Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Saber Marionette Fan Fiction ❯ Terrible Things to Waste ❯ Inquiries ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Once more into the fold!

Comments welcome cause they make me all warm and fuzzy inside. Either that or I've had waay too much
wine and holiday spiritstoday.

Anyway, this part is dedicated to Chris Davies... if he's reading... or if he's alive for that matter...

-----------------------------
Terrible Things to Waste
Part 3: Inquiries
-----------------------------

The low rumbling and rhythmic click-clacking shook Greg
from his slumber. Unfolding himself from a cramped, dank
concrete niche, he looked up at the shivering bridge. The
entire structure trembled as the train passed.

Greg spied the foreigner standing next to him,
regarding the ripples in the river. A few crisp rays of
sunlight had just started to creep over the banks and
deflected off the uneven surface. More fully awake now,
Greg felt the onset of cold morning air nipping at exposed
skin and attempted to cover himself with his hands.

"You're up finally." The foreigner said while the
rumbling of the train faded into the distance.

"Uh, yeah."

"Good, let's go." The Timelord grabbed the boy.

As they emerged from underneath the bridge, it struck
Greg how the predawn light drained the street of its colors.
Shades of gray muted the vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges
from shops and street lamps. He enjoyed the relative peace
and quiet of early mornings like these. It gave him a
moment of clarity to close his eyes and receive
premonitions. However, since the premonitions stopped Greg
felt lost.

A person brushed by Greg oblivious to their wrinkled
and dirt smudged clothing. Greg watched as the man just
tightened his coat and stared on ahead minding his own
business.

'I wonder if Mom and Dad know I'm missing.' Greg
thought.

Without warning Greg slammed into the Timelord.

"Ow." He rubbed his nose. "What is it?"

"Her." The Timelord growled pointing to a metal box
seated on a post.

Greg peered at a newspaper behind the box's square
glass port. The front page featured the picture of a blonde
girl wearing a tiara between two long ponytails.

"Where Are They Now? The Story of the Mysterious
Sailor Scouts." Greg read aloud. "What about them?"

"No, you moron, I meant the girl."

"You mean Sailor Moon?"

"So that's Serenity?"

Greg gulped. "Who?"

"Nevermind." The Timelord rolled his eyes. "Do you
know anything about this Sailor Moon?"

"Uh, she saved my life once."

"That doesn't help me any kid." The Timelord scowled.
"Do you know where she lives?"

"Um, no."

The man snorted and tugged on the box's handle. After
several tugs, the Timelord regarded the slot in the top
corner.

"It's locked."

"I have some chang-"

"Shh!" The man waved off the boy. "I'm thinkin'
here."

The man stared at the slot in what Greg assumed to be
contemplation. Finally the man turned and smiled.

"I am a frickin' genius."

The Timelord flicked his wrist and flexed his hand.
Greg watched in fascination as a silvery mercury-like liquid
oozed from the middle of his forearm and crawled up his
wrist. Once the silvery fluid engulfed his hand, it
continued past his fingertips to form sharp points.

The Timelord wagged his sharpened index finger at Greg
before jabbing it into the slot.

"I'll have us one those paper things in no time." He
huffed as he prodded.

He prodded the slot some more. "No time at all."

He kept prodding. "No freaking time at all."

Finally, the Timelord stopped prodding and ripped open
the metal box, letting the metal door slip from his clawed
hand with a loud and rattling clang. The Timelord sniffed
indignantly.

"Stupid bastard."

The Timelord grabbed a newspaper while Greg looked
about nervously.

"Um, we should probably go."

"Yeah."

After putting a safe distance between themselves and
the metal container, the Timelord read the front page.

"You can read Japanese?" Greg asked.

"Is that what this is?" The Timelord pointed at the
characters printed on the page.

"How can you read Japanese if you don't know Japanese?"

The Timelord scratched his head. "It has to do with
these Universal Translator things in our brains somewhere.
And don't bother buggin' me with questions, I have no idea
how they work. Now leave me alone."

