Fall into Winter – Part 3 - A Christmas Tale
All My Brothers, Book II
By: Reba Jean, January 4, 2003
E-mail: rjean@ghg.net or rebajean@Writing.Com
Homepage: http://www.angelfire.com/tx5/prairieskye
Genre: Romance/comedy
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Characters are based on Sailor Moon copyright 1992 by
Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, TOEI Animation, English language adaptation
Copyright 1995 by DIC Entertainment. This story is not intended for
monetary gain or tangible profit, but purely for entertainment of the
readers.
* * * * * * *
"You're up before noon?" asked Darien in surprise as Serena finally
stumbled out into the lounge. He had already bathed and settled the
two infants in the playpen in the corner of the room. Serena had
predictably fallen back asleep as soon as they were fed earlier that
morning. She still was a zombie on the weekend before lunchtime.
Serena stood before Darien yawning and rubbing her eyes, "I'm hungry.
What's for lunch?"
Long blonde hair messily flying everywhere, fuzzy pink slippers, and
her pink gown slipping off one shoulder, she was adorable. Darien
couldn't resist and in one smooth motion, turned away from the
computer, kicked back his chair, and dragged her close. "Hey," she
protested weakly, her thoughts of food interrupted.
"What? A man can't kiss his adorable goddess good morning anymore?"
Darien asked rhetorically. Proceeding to lavish attention on her neck
and exposed shoulder, he paused and awaited her response. Serena
sighed audibly, noting the growing gleam in his eye.
"I thought you wanted me to take the boys and disappear for a few
hours so you could study. I'm starving too. Could we play later,
maybe tonight?" she temporized. She had a bit of an upset stomach and
was not at all 'in the mood'. Her resolve not to turn him down flat
and snap at him was being thoroughly tested, however. At least he had
made her lunch, she thought as she drifted toward the smells coming
from the kitchen.
"I'll take your rain check," Darien murmured in Serena's ear as he
followed behind her. "There's a pot of ramen noodle soup on the
cooktop and a pan of that chicken, broccoli, and rice casserole in the
warmer."
Serena peered in the pot on the stove and gathered a pair of bowls and
chopsticks for herself. It was rather hard to concentrate and move
freely with Darien behind her back playing with her hair. "You can
tease me later. Why don't you get a cup of coffee, sit down and keep
me company while I eat?"
Seated companionably together at the kitchen, Darien watched as Serena
devoured her food. He drained the last drops from his coffee mug.
"What are you going to do this afternoon?" he questioned.
"I thought I might put the babies in the covered stroller and go for a
walk if it's not too cold outside. Then I'm going over to Molly's to
help her inventory the new Christmas jewelry shipment," Serena
answered.
Darien smiled at the last statement. Get in Molly's way and gawk at
all the new baubles for the Christmas sale, was more like it. And
bring him an extensive shopping list for Santa to get her, if he
wasn't mistaken. Serena loved bright and shiny objects just like a
magpie, he thought, none too flatteringly.
"Do not!" Serena protested. The image of a round black bird picking
through a pile of gold and gems was as clear to her as if projected on
a screen. Darien squirmed and gave her a rueful, almost apologetic
glance. Damn link sometimes was more trouble than it was worth.
After finishing her lunch, Serena disappeared for a leisurely shower.
She fixed her hair in its usual odangos and donned a pair of black
slacks and a light pink sweater. Her pink ski jacket and black ankle
boots would finish off her outdoor attire. She gathered the baby
paraphernalia in the bright red and royal blue diaper bags and piled
them in the stroller compartments. Bundling the babies in red and
blue buntings, she secured them in the stroller.
Noticing that she was ready to leave, Darien crept up behind her
silently. As she straightened from depositing the last items in the
stroller, he swooped in and swept her up off her feet. Serena
squeaked in surprise and struggled briefly, "What are you doing? Put
me down!"
Darien twirled around until they were both dizzy and collapsed on the
floor laughing. "You were going to leave without saying goodbye to
me," Darien pitched his voice to imitate Serena's most irritating
whine and added the pout as well. Serena tackled Darien back to the
floor and bashed him with a pillow. "I do NOT sound like that; take
it back!" she ordered, threatening him with the pillow.
"Uh-uh, it's true," he managed to retort between guffaws.
Serena folded her arms and gave him a mulish expression, "Then I won't
kiss you goodbye until you take it back."
Darien crept toward her on all fours, "Yes you will."
Serena scooted backward crab-wise out of reach.
