We do not own "Sailor Moon" nor any of the characters.
SAILOR MOON ETERNAL
"The 6th Season of the Sailor Moon Saga"
By Haruka Kou
Chapter 18: One...Two...Three...The World is a Stage Again
"Wake up, Sayer. It's a big day today." Terry's usually calm voice is lively and full of energy as he shakes his lazy brother (who had in fact stayed up playing video games, the coffee and other stimuli of the day keeping him up most of the night) who groans, turning over, trying to ignore his big brother's insistent callings.
"Sayer." Terry usually gives in at about this point (they go through this routine nearly every morning) letting Sayer sleep for another fifteen or twenty minutes at least.
But not today. Today was different.
"Wake up! We've got a lot to do." Terry uncharacteristically yanks off Sayer's covers, none so tenderly shaking him as well.
"All right. All right, I'm awake." Sayer sits up groggily to see Terry fully dressed and combed in a fancy business suit.
"Got a date with Susie this early?" Sayer blinks, wondering what his tall brother was ready so early and dressed so spiffily for, as he picks up the alarm clock next to his bed.
"6:30 AM!" Sayer rarely got himself up before nine or ten these days, always being a night owl, and he slams down the clock, grabbing up his covers again.
"I'm going back to sleep. It's TOO early." He shuts his eyes tightly, bundled up again, leaving Terry standing there dumbfounded on how to get him out of the bed.
"Oh, look, I see a red Ferrari pulling up right now…" Robin's scratchy voice pops in the room as he crosses the room to peer out Sayer's window into the street.
That does it.
"WHAT!" Sayer jumps up, the fear of Alex's wrath to fall upon him if he wasn't ready.
"Thank you, Robin." Terry was glad to finally have Sayer up and about, even if it took a little deception to do it.
"No problem." Robin grumpily combs his own long hank of hair.
Why should I be up at this hour and not Sayer too? Robin was always ready to share his misery with his argumentative brother.
"Why this early anyway? What are we doing, Ter?" Sayer grumbles, a bit ticked to be tricked, gathering his clothes as he heads for the shower .
"Well, I've made several appointments with talent agents and record labels to meet with so we can start up as the Three Lights again." Terry explains.
"What's the rush? Shouldn't we just get settled in for awhile without all of that?" Sayer grabs a pair of his jeans out of a drawer, to which Terry takes and refolds, handing him a suit out of the closet instead.
"We have to be able to keep up our lifestyle. There's not much left in the bank, after this apartment, the bills…" Terry says, trying to convey the importance of what they had to do.
"Not to mention that money-eating car you bought for a certain someone." Robin complains sourly of what he deemed a frivolous expense, for that woman in particular, he saying "someone" with a nasty look in his pale green eyes.
"Hey, I'm sure we've still got enough left before we have to do anything like work right away." Sayer hangs the uncomfortable suit back up in the closet.
"No, Sayer, I want to start this immediately." Terry hands back the suit.
"Why! What's the rush all of a sudden?" Sayer could inwardly feel an ulterior motive linked to his brother's drive.
"I need the means to support us well." Terry tries to lead them into his plan easily.
"Why?" Robin too was now a bit suspicious as he plops on the edge of Sayer's unmade bed.
"I want to marry Susan." His words ring so strong and true, and the assuredness he says it with knocks his two brothers off balance. Sayer actually drops the suit still on its hanger to the floor, along with his jaw.
"What! You just met the girl!" Robin exclaims in horror at the sudden news, his mouth too hanging open.
"She is the one, Robin. I think you of all people can understand that." Terry pulls at Robin's heartstrings about Michelle.
"Yeah, but…marriage, Ter?" Sayer's eyes are big and serious at the huge, monstrous step for his nineteen-year old brother.
"Isn't it a little….drastic?" Sayer definitely was not the marrying type and could not imagine why Terry would be either, since he already had everything he wanted with Susie, she not the demanding type herself.
"I see no point in waiting." Terry smiles, trying to get them to understand his feelings. "I love her."
Just seeing the determination in his brother's eyes, Sayer jabs Robin in the gut as he was just about to question Terry on this landmark decision again.
"All right, then Ter. You're right. Susie's a great lady. I like her." Sayer smiles, knowing Terry would probably enjoy married life (though Sayer himself still considered just the thought totally out of the question…AHH! Too scary!).
Robin exchanges a nod with them, at last realizing the same thing.
"So what do we have to do to get the ball rolling?" Sayer asks, to Terry's grateful smile, scooping up that blasted suit from its wrinkled state on the floor and dusting it off.
WHOOSH.
The sheer thrill of flying around by the seat of your pants around the racetrack, stock car after stock car race by, though none of them could even come close to the leader, that car almost a whole lap ahead of the others.
WHIZZ.
The burning smell of oil and grease in the air, the screaming crowd could be just heard above the noisy screeching of the tires as the final lap begins. The other cars catch up but the lead one was still well ahead of the pack. The bright red stock car already moving at over 150 MPH, accelerates even more in the last 200 meters, as the exhilaration of seeing that oh-so-familiar blue checkered flag flapping in the wind, pushes the driver even more. Then the machine explodes with new speed, breaking records as the race car zooms by the finish, the flag waving its victory salute.
The crowd roars in excitement as the red car comes to a stop and the driver gets out, waving triumphantly to them and then scans the crowd for someone in particular, who she didn't know why but wanted for some reason, to be here.
Dashing up the award podium, Alex Sokova accepts the congratulations and accolades from the racing committee and her fellow competitors (those who weren't pig-headedly prejudiced against women in the sport, that is) adding another winning trophy to her already huge collection.
After the ruckus winds down, the crowds slowly disappear, and Alex returns to her garage to give her latest stock car a good look over and get it ready for the next race. (And there always was a "next race", Alex Sokova in high demand this past season.)
That's when she sees the shadow of someone seated in the driver's seat. Angrily thinking it some pushy spectator, she throws open the door, ready to give the creepy dark shaded intruder a piece of her mind…
"Hey there, babe." Sayer winks, lifting his sunglasses and pointing a finger at her playfully. "Nice racing." He smiles.
"What are you doing here?" She barks, taken off guard.
"Didn't you get the note? I said I'd be here." Sayer says as he gets out of the car.
"Yeah, I got it." Alex nods, smiling to herself as she recalls the illegibly scribbled note left taped to the apartment door, telling her that the three of them had to go meet producers and "other boring guys like that."