Greg sighed and continued to walk. He watched as
people in suits bustled past and poured into buses and
taxis. The sun now rose above the surrounding buildings
bringing out all of the reds, yellows, and oranges. Though
Greg liked to see the malaise of gray fade away, he now had
to contend with his growling stomach.

"You know where Jewban is?" The Timelord asked.

"Huh? Juuban? I guess, why?"

The Timelord pointed to the newspaper. "It says here
that's where what's her name been seen the most."

"Oh."

"It also says something about a Cherry Hill Temple.
Ever been to that place?"

Greg gulped.

------------------------------------------------------------

The early morning light filtered through the blinds of
Victoria's bedroom window. The young child rubbed her eyes
and curled up further in her blanket. She really didn't
want to leave the comfort of her bed, but, then again, she
didn't want to miss the morning cartoons either.

Slowly, she lowered her frail body to the floor and
stretched her limbs. The electrifying sensation of
circulation forcibly squeezed her large violet eyes shut and
hold her breath. She had always loved stretching,
especially in the morning. It gave her an opportunity to
feel good by just being alive. She stretched as long as she
could stand the sensation before relaxing with a huff.

Upon opening her eyes, she noticed her dark hair
dangling in her view. She moved to clear it when she
noticed her small hand. She stared at it wondering just how
much power that hand possessed. She knew this hand could
breathe life into the dying, but could it bring about the
final silence of death.

Sometimes she had nightmares that she had lost control
and obliterated everyone and everything.

'Harmless nightmares.' Victoria giggled. 'Yes, Aunt
Michelle's right, they're just harmless nightmares.'

Victoria could smell a strong scent of something sweet
beckoning her down the hall. Letting her nose lead the way,
Victoria wondered towards the kitchen.

'Smells like pancakes.' Victoria licked her lips.

The closer she got to the kitchen, the more her nose
twitched at the aroma. She closed her eyes, relishing the
fragrance. Once she felt the cool tile of the kitchen floor
under her feet, she fluttered her eyes open.

"Eeep!"

"Who's there?"

Victoria jumped back as a blonde woman whisked around
from the stove, spatula ready.

Spooked, Victoria rushed down the hall and ducked into
the master bedroom. She leaped onto the bed and shook one
of the covered bodies vigorously.

"Wake up, wake up! There's a strange lady in our
house!"

"Whaa?"

"There's a strange lady in the kitchen!" Victoria
whispered.

Erica threw the sheets aside and murmured. "A
burglar?"

"I think so. She's blonde."

Erica rolled out of the bed and rubbed her eyes,
yawning.

"Alright, then, let me get my transformation wand and
I'll chase her out." Erica paused. "Waitaminute."

Suddenly, the blonde stranger burst into the room.
Victoria yelped and dove behind Erica. Erica looked back at
Victoria and grinned.

"So you're the one scaring Vicky, huh?"

"I'm sorry, really, I didn't mean-" The blonde babbled.

"Don't." Erica raised her hand. "You don't have to
apologize I understand, Cindy."

Victoria stayed close to Erica as she crept away from
the bed. She could hear Erica's soft chuckling before a
foul smell filled the air.

Erica sniffed. "Is something burning?"

Cindy's eyes shot open. "Oh, by Serenity's ghost!
They're burning!"

Instantly, Cindy bound out of the bedroom.

Victoria followed Erica to the kitchen which by now had
filled with a plume of black smoke. She could see Cindy
desperately trying to extinguish the smoldering food on the
stove. Victoria stayed at the edge of the title as Erica
came to aid in putting out breakfast.

"What's going on?" A tired voice yawned.

Craning her neck, Victoria saw Michelle standing behind
her, her wavy green hair protruding in several directions.

"Oh, Cindy and I were just putting the finishing
touches on breakfast, that's all, Miche." Erica replied.

Turning back to the kitchen, Victoria noticed Cindy's
bright red face. Stepping away from the smoking skillet,
Cindy bowed deeply.

"I am truly sorry for all trouble I have caused. I'll
clean this up immediately."

"It's okay. We'll help you clean this up." Michelle
said as she ran her hand through her hair.

