Arisugawa's Locket
Waiting on Spring
Nabiki Tendo was managing the bar tonight, which made her a little nervous. The black haired martial artist was normally quite confident, but she still found managing the bar to be a little outside her comfort zone.
Arisugawa was off running a errand. Reading between the lines Nabiki suspected she was off helping the Sailor Senshi. Sailor Pluto called on her occassionally as extra muscle, which Nabiki could appreciate. Hell, if she needed help in a fight she'd call her too. Well, Ranma first, probably. But Juri was high on that list.
May was off with Keiko for a night out. Reading between the lines Nabiki thought Keiko might be feeling a bit neglected, with all the hours May put in at the Locket. Understandable, of course. But Keiko was working full time at her job, so it wasn't all May's fault...
"Wendy played fair, and she played by the rules that they gave her;
They say she grew up and grew old - Peter Pan couldn't save her.
They say she went home, and she never looked back,
Got her feet on the ground, got her life on its track.
She's the patron saint priestess of all the lost girls who got found.
And she once had her head in the clouds, but she died on the ground.
Dorothy just wanted something that she could believe in,
A gray dustbowl girl in a life she was better off leavin'.
She made her escape, went from gray into green,
And she could have got clear, and she could have got clean,
But she chose to be good and go back to the gray Kansas sky
Where color's a fable and freedom's a fairy tale lie.
Dorothy, Alice and Wendy and Jane,
Susan and Lucy, we're calling your names,
All the Lost Girls who came out of the rain
And chose to go back on the shelf.
Tinker Bell says, and I find I agree
You have to break rules if you want to break free.
So do as you like - we're determined to be
Wicked girls saving ourselves."
Homura Akemi finished the verse, the black haired woman looking deeply sad. Her friend Oriko Mikuni patted her on the shoulder, then the white haired young woman continued the song.
"There is a odd combination," Ryouko the space pirate noted, her wild, multicolored mane of hair flowing down her back. She expertly poured beers for several customers, gracefully sliding them down the bar.
"Don't they usually murder each other?" Amelia asked, the former gunslinger still in her slightly battered cowboy hat. She wore newer 'western' style clothes, both because she liked them and her low cut top got her more tips.
"Please don't say that in front of them," Nabiki noted dryly. She shrugged, "Alternate universes tend to create wierdness."
"Tell me about it," Ryouko agreed. She looked very amused as she continued, "You know Nanoha and Fate, of course."
"Of course," Nabiki agreed. The two women were regulars. Also various alternates were regulars, which could make for interesting meetings.
"And Fate's mom Precia was a nutjob. How nuts varies from universe to universe, but at the very least she was a hugely abusive mom," Ryouko continued.
"Again, know about that..." Nabiki nodded, wondering where she was going with this.
"Well, Fate was adopted by Lindy Harloun, and lived happily ever after. Pretty much anyway. So guess who came in together a few nights ago?" Ryouko asked.
"Lindy and Precia?" Amelia guessed.
"You got it. And this Precia was NICE! It was bloody unnerving," Ryouko laughed. "And for sure they were a couple too."
"Wierd," Nabiki shook her head, "We'd better keep a eye out if they come in when one of the other Fates is here."
"It's weird enough with the world's where Alicia survives," Amelia added.
Up on the stage, Oriko and Homura were singing the final verse, their voices raised defiantly.
"For we will be wicked and we will be fair
And they'll call us such names, and we really won't care,
So go, tell your Wendys, your Susans, your Janes,
There's a place they can go if they're tired of chains,
And our roads may be golden, or broken, or lost,
But we'll walk on them willingly, knowing the cost -
We won't take our place on the shelves.
It's better to fly and it's better to die
Say the wicked girls saving ourselves."
"Nicely done!" Kirika Kure beamed as she hugged her girlfriend Oriko. They made a strikingly contrasting pair, with Oriko in white and Kirika in mostly black. Both were also Puella Magi, like Homura, tho neither were transformed at the time.
"That was a lovely song, Oriko," Homura agreed as she sat with her friends at the table.
Homura Akemi sipped her soda, studying the two women fondly. In the various time loops Homura had fought Oriko more than once, but this latest encounter had gone differently. Instead of attacking Madoka, Oriko had suggested that she and Homura be allies, preventing Madoka from becoming a magical girl and thereby preventing her witching out and destroying everything. They had been successful, and had gathered allies to stop Walpurgisnacht too.
"We should invite Madoka and the others on these nights out," Kirika suggested eagerly. "It'd be fun!"
"And I think Madoka worries about you, too," Oriko added.
"I know, but... if I expose her to too much of this wierdness, I may have to tell her about the Magi and so on," Homura admitted.
"That's tough," Kirika agreed.
