Alcandre: Well, it's been over a year and we are back. Yes, really!!!! No,
don't die!! Live I say, Live!!! Well, crap, there goes another one.
TimeAsunderQ: Dangit Alcandre... Alright so here's chapter 6 after all this time. Hope you enjoy...
Hellacondensed Soup and Flaming Marshmallow Goo
Usagi slowly opened her eyes. Darkness surrounded her and silence greeted her. Where was she? And why did she hurt so much?
Groaning, she sat up and blinked, trying to see through the darkness. Her ears picked up the soft breathing around her and the hum of the air conditioner. The darkness seemed to grow softer as her eyes adjusted to the blackness. And she began to pick out the figures of her fellow Senshi and Peri in the beds surrounding her. That's when she remembered. She remembered meeting the Doctor and Peri again, the horrible battle with the Darkness, and Setsuna's warning of Chaos. He...It...was back. And seemingly stronger than ever.
Sighing, the scout of the Moon swung her feet over the side of the hospital bed and cringed as her bare feet made contact with the cold floor. Her arms hurt like hell and moving them just seemed to make the rest of her body hurt. Biting her lip, she stood up and carefully walked out of the sick bay and out into the hall. She knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. And just staying in the uncomfortably narrow bed wasn't very exciting.
Usagi closed her eyes as the dimmed lights of the hallway greeted her. She slowly opened them again and glanced around, trying to decide what to do. Should she walk around and probably get lost or should she just stand here looking like an idiot?
"Decisions, decisions," she muttered to herself.
She slowly turned to her left and started down the hallway, hoping beyond all hope that she would end up somewhere familiar.
As she walked, she thought back to the battle. She thought back to the fear she felt and the anguish that squeezed her heart when she couldn't hear or see her Senshi. She knew they were fighting against Chaos at his best. And it scared to her no end.
Usagi turned a corner and that's when the tears started to fall. She stopped in the middle of the hall, fell to her knees, and sobbed. She sobbed soft, heart-wrenching sobs that echoed through the TARDIS.
* * *
Rei awoke with a start, knowing that something was not right.
'How long have I been asleep?' She rolled over, her legs stinging. Immediately, her hand went to her throat and felt the bandages there. Looking around Rei saw that the other scouts were asleep except... 'Usagi? Where is Usagi?' The bed lay empty, and Rei's heart rate picked up.
Quietly slipping out of her own bed, she ignored the protests of her cut legs and exited the medical wing, looking both ways for a sign of struggle.
Nothing. She closed her eyes and pressed her hands together in front of her, seeking the calm of meditation. Rei had no Great Fire to call upon, but she trusted her intuition to guide her to her friend. At once Rei turned left and moved forward, homing in on the soft weeping coming from around a near corner. Turning that corner, she found her friend huddled on the floor.
"Usagi..."
Shivering, the moon princess looked up at her friend, tears running down her face. "Rei..."
Mars crouched down beside her and tenderly wrapped her arms around her leader. "It's going to be okay Usagi. We've seen so much, we've... fought so much. But we've always come out on top, in the end. Now we have Sailor Pluto, the Doctor, and Peri looking after us." She smiled reassuringly. "We absolutely cannot lose now."
Usagi sniffled and replied gravely. "... There's too much at stake..."
Overhead, the dimmed lights became 400% brighter, causing the two scouts to shield their eyes from the sudden illumination. The morning cycle of the TARDIS had begun, when all systems rebooted and the lights activated on day- levels. Both Mars and Moon stood up and dusted themselves off, dully noting their aches and pains. Usagi discreetly wiped away her tears while Rei patted her on the back. "Just remember, we can get through this if we work together." They smiled at each other, sharing a brief moment. Then...
"Oh no! WHERE DID THEY GO??????" A cry of confusion and frustration set up from the sickbay wing they had just left. A barefoot Peri dashed down the hall, almost completely missing Rei and Usagi standing there. "There you are!!! Don't do that to me! The Doctor left me to look after you and you just up and leave during the night! How long have you been out here? Why did you leave the room? Why didn't you wake me? What---"
Usagi's stomach grumbled loudly, cutting Peri off in mid-tirade. Familiar footsteps approached from down the hall and several sailor scouts' heads peeped round the corner to see what all the shouting was about. Ami, Minako, and Makoto were stacked, trying to get a good look at the spectacle of a pink-pajama'd Peri yelling at Rei and Usagi. About that time, the Doctor stopped in the hallway, hands in his pockets. "Good morning girls, I hope you're feeling a bit better. I'll just take a quick look at your wounds, change your bandages, and then perhaps we can get breakfast!" He turned and examined the situation on his right. Raising an eyebrow he looked over at Peri. "What's all this then?"
Peri glanced over at Usagi who in turn glanced at Rei. Then, they all turned back to look at the Doctor.
