Lita interlocked her fingers behind her head. "This is taking forever," she grumbled irritably.
Mina glanced back to the Ice Warriors. "At least it gives us time to figure out what to do."
"Why not feed them?" Serena suggested. "It's always easier to get to know people over a good meal, right?"
Rei rolled her eyes. "Always thinking about your stomach."
Lita frowned. "Looking at them, they're going to eat more than you, Serena. That much food is going to be expensive."
"It'll be fine," Serena chirped. "We can all chip in and do it together."
Mina grinned. "It'll be fun!"
Ami nodded. "It's been awhile since we all cooked together. Let's do it."
"I can't think of anything else, and I am kind of hungry," Rei admitted.
"Alright," Lita said reluctantly. "I'll get groceries, but I'll need help carrying that much. "
"I'll go," Mina volunteered.
"Me too," Ami said.
"Alright," Rei replied. "The rest of us will get them to Darien's."
Lita nodded. "Call us if anything comes up. We'll get there as soon as we can."
Mina, Lita and Ami split off from the others as they passed a store. Darien, Rei, Serena and Charlotte continued their slow walk to Darien's apartment.
It took almost half an hour to reach the apartment. Once inside, the Ice Warriors took over the living room, sitting or sprawling on the floor. Ta'Xaddir sank onto the sofa which creaked and moaned under his weight. With the Ice Warriors sprawled out and taking up most of the room, the others were forced into the kitchen.
The hologram around the Ice Warriors flickered and went out. Where the balloon had been, Charlotte appeared in the air, looking tired. She drifted into the kitchen before settling back on the ground. "I'm NOT doing that again," she protested, settling into a chair.
Rei crossed her arms. "What now?"
"I think I'm going to clean the kitchen," Serena offered. "Why don't you go talk to them? You're the one they're here for."
Darien nodded. "I'll help in here. Find out what you can from them."
As they started pulling cleaning supplies from under the sink, Rei stepped out into the living room.
The Ice Warriors were all passing around the remote and examining it.
"What is the function of this device?" Ta'Xaddir asked, sniffing the remote.
Rei cautiously perched herself on the edge of the couch. "It turns on the television."
The Ice Warriors all stared at her.
"Teal-viz-en?"
"It's. . ." Rei considered. Would they have something similar? Probably not. . . "It's easier to show you," she said, taking the remote and turning the T.V. on.
The Ice Warriors turned their attention to it as an announcer spoke about the Red River in North Dakota flooding. Images of the flood and burning buildings appeared on the screen.
"Ah," one of the Ice Warriors said. "A communicator! Greetings, hoo-mans!"
"It's not a communicator," Rei said, split between amusement and exasperation. "We watch it for entertainment or information. It has tons of channels with different shows and sports and things.
"Shows?"
"They're like plays."
Ta'Xaddir seemed fascinated. "We have plays on Mars, but we have never thought to broadcast them. It is a fascinating concept hoo-mans have created."
Rei saw an opening and took it. "What is it like on Mars?"
Ta'Xaddir remained silent for a moment. "It is.. . difficult. Often we must survive day to day."
Rei furrowed her brows. "Has it always been like that?"
"Not always," Ta'Xaddir replied. "Once, Mars was beautiful and glorious, the shining, crowning gem of the system. It was said that all of Mars once was as green and vibrant as Earth with fields and forests stretching for miles and miles in every direction, broken only by our great nests. Our fleet was almost a million ships strong and diligently patrolled the far-reaches of the system. The name of the Ice Warriors was known and respected across the galaxy."
Rei tucked her knees against her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs before setting her chin on her knees. "What happened?" she asked softly.
"The Second Devastation. The Grand Marshal was offered a chance to keep our world alive at the end time of the Silver Kingdom. He refused the offer and, as punishment, our atmosphere was destroyed and our waters contaminated with the Great Parasite. Unable to survive in the wastes of our once mighty world, many of my predecessors were forced to enter suspension chambers or settle on New Mars with their kin so our race could live on."
"The second devastation?"
Ta'Xaddir nodded. "Five thousand years ago Mars was the center of an empire that spanned the entire system. But our world was made almost inhospitable by a chain of natural disasters. It was another three thousand years before Mars was restored. Our legends say the savior of Mars was your ancestor."
"And you think I can restore it?"
Ta'Xaddir lifted his massive shoulders. "I do not know, but I hope that you are able to. It is said in legend that you are tied to the planet. Perhaps your return will revive it."
He kind of has a point, Rei thought. Maybe they're really telling the truth. But I can't stay on Mars. I belong here. But maybe I could visit.
The door opened and Lita, Mina and Ami walked into the apartment, all carrying bags of groceries. The Ice Warriors all turned and regarded them in curiosity.
"We got tons," Lita said. "It'll take a while to cook it all."
"You can cook?" one of the Ice Warriors asked.
Lita frowned slightly at the Ice Warriors. "Yeah. I love cooking."
The Ice Warriors were up and across the room in under a second. They crowded around Lita, all clamouring for her attention.
"Can you teach us?"
"I desire to learn this skill."
"Will you be a teacher for us?"
"I must know how to cook!"
Lita looked torn between amusement and bewilderment. "You really want to learn how to cook?"
"It is considered a great skill to possess as there are few opportunities to acquire the knowledge and experience," one of them said. "To have such a skill is a great honor."