Finding it really quite funny that Sayer had obviously written it in his scrawled hand, promising that he'd come, even 'if he had to jump out the top floor window of the twenty-story window' of the corporate office the Three Lights were headed for.
But Alex only half expected him to keep the promise, not trusting him for anything — quite yet. Trust was a hard commodity for a hardened soldier like her to have.
"I knew you'd win! Wow, girl, can you drive! Did you hear me in crowd? I was the loudest one, everyone was staring. SOKOVA RULES!" He shouts his war cry again, the empty mechanic's garage echoing his strong clear voice making Alex laugh.
"You're crazy." She chuckles, but feeling a little proud inside that he liked her racing, something she never thought any man would abide of his…of the woman he was….of me.
Alex laughs at herself now too, not yet knowing what to make of their relationship.
"I like your outfit too, Ally." Sayer looks approvingly up and down her red and white jumpsuit. "Sokova." He smiles at her last name written on the back. "Alex." He traces the name emblazed on the front of her suit.
"Starr." Alex says in almost a whisper, her voice a riddle.
"Yeah, Ally?" He looks up into her eyes, hoping for….for something.
"Get your hand off my chest right now." Each syllable is evenly spaced out and thoroughly threatening.
"Oh, yeah." Sayer giggles guiltily, pulling his hand away quickly He then turns as red as Alex's bright racing outfit, and she almost laughs again.
"So..." Alex composes herself, clearing her throat. "How did your day go?" She retrieves the trophy she had put down at the front of the garage gate as she closes it.
"Ohh….nothing as exciting as this was." Sayer takes the golden trophy and plays with it like a child with a new toy.
"Ter just tried to sign us up with some stuffed shirts, record people and promoters and that kind of thing." He brushes them off.
"But…they didn't want us. Said we were high risk, just taking off like that last time. So we can't find any sponsors. But I'm sure the fans at least will still like us once we find an outlet. After all, this is the Three Lights big comeback." Sayer smiles confidently, knowing how popular they were before, and a bit vainly that his sex appeal had increased since last they were here.
Now if only I can get Ally to see it that way….He sighs, gazing at his red racing beauty as they speed off in her matching new Ferrari.
With the sun setting on his sixth day back here on earth, Sayer returns with Alex to the Outers' hideaway abode, finding Terry and Robin already there, discussing the weighty topic of their future career here on this planet with Michelle, as Susan and Tara cook dinner in the kitchen.
"You still moaning about that, Ter?" Sayer comes in with a tease, plopping down on the couch next to Terry.
"I'm not 'moaning', as you say, Sayer. I'm simply…concerned that we couldn't find a single record label or movie studio that would hire us with a permanent contract." Terry rebuts seriously.
"Yeah. I guess you would be concerned ." Sayer winks, making Terry clear his throat in a warning as not to spill the beans, not quite yet, about a certain reason why his need for a stable income was so urgent.
"Well, what can we do about it? If they don't want us, they don't want us. It's their loss." Robin shrugs, having a very high opinion of their (especially of his) star-studded abilities and not too eager for the demanding work anyway.
"We need to do something." Terry says, his genius mind trying to devise some new ideas to get his plan in action, looking to Sayer and Robin as well, the three of them in deep thought.
"Why don't you…"
Michelle looks up from reading a chic magazine, breaking into their consternation, the tone of her voice calling their attention.
"Why don't you have a concert to prove to these producers and studios that you still have what it takes to be idols?" She offers in her all-knowing way.
"You certainly still do." Susan says adoringly from the open partition in the kitchen, her eyes on Terry. Tara giggles as she sets the table.
"We do?" Terry smiles at Susan, her eyes making it hard for him to keep on the subject, but then quickly turns to Michelle.
"That is a valid assumption. A very good idea but….we just don't have the funds to promote our own concert. It costs a great deal of money, we would need a sponsor. But those seem few and far between for us these days." Terry sighs, the thought of his goal being postponed quite unsatisfactory.
"Don't be silly!" Michelle bursts out giggling. "You have a willing sponsor already." She smiles brightly.
"We do?" Robin asks quizzically.
"Of course you do, Robin dear." Michelle sidles to him over on the loveseat, her hand fluttering to her chest in a show-offish mode.
"Me."
She looks to each of the three men's faces, her own filled with the pride of knowing how her financial status was such a boost to them all.
"Miss Moreau, it is very kind of you, but a concert does require an enormous sum that we can't possibly ask you to-" Terry starts to protest her magnanimous offer.
"Mr. Starr, I am going to sponsor your next concert. I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. You will be singing for my pleasure." Michelle puts on her haughtiest air, relishing every moment of being these three boys' benefactress, especially one silver haired pianist who receives her demanding eyes.
"There's no arguing with her when she gets like this. Trust me." Alex smirks as she leans against the wall, watching bemused, knowing how her Michelle could be quite overpowering - when she wanted to be.
"I know a woman like that myself." Sayer interjects. Alex gives him the eye in return, crossing her arms.
"It's the perfect way for a comeback. You'll see." Michelle insists, standing up as Tara waves them all into the kitchen for dinner.
Sayer speeds past like a bullet, more than ready for one of Susie's home cooked meals again.
"Miss Moreau," Terry smiles, realizing that there really was no other feasible solution in sight. "You are a very generous and gracious woman to do this all for us." He takes her hand, brushing gentlemanly with his lips.
"Oh, I'm not doing this only for you three." Her voice turns coquettish.
"I do expect for myself some gratitude of repayment." Her eyes dance in delight at Robin who blinks nervously at her flirtatious words. Michelle giggles, taking his arm and leading him into the kitchen. Terry looks over at Alex's suspiciously smirking face.
"I hope that's all she expecting." Determined that simple gratitude was all Michelle would be receiving "in payment" as she follows her flirty friend to the dinner table.
Terry smiles to himself, truly grateful for Michelle's generosity and friendship, now giving them the chance to start over again. His dream was now slowly coming into focus.
Now it's up to us to be a success. Terry thinks to himself as he joins the rest of the gang, for Susan's Italian stuffed shells dinner. But you are worth every bit of it, my lady. He smiles at her as she very womanly serves out the meal, leading them to say grace and return demure glances at him across the table as they eat.