"Nothing!" Peri exclaimed quite loudly.
The Doctor just raised his other eyebrow but slowly nodded. "Right then," he muttered. He turned around and started his way back to the sick bay, leaving the scouts and Peri to trail after him.
After all their wounds had been cleaned and the bandages changed, the Doctor led them all to the dining area. Surprisingly, Usagi wasn't the first to the food machine. Minako gave a small shriek and rushed over to the terrified machine.
"A vending machine!!!" She yelled but then stopped as her stomach contracted in pain. "Ow!"
Rei rolled her eyes and walked over to the scout of Venus who was looking down at her tank top clad stomach. "Just calm down, Minako-chan"
"But I'm hungry."
Ami walked up, her arm in a splint, and put her other hand on Minako's shoulder. "It'll be alright, Mina. You can still eat."
"But it hurts!" Minako wailed, large tears rolling down her cheeks.
"You can eat," the Doctor said. "It shouldn't complicate things."
Minako just grinned and turned back to the machine. Giving a soft giggle, she started pressing buttons at random, reminding the Doctor of another blonde that had done the exact same thing just a year ago.
Speaking of which...the Doctor looked back at Usagi who was sitting at the table with Peri beside her, a concerned look on the American's face.
Glancing back over his shoulder to make sure Minako wasn't killing the food machine, the Doctor walked over to the two girls. As he neared Peri looked up at him, her concern fading away to fear at the Doctor's face.
"Peri," the Doctor began.
"Yes?" Peri practically whispered.
"May I have a word with you?"
"Um," Peri's eyes shifted over to Usagi then back at the Doctor. "Okay."
The Doctor walked through the door with Peri close behind.
All five scouts chimed in as one "Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh! Somebody's in trouble!"
Peri turned back to glare at the Senshi, and stuck out her tongue for a brief moment. Then she sobered up and walked into the room. The Doctor gave the girls a "don't mess with us" look and shut the door behind himself and Peri.
"Peri, I'd like to know what was happening between yourself, Rei, and Usagi earlier. Normally the morning cycle begins with my long early morning walk, but this time, others were moving about enough to activate it. That wouldn't have been possible if someone were simply stepping out for a drink of water. How long were you three out there?"
As Peri fumbled for an answer, he began again. "...Or should the question be, how long were those two out there alone?" At her startled look he replied "I heard the tail end of what you were saying to them..."
"Doctor... All I know is that they were gone from their beds when I woke up. I found them out in the hall. Usagi had been crying and Rei was comforting her. That's all that I know." Red-faced, she looked down. "I'm sorry I didn't keep a better watch over them. I was just so tired, with all that's been going on lately. All the travel, the missions for the Time Lords... You can, you know, keep moving on but I'm human. We don't have that kind of stamina..."
"Physical or emotional... I know." He grabbed her shoulders. "It's alright; I just wanted to know the situation before I approached either Rei or Usagi. And, Peri, it will be over soon. Then we'll take a holiday."
She perked up at that thought, grinning as she asked "Holiday? Where to?"
"The Eye of Orion! It's a beautiful place..."
After the briefest of moments Peri frowned. "Uh, Doctor... think of somewhere *else* we could go..."
"What about the Andromeda galaxy,"
"Uh..." "cluster,"
"Uh..."
"constellation!"
"Okay!"
"Right then, it's settled. As soon as this Black Guardian is defeated we'll drop off the Senshi and then go on a nice relaxing holiday." He smiled and gestured to the door. "Let's make this convincing shall we?"
Peri instantly knew what he was talking about and put on her best "I'm hurt!" face. The Doctor looked stern and opened the door for her. Opening it outwards, the Doctor heard a series of "THUDs" followed by "OW!" from five different voices. Sticking his head around the door he couldn't help but laugh at the pile of scouts on the floor, each showing various shades of embarrassment.
"Having a good time, girls?" He asked with a small smirk.
"Um," Usagi said softly.
"We were just..." Minako stuttered, her eyes shifting from right to left.
"Eavesdropping," The Doctor finished for her.
"Yeah," Usagi whispered as she shifted her weight off her side. She winced in pain as she unconsciously leaned on her right arm. "Rei, get off me."
"I can't until Minako gets off me!"
Minako just huffed and scrambled up, pushing Makoto out of her way. "Well, I'm sorry. I can't help it if I fell on top of everyone else!"
Rei slowly stood up and glared at Minako. "Just move so I can get some breakfast."
"Yes," the Doctor said as he helped Usagi up. "Let's all eat breakfast and then we shall get started on your power-ups."
To be continued..........
Alcandre: "Does the Doctor smirk?"
TimeAsunderQ: "Oh hell yeah, the Doctor smirks like a sumbitch."
Alcandre: "He'll give a hellacondensed smirk like a sumbitch."