Cindy lifted her head peered at Victoria. Scared, she
clutched Michelle's leg. Smiling, Cindy knelt down,
offering her hand.

"I guess I owe you an apology as well for scaring you
earlier. My name is Cindy and you are?"

Michelle looked down at the child. "She's Victoria.
We adopted her a few years ago."

Cindy gazed at Victoria. "I see. So are you always
this shy?"

Victoria nodded as Michelle smiled. "Not always, but
give her some time and I'm sure she'll warm up to you."

"I see," Cindy sprang to her feet, "we'll have plenty
of time to warm up to each other later, but first let's
clean up the mess I made."

As Erica and Michelle helped Cindy scrape the skillet,
the kitchen erupted with red light. Once it faded a tall
figure appeared before Victoria.

"Pluto." She whispered.

"You're presence is requested, Traveller." The Time
Guardian clicked her staff on the title floor.

"Wh-" Cindy uttered before vanishing in a flash of
crimson.

------------------------------------------------------------

"Wow, she's awfully late today."

"I know, Mina, this is becoming a bad habit."

"Oh knock it off you two, she's probably got a good
reason."

"I guess, but she promised she wouldn't be late this
time. Anyway we better get back to the shrine soon. I
don't feel like dealing with Raye especially after making
her wait this long."

"Lita's got a point."

"Don't either of you worry about Raye. I told her we'd
be waiting for her here outside the temple and it'd only be
polite to wait."

"Whatever you say, but I hope she gets back soon. This
tray is getting heavy."

"Ooo, which kind did you bake this time, Mina?"

"Sugar cookies."

"I'm here!"

"There you are Amy. We've been waiting here for over
10 minutes."

"I'm sorry Serena, but I overslept this morning."

"Your study session with Greg kept you up last night?
Hehe."

"Mina!"

"Um, actually, Serena called me after he left. I spent
most of the night doing research on these 'Travellers.'"

"Research?"

"Yes, the compact computer Luna gave me has a rather
extensive archive dating back to the Moon Kingdom era."

"What!"

"Hold on a second, you have a complete archive dating
back to the Silver Millennium?"

"Further than that actually, I believe it goes back
5,000 years. I haven't been able to translate it all."

"Translate?"

"How come you never said anything before?"

"Because it looked like gibberish at first when I
received the compact, so I didn't think it was worth
mentioning. It wasn't until I asked Luna about it a year
ago that I discovered what it was."

"Huh."

"Pass that by me again?"

"Basically Serena, I have the library of the Moon
Kingdom on my compact."

"That's so cool! It's kinda like the time I saw that
movie in French. Even though I had no idea what they were
saying, and wasn't sure what was going on I think I got the
gist of it. Oh and those actors are so cute with their cute
little accents, ooo, I'd just melt... Er, so anyways, that
thing's got a complete history of the world and all that
other stuff, right?"

"Um, yes it does, Mina. It also has schematics of
ancient technology."

"Awesome."

"I'm still confused."

"I hate to interrupt you three, but we probably should
be making our way to the shrine."

"Yes, Lita, I believe it would be wise to expedite
ourselves."

"Yeah, and we better hurry up too."

"Mina, um..."

"What?"

"Nevermind. Let's get inside before Raye has a
conniption fit."

"So did you find anything on those 'Travellers' Amy?"

"Not too much, Serena. From what I've been able to
read, it's mostly just general warnings to never let one
stay here for too long."

"Did it say why?"

"Not really."

"Oh."

------------------------------------------------------------

"Ya know these eggs are a little runny." The Timelord
managed between mouthfuls of food. "And they taste weird
with this rice."

Greg watched in morbid fascination as he quietly
nibbled on his toast. The Timelord continued to greedily
slurp down cups of coffee and shovel spoonfuls of rice and
egg into his face. The man had already given up on the idea
of chopsticks their waitress had given them and instead
commandeered the use of a rice ladle.

"Can I get you gentlemen anything else?" The waitress
asked her eyebrow twitching as she smiled.

Greg cringed when the Timelord let loose a loud belch.
The boy slumped in the cushioned booth when he realized all
the other restaurant patrons were staring at them.