A frantic week of song writing, coupled together with relearning and rehearsing their varied instruments and everything else involved with preparing a concert — and a good one at that — Terry, Sayer and Robin Starr are soon back into the swing of things, ready to relaunch the Three Lights into super stardom once again. (Well, at least they were hoping, Terry especially.)
Michelle's generous sponsoring allows for a flood of advertisement, not to mention the girls (Lita, Rei, Amy, Mina — really go-getter Mina!) lending a hand in that department as well, word of mouth as powerful as any television spot.
All this results in a more than curious crowd filling the open air stadium to the brim on this anxious night of their first concert in front of a live audience in over a year and a half — enough time to leave any teen idol rusty, but these three shining specimens of each of their planets were more than mere seasonal idols — they were Stars.
Backstage, clad in their trademark red, yellow and blue suits, Sayer, Terry, and Robin await the first curtain call for their moment back in the spotlight, under this bright July moonlight.
"Come in." Robin answers the three small taps on their dressing room door.
"Is it allowed for a girl to come in to the dressing room of three gorgeous men to wish them 'good luck'?" Michelle giggles flirtatiously as she opens the door, looking quite lovely in a tea length summer gown.
"Sure it is!" Sayer, full of anxious energy, jumps up from his reclined position, flirting right back, Michelle Moreau and dressing rooms going quite well together — as he remembers quite well…..
"If you can find the gorgeous men, that is." Alex, too, recollects the past incident with a smirk as she follows Michelle in, looking rather dashing herself in a no-nonsense sequined vested black and white suit. Susan comes quietly in beside her, donning a slinky black off the shoulder evening mini dress, the sight making Terry's eyes pop out in obvious approval.
"I've been told before we fit that bill." Sayer teases back smoothing his endlessly askew bangs a bit.
"You certainly do." Michelle shimmies up behind Robin, who was scrutinizing himself in the mirror.
"I think I'm going to be jealous of all those girls out there screaming for you tonight." She says coyly, leaning over his shoulder in the mirror.
Very jealous. Her mind reiterates in an even more sultry tone, ruffling poor Robin's already tensed one further.
"It is very crowded out there. Every seat is filled. Some are even standing." Susan says softly to Terry. "You were very popular with the young ladies, weren't you?" Susan feels pangs of jealousy herself that her Terry was going to be showcased in front of all those adoring women again.
"As long as I'm popular with you, my lady." Terry lifts her chin, erasing away all her thoughts of jealousy with a sweet farewell kiss, as a stage hand calls back that everything was ready.
"Always." Susan whispers as Terry regretfully leaves her lips, with a hand gently caressing her cheek.
"We'll be right up front so-" Michelle gives up her endless straightening of his silk shirt and smiles excitedly, pulling Robin into a quick peck on the cheek.
"Good luck!" She enthusiastically waves to all three of them as she leaves.
"I believe in you." Susan kisses the palm of Terry's hand still caressing her cheek, then leaves with Michelle who was holding the door open for her.
"Just don't make fools of yourselves." Alex was always ready with oodles of moral support as she looks at Sayer, affectionately tossing his now neat slicked curls back into their usual unkempt state — just the way she liked them.
"Gee, thanks for that overwhelming vote of confidence." Sayer twists his lip at her as she follows Susan and Michelle out the door.
"Anytime." She tosses back her hand on her way out, a smirk on her face as she shoves Michelle (who was blowing Robin a kiss) and Susan (whose eyes were sending messages of their own to Terry) out the dressing room door with a slam.
"Are you ready, you two?" Terry looks from Robin to Sayer as he reaches for the doorknob.
"You kidding?" Sayer says in his jaunty manner as Robin nods (with a final glance in the mirror and a smoothing of his refined silvery hair).
"A crowd full of adoring women? I'm there." Sayer strides past with a wink, Robin second as Terry closes the door behind all three of them, the first part of his plan about to take flight as the rock star group known as the Three Lights prepare to reclaim the stage.
A flash of bright lights. Omni-colored rays of blue, red and green streak across the pitch black stage with only the moon and the night stars as its background. Amidst the noisy crowd — of female onlookers mostly —,friends and old fans alike too could be found all screaming their favorite idols name, anxiously awaiting the return of the popular group.
Suddenly, a drum begins to rumble and loud music starts to blare, the melody, new to all, but it's rhythm energizes the audience as the spotlights beam down their colors on their respective figures, three silhouetted men standing on the darkened stage in a striking pose.
The greenish shadowed figure on the left begins to play a keyboard guitar, the tall one on the far right, bathed in blue light with an electric guitar, the crimson shadow in the center tightly gripping a silvery grey microphone.
Holding onto the suspense for an extra second, the lead singer signals for the lights to blast on, just in time for him to begin the new song they just freshly written for this special night:
"Even though I feel I'm being rejected"
"My heart inside keeps maturing"
The crowd roars deafeningly, electified to hear Sayer Starr's silky voice once again.
"As for hiding our hearts away from each other"
"Hey let's just quit that now right here!"
Sayer's eyes scan the crowd for the sequined vested woman seated in the front row he was aiming his new message at meaningfully. Meeting his eyes, Alex knew exactly whom he was directing this to and smirks, finding strange pleasure in his dazzling smile back.
"'I love you' if I say the words that I feel"
"My heart within me the time"
Terry's low voice takes the second verse filled with even more romance and feeling as his gaze lands upon the lady he was singing to, who blushes under his lowered eyes, knowing his serenade was for her and her alone.
"Dawn opens the door and you are my morning"
"Inviting the sea breeze in…"
Robin seemed uncharacteristically full of vibrance as he almost amorously points his thumb back towards himself. His eyes, his voice, his mind indeed invitingly offering something to Michelle who truly nearly swoons in the crowd, sighing audibly until Alex shoots her a raised eyebrow look, bringing her back to her senses (at least on the outside).
"See Me — My heart beats in time for you!"
Terry's gentle eyes sear right into Susan's no longer empty soul.
"Hear Me — Signals over the ocean!"
Robin's intense voice rings out the bond he and Michelle share.
"Touch Me — The strong fresh wind's new-found power…"
Sayer's extended hand seriously reaches straight out towards Alex as he sings to her with everything in him, his arms stretching up to the night sky.
"…Will Start to rise!"
He builds and builds his strong voice until his hand snatches into a fist, like he just caught lightning.
Leaving their positions, the Three Lights begin to dance as well as sing, the rhythmic movements of their gorgeous slim bodies making the girls in the audience scream all the more.
"I won't overlook this"
"I won't give this up now"
They sing in unison as they switch waving their hands in open denial.
"Until I reach this dream and you are mine!"
The three men sing right from their hearts to the three special ladies raptly watching them from the front row.
"So, I move close to where you are"
"Now it's our era together"
This was the title of their latest song, the perfect description of their new and exciting lives where they believe that they have found the other half of their lonely souls.
"I'm not saying yesterday"
"And not tomorrow"
"For this is the moment I have found!"
Such meaning in their words, they sing as they've never sung before, their voices the perfect blend.
"Yes!"
"This is the happiness that I have"
"Waited for all my life…"
They extend their hands towards the crowd, towards Susan, Michelle and Alex, the genuine honesty behind their words as heartfelt as they once sang for the love of a Princess, now they sing for the new loves of their lives, making beautiful music flow straight from their hearts.
The Three Lights strike a stunning ending pose as the music stops dramatically and the audience explodes in uproarious applause. The Three Lights were back, and everyone was convinced they were better than ever.
The exhilarating concert night rolls on, as the Three Lights continue through their most famous hits. (The near legendary "Search for Your Love" and the fast paced "My Friend's Love".) The latter gets a rise out of Alex as she listens to its once meaningful lines of the lead singer with interest. A palette of new songs come next, each filled with the new love they've found and the promise of what it will become echoing through the warm lyrics.
The fans welcome the three idols back into their hearts, the group destined on the track of fame and fortune once again. With the reception this crowd gives, any label or studio would gladly take the group into their fold. But it was the singing itself, the bright lights, the sound of the music blaring behind him and the joyous audience before him that made Sayer truly enjoy being a rock star. Where he had the chance to shout out every feeling within him and release every emotion without inhibition.
Terry and Robin felt the same in their own way. Terry never felt it before as strongly as he does now — now that he has someone like her to sing to, now that he had someone like her to live for.
As their last song of the evening, the one they had written for Serena's wedding begins to hum its low drums in the background, Terry is surprised to find a strong piano taking control of the first few instrumental bars. Then a violin that was not there before sweetly plays the tune with a certain flowing artistic quality and a timely rhythmic tambourine swishes calm and lowly in the background as the piano rumbles with a strength rising on the crisp night winds...
All Three Lights spin to find their backup pianist, violinist and a new tambourine player replaced by three very familiar faces.
"Couldn't let you have all the fun, could we?" Michelle says to a pleasantly surprised Robin's mind as her violin continues its high notes. Susan uncertainly plays her newly introduced tambourine, hoping she doesn't make any mistakes as Alex powerfully gives a final crescendo on the piano keys, leading them into the new Three Lights song.
"'It is you'"
Robin catches right on, beginning the melody, his soul secretly pleased to have Michelle here beside him as he removes his microphone from its stand, drifting over to her as he sings, his voice emboldened with their true love story.
"You said, then stopped speaking…"
"…You suddenly became so quiet…"
No longer alone, Robin finds Michelle and her violin positioned directly in front of him encouraging, as her floating to and fro on the stage entrances him, she a performer herself accustomed to the multitude of onlookers before her - and enjoying the thrill of zoning them out completely to focus only on him.
Without missing a beat, Sayer swoops in the second verse, leaning casually on the piano, making eyes at the attempting-to-act-professional-and-concentrate golden-haired pianist.
"The silence had frightened me"
"Because I couldn't always see your heart clearly"
"It made me want to cry."
"But your eyes never cry"
Sayer appends to the rehearsed lyrics a bit during the almost whispered ending bridge, causing Alex to finally look up. Her eyes sparkle at him knowing he added that for her, as her tingling fingers keep tinkling the piano keys to Sayer's mellow voice crooning to her eyes.
"Yes, that's the way I feel when I'm all alone"
Right on his cue, Terry's deep vocals intone even more beautifully than ever before, as enlightened eyes gaze over his new inspiration with the fitting verse he had composed in her honor.
"Watching the sands of time cascading"
"I'll turn them back around before it's too late!"
Seeing her nervous playing of the instrument in her hand, combined with a little bit of stage fright too, Terry decides to make her feel at home, putting his free arm around her. He continues to sing as he moves her wrist in slow, rounded motions, showing her how to play the tambourine. Susan loses herself in his eyes, his strong arms around her, a feeling of complete adoration sweeping through her as she lets him control her like butter in his hands, as he continues to sing his love song of their first meeting to her.
"Forever"
"My breath catches inside"
"Forever"
"I search for the right words to say"
"Before one second more goes by without"
"Eternity I can't feel unless we're together!"
Altogether as one, the Three Lights combine in chorus the hauntingly magnificent refrain of eternal love discovered.
"I know you and I were meant to be"
"Long, long ago in the past, where none can take away our light"
"Even if the stars turned to dust, we wouldn't fade!
"It makes me tremble, but it's that way when we're together"
"Inside the stream of stars was destiny"
"Our first meeting was meant to be!"
Sayer's emotive voice rings the perfect notes equaled only to Alex's precise command of the piano's chords as they parallel each other's strength, touched even on the musical stage.
Terry's gentle strains express this newfound hope building within his heart for the serene quiet woman who exists beyond time as her tambourine also shivers before his eyes.
Robin's high tones mingle with the sweet strains of Michelle's violin, harmony and melody becoming one, the combination quite aesthetically beautiful to the romantic ear.
"Forever"
"I've been searching for you"
"Forever"
"I wouldn't change anything"
"When in that first second it all revolved around"
"That one moment in eternity when I met you!"
"Forever"
"I'll keep closing my eyes"
"Forvever"
"I'll be inside of your kiss"
"When in that first second it all change around"
"That one moment in eternity when I met you!"
The stunning essence of the splendid song takes hold of all three couples as they perform and vocalize for each other the moving song these three boys from another star wrote together, their combined talents and mutual love making the concert's finish seem more like a beginning than an end.
The beginning of something spectacular in both the public and private lives of the Three Lights, as the crowd roars its assent and the concert draws to a successful triumphant close, re-igniting the trio's popularity anew.
By tomorrow morning, the Three Lights already have both a major record label and a big time movie studio's contract under their belts, with all the business hectic scheduling back in their youthful lives. A call from their new agent, Mr. Pym, early in the morn, with news of a spy flick to be shot in the snow capped mountains of Nagano, is the order of the day, and oh, yes! He saw the gossip columns and the reviews of last night's stunning concert, and no!, please do not bring those lovely young ladies with you.
"Terry, son, (these were Mr. Pym's exact words to Terry) to be proper idols you can't have permanent girlfriends hanging all over you all the time. Bad for your images. Flings here and there, yes, to show you are available and willing, but nothing too stable. Nothing as damning as last night's display. Especially you, son. I must say that Moreau woman was a nice touch, though, but maybe a bit too classy for your fans. What girl could possibly compete with the likes and talent of that? Keep Robin away from her, yes, I think that's best."
"Now Sayer, he's got the right idea. Just strut your stuff and the women fall all over ya." Mr. Pym obviously didn't think there was anything between the sexy lead singer and the golden haired pianist last night. "Believe me, it's for your own good in the end. So come on up today, hotel's already booked for you. The studio scrambled its best men, got an A-1 director and an outstanding backup cast for you. This movie'll put your group back in the box office heaven!" Pym talks up the not much more than a B movie spy flick with true Hollywood flair.
Knowing all of this was a show, Terry smiles to himself on the other end of the receiver, not caring for the fame or fortune, only really interested in a regular daily income of substance to get his goal on its feet. Still…..if only Susan, and Alex and Michelle of course, could come with us…..the filming is scheduled for at least a week. And we'll be there all that time…alone….
"….And come alone if you know what's good for you, son. I do." Mr. Pym hangs up seeming to read Terry's mind, leaving the young man in quite a quandary.
Packed within the hour, the boys are off to the mountains. With a quick stop at a house on the outskirts of town where once explained of their acting duties, Alex and Michelle nod approvingly, ready to send their two gallant (ahem) lads off to the loneliness of the peaks of Nagano.
But at the thought of separation, even if only for this short time, Susan feels about to cry.
"Susan darling, it will only be a few days, I promise." Terry sees the distraught expression on her lovely features, feeling the same way himself, but putting on a brave manly face for her.
"Yes, Terry, I understand. I'll be fine." Susan brightens up after the first shock, she herself trying to be brave for him, even if inside she felt like sinking down a hole.
"Don't worry about us," Michelle smiles sarcastically, insulted that her Robin didn't seem to care as much as his brother about leaving her behind.
"I'm sure we'll find…..suitable company….while you're off playing in the snow." She flickers her hand at him innocently, Robin knowing he was being snubbed, but at the moment not comprehending her choice of words.
"You sure, Ally?" Sayer follows Alex as she opens the door for them to leave. "We don't really have to listen to anything that stupid old agent of ours sa-" He starts.
"Oh no. I'm perfectly fine on my own. I don't need you hanging around all the time. Maybe I can finally get some peace." Alex grumbles, trying to conceal a smirk.
Taken aback by her rough words striking him hard, when he was only trying to be nice, Sayer twists his lip, calling back to his brothers.
"Come on, guys! Let's go somewhere where we're wanted!" Sayer walks past an amused Alex without so much as a by-your-leave.
Robin, still looking confused over Michelle's words earlier, follows after him, right after kissing Michelle (though she only offers a snooty cheek) goodbye.
Terry finds it harder to leave Susan behind, offering her a parting kiss, Terry feels a sadness on her lips as they whisper a sweet farewell.
Alex, finally just grabs Terry's arm and drags him to the waiting car. Sayer, miffed in the passenger seat, not even exchanges a final look with her, and pretends to be engrossed with studying a map in his hands.
"It's upside down." Alex smirks at his foolishness, sticking her hand in the window and flipping it right side up, the paper smacking Sayer on the chin as a result.
"I knew that." Sayer's cheeks flush red as he answers back sulkily, "Just checking to see if…if…" He couldn't think of a good enough excuse.
"Just drive, Ter." He slaps his brother in the back, and Terry slowly pulls out of the driveway, his eyes fixed upon Susan as far as he could still see her, as he drives down the road, her sad eyes haunting him miles away.
"Soooo, I told the waiter that it's called 'ketchup' and not 'catsup'. What are we, dogs?" Sayer laughs aloud at his own lame jokes, Robin rolls his eyes in the backseat, pulling his headphones over his ears harder, wishing he couldn't hear Sayer's annoying voice through them.
It's only been the first hour and there's three hours left on this trip! AHHHHH! Robin thought he was going to go out of his mind with Sayer's especially cheery babble. It's because he had an argument with Alex before he left. I know it. But…when don't they argue? Who wouldn't argue with her? Robin smirks to himself about the mismatched couple, when his own final passing words with Michelle hit him for the thousandth time this trip so far.
What exactly did she mean by "…we'll find suitable company…?" Who's the 'suitable company' anyway? She couldn't be talking about seeing other men could she? Why would she do that? I'll only be gone maybe a week. What's the big deal? I wonder what she REALLY meant….Robin's suspicious mind tortures himself, especially finding his link with the psychic girl in question quite blocked off as of right now. I wonder why….? Robin's suspicions had been eating at him the whole trip.
"Why are you so quiet, Ter?" Sayer turns his attentions to his silent-the-whole-trip-on-this-boring-old-road-brother, knowing there must be something wrong. "Want me to pop a CD in maybe?" Sayer digs through the CDs in the drawer of the car, looking for something good to play (and finds only Michelle's violin concertos and ugly old composer guys to choose from). Oh well. "You want this long haired dude, Beet—ho-v-EEEEENNNN!"
CDs go flying through the air as Terry suddenly makes a 360 degree turnaround on the open country road.
"What are you doing!" Robin screeches from the back seat floor, his walkman slid somewhere under the seat (Along with "Beethoven" who would've pulled out all of his messy hair if he had heard the way Sayer began to pronounce his name) just before a seatbelt-less Robin about hit the car ceiling with his yell.
"I'm going back." Terry says, suddenly breaking his silence. "I don't care what our agent says, I'm going back to get Susan." He reproaches himself determinedly, this languid conservation driver, now turning into a reckless hot-rodder on the way back.
"Geez, Ter, couldn't you tell a guy when you're going to do that!" Sayer complains, CDs, maps, magazines, not to mention his almost (now for sure) empty soda can all over the car.
"I am sorry, Sayer, Robin, but I have to." Terry explains and can't help himself from smiling at the sticky mess all over Sayer in the front seat. "You really should wear your seat belt." Terry teases, now after his decision to fetch Susan, leaves him in a better frame of mind, he the only one in the vehicle with his own seat belt firmly in place.
"Yeah, right." Sayer mumbles, wiping himself up (leaving the seat though, quite sticky from the cola), but a mental image of seeing Alex again brightens his mood too.
"Ally-and 'Shell, will come too, don't you think? Tell Susie to make them come…but…..don't tell them I said so, okay?" Sayer was a little too stubborn sometimes (a bad trait when Alex was your targeted partner — she invented the word "stubborn") to apologize straight out (even if he was sorry they had fought before they left). But still, it wasn't my fault…..
"All right. I'll tell her." Terry laughs as Robin's cassette makes a horrible crackling sound from its speakers.
"Broken." Robin chucks it down to the seat, the bouncing around the car too much for the poor little thing (the walkman, not Rob).
"I am sorry, Robin, I'll-" Terry says into his rear view mirror at his scowling brother.
"Never mind! I wasn't listening to it anyway." Robin slumps grumpily in his seat. Now at least I'll have a chance to ask Michelle just what she meant…..and what she's hiding…..He crosses his suspicious arms like a jealous lover.
But the chance would never come. A jubilant-upon-their-return-an-hour-later Susan was the only one still present at the house.
"Where'd they go so fast?" Robin's anxieties were now peaked as Susan races inside to ask Mrs. Hart if Tara could stay over with them for a few days more, to which Tara was very pleased!
"I don't know. They just said they'd be gone for awhile, so 'don't wait up.' That was their exact words." Susan explains innocently, too happy that Terry had returned for her to really care.
"Who cares?" Sayer was back to being miffed again. "They can just take care of themselves without us!" He could still feel the sting of Alex's words. "Come on, Susie! We'll have loads of fun without them!" Sayer grabs Susan's arm, dragging her with him jauntily to the car. "Watch out, seat's sticky!" He decides not to think one little bit about a certain golden-haired person who doesn't need me 'hanging' around anyway, as these four now load up and start the long trip again. Along the way, Sayer's mind can't help but keep returning to his and Alex's last harsh words together.
Just arriving on the beautiful slopes of Nagano's breathtaking mountains, Sayer, Robin, Terry and Susan go straight to the hotel Mr. Pym had booked for them. (Well for the THREE of them anyway-arrangements for Susan "Secret Stowaway", posing a problem at first, the boys deciding that the studio people crawling all over the hotel's front desk would recognize her as the girl from last night, and pass it along to Pym no doubt. So, Sayer quickly comes up with the perfect solution.)
"Let Susie bunk with us!" He smiles a little wickedly at Terry, who swallows hard.
"Yes, that would be wonderful." Susan bats her eyelashes at her stricken nervous man, a romantic ski lodge for them the perfect place for them.
Susan puts her hand on his chest.
"Really," Terry clears his throat, "I don't think these people would recognize you, Susan. Even though, you were very, extremely…memorable." Terry feels her teasing fingers as the four of them hide around the corner.
"So.." he clears his throat again, taking her hand in his and placing a large wad of cash in it instead, "maybe you should go book yourself a room on your own and buy yourself some warm winter clothes in that boutique over there." Gentlemanly Terry would normally do so for her, but not wanting to risk being spotted (and needing a bit of fresh air) Terry knew Pym gave strict orders to all involved that the three of them were not to be bothered "by anyone."
"All right." Susan smiles, her other hand reaching up and touching Terry's cheek, to which he takes in his own and kisses sweetly.
"We'll see you later, then? After we meet with the director and cast?" He kisses her hand in its palm again.
"I'll be waiting.." Susan whispers, giggling as Terry kisses her hand near her wrist once more before he could pull himself away.
A smirking at the scene Sayer and an eye rolling Robin, follow behind him.
After a meeting with the demanding director and crew, who were already angered at their unexplained delay, Terry, Sayer and Robin return to their rooms to change for their first shoot, scheduled in thirty minutes.
Opening the door of his bedroom, Terry is shocked to find Susan there, folding (and refolding) his clothes into the drawers of his dresser.
"Susan! How…?" Terry's about to ask, knowing that his key (the already forewarned desk clerk assured him) was the only one that could open their suite of rooms.
"I did as you said. I do have my own room." Susan smiles slyly. "It just happens to be the one attached to yours. See?" She demonstrates, "Connecting doors." She slides closed the bolts, supposedly securely locked from the inside (I do wonder how she opened them…Hidden Sailor Soldier power?…) with flirtatious ease.
"Yes, Susan but-" Terry starts, not very certain just how long those locks could be kept closed, when Sayer comes in the door (without knocking of course) in a pair of light blue long johns.
"Oh, hi, Susie. You here already? I didn't hear you come in." Wink. He shrugs it off, growing accustomed to finding Susan alone with Terry, quite an ordinary occurrence.
"Do we have to wear these silly things, Ter? I feel stupid." Sayer whines at the indeed funny looking outfit (though not embarrassed to display himself in front of Susan at all-after all she had displayed herself before….) Sayer smiles at the vivid recollection.
"It's for warmth in this cold weather, Sayer. No one will see them but us." Terry was a little ruffled for Sayer to be so casual with his 'lady.' Ah well. Sayer is Sayer. Terry smiles at his younger brother.
"I sure hope not." He was still in a whiney mood, Alex still preying on his mind. "You two hurry up. Only got a half hour you know." He winks at them as he leaves, luckily grabbing hold of the loosened flap in the back before it slips down. "Ooops," They could hear him saying as he rushes out the door.
"I like your brother." Susan and Terry laugh as she continues to fold his clothes.
"Yes, he is quite a character." Terry laughs, seeing his tight fitting blue bodysuit lying out on the bed. "Um, Susan, my love. I do have to get changed for the shoot." Terry opens the door connecting their rooms.
"Oh," Susan smiles going to the bed and picks up the blue bodysuit.
"Yes, thank you, my lady." Terry takes the blue outfit from her hands, gently maneuvering Susan into her bedroom side of the door.
"I'll see you later." He kisses her disappointed forehead, pressing two of his fingers to her protesting lips, closing the door behind him…..but not locking it.
Hitting the icy ski slopes was the first order of the day. (Much to Sayer's hidden distress; he wanted to practice a bit before having to perform in front of all the cameramen and crew, skiing by no means being his forte-the last time he tried, he turned into a human avalanche.)
But Robin was adequate enough on skiis and Terry excelled, as he always does in everything, so Sayer kept his ashamed mouth shut.
Watching bit part cast members speed past like pros, Sayer bites his lip, knowing his part in this latest addition to the Super Commander series was coming up, following close behind was Terry, with Robin in the rear.
Although they were in their trademark bright colors, Super Commander Terry was the star in blue, and Robin the one in yellow.
Sayer, as always, in red, starts out slowly enough, doing well, he thought, (though not with any usual flair, staying perpendicular on his ski poles was damn good enough) until the action sequence begins.
Super Blue, the hero, takes off down the center ski slope after the main villain, who just zooms by in front of them, chasing a pure hearted woman. Well, in reality, a stunt double of the real actress whom he, the villain, believes has one of three sacred jewels he has been seeking out. Stunt doubles of the two mysterious figures give pursuit to the poor helpless woman as well, appear suddenly from the left and the right, to whom Super Red and Super Yellow are to stop their-as-yet-unknown intentions.
Giving chase was fine with Sayer, as he follows the skier to the left, his speed increasing in the downhill run, though the cold wind seemed to be particularly in league the expert stunt double in front of him.
Not wanting to be overshadowed by this mere bit player, who suddenly veers off the track disappearing into the wooded area, Sayer's egotistical bravado kicks in as he tries to avoid the sea of trees suddenly popping up before him with zest. Gaining on his targeted adversary, when in a moment of inattention on the skiing, reminds him of somebody…..
And in that moment of inattention, Sayer suddenly winds up a huge snowball, crashing down the mountain, building and building until he rolls right over the skier he was chasing, swallowing him up as well in the avalanche of ice and snow.
Smashing to a halt at the bottom of the steep hill, Sayer is glad that no one (especially not all those movie people!) were present to see his little "mishap." His only concern now was the well being of the poor stuntman, who got in the way of his unfortunate descent.
"Hey! Are you all right, buddy?" Sayer starts to ask of the man pinned beneath him under a blanket of snow, when the man pulls his ski mask off, and Sayer goes into shock, seeing that the stunt double was not a man at all….
"There's nobody safe around you, is there?" The masked skiing stunt double turns out to be Sayer's own multi-talented Alex Sokova.
"Ally? What are you -?!" He asks the beautiful woman once again stationed beneath him, amazed at himself that he didn't recognize her earlier. (Yes I did! Well, sort of…)
"There was a call for stunt doubles who could ski well, and I am very good at it, so…Michelle and I decided to just pop in for a bit of fun. Nothing to do with you at all." Alex's teasing voice and laughing eyes give her bogus story away.
"Yeah, right. You just couldn't live without me, admit it." Sayer looks down at her wryly, liking having Alex pinned beneath him, helpless - he thinks - until Alex suddenly grabs his arm, and slaps him down into the ground hard, making him look like he was an angel in the snow. Laughing at how cute he looked, all spread out, with a dazed expression on his handsome face (You're more a devil than an angel any day…) Alex takes pity on him and leans down, lifting him up.
"All right. I'll admit it." She smiles, kissing his trembling lips and tasting the melting ice splattered on his face when he fell.
"I missed you already, Ally." Sayer's voice warms the cold air, as Alex brushes the snow from them both, digging out their tangled skis and poles.
"Here." She hands him his poles, shaking her head at his foolishness (but enjoying every moment of it).
"Just indulge my curiosity, why are you in a movie where skiing is the main focus and you can't ski a lick?" Alex asks, smirking.
"I can too ski!" Sayer defends himself like a child, turning red as ski poles and skiis entangle about his clumsy form.
"Welllll…I can ski a little." He pouts.
"Well, I guess I never skied before in my life." Sayer now looks down, crimson faced to equal his superhero get-up embarrassed.
"So, wouldn't you like to ask a very experienced individual if she can teach you how to properly?" Alex fishes, smiling down at him.
"There's a lot of things I'd like to ask this individual to teach me to do…." Sayer looks up flirtatiously, brushing the new fallen snow from her golden bangs.
"We'll just start with skiing, okay, Starr." Alex catches his drift. Then she wraps her arms around his back, showing him how to correctly hold his ski poles, giving out instructions Sayer no longer hears, Alex's hot breath so close to his ear.
"There you two are!" Michelle's worried voice rings over the hill as she and Robin come speeding down on their skis towards them. (Robin must've discovered his "stunt double's" true identity already.)
Alex pulls away, guiltily.
"We saw an avalanche and knew somehow you two must be involved." Robin quips when they reach him, he giving Sayer and Alex's tensed reddened states a knowing smirk, receiving an icy sliver down his smug neck as reward.
"Ahh! Cold, Sayer!" Robin squeals and hops around trying to remove the ice shard his naughty brother slipped down his thought to be well insulated jacket, Michelle coming to her cute silver seal's aid by snaking her long fingers artistically down his back until her warm wandering digits (or his rising temperature due to their pervasiveness) melts the ice sliver.
"Now that was worth the trip. Good one, Starr." Alex chuckles at Robin's trials rather wickedly.
"At your service, Sokova." Sayer, all pro again, lowers the ski goggles over his eyes before braving the slopes yet again, his confidence surging as he takes up the challenge in her green eyes taunting him back, zipping down the white capped mount.
As the day's shoot was over, our five skied out film stars return to the hotel they were all staying at (Michelle and Alex under alias names for cover. There rooms just happen to be, by total coincidence, on the same floor and quite close to the Three Lights' and Susan's suites.) congregate in the Three Lights' living room after their long day, dressed snugly in wintery gear, the girls looking very well in their guys' appreciative eyes in the tight cozy knit sweaters and form fitting slacks. (Susan chose an especially tight purple variety of both sweater and pants.)
"This is gonna be fun. All of here in the mountains together for a whole week!" Sayer tries to wrap his turtlenecked self around Alex, who expertly slides away, poking at the burning embers of the lit fireplace rather than stoke his.
"Just remember, when we're on the set, you boys don't know us. Only in passing, and our names are 'Nerissa Waters' and 'Corrinn Winds'." Michelle plays with the cute tie around Robin's dressy purplish shirt.
