SAILOR MOON:1987
PLEASE INSERT SOME LEGALESE ABOUT HOW NAOKO TAKEUCHI CREATED SAILOR MOON, BUT I DID CREATE WHAT I DID, AND THAT THIS IS A TRIBUTE TO HER WORK.
EPISODE 18: SEVEN GREAT BEASTS #5: TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE
JANUARY 11, 1987
A HOUSE NEAR FULLERTON COLLEGE, FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA 8:00 AM
John McCoy was nervous when he approached the front door of the small house where he was invited that morning. The day before, he had been performing at Orangefair Plaza with his band, Rainy Day Man. After their last set, he was approached by two women, who, despite their differing hairstyles and dress, were obviously identical twins. "We represent Yumemi Yumeno," one of the twins said, to which her sister added "We want to invite you to have her paint a portrait of you."
"Me?" John asked.
"She saw you playing today," one twin said, her sister adding "She admires the passion you put into your music."
John did have to admit that he did put his passion into his music. If you were to ask him, the one time he ever really felt alive was when he was playing the guitar. That was the reason he taught guitar, he wanted to share his love of music with others. It was that passion he poured out of what others would consider nothing more than a piece of wood, but he considered a living, breathing extension of his soul.
"Wonder why she wants me here so early," John said to himself as he approached the front door. "Than again, Yumemi Yumeno is a painter, not a photographer. If she were a photographer, the only reason I could see her wanting me this early would be because the light this time of day is what she wants. Of course, she could take a photograph to base her painting on. But even then, it still would take a while to do an actual painting. I still can't wrap my head around it, Yumemi Yumeno wants to do a painting of me. I'm actually going to meet her. More importantly, I'm actually going to see her."
He went up to the front door, carrying his Les Paul in its case, as well as his portable practice amp, and rang the doorbell. The twins from the day before answered the door, standing side by side, like they were the day before, John even noted they were standing on the same side as they were the day before. The twins both had chestnut brown hair and brown eyes, and both wore glasses with large round metal frames, the twin on their left wore her hair in a French braid, was wearing an off-white sweater with an off the shoulders neckline, red skirt hemmed halfway between knees and ankles, and black leather flip-flops. Her sister had her hair cut to just above shoulder length, in a style similar to the style Ami Andersen wore, and wore a white peasant blouse worn off the shoulders, blue skirt hemmed to the same length as her sister's, and black leather sandals. The twins wore no makeup, save for the fact both twins had French manicures, and the fuchsia polish on their toenails. "Good morning," the twin on their left said. "My name is Julie Brewster."
"I'm her twin sister, Traci," her sister added. "Thank you for coming so early."
"I wondered why you wanted me here so early," John said, "but I realized it takes a little longer to paint a picture than to take a photograph."
"This will probably take all day," Traci said.
"I figured that much," John said.
"We're having pancakes and sausage for breakfast," Traci said. "You're welcome to join us," her sister said.
"Thanks," John said, as he came in, and set his guitar case down on the floor. "I hope it's not much of a problem that I didn't bring my girlfriend's cat."
"That's okay," Julie said. "You can't expect a cat to sit still for the entire time. Than again, she may sleep the whole time."
"I'll be right back," John said, running out to his car, and grabbing his microphone and microphone stand, which he set up in the living room. The stand was the boom type, with a strip of gaffer's tape on the boom, on which was stuck several guitar picks.
"You want some bacon bits in your pancakes?" Traci asked, as the twins went into the kitchen. As they walked, John noticed a couple things unusual about them. For starters, the twin with the longer hair worn in a French braid was always on their left. Second, they seemed to always perfectly synchronize their movement, as if they've been practicing their whole lives.
"Sounds good," John said.
"What would you like to drink?" Julie asked. "We have milk, pineapple juice, or soda if you're so inclined this early, and we just put a pot of coffee on."
"I usually like milk with pancakes," John said.
"Ovaltine?" Traci asked.