"Ya know kid," the Timelord wiped his mouth with his
sleeve, "you're not half bad. What did you say your name
was?"

"Um, Greg."

"Greg huh." The Timelord blurted, spraying rice on the
table.

"Yeah." Greg looked down at the table. "Actually,
Mister, um-"

"Zen. Tracer Zen."

"Right." Greg let his words come out carefully.
"Mister Zen, I was wondering why you want to find Sailor
Moon so badly?"

Tracer stopped shoveling and turned away. "Why should
I tell you? For all I know you could be one of her spies."

"Spies?" Greg knitted his brow.

"Yeah, spies. You said you know her, so how do I know
you won't run off and tell Serenity I'm here." Tracer
sneered. "The last thing I need is to deal with one of her
guards."

Greg took in a breath. "I did meet Sailor Moon once,
but I don't know who she is. I'm sure if you just talked to
her."

Tracer crossed his arms. "Like hell I will."

"Why not?"

"Cause the last time I ran into one of her guards, I
got this." Tracer slammed his hand on the table, cracking
the glossy finish.

Greg remembered the strange silvery liquid that oozed
from it earlier that morning. "What do you mean?"

"Do you think my hand naturally changes into a claw you
damned fool?" Tracer raised his fist. "What I mean is one
of your damn 'Sailor Scouts' took my hand and tried to kill
me."

"W-which one?"

"The one who can control ice." Tracer growled.

Greg gulped. 'Amy?'

"Anyway, we've wasted enough time here." The Timelord
stood. "We have a temple to stake out."

With that Tracer stabbed his clean chopsticks into the
bowl of rice, satisfied.

------------------------------------------------------------

"SHE WHAT?" Raye's dark eyes burned.

Luna stepped back, paw by paw. By now Reenie had
jumped to the other side of the room from where the raven-
haired priestess sat.

"She convinced Sailor Pluto to let the Traveller stay
here." Luna finished for Reenie.

"That little... Grrrr!"

Raye clinched her teeth, grinding them slowly back and
forth as she wrung the loose red leggings draped over her
crossed legs.

That ditz finally did it. She out stepped her bounds
as the leader of the Scouts because some stranger had a sob
story. Raye chastised herself for ever believing that naive
nincompoop could be responsible enough to make the right
decisions as their leader. She felt like such a fool.

"Hello Raye, how are you?"

Raye looked up from the table to see Amy, Serena, and
Mina walk in as Lita slid the bedroom door closed.

"Oh I'm fine, Amy, considering we're starting late
again." She growled.

Amy lowered her head. "Please accept my most humble
apologies, Raye."

Raye shook her head and sighed. "Amy, I don't know
what's going on with you but you've been late the last few
times. And what I can't believe is you used to be early to
these meetings."

"Raye, give her a break, I mean she was talking to her
boyfriend." Serena piped in.

"Er, that's not quite tru-"

"Listen Miss All-High-and-Mighty," Raye arched her
eyebrow. "I don't think you have much room to talk after
the stunt you pulled last night."

Serena narrowed her eyes. "Raye, just give her a
break."

'Don't you dare give me that look.' Raye glared at
Serena. 'I'm not going to let you dupe me again.'

"Give her a break?" Raye jumped to her feet to meet
Serena eye to eye.

Warmth spread from the back of Raye's head and flowed
to the tips of her fingers making her skin tingle. She
desperately needed to relieve herself of this warmth or else
it would threaten to boil her insides. The priestess eyed
Serena. The blonde girl didn't appear to be backing down
anytime soon and Raye was more than willing to unleash this
warmth upon her.

"Alright." Lita stood between the two girls. "Enough
with the fighting, there's some serious business we have to
attend to. Now cool it."

Raye looked up at Lita's stern gaze and immediately the
warmth subsided. Her anger quelled, Raye flipped back a few
strands of black hair and backed down.

'Bah. No use in wasting my time arguing with Serena.'
She reasoned as she quietly took her seat.

Quickly, the other girls sat in a circle near Raye's
bed as Luna hopped onto Raye's table.

