SAILOR MOON: 1987
ONCE AGAIN, I AM NOT NAOKO TAKEUCHI, I DID NOT CREATE SAILOR MOON, AND I AM NOT A LICENSED PHARMACIST.
EPISODE 33: SAILOR MOON FIGHTS ALONE
JOHN MCCOY'S HOUSE
APRIL 16, 1987, 7:00 AM
"Hey mom," John McCoy said, "I don't think I'll be able to go to school today."
"Is anything wrong?" Caryn Frehley-McCoy asked.
"I have a sore throat," John said.
"That's not enough to keep you out of school," Caryn said. "How long have you had a sore throat?"
"Since Sunday," John said.
"And you're just saying something now?" Caryn asked.
"I didn't think it was that bad until now," John said. "Usually, when I get a sore throat, I pop Sucrets, and it goes away in a day or two. I did what I normally do, but this morning, I had a glass of water, and it felt like I was drinking shards of broken glass. I mean, I never had a sore throat that bad before."
"Let me take a look," Naoko Mizuno said, as she was about to pour herself a cup of coffee. She grabbed a flashlight, and a tongue depressor, and took a look at John's throat. "You're definitely not going to school today," she said.
"He's not?" Caryn asked.
"No," Naoko said. "In fact, I need to use your phone to call St. Jude, tell them they'll be expecting John this afternoon. His tonsils definitely need to come out."
"I'll bring him there after lunch," Caryn said.
"Good," Naoko said.
"Hi Caryn," Ami Andersen said, as she came in the door. "John almost ready?"
"John's not going to school today," Naoko said. "He has tonsillitis."
"Ami, you mind bringing my homework home for me?" John asked. "Tell the girls I won't be in school for a few days, I'm about to get my tonsils out."
"It's all been arranged," Naoko said. "Caryn, you check John in at St. Jude's this afternoon, I'll be taking his tonsils out at 8:00 tomorrow morning. Ami, I'll be taking you to school today, I'll let them know he's going in the hospital. I know you're his mother, but they know I'm a doctor, and I'll let them know that he's under my care."
Later, Caryn heated up some leftover taco meat from the night before, and made John a couple burritos. While she did that, John called Cavern Music, to let them know he wouldn't be in to work that day. John ate like he wasn't very hungry, even though he missed breakfast. "Is anything wrong?" Caryn asked, noticing how slowly John was eating.
"I'm just nervous," John said.
"I can understand," Caryn said. "I'm being treated for cancer, remember? Besides, I had my tonsils taken out when I was your age. I remember I was scared when I went into the hospital."
"You don't have anything to worry about," Ami said. "My mom's one of the finest surgeons on the West Coast."
"What are you doing here?" John asked.
"Bringing your homework," Ami said.
"I mean, what are you doing here now?" John asked.
"We have minimum day today and tomorrow, remember?" Ami said. "I told all the girls you're having your tonsils out tomorrow. Just hope we don't run into anything in the next couple weeks."
"If you do," John said, "I have confidence you can handle it. Of course, you have Molly and Chibi-Usa to take up the slack. And if things become too much to handle, you can always call on Tuxedo Mask."
"Okay," Usagi Tsukino said, as she came in the house, "but don't think for one second you're off the team, you're just going on the disabled list for a couple weeks."
"I'll come visit you this weekend," Ami said, hugging John.
"Okay," John said.
"Mind if I come with you?" Usagi asked.
"Sure," Caryn said.
"I guess I'm ready to go," John said.
"You didn't eat all that much," Caryn said.
"I'm not that hungry," John said. "I'm a little nervous."
"Ami, can you remind your mom to write a note for my work?" John asked.
Caryn took John to the hospital, where he was admitted, and placed in a private room. "Dad will be stopping by after work," Caryn said, as John changed into his pajamas, and got into bed. He put fresh batteries in his Walkman, plugged in the headphones, and put in a cassette of Unmasked by KISS. "And don't worry, dad and I will take care of Artemis for you."
Later on, John was served dinner. He was served ham with au gratin potatoes, buttered corn, salad with 1000 island dressing, roll with butter and grape jam, and apple juice, with a brownie for dessert. His dad came to visit right after dinner, "How you feeling?" Joseph McCoy asked.
"Nervous," John said. "And my throat hurts like anything."
"Well, you won't have as many sore throats after you have your tonsils out," Joseph said. "And don't worry, mom and I will take good care of Artemis for you."
"That's good," John said.
"You might need these the next few days," Joseph said, giving John a small paper bag.
John emptied the bag onto his bed, finding a mechanical pencil(with several extra leads) and several pocket sized notebooks. "Thanks," John said. "What are these for?"
"After you have your tonsils out, the doctor probably want you to refrain from talking for a few days," Joseph said. "If you want or need something, just write it down."
"Good idea," John said.
"Anyways," Joseph said, "your mother will be here in the morning, in time for your surgery. Is there anything you need her to bring?"