"Of course,": John said. "I love chocolate milk with pancakes."
The twins gave John a plate of pancakes and sausage, as he put some Ovaltine in his milk, and stirred it. He buttered his pancakes, and poured some syrup over them. "These are pretty good," he said, taking a bite.
"Thank you," Julie said.
"There's more batter if you want more," Traci said.
"So when is Yumemi Yumeno going to get here?" John asked, as he finished his breakfast.
"She's already here," Traci said, to which Julie added "You're looking at her."
"I was going to ask which one of you is her," John said, "But I'd be willing to guess you're both her."
"Correct," Julie said.
"All we ask is that you don't tell anyone our little secret," Traci said.
"Not that we don't want anyone to know she's not some gorgeous knockout or something," Julie said.
"To be honest," John said, "You're both cute. And the glasses kind of make you look cuter, give you sort of a "sexy librarian" vibe, or something. But you're right, I'd guess the fact nobody knows what you look like isn't because you're ashamed of your looks, or something like that."
"We like the mystique," Julie said, to which Traci added "As well as the anonymity."
"I bet," John said.
"We can walk around in public and not get mobbed by fans," Julie said.
"Not that people don't stare at us when we're in public as it is," Traci added.
"Oh that," John said. "I did kind of notice the two of you moved as if you were..."
"Siamese twins?" Julie and Traci said, getting up and lifting up the sides of their tops, to show the band of flesh that joined their bodies, from the bottom of the ribcage to the waist. "Go ahead and touch it, if you want," Traci said, to which Julie added "And we're sure you have some questions for us."
"I have about a trillion questions for you," John said, getting up, and touching the band of flesh that joined Julie and Traci. "For starters, can you both feel it when I touch you there?"
"There's a strip in the middle," Julie said, to which Traci added "Aside from that, each of us can only feel on our side."
"Is there a place I can change?" John asked.
"The bathroom," Traci said. "First door on the right," Julie added.
John took his backpack into the bathroom, and came out changed into his stage outfit, a sleeveless black T-shirt slim fit blue jeans, and black high top Converse Chuck Taylor high tops. He got his guitar out of its case, and strapped it on. "Any particular pose you want me to do?" John asked.
"We thought we'd have you do a few different poses," Traci said, grabbing a Polaroid camera.
"We'll take some pictures, to see which works best," Julie added.
"Hope you don't mind if I plug in my amp," John said. "I'd be more comfortable if I could hear myself playing."
"Whatever works for you," Julie said.
John stood with his feet shoulder width apart, right foot half a step back, leaning slightly back, and played the opening chord of "King of the Night Time World". As he sustained the note, Traci took a picture of him with the Polaroid. "Good," Julie said. "Now try something else."
"How's this," John said, moving his right arm in a windmill motion as he played. Traci got a picture of him looking down, with his right hand in the air.
"Another good pose," Traci said.
"How about this?" John asked, getting down on his knees, and leaning back as he played.
"I don't really like that one," Julie said.
"Me neither," John said. "Besides, I don't think I can hold it that long, especially on the hard floor. I usually wear kneepads when I play, but I forgot them today."
"Let's try one or two more poses," Traci said, as John got up.
"How's this one?" John asked, standing feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, right foot half a step back, the body of his guitar between his legs, the neck and headstock pointing toward Traci, who took a picture.
"I like that one," Traci said.
"How about just one more?" Julie asked.
"Okay," John said, going to the mic stand, and grabbing the mic with his right hand, his left hand wrapped around the neck of his guitar. "Yeah!" he yelled into the mic, as Traci snapped a picture.
"I think this is the one we're going with," Julie said, when she saw the Polaroid of the last one.
"I agree," Traci said. "This picture truly captures the true spirit of rock and roll."
"You decided which pose you're going to use?" John asked.
"The last one," Traci said. "You mind getting in that pose again, I want to get a close-up of your face."
