelligent, articulate, sexy, and a great kisser.' Then Serena forgot
to think. The darkness changed from isolating to private in the blink of
an eye as Darien and Serena lay amid pizza boxes and clutter, lost in the
moment. After a few seconds, Serena pulled back, stunned. Darien's voice
came floating out of the darkness once more.
"You, my dear Serena, are an enigma. You have managed to get under
my skin, and you haven't been out of my thoughts since last night. What
am I going to do about you?"
Serena smiled. "I have a few suggestions," she said, pulling his
head back down.
*************************************************************
"Ouch! CHAD!" Raye bellowed as Chad smacked into her for what felt
like the hundredth time. "At this rate I'll never be able to wear a
strapless dress to the party. Bruises, bruises everywhere...What
happened?"
"The Armageddon is no doubt upon us," Yaten drawled from the stage,
causing the whole stadium to burst into nervous laughter.
"Hey, Melvin," Seiya called. "How's about some illumination?"
"Boss-man, I would love to provide you with light to rival
the sun, but as all power to the board has been mysteriously cut
off, I'm going to have to deny you your wish," came a disembodied
voice from the darkness.
"What happened?" Taiki asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Melvin yelled. "Hey, Serena?
Can you hear me? We have some really large problems up here, and I
would appreciate your input. Serena?"
"Hey, where is she?" Seiya asked. "I saw her not 15 minutes ago."
"She was heading for the locker room," Michael called, helpful to
the bitter end.
"Wonderful. The lights are out and my master electrician is trapped
under the stadium," Seiya said, grim humor in his voice.
All at once, Raye gasped. Darien had been looking for Serena earlier,
and if he had found her before the blackout, then they were together. Alone.
In the dark. Ooo, that sly vixen! Raye grimaced good naturedly. Serena deserved
to be happy, and if she managed to find happiness with the most gorgeous man
in Tokyo, more power to her!
"Uh, Raye?"
"Yes, Chad?" Raye said, a smile in her voice. Chad started at the warmth
in her tone before continuing on.
"Where *is* Serena?"
"In the locker room, I'm sure." 'Lucky girl.'
"Should we try to contact her? On the Telex, I mean."
"No, I'm sure she'll be okay. She's probably having a jolly time."
'Lot better time than I'M having, at any rate...'
"But what if she fell when the lights went out? What if she's hurt?
Or scared? At the very least she's alone."
Raye stared in the direction of Chad's voice, thinking 'My God.
He's not serious. She'd probably murder us all, and mangage to do it with
a smile on her face!'
Raye shook her head at the ludicrous comment. But the humor
of the situation followed swiftly on the heels of her shock, and Raye
Hino started to laugh. Beginning as a giggle it developed into a full
on laugh in less than 10 seconds.
Raye clutched her sides in mirth. 'Serena is probably having the
time of her life and Chad wants to *save* her?' The thought only increased
her laughter.
The crystaline peals rang out upon the stadium, startling everyone.
Chad gaped into the cool darkness. Raye's laughter continued on and on as
she imagined her friend being scared right now. This brought on another
round of laughter. Without being aware what Raye was laughing about,
Andrew joined in. So did Michael and Melvin. The band caught the bug
quickly. Soon all of Rikashi Stadium rang with laughter, which spilled
out into the warm sunlight of the morning.
***************************************************************
So, there it is! How'd ya like it? Tell me, tell me, do! By e-mail,
by message board post. Just find me. I am everywhere. Not really,
but you get the picture.
So, did you find the movie line? Yes? No? Well, I'll tell ya where
it is. 'The Organization of the United Brotherhood of It's None
of Your Damned Buisness' is taken from 'An American President'
starring Michael Douglas, Annette Benning, Michael J. Fox and
Martin Sheen. I LOVE that flick!
Oh, and one more thing. In Chapter 5, I used a line from a
book I read and forgot to attribute it. The 'I'm-lying-down'
line is taken from 'Dark Angel' by L.J. Smith. It is not mine,
and I was a very bad monkey cause I didn't attribute it!
Don't sue me, please!