Lita seemed uneasy. "Well, alright. I suppose I can teach you a few things."
The Ice Warriors eagerly relieved Lita, Ami and Mina of their groceries as they followed Lita into the kitchen.
Lita frowned at the number of helpers she had. The Ice Warriors dominated most of the space with the others squeezed between them. "This is going to be tricky," Lita said. "But I think it'll work."
She began assigning tasks, doing her best to get around the Ice Warriors to gather everything they needed.
The Ice Warriors set about their assigned tasks with surprising vigor. Lita squeezed through them to move around the kitchen, offering advice or correcting them when their technique was wrong. The Ice Warriors hung onto her every word, putting in more effort after being corrected and seemed pleased whenever she praised them.
"I think they're serious about cooking," Lita muttered to Rei. "I've never seen anyone or anything so eager to learn."
Rei carefully chopped the peppers in front of her. "Maybe I'll keep them around ."
"I still don't trust them," Lita replied. She turned as the smell of something burning reached her. She forced her way across the kitchen and Rei could hear her berating Serena for not paying enough attention.
Rei finished the peppers and put the knife down. From across the kitchen, she could hear Lita explaining how to properly stir the sauce. The Ice Warriors crowded around her, listening intently to every word.
Rei struggled out of the kitchen and into the living room. She crossed to the doors, opening them to pass onto the balcony. She leaned against the railing, looking out over Tokyo and taking deep breaths of the cool night air.
Mina joined her. "What's up?"
Rei continued looking out over the city. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "I don't know if I can trust them, but they really have been trying to get me to like them."
Mina glanced back at the Ice Warriors. "I think we can. They seem eager enough."
Rei shook her head slightly. "I don't know. What if it's a trap?"
"If it's a trap, why didn't they nab you when you were by yourself? And if it is a larger trap, we're more than capable of handling them. But I think we can trust them, and Serena would agree with me."
"Serena wants to trust everyone."
"Fair enough, but Ami seems to trust them too."
Rei frowned slightly. "Lita doesn't."
Mina smiled. "She's just being cautious. She'll come around."
"Yeah."
The two fell silent for a moment. "It couldn't hurt, could it?" Rei asked. "Going to Mars, I mean."
Mina looked up at the red dot of Mars in the sky. "I think you should. At least for a little while."
"What if it takes them a couple days to get there? We can't disappear for a few days without anyone noticing."
"We could teleport ourselves, if we knew where we were going."
"Dinner is ready!" Lita called before Rei could reply.
Mina and Rei joined the others as plates and utensils were passed around. Once Lita had served the Ice Warriors, they retreated to the living room and sat against the walls, facing in. Darien and the scouts sat in the middle of the room.
The Ice Warriors' armor hissed as their helmets slowly slid up and back like a hood being pulled down. The Ice Warriors' eyes were the first thing Rei noticed; they were bulbous and off-white, almost like a fruit fly's. Their faces gave Rei an impression of a frog's, covered in hundreds of tiny scales. They had no hair, but instead a U-shaped dent than ran from the front to the back of the top of their heads.
The Ice Warriors tore into the food, not even bothering to use the utensils. Instead, they used their fingers or dug their faces straight in, sending pieces of rice, vegetables, shrimp and squid flying in every direction.
Darien looked horrified as his tidy living room was filled with bits of food, some of it mixed with small globs of pale green saliva.
"I take it back," Lita said as a glob of rice flew past her ear. "There are worse eaters than Serena."
"She's not that much better," Rei commented while trying to keep the flying food off her plate.
In seconds, the Ice Warriors had devoured the entire contents of their plates and began licking off the few morsels that remained.
Darien's expression was between horror, disgust and anger. Charlotte nudged him and murmured so only he and the scouts could hear. "It's considered polite to lick a plate clean. Or whatever surface they happen to be eating on."
"I'll try to keep that in mind," Darien said flatly.
"Most excellent," Ta'Xaddir announced. "Earth food is enjoyable and preferable to us."
"What do you usually eat?" Ami asked.
"Nutrition cubes or that which we claim from others. To grow crops takes great effort and costs much water, of which we have little that is uncontaminated. It is inefficient and would cause us to starve to death."
Lita looked at Ta'Xaddir in shock. "You don't have food?"
Ta'Xaddir placed his plate on the table. "Very little. This is why we hope Princess Mars will return. In the stories from our predecessors, it is said that the Royal Family is tied to the well-being of Mars. Our hope is that returning the princess will restore our home."
Ta'Xaddir made a gesture and the other Ice Warriors began cleaning. "I apologize for our mess Dairy-man. It is not often we are able to consume food and our excitement overcame us. We are not usually so dirty and we will strive to leave your residence clean."
Darien seemed mollified. "I would probably feel the same way if I had to grow up eating cubes and stolen food most of my life."
Ami yawned. "It's getting late and we should get home."
Serena leaned back. "I'll stay here tonight."
"I'll stay here too, just in case," Lita offered. "If something comes up, we're better off having three of us here to hold them off until the others can show up."
Darien looked displeased, but didn't argue. "You can stay in the guest room. Both of you." He glanced at Serena as he spoke. She scowled slightly but didn't reply.
"I'll stay too," Charlotte offered. "I don't need sleep so I can keep an eye on them."
"Call us if anything come up," Rei said.
They all exchanged farewells before Rei, Mina and Ami left the apartment.