"Hello ladies," Alpha smiled, the green haired woman dressed in casual slacks and blouse, carrying a notebook. "Refills on soda? We also have the kitchen open..."
"Just sodas, thanks," Oriko said with a smile.
"Too bad time loops don't count or I'd be old enough to order beer," Homura sighed...
"Time loops?" Alpha asked at the bar as she was picking up the drinks.
"Homura, right?" Nabiki nodded. "She's a time traveller, spent a extended amount of time repeating one month trying to prevent a catastrophy."
"That sounds awful," Alpha admitted.
"Very. She only succeeded when the girl she was trying to save changed the rules, or in this case when she made a unlikely ally," Nabiki said. She knew this because more than one Homura had come in, and they had gotten the story out of them.
Excel and Hyatt were serving tonight, which helped keep the pressure off Alpha and Amelia. Excel tended to come and go off the staff roster, disappearing for weeks on some adventure then coming back meekly asking for a job again. Juri put up with it, as she needed the staff, but she did worry about the two of them.
Meanwhile, over by the entrance, Cyber Six blinked as the sidewalk in front of the bar shifted. The Time Space Engine under the bar brought them to any place the bar was wanted, but standing on the threshhold and watching it happen could be bloody eerie.
The space dock door wished open, and a tall, red haired woman with a cheery smile stepped through, two women at her side. She was dressed like a pirate, with triangular hat, long coat and trousers, a sword belted on one side, a blaster on the other hip.
"Arisugawa's Locket?" she blinked, then grinned. "Come on, loves, let's get inside before my exec finds me with more work."
The purple black haired woman rolled her eyes, "Marika, you can't dodge paperwork forever."
"Don't be mean, Chiaki," Marika chided, grinning.
"We could use a break, you know," the tall blonde with long twintails added, her silver white dress swirling around her.
"Oh, thanks for the support Gruier. It's hard enough keeping our wife in line..." Chiaki sighed.
"Ladies, welcome to the Locket," Cyber Six kept her amusement at their discussion hidden as she continued, "You'll need to surrender your weapons at the bar."
"Got it," Marika beamed as she tugged Chiaki in, Gruier following.
Marika Kato, Admiral of the Free Pirates and Captain of the Bentenmaru, sighed in relief as they entered the familiar bar. It was so nice getting away from it all, especially with all the work that came with being a admiral. Who knew leading a fleet involved so much paperwork?
Captain Chiaki Kurihara, her wife and Captain of the Barbaroosa, second most senior ship in Marika's fleet. They had gotten married a few years ago, after seeing each other since they were teens. The purple-black haired woman wore darker colors than Marika, and was considered the power behind the throne. Marika was the nice one, but when that failed Chiaki stepped in.
Queen Gruier Serenity of the Serenity Star System and Marika's other wife took in the chaos of the bar with mild amusement. Once the seventh in line for the throne, she had ascended as a war over the inheretence broke out between her elder sisters, lead by Beryl. Rescued by Marika she watched in despair as her sisters fought, until finally Gruier herself forced a end to the conflict by killing the usurper, Beryl.
"Marika!" Ryouko smiled, "Good to see you."
"Ryouko, been awhile," Marika nodded as she put her sword and blaster on the bar, Chiaki following her lead reluctantly.
"And Chiaki-chan," Ryouko teased.
Marika barked with laughter as Chiaki went pink. "Oh gods not that again," she sighed, remembering how Marika used to tease her like that.
"I don't think we've been introduced?" Ryouko smiled at the wierdly familiar blond. She looked JUST like a older Usagi Tsukino, actually.
"Queen Gruier Serenity of the Serenity System. It's a pleasure," the elegant blond smiled.
"All right ladies we'll get some drinks served up," Ryouko said briskly, "what'll ya have?"
"Rum," Marika grinned.
"Wine," Gruier decided.
"Does Sasami still make those really nice parfaits?" Chiaki asked, looking sheepish. Both her wives looked at her. "They are REALLY good!" she defended herself.
Ryouko grinned, "I'm sure we can manage something, miss."
To be continued...
Our Cast: Nabiki Tendo from Ranma ½, Excel and Hyatt from Excel Saga, Ryouko and Minagi are from Tenchi Muyo, Cyberdoll May is from Hand Maid May, Alpha is from Quiet Country Cafe, Amelia is from Trigun, Cyber Six is from Cyber Six, and Juri is from Revolutionary Girl Utena.
Characters: Homura, Oriko and Kirika are from Madoka Magica. Characters from Nanoha Innocent manga get mentioned, and Marika, Chiaki and Gruier are from Bodacious/Mini-skirt Space Pirates.
The song Oriko and Homura is singing is 'Wicked Girls' by Seanan McGuire. Look it up on youtube, it's quite good.