"Now that we have everyone here, I would like to get-"

"Hey Mina, did you bring sugar cookies again?" Reenie
salivated over the tray of treats.

"Yup." The blonde girl beamed.

"Goodie!" The child squealed as she grabbed a couple
of cookies.

"And this time I didn't need Lita's help to make them."
Mina tossed aside some of her long blonde locks proudly.

"Um, guys, I'm trying to start-"

"Actually, Mina I had to give you detailed
instructions." Lita wagged her finger at the blonde as she
took a cookie.

"Yeah well."

"Hello? We need-"

"Here you go Serena." Reenie offered a cookie to the
other blonde girl.

"Thanks." Serena smiled.

"Can we now-"

"I suppose I could give one a try, the last batch
wasn't too bad." Raye conceded as her mouth watered in
anticipation of the tasty morsels.

"AHEM. Now, as I was going to say, Artemis and I have
reviewed the situation and, uh, actually has anyone seen
Artemis?"

"Uuuuugh." A moan bellowed from underneath the bed.

Luna peered over the edge as the disheveled white fur
of another feline emerged from underneath the bed.

"Artemis, what in the world are you doing there?"

The cat crawled out further, his face a shade of green
and his tongue hanging limp. "I don't feel so good."

Raye scowled. "You have better not made a mess under
my bed."

Artemis rolled over. "Ugh, don't worry, that was next
to the front door. Right now I'm in the dying stages."

"What!" Raye bristled.

"From what?" Amy inquired.

"The cookies." Artemis groaned.

"How can you get sick from coo-" Raye took a bite of
her snack. "PTTTTTHH!"

Raye could feel her taste buds revolt the instant her
tongue hit the cookie.

"What did you put in this, Mina? Are you trying to
kill us?" Raye gagged.

"Uh, I don't know what I could have done wrong?" Mina
examined the remaining cookies.

Lita took a small bite and puckered her lips. "Mina,
you used salt in these cookies."

"Oh so that's what it was." The blonde girl rubbed the
back of her head. "I could have sworn it was more sugar."

"What happened to all of the sugar?" Amy asked.

"I used it all on the first batch, and when it
disappeared, I used the closest thing to it for the second
batch.

"Why salt!" Raye spat.

"Um, Lita told me that if I ever ran out of something
that I use something else that's similar."

"Er, but Mina, um, I'll get with you later on that."
The tall brunette stood, grabbing the tray. "Let me throw
these away."

The black feline sighed. "Thank you Lita. As I was
saying, after me and Artemis reviewed the situation we
decided before proceeding any further that we get the
consensus of the rest of you."

"Thank God someone decided to let us participate in the
decision making." Raye announced.

"So, I feel it would be appropriate to bring Cindy here
and let her have her say."

"I concur with Luna, it would be best that we all
evaluate her in person before we can make any more
decisions." Amy added.

"Yeah it'd be kinda neat to meet someone who travels
through time."

"Mina, hello? I'm from the future."

"Oh yeah, that's right. Sorry Reenie."

Raye rolled her eyes. "Uh, fine by me. I want to see
this Cindy face to face to see what she's really after."

"What's going on?" Lita took a seat on the floor.

"Nothing much, we're going to have the time traveler
lady Serena gave permission to stay here come over." Mina
rested her chin on her palm.

"Ah, I was wondering when we were going to meet her."

"Then it's settled." Serena said, turning to the pink-
haired child. "Okay Reenie, time to call Pluto on your Luna-
P and tell her I want her to bring Cindy here."

Reenie nodded eliciting a gape from the rest of the
girls.

'She's awfully haughty to tell Pluto what to do.' Raye
thought. 'Apparently that power rush from last night hasn't
worn off yet.'

Reaching over, Reenie picked up a black ball adorned
like a cat's head. After the child touched the mouth and
two large eyes in a certain sequence, the antenna between
the two pointy cat ears twitched. Suddenly, a grainy image
of the Time Guardian appeared in one of the eyes.

"What is it Small Lady?" Pluto stated flatly above the
static.