Darien stopped next to the stroller and peered inside at the sleeping
twins and said in a somber tone, "Well I guess it's just us guys now.
She doesn't love us any more."
Serena took the bait and scooted back over next to him, "That's not
what I said. I do too love you." She added a kiss to punctuate her
remark.
Darien smirked back at her, "Gotcha!"
Serena smiled in reply, "I know silly; we've played this game before."
The small apartment grew quiet again as she pushed the stroller out
the door and away towards the elevator. Darien sighed. He would
rather go for a walk in the park with the three of them, but he really
did need to review for the big exam that week. Occasionally even he
got tired of studying all the time.
Serena enjoyed walking in the crisp winter air. Seasonal holiday
decorations brightened shop windows and homes. Rather than walking
through the park as she had planned, she slowly traversed the nearby
city streets for several blocks. Stopping whenever something caught
her eye, most of the afternoon passed without her realizing how late
it had become. The streetlights were beginning to glow as she finally
reached Molly's shop.
Molly looked up as the entrance chimes sounded. "Hi, Serena. Weren't
you coming over earlier?" Molly greeted Serena as she finished
arranging the display tray in the display case. Molly emerged from
behind the counter and knelt to peer into the stroller. "Ooh, let me
see. They're actually awake. Usually when I drop by your place
they're asleep."
Serena grinned evilly, "They just woke up and they're hungry. I need
to borrow your back room to feed them. Then after that you can help
me change them."
"How do you know you'll need to change them?" Molly asked.
"They 'always' make a mess after I feed them. They're as predictable
as Darien," she quipped.
"They seem pretty quiet," Molly added uncertainly. "I thought you
said they cried a lot."
"The first two or three weeks they did, until they got used to things,
I guess," Serena answered. She made a face, "Darien says he's glad
they took after him, being quiet most of the time. He says we'd never
have any peace if they 'talked' as much as I do. That's a pretty rude
thing to say, don't cha think? I don't talk all the time, do I? Huh,
why are you grinning, Molly? Stop laughing. It's not 'that' funny!"
Serena turned bright red, whether from embarrassment or anger, Molly
wasn't sure.
"I'll go see if anyone's in back," Molly called out as she skipped
away from Serena's reach.
Serena fed her two little boys, and true to her prediction, they
outputted right on schedule. She coerced Molly into helping her
change them, arguing that it was good practice for when Molly had
children of her own. After settling them with a few toys to play
with, in the travel crib, she began helping Molly set up display
trays.
Osa-P's was well known for its large holiday gift inventory,
especially of rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and a large variety of gold,
silver, and crystal items. Their annual sale was one of the best in
the city. Molly's mother and the two sales girls drifted in and out
of the workroom periodically to restock their counters or deposit cash
in the safe. They commented on how busy and crowded the store had
been all day. They were glad it was nearly closing time.
Molly sighed as she tipped her chair back to prop against the wall.
"That's the last one I have to set up for the sale tomorrow," she
commented as she gestured toward the red velvet cloth with diamond
rings, bracelets, and necklaces scattered seemingly randomly across
it. "Could you take it out to my Mom, while I put these extras away,"
she asked.
~*~*~*~*~*
Propped against the side of the building, huddled together with
cigarettes and cups of coffee in hand, as if on a break, the pair
watched the movement of the crowds on the sidewalks. Across the
street and slightly down from where they lingered, was the festively
decorated storefront with banners announcing the annual Osa-P
Christmas jewelry sale. The nondescript man and woman, dressed in
black wind suits and long gray overcoats, had been watching the
jewelry store entrance for the last fifteen minutes. Noting the
number of customers entering and leaving the store on her data screen,
Kari sipped her now cold coffee and scowled at her companion.
Soba fidgeted and chain smoked constantly; the sidewalk beneath his
feet was littered with half-finished cigarette butts. His fingers
compulsively twirled, rolled, and untangled the knots of string in his
hand, which resembled nothing so much as a mass of noodles. "It's
time to go. There should be half a dozen or fewer customers in there
now. We've only got about three minutes before they lock the front
doors and activate the perimeter security system," Kari said brusquely
as she snapped closed her PDA and dropped it back in her pocket. She
licked her lips nervously, closed her violet eyes briefly, and pulled
her short maroon hair back behind her ears.
"Why do we need to do one more job anyway? The boss should have
plenty of money by now. Why can't we just head for the harbor and the
ship now?" Soba complained.
Kari gave him a withering stare, "You can never have too much money.
