Within half an hour, all five scouts were gathered at Lita's
apartment with Luna and Artemis, their guardians, and Ami had explained
what she had seen. "Freaky!" said Serena, "What was that ball thing
anyway? And that dust inside it?"
"We don't know," said Lita.
"But I'm scanning the archive files in my computer for it now."
"Don't bother," said Artemis. "We know what it is." All eyes in the room turned upon Artemis and Luna, waiting for an explaination. Most would have thought it strange that the two seemingly ordinary cats could talk, but the scouts had long since gotten used to it.
"It's called an energy orb," said Luna, "Which is exactly what it is. They're hollow glass balls used to store stolen energy in the form of silver dust. Andi must be a general from the Negaverse."
The next day at school, Ami, Lita, and Serena kept a close eye on Andi and the others. It seemed, however, that Andi was doing the same, wary of Ami and Lita. She approached them before lunch with a solemn expression. "Hey Serena! Lita, Ami, I need to talk to you. Why don't you two come have lunch with me today?"
They glanced at each other awkwardly, then Lita turned around to face Andi and said with a bit of a nervous laugh, "Well actually, we promised we'd eat with Serena today, Andi. She er. . .forgot her lunch again, so we're sharing. Maybe some other time."
"Tell you what. If you come talk to me, Serena can have my lunch since I'm not hungry anyway. How does that sound?"
"Sounds good to me!" Said Serena immediately.
"SERENA!" cried Ami and Lita together. But they both knew they were trapped when Andi set her lunch down in front of Serena. They followed her to an empty table, both tense and ready to defend themselves should the need arise. From the looks of it, however, Andi did not seem to want to hurt them. She sat down, and gestured for them to do the same.
"From the expressions on your faces, you know what this is about already, so I'll just get right to the point before Fred, Chris, and Paula get here. Why were you spying on me yesterday?"
"Spying?" said Ami, "We weren't spying on you. Why would you think we would do that?"
Andi looked Ami in the eyes with an intensity that gave her chills and made her shift uneasily in her chair. "I saw you running into the woods, Ami."
"We weren't there," Lita insisted. "You must have seen someone else," but her voice quivered as she said it. There was a strange power surrounding Andi that made even someone as strong as Lita nervous.
"You know," said Andi with a calmness that resonated with anger, "your eye twitches when you lie. I won't be mad if you just tell me the truth."
"Alright," said Ami, "We were there because I heard you ask to use the lab for something after school, and we thought we could help."
Andi's eyes told them both that she didn't believe them, but she was not about to press the matter. They had admitted to being there, so now she needed an answer to her other question. "And what did you see?"
"We saw you taking something out of your backpack. That's all."
Andi was about to say something, but then she looked past them at Fred, Chris, and Paula, who were making their way over. "Look, it's really important that you just forget what you saw and don't mention it to anyone. It could be life and death. You can go back to Serena now if you want."
And they did, just as the other three sat down. "What was that all about with Lita and Ami?" they heard Chris ask.
"Nothing, Chris. Just talking about a homework assignment." So she was keeping whatever it was she was doing yesterday a secret from them too. They wondered why.
"We don't know," said Lita.
"But I'm scanning the archive files in my computer for it now."
"Don't bother," said Artemis. "We know what it is." All eyes in the room turned upon Artemis and Luna, waiting for an explaination. Most would have thought it strange that the two seemingly ordinary cats could talk, but the scouts had long since gotten used to it.
"It's called an energy orb," said Luna, "Which is exactly what it is. They're hollow glass balls used to store stolen energy in the form of silver dust. Andi must be a general from the Negaverse."
The next day at school, Ami, Lita, and Serena kept a close eye on Andi and the others. It seemed, however, that Andi was doing the same, wary of Ami and Lita. She approached them before lunch with a solemn expression. "Hey Serena! Lita, Ami, I need to talk to you. Why don't you two come have lunch with me today?"
They glanced at each other awkwardly, then Lita turned around to face Andi and said with a bit of a nervous laugh, "Well actually, we promised we'd eat with Serena today, Andi. She er. . .forgot her lunch again, so we're sharing. Maybe some other time."
"Tell you what. If you come talk to me, Serena can have my lunch since I'm not hungry anyway. How does that sound?"
"Sounds good to me!" Said Serena immediately.
"SERENA!" cried Ami and Lita together. But they both knew they were trapped when Andi set her lunch down in front of Serena. They followed her to an empty table, both tense and ready to defend themselves should the need arise. From the looks of it, however, Andi did not seem to want to hurt them. She sat down, and gestured for them to do the same.
"From the expressions on your faces, you know what this is about already, so I'll just get right to the point before Fred, Chris, and Paula get here. Why were you spying on me yesterday?"
"Spying?" said Ami, "We weren't spying on you. Why would you think we would do that?"
Andi looked Ami in the eyes with an intensity that gave her chills and made her shift uneasily in her chair. "I saw you running into the woods, Ami."
"We weren't there," Lita insisted. "You must have seen someone else," but her voice quivered as she said it. There was a strange power surrounding Andi that made even someone as strong as Lita nervous.
"You know," said Andi with a calmness that resonated with anger, "your eye twitches when you lie. I won't be mad if you just tell me the truth."
"Alright," said Ami, "We were there because I heard you ask to use the lab for something after school, and we thought we could help."
Andi's eyes told them both that she didn't believe them, but she was not about to press the matter. They had admitted to being there, so now she needed an answer to her other question. "And what did you see?"
"We saw you taking something out of your backpack. That's all."
Andi was about to say something, but then she looked past them at Fred, Chris, and Paula, who were making their way over. "Look, it's really important that you just forget what you saw and don't mention it to anyone. It could be life and death. You can go back to Serena now if you want."
And they did, just as the other three sat down. "What was that all about with Lita and Ami?" they heard Chris ask.
"Nothing, Chris. Just talking about a homework assignment." So she was keeping whatever it was she was doing yesterday a secret from them too. They wondered why.