"I can't really think of anything," John said. "I just put fresh batteries in my Walkman, and I brought some tapes and extra batteries. Only thing I can think of is maybe a good book or two."
"I thought you might say that," Joseph said, giving John a paperback copy of Dr. No by Ian Fleming. "I know you saw the movie, but there are differences between the movies and the books. For starters, the books are written in a different order than the movies, and second, there are a few things in the books not in the movies and vice versa, and there's actually continuity between the books."
"Thanks," John said.
"One more thing," Joseph said. "Dianne called just before I got home, she said she talked to Chris Forney, Rae Hinowski, and Molly Hogan, they agreed to work with your students for the next couple weeks."
As Joseph left, John put Welcome to the Real World by Mr. Mister in his Walkman, and started reading. He got a few chapters into the book, when he went to sleep.
Meanwhile, John woke up around 7:00. He was a little thirsty, but due to having his tonsils out, he was instructed to not eat or drink anything, not even water, after midnight, until after the surgery. It was explained to him that was so he wouldn't aspirate anything into his lungs, which would be dangerous. His mother arrived just after he woke up, with a couple books. "How are you today?" Caryn asked.
"A little thirsty," John said. "But the doctor said I can't have anything before the surgery, not even water. She's afraid I might aspirate it into my lungs."
Not long after, an orderly came to prepare John for surgery, and take him to the operating room. Once John got to the operating room, the anesthesiologist put the mask on John's face, and told him to count backwards from 100. John fell asleep when he was in the low 40s, and next thing he knew, he was in recovery, coming off the anesthesia. When John got back to his room, both his mom and Dr. Mizuno were there. I feel loopy, John wrote on a piece of paper, and handed it to Dr. Mizuno.
"That's normal when you come off the anesthesia," Naoko said. "It'll pass."
"What did he say?" Caryn asked.
"He said he was a little loopy," Naoko said. "Don't worry, that's normal. Anyways, John, you need to refrain from talking as much as possible for the next few days, and your mom has a list of foods for you to avoid for the next couple weeks. I'm going to keep you here over the weekend, you'll be going home Sunday afternoon, but you'll be staying home from school for the next week, and you'll need to refrain from physical exertion for the next couple weeks. I talked to your boss yesterday, I told her that you won't be coming in for at least a week, more likely two, she put you on medical leave until I clear you to go back to work."
Did she contact any of my students? John wrote, and gave the piece of paper to Naoko.
"I asked her to inform your students," Naoko said. "Of course, Ami knows, since I'm her mother. She's going to take a couple weeks off, until you get back."
Any chance I can get something to eat or drink? John wrote, and gave it to Naoko.
"Just buzz the nurse," Naoko said.
John buzzed the nurse. Joanne Chaney came in within a few minutes. "So how's my patient this morning?" Joanne asked.
"He's fine," Naoko said. "But he's not going to be saying much for the next few days, seeing that he just had his tonsils removed. Speaking of which, he would like some apple juice and sherbet."
"We have rainbow, is that okay?" Joanne asked, John responded by nodding enthusiastically. "I take that as yes. Anyways, I'll be back in a couple minutes."
"I filled out your menu for today and tomorrow," Naoko said. "Since I'm your doctor, I have you on a special diet for the next couple days. You'll be having plenty of clear liquids, like water, apple juice, or Gatorade, but no soda."
The carbonation probably won't feel all that good going down, John wrote.
"Exactly," Naoko said. "As for food, you'll be eating soft foods for a while, sherbet, gelatin, stuff like that. No meat, and limited dairy. I know they say when you have your tonsils taken out, you can have all the ice cream you want, but I don't want you having all that dairy. Sherbet does contain milk, but not as much as ice cream. You can have scrambled eggs in a few days, but don't make it with milk or cheese, and let it cool a bit before you eat it. Same with cereal, if you want hot cereal, I would prefer you ate cream of wheat instead of oatmeal, make it a little thin, and eat it without milk or butter, and let it cool down a bit before you eat it. And I don't want you eating meat, so bacon or sausage, or a burger, is out. I left a list of what you can and can't eat with the nurses, so they'll know what to give you."
Joanne came back a couple minutes later, with a bowl of rainbow sherbet, and a glass of chilled apple juice. Since I won't be able to give Kirsten her lessons for a couple weeks, my friend Molly agreed to work with her until I come back. However, if she would prefer working with another instructor, Cavern will have someone covering my slack. he wrote on a note to Joanne, which included Molly Hogan's phone number.
"Is Molly the girl who played an impromptu bass solo the day Kirsten had her first lesson?" Joanne asked. "After that boy told her that girls can't play bass?"
John nodded as he ate his sherbet. I have a couple other friends who agreed to help work with my students in my absence, but since Kirsten plays bass, I would prefer her working with Molly, since Molly is a bass player. he wrote, and gave to Joanne.
Later on, after lunch(John had some rainbow sherbet, applesauce, and apple juice), Usagi and Chibi-Usa came to visit him. "Hi John," Chibi-Usa said, hugging him.