He really wants the jewels more than the cash this time. Seems he's
collecting natural gem stones for some reason."
"Remember, you're my little brother and we're looking for a bracelet
for our mother. Relax and stay loose. Just do what I say," she
ordered.
The ill matched couple sauntered in the door, looking around quickly.
An old couple waited as they cleared the doorway and exited. There
remained only a group of two girls and boys examining the inexpensive
rings and chains at the sale table. One sales girl hovered, waiting
for them to decide on their purchases. A short blonde girl with buns
on either side of her head and impossibly long pigtails carried a
velvet-draped tray of jewelry to the owner and inquired where it
should go. The older woman deposited the tray and gestured for her to
return to the back room. She resumed her task of emptying the
contents of the cash register into a lock box.
The remaining slender dark haired clerk approached the couple near the
door, "How may I help you?"
Soba grinned widely at the clerk, "We need a present for our mum for
Christmas. She likes gold and red stuff." He looked at her stupidly
as he waited for her reply, moving between her and Kari, blocking the
clerk's view of her movements.
Kari quickly crossed the room and ducked through the side door.
Flashing Soba a quick thumbs up, she turned and faced the red haired
girl seated behind the sorting table and the blond peering over the
other's shoulder at the gems spread across the table. "You gotta a
bathroom in here? I really gotta go." She moved over to the playpen
and bent down to look at the two babies. "Oh, aren't they precious."
Kari straightened up as she turned and pulled her silenced 9-mm
automatic out of her pocket. She clasped it tightly with both hands
and leveled the gun at Molly and Serena. "Blondie, move away from the
table and against the wall. Red, fill the box with the gems on the
table and then open the safe. I know you have the combination, so
don't try anything stupid."
Serena flattened herself against the wall. Silent tears began to roll
down her face. She was afraid for Molly and the others and she didn't
see anyway to transform quickly, with a gun aimed at them both. Molly
slowly and carefully began to follow the thief's instructions. Kari
grinned maliciously, and gestured with her pistol toward the twins.
"And who do these belong to? And how much would they pay to get them
back in one piece, I wonder?" she asked, as if considering the idea.
Molly blanched. Serena began to feel light headed and faint. She
screamed silently in denial.
Soba finally responded to Kari's gestures and removed the Uzi from
beneath his overcoat. He reached over and clutched the sales clerk to
his side. Sweeping the automatic in a wild arc, he squeaked
nervously, "Everybody on the floor against that wall over there." As
the four customers, the girl behind the counter, and Molly's mother
scrambled to comply, he turned his attention to the girl in his grasp.
He shoved her toward the open cash register and tossed her a crumpled
sack retrieved from his pocket. "Fill it with all the cash and then
clean out all the counters. Make it snappy."
~*~*~*~*~*
Darien walked briskly in the evening chill, his hands stuffed in his
green jacket pockets, and humming tunelessly. He smiled to himself,
remembering Serena's attempts to hide her search for Christmas
presents from him. In the past couple of weeks, she had meticulously
'cleaned' every nook and cranny of the apartment in her futile search.
Of course she couldn't find what wasn't hidden there. He had just
finishing making the hotel reservations and booked the plane tickets
before leaving the apartment earlier. He would retrieve her necklace
from the Osa-P shop that evening when he picked up Serena and the
twins.
The chill wind blew the stinging flakes of the first winter snowfall
against his exposed skin. He looked up through the haze and the glare
from the flashing display screens at the white flurries descending.
Serena would be ecstatic, especially if the snow accumulated. She
still loved the snow and would be sure to drag him out to 'play'.
Darien called, "Serena, are you ready to go?" as he pushed through the
doors into the Osa-P foyer. A wave of terror greeted him, accompanied
by the sound of weeping from the next room.
A flurry of steel tipped roses preceded the rush of the cape clad dark
warrior into the showroom. The gunman cried in agony, peppered by the
darts, his weapon auto-firing as it hit the wall.
Tuxedo Mask watched helplessly through the open workroom door. The
seemingly slow motion flight of arcing bullets intersected Serena's
path as she threw herself between Kari and the twin's playpen. A
shower of blood sprayed the thief and half the small room, as Serena
crumpled lifelessly to the floor.
"NNNOOO!" Tuxedo Mask's anguished scream shattered the sudden silence.
It was immediately echoed by two anguished wails.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Should Serena live and her tale continue, or die and leave her
distraught family and friends to continue without her? Review or email
and let me know.