Mail me! lyrasoze@hotmail.com
This is my email address, as opposed to someone elses email address.
That sentence makes no sense when I think about it, because this is
the story I wrote and so you would naturally be emailing me and not
somebody else about it......now I'm confused. I must take great care
not to confuse myself further. Anyway, email ME!!! Or look my up on
the ASMR message board. My ID is Lyra.
Hi everyone! What's going on? Well, if you are reading this, you
are here to read Chapter 6 of 'All The World's A Stage' and not
to listen to me babble on. So a couple thank you's and then
off we go!
Thanks (as always) to my best friend in the whole wide world (not
to be confused with world wide web...) Mary Ann! And yes, for those
of you who are wondering, Mary Ann made her first fanfiction
appearance in the last chapter as Dr. Chiba's secretary. She's
the coolest, and I love her to death. Also thanks to Corie for
her never ending support of my writing. And again to ASMR for
posting all this fanfiction and to all my friends on the ASMR
message board and to Spring-chan who is an all around wonderful
person, not to mention a fab web mistress and to all alien beings
in the universe.
DING! Round 2 of your favorite game, and mine, Hidden Movie Lines!
There are movie lines interspersed throughout this chapter. See if
you can find em!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything! I am alone in the world! All
Sailor Moon characters belong to Naoko and all song
lyrics belong to their respective writers, preformers
and record labels and Rikashi Stadium belongs to the
little green men who live on Planet Zog.
All The World's A Stage
Chapter 6
Rated PG13 (language)
Serena was feeling bouncy and fresh when she arrived at the
stadium. She had the perfect dress, the perfect job and the perfect
date for tonight. Life was good. But life-goodness had a way of
dissolving just when she was beginning to enjoy it, and today was
no exception.
SCREECH!!!
"Sorry, sorry..." Michael yelled as Serena, Raye, Chad and
Andrew stepped through the doors of the stadium and into chaos.
The Three Lights were tuning up, though what they were playing didn't
sound like much of a tune. Serena cringed as Taiki riffed on the
guitar, squealing the chord. Raye and Chad rushed off to adjust
a few lights and Andrew was motioned over to the stage by one of the
grips. The man seemed annoyed, and he kept pointing in the stage
left direction and gesturing wildly. Serena shook her head in amusment,
and moved off toward the light booth, still singing "Have You Ever Seen
The Rain."
"Serena!" Seiya called to her from the stage. Serena responded
with a saucy little wave and a smirk before continuing toward the light
booth. She looked over her shoulder at her best friend who was currently
engaged in walking towards her. Serena's eyes widened as she saw the black
electrical cord that was strung across his path.
"Seiya watch out for that...!" Seiya walked right into the chord,
which happened to be connected to a very heavy speaker. Seiya and the 200
lb. speaker had a brief tussle. The speaker won (as heavy inanimate objects
are prone to do), moving a scant two inches across the stage
while Seiya plummetted to the floor. Serena winced, and turned around with
a pained expression on her face.
"Too late," she muttered.
Seiya lay still for a few moments before jumping to his feet.
"I'm all right! I'm okay! No worries."
Applause and whistles echoed throughout the auditorium as Seiya
swept everyone an exageratted bow before continuing on his original course,
this time stepping over the cord with great care. Serena shook her head
in wry amusement as Seiya walked down the stairs and up the ramp toward her.
"Seiya, I have a tip for you. Do not attempt to learn to swan dive
unless there is water under you. Though I have to admit, that was at least
a seven pointer."
"Only seven? Damn, and here I thought that I was ready for the
Olympics. So, how'd it go last night?"
Seiya had an expression of absolute and utter innocence on his face,
his eyes wide. Serena looked back at him just as innocently.
"I can't imagine what you are talking about."
"Oh, come on. The time has come to spill your guts and tell all.
What did you guys talk about? Where did you go after we parted company?"
"We went to a meeting."
Seiya looked nonplussed. "A meeting?"
"Yup," Serena said, hugging her bag to her chest, and plastering
her most starstruck expression on her face. "It was so romantic."
Seiya looked at Serena with an incredibly skeptical expression
on his face. "What meeting?"