"Chibi-Usa insisted on visiting you," Usagi said.
"There's someone else who wanted to see you, too," Chibi-Usa said, reaching into her backpack.
"Greetings, young Gōrudenhōku," Diana said, as Chibi-Usa took her out of her backpack.
"Don't take it personal," Usagi said, "but John's under doctor's orders to not talk for a few days, since he just had his tonsils taken out."
John rubbed Diana between her ears. "I understand," Diana said. "When Small Lady had her tonsils out, she wasn't able to talk for a week."
"I had my tonsils out about six months before I first came back," Chibi-Usa said. "Well, six months before I came back in my time, which would make it a few years from now for you. I know that sounds confusing, but that's the way it is."
You brought a kitten who speaks English, so time travel isn't all that unreasonable, John wrote, and gave the note to Chibi-Usa.
"Don't forget all 3 of us having superpowers," Chibi-Usa said, reading the note.
"Bad Luck Charm to Bugs Bunny," Luna said over Usagi's communicator.
"Bugs Bunny here," Usagi said over her communicator.
"There's trouble in Gilman Park," Luna said. "I know you have Cotton Candy with you, but you don't need her, I think this is something you can handle by yourself."
Take this, John wrote, and gave the note to Usagi, along with his staff that he pulled from the dimension he called Hammerspace(but was actually called Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogeryhwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, after the town in Wales). You may need it.
"Thanks," Usagi said, kissing John on the forehead.
"What am I supposed to do?" Chibi-Usa asked.
"I believe mother wants you to stay and keep an eye on young Gōrudenhōku," Diana said.
"I think in this time period, and at that age," Chibi-Usa said, "he prefers to be called John."
"I see," Diana said.
"Pretty Soldier of the Moon, Make-Up!" Usagi said. She transformed into Sailor Moon, and teleported to Gilman Park. When she arrived, she encountered a demonic looking creature, standing approximately 7' tall.
"My name is Natas Izan," the creature said. "I seek out one of Earth's champions, to face me in one on one combat. If I defeat Earth's champion, I shall take over this planet. However, if Earth's champion defeats me, I give my word that I will leave Earth forever."
"On behalf of Earth," Sailor Moon said, "I accept. I am the Pretty Soldier of Love and Justice. My name is Sailor Moon, and in the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!"
"So be it," Natas Izan said. He whipped his tail at Sailor Moon, who dodged it.
"Sailor Kick!" Sailor Moon said, launching a kick at Natas Izan, grazing his face with the heel of her left boot.
Natas Izan rubbed his face where Sailor Moon's heel grazed him, and looked at his hand. "I see you drew first blood," he said, noticing the purple liquid on his fingers. "This battle may turn out interesting."
"You ain't seen nothing yet," Sailor Moon said, as she launched another attack, going at Natas Izan with a flurry of punches.
"What you lack in skill, you definitely make up for with what your world calls spunk," Natas Izan said, blocking or dodging most of her punches, the ones that did land were only glancing blows. "And I have a feeling that win or lose, you're going to fight me to the very end."
"You'll find I'm full of surprises," Sailor Moon said, running at Natas Izan, and hitting him with a running spear, which actually took him down.
"And full of fight," Natas Izan said. As he got up, he materialized a staff, topped with a silver skull with red eyes.
Sailor Moon combined Golden Hawk's staff with her Moon Stick, creating a weapon similar to the one Natas Izan used. She engaged in a duel with Natas Izan, using their staffs. During the battle, Sailor Moon managed to disarm Natas Izan, and grabbed his staff. Holding a staff in each hand, she pointed both at him. As the eyes of the skull on his staff and the Legendary Silver Millennium Crystal on her staff began to glow, Natas Izan grabbed a cloth that hung from his waist and threw it at the ground at Sailor Moon's feet. "What's that all about?" Sailor Moon asked.
"It's what you call throwing in the towel," Natas Izan said. "You have me in a situation where I cannot win, so I concede defeat, and as you have disarmed me in one on one combat, you may keep my staff as a trophy. Also, as I am a man of my word, since you have defeated me, I shall leave this planet and never return."
"Uh, goodbye?" Sailor Moon said, as Natas Izan disappeared, never to be seen on Earth again.
Later that evening, after Usagi returned to John's hospital room, and picked up Chibi-Usa and Diana, she was in her room. "That was the most unusual thing that has ever happened to me," Usagi said to Luna.
"What was?" Luna asked.
"This guy I fought today," Usagi said. "He gave me his word that if I defeated him, he would leave Earth and never return. While we were fighting, I disarmed him, and used both his and my weapons against him. Next thing I know, he literally throws in the towel, tells me to keep his staff as a trophy, and he disappears."
"Did he give you a name?" Luna asked.
"He said his name is Natas Izan," Usagi said.
"He won't be back," Luna said. "One thing Natas Izan is, he's a man of his word."
UNTIL NEXT TIME...
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