"Uh, hey Puu. Serena and the girls were wondering if
you wouldn't mind bringing Cindy over to Raye's bedroom.
Um, please?"

Pluto closed her eyes. "As the Queen wishes."

Instantly, the bedroom filled with crimson light and
Pluto appeared with the blonde Traveller by her side. Raye
noticed the woman getting her bearings before realizing
where she was.

"It is such an honor to finally meet all of you, I am
Cindy Animi." Cindy bowed deeply.

"Nice to make acquaintance with you." Amy bowed her
head.

"Uh, what she said." Mina added.

Cindy turned to Serena and smiled. "Hello Serena, I
hope I haven't caused too much trouble."

"I wouldn't say too much." Raye smirked.

"I think what Raye means is that they'd like to ask you
some questions." Serena put on her best smile. "Oh wait,
but you don't know who everyone is."

Cindy waved her hand at Serena. "Of course I know
everybody here."

Raye raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Let's see," Cindy pointed to each girl in the room,
starting with Lita, "you are Makoto or Sailor Jupiter."

She turned to Raye. "You're Rei or Sailor Mars."

Then to Amy. "You're Ami or Sailor Mercury."

And finally to Mina. "And you're Minako or Sailor
Venus."

Raye's jaw slacked. "How the heck can you recognize
us? Nobody else can!"

"Um, because we have volume upon volume of books
devoted totally to all of you. You're one of the most well-
known figures in all of the dimensions."

All the girls' eyes grew wide. "WHAT?"

"Hey Raye is everything okay in there?" A voice
emanated from outside the door.

"Oh crap it's Chad!"

Hurdling the table, Raye slammed herself against the
door, sliding it closed.

"What do you want?" The raven-haired priestess barked.

"Um, I just heard you guys yelling and I was checking
to see if everything is okay."

"Nothing's going on. We're just talking about private
things. Ya know, uh, girl stuff."

"Ah okay. Uh, well, Grandpa wants you to help me clean
up this mess by the front door."

'Oh Artemis, you are going to pay for this.' Raye
clenched her fist. "Okay fine, but I'll do it later, now
buzz off!"

"Um, Miss Cindy, how is it you're able to travel
through time?" Amy pulled out her compact computer.

The blonde Traveller tapped her chin. "Well, I'm
really shaky on the theory, but basically imagine a piece of
rope made up of many strands and each strand is made up of
small strings. For each string there exists a totally
unique dimension. What we Travellers do is jump from string
to string at any point along the length of the string."

"So you can jump from one time in one dimension to a
different time in another dimension?"

"That is correct Miss Ami."

"Wait a second." Lita held a finger to her forehead.
"Why can't you go back in time when these enemies of yours
showed up here and taken them by surprise?"

"Because Travellers cannot go back into their own past.
If a Traveller goes into a timeline then the time the
Traveller exists in that timeline is essentially locked out
to other past or future Travellers."

"Umm." Mina raised her hand. "I didn't follow a word
of that."

Serena and Reenie nodded while Raye rubbed her temple
and Lita stared on blankly. Luna buried her head in the
covers.

Cindy looked around the room in wide-eyed confusion.
"Uh, I don't know how-"

"Oh my goodness!"

"What is it Amy?" Lita leaned over the blue-haired
girl's shoulder.

"Cindy, you're mostly inorganic!"

"In a language we can understand please, Amy." Raye's
brow twitched.

"My computer says she's 55 metal!"

'So that's why I couldn't see any visions during my
meditation in front of the fire, she's a soulless machine.'
Raye narrowed her eyes. "Care to explain, Mizz Cindy?"

Cindy bowed her head. "You've discovered our curse,
I'm afraid. My people were decedents of a very advanced
race who had tampered with all aspects of nature. They
created self-thinking android servants, control climates in
domes, and fought battles with some of most monstrous war
machines imaginable. As legend has it, something happened
and a hole was ripped through space and time."

"That doesn't sound very... pleasant." Lita blinked.

"Yeah. The few survivors of the cataclysm found they
could travel through time and jump dimensions. However,
their blood would slowly turn to mercury as they grew old
almost like a cancer."