TimeAsunderQ: "Oooooooh yeah."
TimeAsunderQ: Dangit Alcandre... Alright so here's chapter 6 after all this time. Hope you enjoy...
Hellacondensed Soup and Flaming Marshmallow Goo
Usagi slowly opened her eyes. Darkness surrounded her and silence greeted her. Where was she? And why did she hurt so much?
Groaning, she sat up and blinked, trying to see through the darkness. Her ears picked up the soft breathing around her and the hum of the air conditioner. The darkness seemed to grow softer as her eyes adjusted to the blackness. And she began to pick out the figures of her fellow Senshi and Peri in the beds surrounding her. That's when she remembered. She remembered meeting the Doctor and Peri again, the horrible battle with the Darkness, and Setsuna's warning of Chaos. He...It...was back. And seemingly stronger than ever.
Sighing, the scout of the Moon swung her feet over the side of the hospital bed and cringed as her bare feet made contact with the cold floor. Her arms hurt like hell and moving them just seemed to make the rest of her body hurt. Biting her lip, she stood up and carefully walked out of the sick bay and out into the hall. She knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. And just staying in the uncomfortably narrow bed wasn't very exciting.
Usagi closed her eyes as the dimmed lights of the hallway greeted her. She slowly opened them again and glanced around, trying to decide what to do. Should she walk around and probably get lost or should she just stand here looking like an idiot?
"Decisions, decisions," she muttered to herself.
She slowly turned to her left and started down the hallway, hoping beyond all hope that she would end up somewhere familiar.
As she walked, she thought back to the battle. She thought back to the fear she felt and the anguish that squeezed her heart when she couldn't hear or see her Senshi. She knew they were fighting against Chaos at his best. And it scared to her no end.
Usagi turned a corner and that's when the tears started to fall. She stopped in the middle of the hall, fell to her knees, and sobbed. She sobbed soft, heart-wrenching sobs that echoed through the TARDIS.
* * *
Rei awoke with a start, knowing that something was not right.
'How long have I been asleep?' She rolled over, her legs stinging. Immediately, her hand went to her throat and felt the bandages there. Looking around Rei saw that the other scouts were asleep except... 'Usagi? Where is Usagi?' The bed lay empty, and Rei's heart rate picked up.
Quietly slipping out of her own bed, she ignored the protests of her cut legs and exited the medical wing, looking both ways for a sign of struggle.
Nothing. She closed her eyes and pressed her hands together in front of her, seeking the calm of meditation. Rei had no Great Fire to call upon, but she trusted her intuition to guide her to her friend. At once Rei turned left and moved forward, homing in on the soft weeping coming from around a near corner. Turning that corner, she found her friend huddled on the floor.
"Usagi..."
Shivering, the moon princess looked up at her friend, tears running down her face. "Rei..."
Mars crouched down beside her and tenderly wrapped her arms around her leader. "It's going to be okay Usagi. We've seen so much, we've... fought so much. But we've always come out on top, in the end. Now we have Sailor Pluto, the Doctor, and Peri looking after us." She smiled reassuringly. "We absolutely cannot lose now."
Usagi sniffled and replied gravely. "... There's too much at stake..."
Overhead, the dimmed lights became 400% brighter, causing the two scouts to shield their eyes from the sudden illumination. The morning cycle of the TARDIS had begun, when all systems rebooted and the lights activated on day- levels. Both Mars and Moon stood up and dusted themselves off, dully noting their aches and pains. Usagi discreetly wiped away her tears while Rei patted her on the back. "Just remember, we can get through this if we work together." They smiled at each other, sharing a brief moment. Then...
"Oh no! WHERE DID THEY GO??????" A cry of confusion and frustration set up from the sickbay wing they had just left. A barefoot Peri dashed down the hall, almost completely missing Rei and Usagi standing there. "There you are!!! Don't do that to me! The Doctor left me to look after you and you just up and leave during the night! How long have you been out here? Why did you leave the room? Why didn't you wake me? What---"
Usagi's stomach grumbled loudly, cutting Peri off in mid-tirade. Familiar footsteps approached from down the hall and several sailor scouts' heads peeped round the corner to see what all the shouting was about. Ami, Minako, and Makoto were stacked, trying to get a good look at the spectacle of a pink-pajama'd Peri yelling at Rei and Usagi. About that time, the Doctor stopped in the hallway, hands in his pockets. "Good morning girls, I hope you're feeling a bit better. I'll just take a quick look at your wounds, change your bandages, and then perhaps we can get breakfast!" He turned and examined the situation on his right. Raising an eyebrow he looked over at Peri. "What's all this then?"
Peri glanced over at Usagi who in turn glanced at Rei. Then, they all turned back to look at the Doctor.
"Nothing!" Peri exclaimed quite loudly.