"All right, Cory." Sayer can't help but tease Alex who buries her head in her hands at his nonsensical nicknames for her.
"There is something…nice…about the mountains." Terry gazes out the window at the scenic snow capped peaks.
"Yes, there is. Very romantic." Susan says the word Terry had meant to say, going to him, quick as the wind and wrapping herself around his back. Terry kisses her dark hair.
"Let's go get something to eat." Alex stands up, taking charge as usual, having more than enough of her share of this mushy "mountain atmosphere."
"We can't all be seen together or we'll be caught!" Michelle was completely having fun with this little incognito cat and mouse game. Robin could see it in her mischievous eyes.
"Not the hotel, we'll find someplace in the village." Alex says, putting on her coat.
"All right! Let's go!" Sayer grabs up his long red trench coat, ready for adventure (especially with Alex).
Indeed they do find places to haunt on their time off when they can travel incognito, enjoying the sites and simple offerings of the quiet mountain village life, enjoying it fully now, because they were together. Though the romantic setting (not to mention adjoining rooms) was very tempting, Terry keeps himself and Susan just enough apart. Though every spare moment off the job he was with her, shopping and teaching her to ski and spending a lot of happy times in a little coffee shoppe they had located just outside of the village.
Michelle and Robin met them there often as well, while Sayer and Alex spent most of their time out on the slopes, disappearing to who knows where late into the night.
Though their attentions were not entirely on filming, the Three Lights (by even this director's high standards) turn out an A+ movie by the week's end. All the parts in the mountains finished to a "t", the boys prove to themselves that their being actors and stars was not diminished (as their agent insisted it would be) by their serious relationships with these women. In fact, the director had commented upon seeing their final shot that the Three Lights' ability to shine and shine brightly was enhanced by whatever focus was now in their hearts.
A few finishing touches and the movie would soon be released for the public to adore the Three Lights a thousand fold more. Upon arriving back, the musicians would find themselves soon to be swamped with TV shows, cameo shots in a new big budget movie, a musical written especially for them, scheduled for the winter season, interviews and commercials galore. All to which Terry now feels the stability of their careers coming into focus. So now his dream, his goal could soon come into fruition too.
As soon as they arrive home, Michelle rushes to the phone (leaving the work of unloading the car to Alex and Susan of course) that seemed to have been ringing off the hook for nearly a week, her answering machine chock full of messages.
Just finishing the unpacking, Alex comes into the living room to find Michelle in a distressed mindset, her eyes on the verge of overflowing with tears.
"Michelle, what it is?" Alex flies to her beloved, taking her trembling shoulders in firm hands.
"Oh, Amara! This is terrible! What am I going to do?" The tears begin to come down.
"What? What's happened!" Alex quickly scans the room for any sign of danger that could put Michelle in so devastating a state.
"My mother's called from Paris." Michelle's simple reply between tears takes Alex by surprise.
"Well, what's wrong there? Are your parents all right?" Alex asks, concerned for her foreign aunt and uncle.
"No, they're fine….it's….they've checked the bank records and saw the million or so I've just spent. They want to see me now." Michelle dabs her eyes.
"Can't blame them for that. Just explain to them that you were helping to promote the concert for-" Alex shrugs it off, Michelle's parents never complained before about the lavish expenses she often wasted their money on.
"That's just it! You don't know them that well! It's not about the money! That's not why they want to see me! I know it! They're only saying that to get me there. That's not the real reason at all!" Michelle twirls at her aqua curls nervously.
"Then why?" Alex asks, confused by all this parental trouble.
"I think they know. They must've sent investigators to find out like they always did whenever I had somebody…. " Michelle trails off, but Alex knew her family plight enough to finish the sentence in her mind already.
"They've found out about Robin." Michelle plunks down on the couch, dejected and frazzled.
"So….?" Alex can't help but smirk at the mention of the shrimp's name in this trouble. "What's the big deal?" She tries to brush it off
"Big deal!" Michelle says in a high pitched squeak. "My mother told me to bring my 'new friend'. Do you know what that means! They want to size him up! To see if he's suitable enough for me. They're very selective of class and breeding. And if they don't like him…You know what happens next! Oh, Amara! What will I do!" Michelle jumps up to Alex's strong embrace, Alex holds her lifelong companion tenderly, although the situation posed as quite amusing to Alex herself (Robin not being one of her most favorite people in the world).
"Calm down, Michelle. Everything will be fine. Just take the shrimp with you and hope for the best. That's all you can do." Alex strokes Michelle's teal waves, seeing her beloved cousin's subservience to her parents once again, knowing how when she was younger, they had broken up multiple 'unsuitable' relationships between Michelle and other men before. Their only child was the golden treasure of the esteemed Moreau family name, and she was not to be given away so easily to those less than worthy. And though Alex was grateful for their interference before she took over the task of protecting Michelle from the wolves of this world (or any other world as well, but that's another story), Alex herself could never submit to having such power held over her.
If there is something, or someone I wanted badly enough. I know my own mind. No one could tell me what I can and cannot do. But Michelle is different. She always has been. Michelle needs her family. They've made her who she is - so they really can't be all that bad, though her mother and I have had our moments…. Alex smiles to herself.
Well…maybe they can finally get rid of the shrimp for me. Her thoughts joke with themselves, a reflection of the uncertainty still in her own soul about Michelle and Robin Starr's pairing-not to mention that of a starry-eyed partner of her own.
"Please come with me, Amara. I need your strength." Michelle buries her eyes on Alex's white shirt.
"All right, Michelle. I guess the rest of our happy troupe will be tagging along as well?" Alex smiles, knowing where one Light went, the other two were not far behind. She tried to cheer her depressed friend up with a quip.
"We'll make it a fun vacation, all right? You've never been to France before. Have you, Susan?"Alex asks the dark haired woman who just brought in a tray of green tea for them like a silent servant.
"Where are we going?" Susan asks in pleasant surprise, gathering from the bits and pieces of conversation that there was international travel involved.
"Paris." Michelle answers, with a hopeful, wispy look on her face, recalling with fondness the romantic city of her childhood memories.
"And I thought we just finished unpacking." Alex sighs with a smile, glad to see Michelle brightening up, even if it was just a little. And Michelle giggles, trying to push away her fears.
Maybe everything will be all right. She closes her eyes, feeling the warmth of Robin's presence within her, even at this moment.
It just has to be.