"It was a meeting of a club he belongs to."
"Really." Seiya's tone was growing sarcastic. "I didn't know Darien
belonged to any clubs. Which club?"
"The Organization of the United Brotherhood of It's None Of Your
Damned Buisness, Seiya! And by the way," Serena's eyes narrowed. "Who's
brilliant idea was it to give Darien my phone number, life history,
and a box of condoms?"
Seiya blanched as his best friend advanced on him. Serena looked
calm and reasonable, but he could practically see the smoke coming out
of her ears. He was a dead man.
"Seiya? Hey, Seiya! Were you thinking about maybe, I don't know,
PRACTICING sometime today?" Yaten yelled. Seiya whipped his head around
in time to see Taiki looked up from tuning
his guitar and give Michael a thumbs up as Kakyuu took her place behind
the drums and Yaten played a chord on the piano. Seiya waved at the stage
and turned back to his best friend.
"Sorry, Serena, got to run. The life of a megastar, you know."
Grinning at her rakishly, Seiya ran back toward the stage. Serena stood
where he had left her, still glaring at him. Seiya waved cheerily and
Serena's stern mouth turned up at the corners. Seiya stepped over the
electric chord comically, and the turned up corners developed into a
full fledged smile. Seiya sighed in relief. Maybe she would forget
about the condoms thing. Nonetheless, it would seem that a dozen pink
roses and the new Matchbox 20 CD were in order before tonight.
Hey, better safe than sorry! Seiya walked centerstage and gripped
the mic, looking around at the rest of the band. Taiki nodded and Yaten
grinned. Kakyuu raised an eyebrow, waiting for Seiya to give the
signal. Seiya nodded and Kakyuu raised her drumsticks.
"One...two...one, two, three, four!"
Hotel California (Eagles)
On a dark desert highway
Cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas
Rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance
I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself
This could be Heaven or this could be Hell
Then she lit up the candle
She showed me the way
There were voices down that corridor
Thought I heard them say
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (any time of year)
You can find it here
Her mind is Tiffany twisted
She's got the Mercedes bends
She's got a lot of pretty, pretty boys
That she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard
Sweet summer sweat
Some dance to remember
Some dance to forget
So I called up the Captain
Said please bring me my wine
he said, we haven't had that spirit here since 1969
And still those voices are callin'
From far away
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)
Bring your alibis
Mirrors on the ceiling
Pink champagne on ice
She said, we are all just prisoners here
of our own device
And in the master's chambers
They all gathered for the feast
They stab at it with their steely knives
But they just can't kill the beast
Last thing I remember
I was running for the door
I had to find the passage back to the place
I was before
Relax said the nightman
We are programmed to recieve
You can check out any time you like
But you can never leave
Serena shook her head tolerantly as she climbed up to the light
booth. 'They'd better mix in a few original tunes or the crowd'll riot,'
she reflected. 'Not that I'm complaining...Wake you up in the middle of
the night...' Halfway up the ladder, Serena froze. She had left her
shopping bag on the floor.
'Ditz,' she reprimanded herself. "Melvin, I'll be up in a few.
Gotta visit my locker, and then I'll be back. Will you be okay?"
"Yeah, Serena, not a problem," Melvin called down.
Serena nodded, a slightly worried frown marring her brow. She hated
turning the board over to someone else. Fears harbored mainly because
Zoicyte seemed unable to manage even the simplest combination of que's.
'I really need to work on trust. Melvin is a competent and
intelligent guy. He's done fine so far, and there is no reason for me
to believe he won't do fine now,' she rationalized as she picked up her
bag and started towards the cement ramp leading to the crew's lounge/
locker room. To the haunting strains of 'Hotel California' Serena entered
the locker room. Moving with practiced ease she stepped over the various
technical items and leftover food containers strewn about the floor.
'God, we live like animals. Someone really should clean this up...'
Serena thought briefly. Then she paused and chuckled to herself.
"Nah!"
Serena kicked a pizza box out of her way and opened her metal locker.
The inside door was hung with various pictures of her and Seiya amoung
flyers and programs from The Three Lights concerts. Serena pressed the
corners of it, securing the tape.