Ja ne!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
All My Brothers, Book II
By: Reba Jean, January 4, 2003
E-mail: rjean@ghg.net or rebajean@Writing.Com
Homepage: http://www.angelfire.com/tx5/prairieskye
Genre: Romance/comedy
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Characters are based on Sailor Moon copyright 1992 by
Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, TOEI Animation, English language adaptation
Copyright 1995 by DIC Entertainment. This story is not intended for
monetary gain or tangible profit, but purely for entertainment of the
readers.
* * * * * * *
"You're up before noon?" asked Darien in surprise as Serena finally
stumbled out into the lounge. He had already bathed and settled the
two infants in the playpen in the corner of the room. Serena had
predictably fallen back asleep as soon as they were fed earlier that
morning. She still was a zombie on the weekend before lunchtime.
Serena stood before Darien yawning and rubbing her eyes, "I'm hungry.
What's for lunch?"
Long blonde hair messily flying everywhere, fuzzy pink slippers, and
her pink gown slipping off one shoulder, she was adorable. Darien
couldn't resist and in one smooth motion, turned away from the
computer, kicked back his chair, and dragged her close. "Hey," she
protested weakly, her thoughts of food interrupted.
"What? A man can't kiss his adorable goddess good morning anymore?"
Darien asked rhetorically. Proceeding to lavish attention on her neck
and exposed shoulder, he paused and awaited her response. Serena
sighed audibly, noting the growing gleam in his eye.
"I thought you wanted me to take the boys and disappear for a few
hours so you could study. I'm starving too. Could we play later,
maybe tonight?" she temporized. She had a bit of an upset stomach and
was not at all 'in the mood'. Her resolve not to turn him down flat
and snap at him was being thoroughly tested, however. At least he had
made her lunch, she thought as she drifted toward the smells coming
from the kitchen.
"I'll take your rain check," Darien murmured in Serena's ear as he
followed behind her. "There's a pot of ramen noodle soup on the
cooktop and a pan of that chicken, broccoli, and rice casserole in the
warmer."
Serena peered in the pot on the stove and gathered a pair of bowls and
chopsticks for herself. It was rather hard to concentrate and move
freely with Darien behind her back playing with her hair. "You can
tease me later. Why don't you get a cup of coffee, sit down and keep
me company while I eat?"
Seated companionably together at the kitchen, Darien watched as Serena
devoured her food. He drained the last drops from his coffee mug.
"What are you going to do this afternoon?" he questioned.
"I thought I might put the babies in the covered stroller and go for a
walk if it's not too cold outside. Then I'm going over to Molly's to
help her inventory the new Christmas jewelry shipment," Serena
answered.
Darien smiled at the last statement. Get in Molly's way and gawk at
all the new baubles for the Christmas sale, was more like it. And
bring him an extensive shopping list for Santa to get her, if he
wasn't mistaken. Serena loved bright and shiny objects just like a
magpie, he thought, none too flatteringly.
"Do not!" Serena protested. The image of a round black bird picking
through a pile of gold and gems was as clear to her as if projected on
a screen. Darien squirmed and gave her a rueful, almost apologetic
glance. Damn link sometimes was more trouble than it was worth.
After finishing her lunch, Serena disappeared for a leisurely shower.
She fixed her hair in its usual odangos and donned a pair of black
slacks and a light pink sweater. Her pink ski jacket and black ankle
boots would finish off her outdoor attire. She gathered the baby
paraphernalia in the bright red and royal blue diaper bags and piled
them in the stroller compartments. Bundling the babies in red and
blue buntings, she secured them in the stroller.
Noticing that she was ready to leave, Darien crept up behind her
silently. As she straightened from depositing the last items in the
stroller, he swooped in and swept her up off her feet. Serena
squeaked in surprise and struggled briefly, "What are you doing? Put
me down!"
Darien twirled around until they were both dizzy and collapsed on the
floor laughing. "You were going to leave without saying goodbye to
me," Darien pitched his voice to imitate Serena's most irritating
whine and added the pout as well. Serena tackled Darien back to the
floor and bashed him with a pillow. "I do NOT sound like that; take
it back!" she ordered, threatening him with the pillow.
"Uh-uh, it's true," he managed to retort between guffaws.
Serena folded her arms and gave him a mulish expression, "Then I won't
kiss you goodbye until you take it back."
Darien crept toward her on all fours, "Yes you will."
Serena scooted backward crab-wise out of reach.