"Sure," John said, striking the last pose, screaming into the mic, as Julie took another Polaroid, this one a close-up of his face.
"You can relax now," Julie said. "We'll be mostly working off the Polaroids, but we still need you to stick around for a while, in case we need you to pose some more."
"We realize you're not a professional artist's model," Traci said. "We don't expect you to hold a pose all day."
"But we may need you to hit the pose again," Julie said. "That's why we want you to stick around all day."
"Not a problem," John said.
"There's sodas in the fridge if you get thirsty," Julie said.
"Mind if I ask you a few personal questions?" John asked, as Traci began sketching on the canvas.
"Our parents felt that if we were meant to be separate," Julie said, "we wouldn't have been born as Siamese twins,"
"Since all we share is skin and muscle," Traci added, "We probably could be separated, despite the fact we'll be 30 in about a year and a half."
"But we won't get separated," Julie said. "It's not worth the risk."
"Pardon the pun," Traci said, "but Julie and I have become quite attached to one another."
"How did you know I was going to ask why you two were never separated?" John asked.
"Both of us would ask you the same thing if you were in our shoes,"; Julie said.
"What's it like being Siamese twins?" John asked.
"We're not that much different than most women our age," Julie said, to which Traci added "Except for the whole being physically joined to one another part."
While Julie and Traci painted, they and John talked, and when lunchtime came around, they were pretty well along with the painting. "What do you say we take a little break," Traci said.
"Fine with me," John said.
"There's a burger place on the next block," Julie said, Traci adding "We can walk there."
They went to the burger place, one of those little mom & pop places John liked. Julie got a cheeseburger while Traci got a chicken fried steak sandwich, and they shared an order of fries and an order of onion rings, and they both got Pepsi. John got a bacon cheeseburger, onion rings, and a Dr Pepper.
On the way back to Julie and Traci's house, the three of them encountered Zoicite. "Looks like I'm getting a bargain today," Zoicite said, looking at his black crystal. "Two victims for the price of one."
"The shit just hit the fan," John barked into his communicator.
"What's going on here?" Julie asked.
"What does he mean by victims?" Traci asked.
"You ever hear of the Seven Great Beasts?" John asked, tossing a small pellet to the ground, surrounding himself in smoke. When the smoke cleared, where John McCoy stood was Golden Hawk. "I was one of them, and by the looks of things, you two are another one."
Zoicite pointed the black crystal at Julie and Traci, and it fired a beam of energy at the twins. A hole opened in the band of flesh that joined them, drawing out the Indigo Rainbow Crystal. Before Zoicite could react, Golden Hawk ran and grabbed it, as Julie and Traci were transformed into a 2-headed demon. "Now, my pet," Zoicite said, "kill him."
"Why is it every time we meet, I find at least one more reason to want to dropkick your head over the horizon?" Golden Hawk asked.
"You and your friends are standing in the way of Metalia," Zoicite said. "The rightful ruler of Earth."
"That's kind of what we do," Sailor Moon said, as she arrived. "I am the Pretty Soldier of Love and Justice. I am Sailor Moon, and in the name of the Moon, I will punish you!"
"And I'm the Heavy Metal Suburban Vigilante for the 1980s," Golden Hawk said. "I am Golden Hawk, and in the name of all that is awesome and wicked cool, I'll kick your ass."
"No long-winded introductory speech?" Zoicite asked.
"I'm not in the mood today," Golden Hawk said. He unsheathed his tonfas, and used them to channel energy from his hands, firing beams of energy at the demon. "Sailor Moon, any time."
"Right," Sailor Moon said, getting her Moon Stick. "Moon Healing, Escalation!" she said, firing a beam of white energy at the demon, changing it back to Julie and Traci Brewster.
"Take them back home," Golden Hawk said, lunging at Zoicite. "I'll be there in a minute, I have some unfinished business with Zoicite."
"Which will have to wait for another day," Zoicite said, as he disappeared.