"Custom-made memory sheet. Just unroll and hang," she muttered,
stashing the shopping bag on the floor of her locker. She remembered
making the sheet, generalizing the size to fit any standard full length
locker. Her eyes lingered on a blank space toward the top, perfect for
a 3 x 5 photo. She had meant that space for a picture of her significant
other, but had never had a photo to fill it with. A smile touched her lips.
Maybe it wouldn't be empty for much longer. Serena closed her eyes and
conjured an image of Darien whirling her about the dance floor, dressed
in a black tuxedo and a white domino mask. She sighed, picturing his
sapphire eyes and midnight hair. A crackling an abrupt buzzing pulled her
back to reality. But when Serena's eyes opened, she saw only the black
of Darien's hair. Blinking to clear her vision, Serena opened her eyes
once more. It wasn't a figment of her overactive imagination. The room
had been plunged into total darkness.
"Well, hell."
*************************************************************
*BEEP* The fax machine in Darien's office startled him out
of his reverie. His mail had contained bills, a letter from a
colleague working out of Los Angeles in the U.S. and medical
magazine, along with the usual proposals of marriage. He disregarded
the proposals and moved on to the others. His messages, on the other
hand, were not been nearly that concise, pleasant, or easily pushed aside.
Inquiries from several newspapers and gossip columnist were near the top.
All offered extraordinary amounts of money for an interview,
or the name of his mystery girlfriend. Preferably the name of his
girlfriend. The phone had rung so many times that Mary Ann had been
forced to take it off the hook. And now FAXES!!!
Darien shook his head and rose from his very comfortable leather
chair and walked across the room to the fax machine. He watched as a
piece of paper slowly unrolled from the machine. Cover letter first.
Typical. He lifted the cover sheet off the metal paper-catcher thing
(he really needed to improve his office equipment vocabulary) and
glanced at it.
Attn: Darien Chiba, M.D.
From: Andrew
Place of Buisness: Crown Enterprises
Re:
Darien blinked. The Re space was blank. That was typical Andrew.
Why call when you can fax? Darien rolled his eyes and sighed, wondering
about his best friend. Shaking his head, Darien heard the final *BEEP*
that signaled the machine had finished its transmittion. He lifted the
second piece of paper of the paper-catcher (hey, why mess with a
perfectly acceptable term?) and turned it over, and almost dropped it.
It was another article about last night: and this one had a *picture*.
Serena's face was turned away, but his was perfectly visible. They were
sitting at the coffee shop, talking. Serena had turned to accept her
mocha, and the movement had caused her to present a very lovely view of
her graceful neck and back. Not only that, but her long, slim, gorgeous,
and bare legs could be seen through the window. Darien groaned. What sort
of moron took pictures of coffee house couples in the dead of night?
A smart one, he conceded. The newspaper must have paid a fortune for
this, and odds were, it wasn't the only print the nosey photographer had.
Darien cursed, and then noticed a note scrawled across the bottom of the page.
'Darien,
Imagine what a surprise it was for me to wake up and see this picture
(and subsequent article) on the front of the Gossip page. You've been
holding out on me! Who's the girl? Do I know her? If not, I want to.
Call me, and we'll set up a double date. Me and Reika with you and
this mystery girl, whom I sincerly hope has a name. Call me, A.S.A.P.
I want the details!
Andrew'
Darien shook his head, trying to sort his thoughts. Damn, but she looked
good in that picture. Darien glanced at the note in his hand. Even his best
friend was obsessed with his love life. Darien covered his eyes and groaned.
He had deadlines for his research, not to mention a stack of files delivered
to him by other scientists and doctors. He pulled a hand through his hair and
looked at his desk, and all the beatiful piles of work he had been trying to
get through all morning. Unfortunately, this was proving difficult due to the
fact that the image of a certain blond haired, blue eyed nymph kept crossing
his mind. Nymph! What kind of infatuated ignoramus used a word like that to
describe a woman he had just met!
"Your kind, sir," Mary Ann commented, setting a mug on his desk and
picking up a large stack of paper work he had finished with. Darien blinked,
his eyes focusing on the steaming cup of coffee Mary Ann had left behind.
It took a few more moments for him to realize that he had spoken aloud.
"Hot date last night?" Mary Ann inquired. Darien's head snapped up,
his eyes narrowing on his efficiant and terribly nosy seceratary. As always,
Mary Ann looked the very epitome of innocence, leafing through a research
file. Mary Ann raised her eyebrows and looked straight at him. Darien held
her eyes for a moment, then dropped them back to the computer readouts in
front of him and grunted. Mary Ann couldn't help but notice that a fax
with a picture, news article and handwritten note was on top of the
printouts he was supposed to be looking at. She narrowed her eyes
speculatively. Time to stir the pot.
"I'll take that as a yes," Mary Ann commented, turning towards the
door. Darien didn't acknowledge she had spoken. Mary Ann rolled her eyes
and opened the door, swinging it wide.
"Not to be disrespectful sir, but I'd say you've got it bad," she
said, closing the door behind her before her incredibly gorgeous and
defiantly single boss could form an adequate reply. Grinning devilishly,
Mary Ann set the stacks of paperwork and files down on her desk, and raised
her wrist, exposing a tasteful gold watch.
"5,4,3,2,1..." On the count of 1, Dr. Darien Chiba snapped open
the door to his office and strode into the reception area.
"I'm taking the rest of the day off. Direct all calls to my voice
mail," Dr. Chiba said vaugely as he strode towards the mahogany front door.
Mary An looked toward his briefcase. She'd bet next months paycheck that fax
was in there, and on the top, too! This was really too good to keep to herself.
Mary Ann grabbed the phone. The number was dialed before she sat down.
Tapping her foot impatiently, Mary Ann waited for an answer. When it came,
she could barely contain her excitement.
"Mika, babe, get the gossip mill primed. Have I got news for you..."
***************************************************************
It took approximatly ten minutes for Darien to drive from his office
to Rikashi Stadium. He knew because he glanced at the clock every time he was
forced to pause at a red light. He groaned, placing his head on the warm
leather steering wheel. This was truly pathetic. There was no other word for
it. He, Darien Chiba, M.D., was chasing a woman. He, who had never had to do
that in his entire life. Darien was still kicking himself, and calling himself
stupid is five different languages, when he arrived at Rikashi Stadium. He
didn't even know what he was going to say to her.
'Hi, Serena, I went to work and spent the entire morning trying to
convince myself you were no different from any other woman I've ever met,
and finally realized that you are nothing like any woman I've ever met, and
so I gave in to impulse and came over here to see you. So, got any definite
plans for the rest of your life? Damn, that is SO ridiculous.'
Fuming, Darien stalked inside the stadium, Andrew's fax in his back
pocket. The Lights were up on stage, playing a beautiful tune with a nice
beat. Something about a hotel in california. Darien payed no attention to
the melody. Instead he started looking around for couple he had met at
Seiya's last night, the ones who worked with Serena. He spotted a slim,
raven haired beauty slipping through the auditorium. Okay, now all he
had to do was remember her name...something like a beam of sunlight...
"Raye!"
The raven head turned, and a shining smile broke over the woman's
countanance. She shook her head and made her way towards him, dodging
people and stepping over insulated wire.
"Dr. Chiba. What a surprise," she drawled, tipping her head
to the side saucily. "I don't suppose you are looking for a certain
'blond, with legs up to her chin' are you?"
Darien smiled charmingly, aware that his 700 watt grin had
reduced many a woman to quivering piles of jelly. Unfortunatly, it
did not have the desired result on this ornery female. But he
didn't stop smiling, even in the face of her open mockery. Raye
finally chuckled and shook her head. The motion caused her raven
locks to shimmer in the low light. Darien glanced over her shoulder,
his eyes finding the face of the young man he had seen last night.
Chad, if he remembered correctly. Chad appeared one step away from
entering a shock induced coma. Darien chuckled too, aware that
if Mary Ann's reaction was any indication, that look had been
pasted on his face since early that morning.
"Hey, earth to Chiba. Paging Doctor Chiba. Are you still with
me?"
"Yes, of course. You were saying?"
"She headed down to the locker room. Alone. Maybe you should
go protect her or something," Raye smiled catily at him and sauntered
away, hips and hair swinging. Chad's eyes glazed over as he watched her
go. Darien didn't notice. He waved absently at Seiya as he walked by
the stage, missing the sly winks and rolling eyes that followed in his
wake.
As he descended the cement ramp that led to the locker room, Darien
reflected on how oddly he was behaving. Ordinarily, women held little
interest for him. He found them demanding, time consuming and above all,
clingy. Beryl, and last night's fiasco, were prime examples of why Darien
normally opted not to date. But Serena, with her crystal blue eyes and
winning personality, appeared to be none of those things. She was an
independant woman, fully capable of surviving without any male. Damn,
that was attractive.
Darien followed the paper arrows directing him to the locker room.
Smiling when he arrived, he stepped inside the room...and blanched. Empty
food cartons, boxes of leftover Chinese take-out and pop cans lay strewn
about the floor. He was fairly certain that the bulge toward the back of
the room was a couch, though it was hard to tell what with all the clothing
and various wiring instruments draped all over it. Wincing, Darien pushed
a pile of pizza boxes with his foot, and glanced about the room. He smiled
upon glimpsing a leggy blond in the corner, placing a shopping bag inside a
metal locker. He shoved a hand through his hair and took one step towards
her.
And everything went black.
*************************************************************
Serena closed her eyes in horror.
"This is not happening. I'm *hallucinating*..."
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Thud. Serena squeaked and took
a step back, coming into contact with the lockers. She squinted into the
darkness, trying to decide where that ghastly noise had come from. Finally,
she realized that there was no way she would be able to see what was going
on.
"This is *so* cliche," she muttered, closing her locker door. "Who's
there?"
"I believe that I can say with all confidence that you are not
hallucinating," came the reply. Serena held in a gasp. She knew that deep,
warm, and utterly sexy voice...
"DARIEN?!?!?! What are you *doing* here?" Serena asked, dropping to
her knees. "Where are you? No, don't answer that, Just start talking and I
will crawl towards you. You're likely to get lost in here if I don't. As
I'm sure you noticed, techies are not compulsive neat freaks..." Serena
gasped as a hand closed over her knee.
"Found you," came that gorgeous voice. Serena gaped, glad that he
couldn't see her while her mouth was hanging open.
"Darien, what are you doing here? Did you fall down? Are you hurt?"
Questions fell from Serena's lips so quickly, she was amazed that she didn't
stutter. Darien silenced her with a finger. Or he tried to. In the dark it
was a bit hard to gauge where her mouth was, so Darien ended up placing a
finger on her eye, by her nose and on her cheek before he managed to land
it on her mouth.
"I tripped over a wire. As you may have noticed, there are quite a
few of them in here. And I fell on what felt like a stack of old magazines.
I tumbled off those and onto a forest of cardboard boxes of assorted shapes
and sizes. So yes, I fell. Hard."
"Oh, poor baby. Do you want me to kiss it better?" The words were out
before Serena realized what she was saying. She blushed furiously.
"Actually, that might just help," Darien murmured. Serena gasped, and
pulled away.
"Come on. If we can get to the hall, there should be emergency lights
on. We're paying for them to be on in a situation like this anyway, so they
had better be on. Otherwise..." Serena let the sentace trail off, her tone
murderous.
She began crawling toward the door (at least she thought the
door was over in that direction) when she felt a hand grab her ankle, pulling
her back the way she had come.
"And where do you think you are going?"
"In case it has escaped your notice, we have a bit of a problem here,"
Serena retorted, miffed.
"We most certainly do. I drove across town, breaking speed limits and
numerous traffic laws to end up here. I will not be deterred." That said,
Dr. Darien Chiba yanked Serena Tsukino toward him, half covering her body
with his.
"Ummm, Darien? What are you do..." Serena's last thought as Darien
covered her mouth met his was 'Damn, is there anything this man isn't?
Intelligent, articulate, sexy, and a great kisser.' Then Serena forgot
to think. The darkness changed from isolating to private in the blink of
an eye as Darien and Serena lay amid pizza boxes and clutter, lost in the
moment. After a few seconds, Serena pulled back, stunned. Darien's voice
came floating out of the darkness once more.
"You, my dear Serena, are an enigma. You have managed to get under
my skin, and you haven't been out of my thoughts since last night. What
am I going to do about you?"
Serena smiled. "I have a few suggestions," she said, pulling his
head back down.
*************************************************************
"Ouch! CHAD!" Raye bellowed as Chad smacked into her for what felt
like the hundredth time. "At this rate I'll never be able to wear a
strapless dress to the party. Bruises, bruises everywhere...What
happened?"
"The Armageddon is no doubt upon us," Yaten drawled from the stage,
causing the whole stadium to burst into nervous laughter.
"Hey, Melvin," Seiya called. "How's about some illumination?"
"Boss-man, I would love to provide you with light to rival
the sun, but as all power to the board has been mysteriously cut
off, I'm going to have to deny you your wish," came a disembodied
voice from the darkness.
"What happened?" Taiki asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Melvin yelled. "Hey, Serena?
Can you hear me? We have some really large problems up here, and I
would appreciate your input. Serena?"
"Hey, where is she?" Seiya asked. "I saw her not 15 minutes ago."
"She was heading for the locker room," Michael called, helpful to
the bitter end.
"Wonderful. The lights are out and my master electrician is trapped
under the stadium," Seiya said, grim humor in his voice.
All at once, Raye gasped. Darien had been looking for Serena earlier,
and if he had found her before the blackout, then they were together. Alone.
In the dark. Ooo, that sly vixen! Raye grimaced good naturedly. Serena deserved
to be happy, and if she managed to find happiness with the most gorgeous man
in Tokyo, more power to her!
"Uh, Raye?"
"Yes, Chad?" Raye said, a smile in her voice. Chad started at the warmth
in her tone before continuing on.
"Where *is* Serena?"
"In the locker room, I'm sure." 'Lucky girl.'
"Should we try to contact her? On the Telex, I mean."
"No, I'm sure she'll be okay. She's probably having a jolly time."
'Lot better time than I'M having, at any rate...'
"But what if she fell when the lights went out? What if she's hurt?
Or scared? At the very least she's alone."
Raye stared in the direction of Chad's voice, thinking 'My God.
He's not serious. She'd probably murder us all, and mangage to do it with
a smile on her face!'
Raye shook her head at the ludicrous comment. But the humor
of the situation followed swiftly on the heels of her shock, and Raye
Hino started to laugh. Beginning as a giggle it developed into a full
on laugh in less than 10 seconds.
Raye clutched her sides in mirth. 'Serena is probably having the
time of her life and Chad wants to *save* her?' The thought only increased
her laughter.
The crystaline peals rang out upon the stadium, startling everyone.
Chad gaped into the cool darkness. Raye's laughter continued on and on as
she imagined her friend being scared right now. This brought on another
round of laughter. Without being aware what Raye was laughing about,
Andrew joined in. So did Michael and Melvin. The band caught the bug
quickly. Soon all of Rikashi Stadium rang with laughter, which spilled
out into the warm sunlight of the morning.
***************************************************************
So, there it is! How'd ya like it? Tell me, tell me, do! By e-mail,
by message board post. Just find me. I am everywhere. Not really,
but you get the picture.
So, did you find the movie line? Yes? No? Well, I'll tell ya where
it is. 'The Organization of the United Brotherhood of It's None
of Your Damned Buisness' is taken from 'An American President'
starring Michael Douglas, Annette Benning, Michael J. Fox and
Martin Sheen. I LOVE that flick!
Oh, and one more thing. In Chapter 5, I used a line from a
book I read and forgot to attribute it. The 'I'm-lying-down'
line is taken from 'Dark Angel' by L.J. Smith. It is not mine,
and I was a very bad monkey cause I didn't attribute it!
Don't sue me, please!
Mail me! lyrasoze@hotmail.com