Darien stopped next to the stroller and peered inside at the sleeping
twins and said in a somber tone, "Well I guess it's just us guys now.
She doesn't love us any more."
Serena took the bait and scooted back over next to him, "That's not
what I said. I do too love you." She added a kiss to punctuate her
remark.
Darien smirked back at her, "Gotcha!"
Serena smiled in reply, "I know silly; we've played this game before."
The small apartment grew quiet again as she pushed the stroller out
the door and away towards the elevator. Darien sighed. He would
rather go for a walk in the park with the three of them, but he really
did need to review for the big exam that week. Occasionally even he
got tired of studying all the time.
Serena enjoyed walking in the crisp winter air. Seasonal holiday
decorations brightened shop windows and homes. Rather than walking
through the park as she had planned, she slowly traversed the nearby
city streets for several blocks. Stopping whenever something caught
her eye, most of the afternoon passed without her realizing how late
it had become. The streetlights were beginning to glow as she finally
reached Molly's shop.
Molly looked up as the entrance chimes sounded. "Hi, Serena. Weren't
you coming over earlier?" Molly greeted Serena as she finished
arranging the display tray in the display case. Molly emerged from
behind the counter and knelt to peer into the stroller. "Ooh, let me
see. They're actually awake. Usually when I drop by your place
they're asleep."
Serena grinned evilly, "They just woke up and they're hungry. I need
to borrow your back room to feed them. Then after that you can help
me change them."
"How do you know you'll need to change them?" Molly asked.
"They 'always' make a mess after I feed them. They're as predictable
as Darien," she quipped.
"They seem pretty quiet," Molly added uncertainly. "I thought you
said they cried a lot."
"The first two or three weeks they did, until they got used to things,
I guess," Serena answered. She made a face, "Darien says he's glad
they took after him, being quiet most of the time. He says we'd never
have any peace if they 'talked' as much as I do. That's a pretty rude
thing to say, don't cha think? I don't talk all the time, do I? Huh,
why are you grinning, Molly? Stop laughing. It's not 'that' funny!"
Serena turned bright red, whether from embarrassment or anger, Molly
wasn't sure.
"I'll go see if anyone's in back," Molly called out as she skipped
away from Serena's reach.
Serena fed her two little boys, and true to her prediction, they
outputted right on schedule. She coerced Molly into helping her
change them, arguing that it was good practice for when Molly had
children of her own. After settling them with a few toys to play
with, in the travel crib, she began helping Molly set up display
trays.
Osa-P's was well known for its large holiday gift inventory,
especially of rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and a large variety of gold,
silver, and crystal items. Their annual sale was one of the best in
the city. Molly's mother and the two sales girls drifted in and out
of the workroom periodically to restock their counters or deposit cash
in the safe. They commented on how busy and crowded the store had
been all day. They were glad it was nearly closing time.
Molly sighed as she tipped her chair back to prop against the wall.
"That's the last one I have to set up for the sale tomorrow," she
commented as she gestured toward the red velvet cloth with diamond
rings, bracelets, and necklaces scattered seemingly randomly across
it. "Could you take it out to my Mom, while I put these extras away,"
she asked.
~*~*~*~*~*
Propped against the side of the building, huddled together with
cigarettes and cups of coffee in hand, as if on a break, the pair
watched the movement of the crowds on the sidewalks. Across the
street and slightly down from where they lingered, was the festively
decorated storefront with banners announcing the annual Osa-P
Christmas jewelry sale. The nondescript man and woman, dressed in
black wind suits and long gray overcoats, had been watching the
jewelry store entrance for the last fifteen minutes. Noting the
number of customers entering and leaving the store on her data screen,
Kari sipped her now cold coffee and scowled at her companion.
Soba fidgeted and chain smoked constantly; the sidewalk beneath his
feet was littered with half-finished cigarette butts. His fingers
compulsively twirled, rolled, and untangled the knots of string in his
hand, which resembled nothing so much as a mass of noodles. "It's
time to go. There should be half a dozen or fewer customers in there
now. We've only got about three minutes before they lock the front
doors and activate the perimeter security system," Kari said brusquely
as she snapped closed her PDA and dropped it back in her pocket. She
licked her lips nervously, closed her violet eyes briefly, and pulled
her short maroon hair back behind her ears.
"Why do we need to do one more job anyway? The boss should have
plenty of money by now. Why can't we just head for the harbor and the
ship now?" Soba complained.
Kari gave him a withering stare, "You can never have too much money.