"So how is it that you're still alive with 55 of your
body being metal?"

"Some of the remaining survivors had developed small
machines that feed off the mercury in our blood which in
turn would run some of our vital organs."

"A type of bio-technology?" Amy's hands shivered
slightly.

"Yup."

"Awesome."

"What about this enemy of yours who's trying to kill
you?" Lita leaned on her elbows.

"The Counsule. They were a group of people who were
charged with running the Community, my home. Over time,
they took advantage of their position and began to suppress
my people. They were quick to dispose of any threats,
especially once they found out the Society."

"And that's the rebel group?" Lita asked.

"Yes. I joined the Society after they killed my
family. I've been a fugitive ever since."

"So who exactly is after you?"

"The Counsule has two Timelords pursuing me, Halebit
and Malance. I know that they have followed me to this
timeline. I have fought them before so I believe I can be
of some help to you if you confront them."

"There's only two Timelords here?" Cindy jumped at
Pluto's inquiry.

"Yeah."

Pluto stared at the woman intently. "I see."

Raye could detect something from the Time Guardian's
expression. 'Pluto knows something.'

"You were saying that we are some of most well-known
people of all the dimensions." The priestess crossed her
arms.

"That's right, I read a lot about you when I was a gir-
"

"So that means these two 'Timelords' know all about us
too? Like our true identities? I mean that's how you were
able to find Serena. What else would they know, huh? Maybe
our weaknesses?"

"Not exactly. I was a historian and I read extensively
about you all. I had to dig deep to find more information
on you for just one timeline."

"Is that why you called me Usagi when we first met?"

"Exactly. And you see since there's virtually thousand
of timelines where all of you exist, there is no telling for
sure if the information you have is even right. For
instance, for a given timeline Minako's hair could be
purple."

"That's Mina and eew."

'Something isn't adding up.' Raye studied Pluto's
expression. "Still, if you were able to recognize Serena
then they'll probably recognize the rest of us as well. It
seems to me, Mizz Cindy, you've put us all in danger by
coming here."

"I'm afraid Raye is correct." Amy added. "If you were
able to recognize Serena then the chances are good that the
other Timelords will as well."

Both Mina and Lita nodded. Raye noticed Serena staring
at her sideways. 'Didn't think of that did ya, Serena?'

"I'm, uh, look it, uh, I'm sorry." Cindy lowered her
face, but Raye could see her lip quiver. "I'm desperate
okay, I have no where else to turn. I've lost everything,
my family, my friends, my home. I just remembered all of
the stories I read as a girl about the Sailor Senshi
defending the world from evil and wishing I could meet you
all someday."

A few tears wetted the table surface beneath Cindy. "I
guess I hoped you would welcome me with open arms, but I see
that was all just wishful thinking."

"No it isn't." Serena announced. "Listen guys, we've
faced many powerful enemies bent on destroying our world.
We've made many sacrifices over the years for our friends
and each other. I know that each of us has a good heart and
you are not cruel enough to turn your back on someone asking
us for help. All I ask it is that you examine your
conscience and tell me if that is something you can live
with."

Raye looked around and noticed the other girls
considering Serena's words. Once again, warmth spread
through the priestess' body.

Raye slammed her palm on the table. "Listen, Serena,
don't let her little show fool you. Don't you see she's
already gotten to you? I doubt you're in the right state of
mind to tell us what to do."

"And you're in the right state of mind Raye? What
about you're grandfather?"

"Why you..." Raye growled. 'I should have never told
you, you traitor.'

Serena raised her head and looked Raye straight in the
eye. Half expecting Serena to be glaring at her, Raye
shifted away in surprise. Serena's serene expression
drained away all the warmth that once filled Raye. It
chilled Raye to her core like it had once or twice before.
It was like Serena could see past all of her defenses and
peered directly into her soul.

Serena spoke softly. "Please just consider what I have
to say, okay?"

'Damn it Serena.' Raye crossed her arms and turned
away. "Fine."