The Doctor just raised his other eyebrow but slowly nodded. "Right then," he muttered. He turned around and started his way back to the sick bay, leaving the scouts and Peri to trail after him.
After all their wounds had been cleaned and the bandages changed, the Doctor led them all to the dining area. Surprisingly, Usagi wasn't the first to the food machine. Minako gave a small shriek and rushed over to the terrified machine.
"A vending machine!!!" She yelled but then stopped as her stomach contracted in pain. "Ow!"
Rei rolled her eyes and walked over to the scout of Venus who was looking down at her tank top clad stomach. "Just calm down, Minako-chan"
"But I'm hungry."
Ami walked up, her arm in a splint, and put her other hand on Minako's shoulder. "It'll be alright, Mina. You can still eat."
"But it hurts!" Minako wailed, large tears rolling down her cheeks.
"You can eat," the Doctor said. "It shouldn't complicate things."
Minako just grinned and turned back to the machine. Giving a soft giggle, she started pressing buttons at random, reminding the Doctor of another blonde that had done the exact same thing just a year ago.
Speaking of which...the Doctor looked back at Usagi who was sitting at the table with Peri beside her, a concerned look on the American's face.
Glancing back over his shoulder to make sure Minako wasn't killing the food machine, the Doctor walked over to the two girls. As he neared Peri looked up at him, her concern fading away to fear at the Doctor's face.
"Peri," the Doctor began.
"Yes?" Peri practically whispered.
"May I have a word with you?"
"Um," Peri's eyes shifted over to Usagi then back at the Doctor. "Okay."
The Doctor walked through the door with Peri close behind.
All five scouts chimed in as one "Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh! Somebody's in trouble!"
Peri turned back to glare at the Senshi, and stuck out her tongue for a brief moment. Then she sobered up and walked into the room. The Doctor gave the girls a "don't mess with us" look and shut the door behind himself and Peri.
"Peri, I'd like to know what was happening between yourself, Rei, and Usagi earlier. Normally the morning cycle begins with my long early morning walk, but this time, others were moving about enough to activate it. That wouldn't have been possible if someone were simply stepping out for a drink of water. How long were you three out there?"
As Peri fumbled for an answer, he began again. "...Or should the question be, how long were those two out there alone?" At her startled look he replied "I heard the tail end of what you were saying to them..."
"Doctor... All I know is that they were gone from their beds when I woke up. I found them out in the hall. Usagi had been crying and Rei was comforting her. That's all that I know." Red-faced, she looked down. "I'm sorry I didn't keep a better watch over them. I was just so tired, with all that's been going on lately. All the travel, the missions for the Time Lords... You can, you know, keep moving on but I'm human. We don't have that kind of stamina..."
"Physical or emotional... I know." He grabbed her shoulders. "It's alright; I just wanted to know the situation before I approached either Rei or Usagi. And, Peri, it will be over soon. Then we'll take a holiday."
She perked up at that thought, grinning as she asked "Holiday? Where to?"
"The Eye of Orion! It's a beautiful place..."
After the briefest of moments Peri frowned. "Uh, Doctor... think of somewhere *else* we could go..."
"What about the Andromeda galaxy,"
"Uh..." "cluster,"
"Uh..."
"constellation!"
"Okay!"
"Right then, it's settled. As soon as this Black Guardian is defeated we'll drop off the Senshi and then go on a nice relaxing holiday." He smiled and gestured to the door. "Let's make this convincing shall we?"
Peri instantly knew what he was talking about and put on her best "I'm hurt!" face. The Doctor looked stern and opened the door for her. Opening it outwards, the Doctor heard a series of "THUDs" followed by "OW!" from five different voices. Sticking his head around the door he couldn't help but laugh at the pile of scouts on the floor, each showing various shades of embarrassment.
"Having a good time, girls?" He asked with a small smirk.
"Um," Usagi said softly.
"We were just..." Minako stuttered, her eyes shifting from right to left.
"Eavesdropping," The Doctor finished for her.
"Yeah," Usagi whispered as she shifted her weight off her side. She winced in pain as she unconsciously leaned on her right arm. "Rei, get off me."
"I can't until Minako gets off me!"
Minako just huffed and scrambled up, pushing Makoto out of her way. "Well, I'm sorry. I can't help it if I fell on top of everyone else!"
Rei slowly stood up and glared at Minako. "Just move so I can get some breakfast."
"Yes," the Doctor said as he helped Usagi up. "Let's all eat breakfast and then we shall get started on your power-ups."
To be continued..........
Alcandre: "Does the Doctor smirk?"
TimeAsunderQ: "Oh hell yeah, the Doctor smirks like a sumbitch."
Alcandre: "He'll give a hellacondensed smirk like a sumbitch."
TimeAsunderQ: "Oooooooh yeah."