"Damn!" Golden Hawk said. "He got away again. One of these days, though."
"Who was that?" Julie asked, as Sailor Moon and Golden Hawk helped her and Traci up.
"His name is Zoicite," Sailor Moon said. "One of the Lords of Hell."
"He's searching for the Rainbow Crystals," Golden Hawk said. "He wants to use them to call forth a being called Metalia, so she can take over the universe."
"My friends and I are trying to stop her," Sailor Moon said. "We're trying to find the Rainbow Crystals ourselves, in order to stop her. Unfortunately, Zoicite has one of the Rainbow Crystals."
"That's what he thinks," Golden Hawk said, holding up both the Green and Indigo Rainbow Crystals. "The indigo one was taken from you two, while I managed to swipe the green one from Zoicite. One of these days, I'm going to kill him, unless he kills me first."
"Golden Hawk has some issues with Zoicite," Sailor Moon said.
"We figured that out," Julie and Traci said in unison.
A few minutes later, Sailor Moon, Golden Hawk, Julie, and Traci returned to Julie and Traci's house. Why don't the two of you come in?" Julie asked.
"Stick around for a while," Traci added.
"Zoicite may come back," Golden Hawk said.
"We'll be ready if he does," Sailor Moon said.
"Definitely," Golden Hawk said.
Once they went into the house, Sailor Moon and Golden Hawk transformed back into Usagi Tsukino and John McCoy, respectively. The first thing Usagi noticed when she entered was the walls were covered by prints of all of Yumemi Yumeno's works. "I'm Julie Brewster," Julie said. "And I'm her twin sister, Traci," Traci added.
"Nice to meet you two," Usagi said. "I'm Usagi Tsukino."
"Or can we call you Sailor Moon?" Traci asked.
"Your secret's safe with us," Julie added. "We just ask you keep our secret."
"What secret is that?" Usagi asked.
"This," Julie said, showing Usagi the nearly finished painting she and Traci did of John. "No doubt you've heard of Yumemi Yumeno."
"Who hasn't?" Usagi asked.
"Yumemi Yumeno is a pseudonym my sister and I use," Traci said.
"How come you don't want anyone to know you two create such wonderful artwork?" Usagi asked.
"We like the anonymity," Julie said, "as well as the mystique around the fact nobody knows what Yumemi Yumeno looks like."
"Besides," Traci added, "It's not like people don't stare at us as it is."
"Stare at you?" Usagi asked.
"A small price for the two of us to pay," Traci said.
"For choosing to go through life as two, yet as one," Julie said, as she and Traci lifted the sides of their tops, showing the band of flesh that joined the two of them to one another.
Later that afternoon, John invited Usagi over for dinner. His mom was making chili, and Usagi liked Caryn's chili. John brought in a package, wrapped in brown paper. "What do you have there?" Joseph McCoy asked, as they came into the house.
"Remember last night, I told you I would be posing for Yumemi Yumeno today?" John asked.
"Yes," Caryn Frehley-McCoy said.
"Well," John said, "I kind of saved her from an enemy of mine, so she gave me the painting she was working on."
"She said since she took a picture of the finished painting," Usagi said, "It would be easy for her to redo it. But since John saved her, she decided to reward him with the original, since it is a painting of him."
"I never thought I would be the proud owner of a Yumemi Yumeno original," John said, removing the painting from the paper the twins wrapped it in. The painting showed John, one hand on his microphone, one hand on his guitar, singing into the microphone. "She calls it The Spirit of Rock and Roll."
RAINBOW CRYSTAL SCORECARD
YELLOW-SAMMY TSUKINO
BLUE-GOLDEN HAWK
RED-KATIE "SCARLET" O'HARA
GREEN-GOLDEN HAWK(TAKEN FROM ZOICITE)
INDIGO-GOLDEN HAWK
UNTIL NEXT TIME...
OUR NEXT EPISODE: SEVEN GREAT BEASTS #6: AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE