IF I DIE BEFORE I WAKE
Chapter 3: "Feels Like A Cold"
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic
By Bill K.
Breakfast time in the Crystal Palace found Usa and the Asteroids in their familiar spot: A table in the palace cafeteria. Usa was there, since Helios didn't eat breakfast and she didn't want to eat by herself. Hotaru brought her tray over to the table where the others already had congregated. Usa made it a point to look the young woman's tray over.
"Yogurt? Whole grain bread and rice? The orange slices I get," commented Usa. "When did Aunt Ami talk you into the 'healthy diet' act?"
"Mizuno-Sensei makes a lot of sense," grimaced Hotaru. "A healthy diet makes for a healthy body."
"Hey, at least she's got some sausages," grunted Ves between bites of a rare flank steak.
"Bet me they're turkey sausages," Usa smirked at Cere.
"You're on! I bet they're veggie sausages," grinned Cere. They both turned to a rapidly reddening Hotaru.
"You think you're so smart," Hotaru grumbled.
"Does that mean it's turkey?" Usa asked. Hotaru frowned. Usa turned to Cere. "I win."
"Now you know why Mamoko-Chan calls you 'brat'," huffed Hotaru.
"What's this?" Ves asked, coming up for air. "The kid's talking now?"
"Yes, Ves-Ves, Mamoko-Chan said her first word a few days ago," Palla-Palla reported from her huge bowl of Sugar Bombs. "The Princess tried to get her to say The Princess's name, but all she said was 'brat'."
With that, Ves threw her head back and roared with laughter. Usa endured it with thinning patience, while the others, Hotaru included, quietly enjoyed the humor as well.
"So when does Jun get back?" Usa asked, trying to change the subject. She took a bite of her English muffin and immediately wondered why she'd ordered it.
"Tomorrow," Cere replied. "They want to keep her in quarantine for a day to make sure she doesn't carry some disease out of the jungle." Cere glanced evilly at Ves. "After all, we don't want to pass something along to one of the pets."
"Bite me, Priss," grunted Ves.
"Well, it is a legitimate concern," Hotaru interjected. "Diseases have been known to jump species. A bird infection could mutate and infect a dog or cat, or even a human."
"But this is the thirtieth century," protested Usa. "We've cured ninety percent of the diseases that ever plagued humanity. I mean, Aunt Ami probably cured a dozen of them herself."
"Well it's the other ten percent we still have to worry about," Hotaru maintained. "It's like the influenza your mom has. Medical science has eradicated over sixty variant strains of influenza, but every time we produce a treatment for the latest strain, it mutates into a new strain that's resistant to the treatment."
"Notice how she said 'we'," smirked Cere. Hotaru grimaced again.
"It's just a matter of time until she's running the infirmary," Usa shrugged. "I've already appointed her as my personal physician when I become Queen."
"Is that why the Queen's tel . . ." Palla-Palla began, then grimaced, "tele . . ."
"Telekinesis?" asked Usa.
"Yeah, is that why it's acting funny?" Everybody looked to Hotaru.
"Mizuno-Sensei thinks so, but she sure doesn't know why," Hotaru related.
"Yet," Usa added. "Aunt Ami can figure anything out - - except maybe how to delegate work." Hotaru nodded knowingly.
"So, Hotaru, how are you and your guy going?" Cere ventured.
"I don't know," moaned the young woman. "I waited for him for two years so he could get his degree. And now that he finally has time for me, I'm neck deep in pre-med and I don't have time for him!" She stuck a spoon full of yogurt into her mouth. "Itsh nog fair!"
"Why don't you just take a night off and jump his bones," suggested Ves as she ate.
"VES!" bellowed Cere as Hotaru went crimson.
"What?" grunted Ves.
In the quarantine room located in Kyushu, Jun was occupied with one of her favorite past times as she waited to be released. The novel, downloaded to her pad, was as trashy a romance novel as she'd ever read. That was why she loved it. Eagerly she followed the heroine who was torn between the upstanding citizen she was engaged to marry and the shady mechanic she was unconsciously aroused by. Jun was just finishing chapter twelve when the door to her quarantine room opened.
"Batista-San," the nurse said. "You've cleared quarantine. You can leave now."
"Didn't find any bugs lurking around my system?" Jun asked jokingly.
"Fortunately, no," she smiled. Then she glanced at the waiting room beyond the desk. "But there was something we found lurking in connection with you."
Jun looked out to the waiting area. Instantly her face lit up.
"Shimizu-San!" Jun exclaimed, finding Tomohiro Shimizu waiting for her. "You haven't been here the whole time, have you?"
"No," he replied. "I knew when the quarantine period was over. If you're amenable, I thought we could grab something to eat."
"I'd love to," Jun replied happily, lights dancing in her eyes. Then the lights dimmed. "Oh, but I have to get back to Crystal Tokyo. I've got duties there. Guarding the Princess, you know."
"Oh," Shimizu said, deflating.
"I'm sorry."
"Hey, we've got to do what we've got to do," Shimizu shrugged. "I've really got to get back to Nagoya and interpret the data we collected. I just thought . . ."
"Thought what?"
"Well," he paused. "I just thought it would be nice to dine with a . . . oh this is going to sound like a line."
"With a famous senshi?" Jun asked.
"With an amazing woman," Tomohiro answered. "I've never seen someone who can do the physical feats you can. You'd be an Olympic class gymnast." His eyes sought the ground momentarily. "And you're very attractive, too."
"You think so?" Jun asked, caught off balance for a change.
"Doesn't everyone?" Tomohiro asked. "You probably get propositioned a lot. I imagine you've heard everything I've told you a hundred times."
"Not really," Jun said. "But you've probably heard a hundred times that you're very gorgeous - - SMART!" Jun felt herself flushing. But Tomohiro only smiled.
"If I was so smart, I'd think of a way to ask you for your contact info without sounding like a predator," he chuckled.
"I can spot a predator. I grew up in the jungle," Jun said.
And suddenly Jun's PDA was in her hand, extended toward Tomohiro. After a moment's disbelief, he produced his PDA and touched it to hers. Contact information was transferred.
"Next time I'm in Crystal Tokyo, I'll call you!" Tomohiro exclaimed. "We'll go out for that meal!"
"Only if I'm not out saving the world," Jun responded. Tomohiro headed out the door. When he was gone, Jun turned and hugged herself. "Oh my GOODNESS, he is so HOT! And he likes ME!"
Then she noticed the nurse at the desk staring at her. Flushing again, Jun headed for the door.
King Endymion walked into the Royal Chambers. The man was tired. He had a country to run. He was worried about his wife. He had two children who needed him, one probably more than the other. He just wanted to find a dark room, put on some music and sit back in the overstuffed easy chair that Usa had bought for him the previous Christmas.
In the room was his eldest, sitting on a sofa and leafing through her pad. Curled up on the sofa next to her was his youngest, Mamoko, fast asleep and nestled next to her big sister. Usa looked up at her father and gestured for quiet.
"Have you been here long?" inquired the King softly. "If you have something you want to do at the moment . . ."
"It's OK, Pop," Usa said softly. "Mamoko's kind of comfortable and I don't want to disturb her. It took enough to wear her down to this. Was I that rambunctious when I was one?"
"You want me to tell you about your mad dashes down the hall, in public, completely naked when your mom was trying to bathe you?" Endymion smirked.
"Tell me nobody got pictures," Usa grimaced, putting her hand to her eyes.
"Well I appreciate you watching Mamoko for your mom while she's sick. But doesn't your husband miss you?"
"Maybe," Usa murmured, her head flopping back on the sofa. She got a curious look from her father. "It's just - - I understand that Helios has responsibilities to the dreaming. I do. But it seems like he's always monitoring the dreaming. I'd like to have dinner with him once in a while."
"You sound just like your mother when she's going on about my computer room," Endymion said. "Usa, I know Helios. He loves you and wants to be with you. But his work is very important, too. . ."
"Yeah," Usa replied, conceding the point without really wanting to. "So who is watching Mom?"
"Rei's in there with her now," her father told her. "And of course Ami has been practically living in her office to be close in case something happens."
"We could always sic Aunt Makoto on her," grinned Usa.
"Makoto is a co-conspirator," Endymion remarked. "She brings Ami her meals and hovers as much as she can."
"Must be rough on the cleaning staff," quipped Usa. "Is Mom still levitating things?"
"At noon, Ami came in and found Serenity had levitated her bed into the middle of the room," reported Endymion. "While she was asleep. I'm wondering if some of the new drugs Ami is treating her with are causing her to telekinetically hallucinate."
"What does Aunt Ami say?"
"She doubts it, but is going to check. She'd know better than I would. It's been a really long time since I practiced medicine."
Just then Mamoko began to stir. The child looked around groggily, then focused on Endymion.
"Da-Da!" the child exclaimed, reaching out for him with pudgy arms. Endymion swooped in, plucked the child off of the sofa and cradled her in his arms. Mamoko nuzzled against his chest.
"Well, I'll go see if Helios has a few minutes to spare for his one true love," Usa said, rising from the couch. She went over to father and child. "See you, Mamoko-Chan," she said sweetly and kissed the child on the head.
"Brat," Mamoko replied reverently.
"We've got to work on that," sighed Usa.
After paying her sick mother a visit, Usa entered the quarters she shared with her husband, Helios. As usual, Helios was sitting in a lotus position on the bed they shared, eyes closed and concentrating on the dreaming. Usa bit her lip, emitted a sigh, and headed for her computer station to see the latest happenings in Crystal Tokyo and the world and whether Sailor Moon needed to intervene.
However, she hadn't been at the station more than a minute when suddenly a hand appeared before her, holding a rose. She turned with a start and found Helios standing behind her.
"Helios?" she exclaimed.
"Forgive me, Maiden," he said, still holding the rose to her. "I fear I have been an inattentive husband."
As she rose to meet him, Usa took the flower and held it to her nose. She peered down at him, as she was slightly taller than he was. Helios could see delight in her red eyes, but also some confusion.
"Have I been that obvious?" Usa asked.
"Not so much in the waking world," Helios replied, "but in the realm of which I am guardian, your feelings were much more apparent." Usa looked at him curiously. "Do you recall your last dream last night?"
"No," Usa frowned. "I have to admit, no I don't."
"You were in the pastures of Elysian, dressed in a gown of shimmering white," Helios told her. "No single person has every personified beauty more than you in this dream. And yet, you were anxious. Hiking up your skirt, you walked through the pastures, searching. When you came upon a herd of grazing horses or a flock of perched birds, you would ask them if they knew where I could be found. And when they could not help you, you would resume your search at an increasingly quicker pace. On and on you searched. And yet you never found me."
"Boy, that was a subtle one," Usa said, on the edges of embarrassment.
"Some dreams are more easily interpreted than others," Helios smiled.
"Look, Helios, I know your work is important . . ." she began.
"It is," Helios interrupted, staring directly into her eyes. "You are important to me as well, Maiden. You must forgive me, for this thing called marriage is new to me. It is different from my previous life."
"For me, too," Usa told him. "The only real reference I have is Mom and Pop, and I figured out a long time ago that I can't ever be like her. I don't want to smother you or make you lose respect for me by being needy. But I'd like some alone time with the most perfect male specimen in the universe - - once in a while."
"I have missed you, too," Helios said. "Touching you now reminds me of what I had forgotten: that of the stimulation your mere presence has on my heart."
Helios leaned in. Usa met him half way. Their lips touched.
"I am yours for the evening, Maiden," Helios whispered when they parted. "Where shall we go and what shall we do?"
"Don't you have to monitor the dreaming?" Usa whispered back.
"Mother has graciously agreed to cover for me, tonight and whenever I ask."
"When did she agree to this?"
"I was in mental contact with her just now," Helios related. He smirked. "She also wishes to know when she may expect a grandchild."
"Tell her I don't work well under pressure," Usa smirked back. "There's really not a lot of places we can go. We do tend to stand out. Maybe I can order in some dinner from one of Aunt Makoto's chefs and we can spend the night on a balcony?"
"If you are there, it will be the perfect evening," Helios replied. Usa gave him a cynical smile, though inside her heart was fluttering.
"So what would you like for dinner?" Makoto asked, pausing in the door to Ami's office. Ami was sitting at her desk, looking at a virtual reality readout.
"I've no preference," Ami murmured, intent upon the figures in front of her.
"Better watch it or I'll make cold fish and rice balls," Makoto shot back.
"And I'm quite certain it will be delicious," Ami mumbled.
"Ames, haven't you done enough work for today?" Makoto said, walking into the office. "I've only put up with you living in your office because it's Serenity who's sick. But you've got to watch out for your own health, too."
"I apologize, Makoto, but these hospitalization statistics must be reviewed in a timely manner or else they're useless," Ami countered. "And unless Serenity begins levitating again, the best time to do it is now."
"You sure?" Makoto asked. She's drifted behind Ami's chair. The woman reached down and caressed Ami under her chin.
"Ummm," groaned Ami. "Makoto, you're making it very difficult to concentrate."
"Good."
"As much as I appreciate your concern," Ami said, turning to the woman looming over her, "I must do this. So your time would be better used preparing the meal you promised me."
Makoto scowled. "One of these days you're going to do that to me and I'm just going to throw you over my shoulder and carry you out of here."
As the woman left, she didn't see Ami smirk to herself as the doctor returned her attention to the statistics. Fifteen minutes passed, in which time Makoto prepared a quick but heavenly looking plate of rice, blanched broccoli and seared teriyaki beef strips for two. When she returned to the office, though, she found Ami in a video conference with three people in medical grade anti-contamination suits.
"Yes, Dr. Mizuno, we've been getting patients all day, all with the same respiratory complaints," said a Japanese woman of fifty with short hair and a vision-augmentation visor.
"And it doesn't respond to any current treatments?" Ami asked.
"A few of the younger, healthier patients are responding," the woman related, "but not nearly as fast. And the younger, older or infirm patients don't respond at all."
"It's just as bad at my unit," said a man of forty-two, thin with brown hair and a mustache. "I've got micro-biologists looking at mucus samples now, but the biopsy results haven't found anything as yet. Meanwhile I've got nearly two hundred people clogging the halls. And it's spread to a doctor and three nurses."
"Are your people using respirators?" Ami asked.
"They are now," he replied. "It doesn't help the first responders, though."
"I would appreciate it if you both could forward biopsy samples to the Ministry for Infectious Diseases. We'll do our own investigation and try to find some answers for you. In the mean time, alert Emergency Management Systems if you get overwhelmed."
The three doctors nodded and rang off.
"What's up?" asked Makoto.
"I must touch base with Luna so she can prepare a statement for the public," mused Ami.
"Ames!" Makoto said insistently.
"Hmm? Oh. Apparently there is a respiratory infection spreading quickly through the population."
"Like what Serenity's got?"
"If it is, it isn't acting as it should," Ami said. "I shouldn't speculate without further investigation, but the possibility exists that this is another mutation of one of the remaining strains of influenza, and a particularly communicable strain at that."
"But you'll run it down, won't you?" Makoto asked.
"Yes," nodded Ami. "That isn't a question. The pertinent question is when."
Continued in Chapter 4