The next morning Warren arrived for work, this time he was set up on clean-up duty (cleaning tables, mopping/brooming the floors, etc.). Now this type of work took him a bit longer, but he was still able to finish within two hours.
When he was on his break he decided to speak with Bridgette and tell her his decision, "uh, Bridge…Bridgette, can I talk to you?" he asked. Bridgette nodded, "Now I know you made me that offer with the guest bedroom…and last night Renee offered me pretty much the same deal, now I hate to do this…but I feel—."
"You feel you want to stay with someone nearer your own age…am I right?" Bridgette asked, Warren nodded. He then told Renee of his decision, he told her that it'd take some time for him to round up what he had brought with him, but if he could he'd be arriving by taxi-cab around dinner-time.
After his shift was done Warren went out the door thinking, "Phase one of my plan is complete…and phase two is just around the corner."
Early Evening a taxi-cab pulled up beside the front-gate of Renee's place, Warren stepped out, took one look, turned to the driver and said, "This can't be the place…I mean, you've got to be kidding me, right?"
The cab driver shook his head, "No buddy…I've passed this place at least three dozen times, believe me when I say this is the place. Oh, by the way…that'll be $15 pal."
Warren handed him the exact amount, the cab-driver said something under his breath and drove off. "Okay…let's get this over with." Warren thought to himself.
He pressed the buzzer on the front gate, Renee answered on the intercom, "Oh Warren…just a minute."
Just then the gate slowly slid open and Warren made his way for the front double-doors, when he knocked and they opened for him he took one look around the foyer and thought, "I could get lost in here."
"I bet you think you could get lost in here, believe me…it's a surprise to me that I haven't yet." Said Renee, who was coming downstairs to greet him. Warren took one look at her, "I think I'm in heaven." He said to himself.
"Follow me, I'll show you where you'll be staying." Renee told him, "Yes master." Warren replied sarcastically.
Warren's room was on the first floor and about thirty feet from the kitchen, "Now you have your own TV in here, smaller than the one in my room but it'll get you by…now these two remotes are what you'll need to operate, but my suggestion is switch over to the satellite…otherwise you'll get nothing but MA rated programming."
"That must really help pass the time when you're done working at the café." Warren commented.
"Okay…that was rude." Renee said to him.
"Sorry." Warren responded.
"Now the room has it's own temperature control so you can set it to whatever you like, whatever makes you comfortable?" Renee told him.
"Just knowing someone I know…let alone like lives here is all I need to make me feel comfortable." Warren told her.
"That's cute…really cute." She told him sternly.
"Again I say I'm sorry…but the truth is, I feel you're the only one I can really connect with, whether at work or personal time." Warren told her.
"Really, well thanks…I suppose." Said Renee…blushing slightly, but keeping a uniform poker face.
Warren looked at her, smirked, and said, "You're blushing."
Renee snapped back to reality and said, "No…it's just a little warm in here, so I'll leave you to set yourself up."
"Whatever you say…Renee—I don't believe I know you're last name?" Warren asked, chuckling a bit to himself, "Oh, Roberts, Renee Roberts." Renee told him. When he was sure she was gone, he then made a telepathic call to Sardon and said, "Sardon, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear General, what do you need?" Sardon asked.
"I need you to look up on your laptop for any information on a Renee Roberts…anything at all." Htarw told him (Remember: Thanks to the Dark Assailant Gem, Htarw can disguise himself as a human…in this case, Warren), Htarw waited ten minutes for Sardon to respond back, then he heard a tap on the window, he looked to see Sardon standing right outside holding about several pieces of paper in his right hand.
"You couldn't wait until later?" Htarw asked.
"Not really…so here you go, a few pictures and a short summary." Sardon told him, handing him the papers. Htarw thumbed through them, Sardon continued. "Apparently she's a fashion model, somewhat of a Pop-culture icon…and apparently gave that up—."
"When she became a Mew Mew…yes, thank you Big S…this'll help me just fine." Htarw told him, and with that Sardon gave him a salute and disappeared.
At diner Renee and Warren sat opposite of each other, the meal wasn't really much…but it was good, "Renee…there's something I've got to ask you." Warren told her.
"Really…what?" Renee asked.
Warren continued, "I had somebody I know look up your name on the internet…and he found this." Warren then handed her the several pages and she looked them over.
"My question is…how can two people get someone as beautiful as you to work at that café and degrade herself to wearing that French-Maid outfit. Because the way I see it there are two possibilities, one…you're just taking some time to reinvent your self, or two…Elliot and Wesley must have some real dirt on you, a secret so fragile, that if you lost it for even a moment…you'd never be able to get it back."
Renee wanted to tell Warren about being a Mew Mew, but she knew that two things could possibly happen, one is that he wouldn't believe her, or two was that he would believe her and then start flipping out about it. "I just needed some time away from the spotlight is all." She told him.
She tried to smile, but when she saw Warren's look of 'I don't believe you!', it made her feel more like telling him.
"Okay then, but I still can't see how a star like you can go from selling magazines to serving coffee at a café…wouldn't it have been easier just to endorse the café?" Warren asked.
"It's very complicated…you wouldn't understand." She told him.
"I knew you weren't telling me the truth, Elliot and Wesley do have something on you…don't they?" Warren asked.
"If you think they blackmailed me to work for them, you're wrong." Renee said sternly, Warren put his hands up in his defense and said, "Now, now…I didn't say that, I'm just saying that they got you into this mess," Warren then took a sip of his drink which was chamomile tea and said, "but what if I could show you a back door, a way back to the spotlight and all your fans?" Warren asked.