He really wants the jewels more than the cash this time. Seems he's
collecting natural gem stones for some reason."
"Remember, you're my little brother and we're looking for a bracelet
for our mother. Relax and stay loose. Just do what I say," she
ordered.
The ill matched couple sauntered in the door, looking around quickly.
An old couple waited as they cleared the doorway and exited. There
remained only a group of two girls and boys examining the inexpensive
rings and chains at the sale table. One sales girl hovered, waiting
for them to decide on their purchases. A short blonde girl with buns
on either side of her head and impossibly long pigtails carried a
velvet-draped tray of jewelry to the owner and inquired where it
should go. The older woman deposited the tray and gestured for her to
return to the back room. She resumed her task of emptying the
contents of the cash register into a lock box.
The remaining slender dark haired clerk approached the couple near the
door, "How may I help you?"
Soba grinned widely at the clerk, "We need a present for our mum for
Christmas. She likes gold and red stuff." He looked at her stupidly
as he waited for her reply, moving between her and Kari, blocking the
clerk's view of her movements.
Kari quickly crossed the room and ducked through the side door.
Flashing Soba a quick thumbs up, she turned and faced the red haired
girl seated behind the sorting table and the blond peering over the
other's shoulder at the gems spread across the table. "You gotta a
bathroom in here? I really gotta go." She moved over to the playpen
and bent down to look at the two babies. "Oh, aren't they precious."
Kari straightened up as she turned and pulled her silenced 9-mm
automatic out of her pocket. She clasped it tightly with both hands
and leveled the gun at Molly and Serena. "Blondie, move away from the
table and against the wall. Red, fill the box with the gems on the
table and then open the safe. I know you have the combination, so
don't try anything stupid."
Serena flattened herself against the wall. Silent tears began to roll
down her face. She was afraid for Molly and the others and she didn't
see anyway to transform quickly, with a gun aimed at them both. Molly
slowly and carefully began to follow the thief's instructions. Kari
grinned maliciously, and gestured with her pistol toward the twins.
"And who do these belong to? And how much would they pay to get them
back in one piece, I wonder?" she asked, as if considering the idea.
Molly blanched. Serena began to feel light headed and faint. She
screamed silently in denial.
Soba finally responded to Kari's gestures and removed the Uzi from
beneath his overcoat. He reached over and clutched the sales clerk to
his side. Sweeping the automatic in a wild arc, he squeaked
nervously, "Everybody on the floor against that wall over there." As
the four customers, the girl behind the counter, and Molly's mother
scrambled to comply, he turned his attention to the girl in his grasp.
He shoved her toward the open cash register and tossed her a crumpled
sack retrieved from his pocket. "Fill it with all the cash and then
clean out all the counters. Make it snappy."
~*~*~*~*~*
Darien walked briskly in the evening chill, his hands stuffed in his
green jacket pockets, and humming tunelessly. He smiled to himself,
remembering Serena's attempts to hide her search for Christmas
presents from him. In the past couple of weeks, she had meticulously
'cleaned' every nook and cranny of the apartment in her futile search.
Of course she couldn't find what wasn't hidden there. He had just
finishing making the hotel reservations and booked the plane tickets
before leaving the apartment earlier. He would retrieve her necklace
from the Osa-P shop that evening when he picked up Serena and the
twins.
The chill wind blew the stinging flakes of the first winter snowfall
against his exposed skin. He looked up through the haze and the glare
from the flashing display screens at the white flurries descending.
Serena would be ecstatic, especially if the snow accumulated. She
still loved the snow and would be sure to drag him out to 'play'.
Darien called, "Serena, are you ready to go?" as he pushed through the
doors into the Osa-P foyer. A wave of terror greeted him, accompanied
by the sound of weeping from the next room.
A flurry of steel tipped roses preceded the rush of the cape clad dark
warrior into the showroom. The gunman cried in agony, peppered by the
darts, his weapon auto-firing as it hit the wall.
Tuxedo Mask watched helplessly through the open workroom door. The
seemingly slow motion flight of arcing bullets intersected Serena's
path as she threw herself between Kari and the twin's playpen. A
shower of blood sprayed the thief and half the small room, as Serena
crumpled lifelessly to the floor.
"NNNOOO!" Tuxedo Mask's anguished scream shattered the sudden silence.
It was immediately echoed by two anguished wails.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Should Serena live and her tale continue, or die and leave her
distraught family and friends to continue without her? Review or email
and let me know.
Ja ne!
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