The phone began to ring. Raye let out a sigh. 'If
that's another reporter then they picked the absolutely
worst time to call.'

"Hello?"

"Hello Raye, this is Ms. Mizuno." Her voice sounded
strained. "Is Amy there?"

"Yeah." Raye handed the receiver to the blue-haired
girl. "Here Amy, it's your mom."

Amy knitted her brow. "Mom? Yes. Uh-huh. What! No
he went home around 10 o'clock. Yes. Yes, I'll be home
immediately."

"What is it?" Serena asked.

"I have to go." Amy reached for her jacket. "The
police are at my house. Someone broke into Greg's house
last night and they can't find Greg."

------------------------------------------------------------

"Will ya quit rustling the bushes ya stupid bastard?"
Tracer hissed.

"Sorry." Greg whispered.

He couldn't help but squirm with the prickly legs of
inserts crawling on his skin. They had spent a good three
hours in the brush surrounding the Cherry Blossom Temple
waiting for something, Greg wasn't sure what.

"Um, Mister Zen, we've been here for awhile now and all
I've seen is just an old priest and his apprentice sweeping
the temple grounds."

"She's here, I know it."

"Why would Sailor Moo-"

"Quiet, someone's coming out!"

Greg peered through the foliage and could see a group
of girls coming out of the shrine. 'Oh no, all the girls
are here.'

He could hear bits of their conversation flutter toward
to him.

"Are you going to be okay Amy?"

"Yeah, I'll see you guys later."

"Let us know if they find out anything else."

"I will Serena."

Greg sighed to himself as Amy scurried down the temple
steps out of view. He noticed the other girls filing back
into the temple still chatting with each other. After all
the other girls went inside, Raye approached the short old
man still busily sweeping around the entrance.

"Grandpa, I told Chad I'd sweep after the girls left.
And besides you know the doctor said not to overexert
yourself."

The old man raised his eyebrow. "Overexert? Bah, I'll
be just fine Raye, I can still take care of myself."

"Well, just be careful. I don't know what I'd do
without you."

"Perhaps you're right, child. To be perfectly honest,
I was more than willing to let you sweep up later but the
stink was beginning to get to me."

Greg could see the bulging vein in Raye's forehead.
SUgh, that cat! I'm going to strangle him!"

Raye stomped past her grandfather and slammed the door.

Greg cringed. 'I see why Amy dreads having to meet
with the other girls now.'

Suddenly the Timelord started to get up. "I've seen
enough, let's go."

"You see, Sailor Moon isn't here."

"Are ya blind kid? The blonde pony tails, the eyes,
the face, those freakin' balls of hair sittin' on her head;
it's obvious that Serena girl is Sailor Moon."

Greg gulped, as the man made his way through the brush.

"Get up kid, now that I know what our target looks like
it's time for surveillance."

Slowly, Greg disengaged himself from the small wiry
branches. Looking down, he noticed a picture lying face
down. 'Huh, the Timelord must have dropped this.'

Curious he flipped it over. It appeared to be a
picture of a blonde girl wrapped in a white dress and
smiling at the camera. Greg peered at her blue eyes.

'What would such a beautiful young girl be doing with
this guy? She doesn't look more than 18 years old.' Greg
pondered. 'Maybe she's into the rough types? Ah who
knows?'

"Come on kid." Greg could hear Tracer hiss. "Don't
make me come in there and smack you."

"Ah, hold on a sec." He sighed, placing the picture in
his pocket. 'The inquiries will have to wait till later.'

-End of Part 3-

I this part came out a bit rougher than the previous two, however,
I think I avoided most of the obvious errors. Also, you may notice
the characterization is a little off, but I don't know I'll have to chalk
that one up to the 'eye of the beholder' and all that nonsense.
Anyway, thanks to Helmutt for comments and edits. I think I got
most of em'. And thanks to you guys for reading and feel free to
let me know this thing still has some merit. ;;;

Disclaimer:
All original characters are owned and copyrighted by Bastion (c) 2004.
And Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi and in America by DIC
and Pioneer and ADV, etc, etc, etc...

Bastion
Rev 11/04