Renee looked to be thinking about it, "Well I'll leave you to your own, oh, and thanks for the meal…it was very good." Warren said as he left the table.
"You're welcome." Renee replied.
That night Renee couldn't sleep…what Warren said about a backdoor, she knew if she passed it up she'd probably be trapped working at the café for a long time, and if she accepted Warren's 'backdoor' offer, she'd be forsaking Zoey and the others. "What should I do?" Renee thought to herself.
Suddenly she heard a tapping at the window, she walked over to it and pulled back the curtains and there stood General Htarw himself. "Hi there doll-face, was in the neighborhood and," Htarw started to explain, then he looked at what Renee was wearing (a pair of violet pajama bottoms (pants) and a T-shirt that almost looked too small for her) and said, "wow, did I pick a good time to show up."
"Keep looking…because that's all you'll ever get to see." Renee said spitfully at him.
"Ouch, where's that coming from?" Htarw asked playfully.
"You know very well where my attitude's coming from!" Renee yelled at him. She then went for her Power Pendant, but Htarw teleported right in front of her and said, "Now Renee…if you think I've come here to fight, you're wrong…so don't even think about going for that pendant, you wouldn't survive 5 minutes with me and you know it."
"Then why are you here?" Renee asked sternly.
"Isn't it obvious? I just want to have a friendly—if not insightful chat." Htarw told her.
"A chat, about what?" Renee asked.
"How many people do you think live out there in that city? A million…maybe up to a few billion?" Htarw asked.
Renee remained silent, Htarw continued, "Well can you guess what there sole purpose in life is?"
Renee didn't answer, Htarw looked into her eyes and said, "Hey, anyone home…well I'll continue anyway, their purpose in life is to take those few exceptional people in their lifetime, and throw them on to their shoulders in support…your teammates and I (chuckles to self), we're exceptional."
"So what, the media doesn't really know we exist." Renee pointed out, Htarw shook his head in pity and said, "Oh how wrong you are, for do you not remember the Sting concert, what you should realize is that it was broadcasted globally end-to-end God Bless Direct-TV. So Billions of people saw you and your other friend fight my Metallosite and I, sad part was they probably thought it some little sideshow. But the incoherent fact still remains, they saw you and I, they know we exist…but only on the subconscious level."
"Is this getting somewhere, or do you like hearing yourself talk?" Renee asked irritably.
"Silence insolent girl and maybe I will, now when people find out we exist…both the Mew Mews and the Cyniclons, they'll first love you girls and hate us guys…for awhile. But then sadly…eventually, those people who support you will come to hate you and us. They'll see us both as freaks of nature."
"I see…so again I ask what's your point?" Renee asked.
"What my point is, why not join me my dear…with your beauty and my power, think of what we could create?" Htarw told her, then he turned away and said, "Or…we could DESTROY. We could tear apart, rape, and pillage this city—heck, this entire planet! Until both of our sides are dead, all I'm asking is that you speed up the process and join our side."
Renee looked to be thinking it over, then she said, "Sorry…but I'm staying where I am at the moment."
Htarw gave a heavy unrelieved sigh and said, "Fine…I wish you hadn't drawn me to this decision, considering what those little Mew Mew outfits you and your friends wear do to me on the inside, but when extreme measures must be taken," Htarw then took off his helmet and Renee again saw the condemned person that laid underneath. "then they must be…I wish I could stay longer, but the night is waning and I must go with it for you humans rule the daytime, and we Cyniclon more or less rule the night." Htarw then brought her left hand into his and kissed it saying, "See you soon…my temptress." And with a laugh he disappeared.
"We won't let you get away with this!" She yelled out.
Suddenly Warren came bustling through the door wearing a grey flannel pair of pajama bottoms and a black long sleeve black pajama shirt wielding a steel baseball bat in hand yelling, "Hey, keep away from her…you slime!"
Renee looked at him, Warren then looked around and lowered the bat saying, "Sorry…I was trying to find the bathroom and I thought I heard someone else's voice coming from your room."
"It's okay…but I can take care of myself." Renee told him, Warren smiled and then looked at what she was wearing and said, "So that's what famous people wear when they go to sleep, huh, well what do ya know?"
Warren then looked at the time and said, "Well…best be getting to bed, oh and I should warn you I'm an early riser, so if you hear any loud banging or other noises, that's just me getting breakfast ready."
"Okay…good night." Renee said.
"Good night…mistress Roberts." Warren said with a chuckle.
Renee laughed a bit. But that night she couldn't shake what Htarw had told her, in her mind before she drifted to sleep she heard his voice, echoing within her head saying: "How many people do you think live out there in that city? A million…maybe up to a few billion…their purpose in life is to take those few exceptional people in their lifetime, and throw them on to their shoulders in support… the incoherent fact remains… they saw you and I, they know we exist…… why not join me… first love you girls and hate us guys…for awhile. But then sadly…eventually, those people who support you will come to hate you and us… why not join me my dear…with your beauty and my power, think of what we could create?"
Note: Do to a case of returning fan-fic writer's block, I'm going to be taking a short siesta from writing this fan-fic…though now that I'm this far, I'm going to work on a non-dubbed version for all of you who kept hassling me about it, I mean 'Jesus-Christ-jumped-a-train-car-and-is-living-in-Santa-Fe', isn't a person entitled to their own opinion or familiarity in something as simple as this!