Chapter Six: Awakening The early morning sunlight glittered gently in the open window, shimmering softly on pale creamy skin and ripe golden hair. With the warmth of the sunrise on her face Mina awoke to the lulling sounds of Tokyo waking up, people rising to go to work, cars honking, voices speaking. She stretched languorously, blinking several times to clear the sleepy grit from her eyes. "You're awake," a low voice commented. "I was thinking you might sleep for awhile more." Mina glanced towards the voice to see an attractive woman in a white lab coat adjusting the window curtains. "Hello." The woman smiled and moved to the bed. "Hello Mina. I'm Dr. Quiao, I looked after you last night." Shaking her head in confusion, Mina glanced around the hospital room. "Last night?" Dr. Quiao smiled. "You have wonderful friends. I hope you appreciate them. There must have been twenty people milling around the waiting room until ten or eleven last night. Then most of them left but four or five stayed until midnight or so. One even camped out in the waiting room since she wasn't allowed to stay in here past visiting hours." "Really?" Mina's brow furrowed. "Who?" "I'm not sure of her name but she has long black hair and is wearing a red shirt with black pants. Bring up and recollections?" Mina smiled wanly. "It's most likely my friend Raye." The doctor smiled and picked up the medical history at the end of the bed. "She seems like a very good friend. You must be very close for her to show that kind of devotion. Umm," the doctor didn't look up, "Mina, do you have any idea why you're here?" Glancing out the window, Mina ran her hands across an ache in her center. Her stomach, sore and tender, shivered in pain under her light touch. "Major cramps?" she joked nervously. The severe look the doctor gave her was almost frightening in its intensity. "Mina...how long has it been since you had your last period?" Still stroking her tender middle, Mina shook her head. "I have never been regular, so I'm not really certain." She paused, fear darkening her eyes. "Why?" "Do you have a boyfriend, a steady guy, anyone?" The doctor stepped forward and tenderly brushed stray wisps of golden hair off Mina's forehead. Frightened by the action, Mina shivered as if in pain. "No. He...died." The woman winced and replaced the pen she had been making notes with on the clipboard. "Mina...You have to understand, we don't see your type of case very often. You were...pregnant. You were actually barely along, but..." Mina gasped and clutched her stomach as the shock of the news ripped through her body. The doctor continued, unaffected and unaware of her patient's pain. "...your body spontaneously refused the fetus. I had almost decided to tell you in a different way, but your case is special. It appears to me that you have been taking a very severe physical beating on a regular basis. Your body has been weakened and strained from the constant physical exertion." "I was pregnant?" Mina whispered in surprise, "But that's impossible." Mina's mind whirled and spun in a thousand directions. The Sailor Scouts can't get pregnant unless their Knight is the father! It's always been that way; the soul mate principle controls our destiny. It's impossible! Dr. Quiao sighed on hearing her words. "I assure you Mina, a healthy young woman like yourself is perfectly capable of conceiving if she doesn't use the proper protection. Which," she paused glancing at Mina sternly, "you apparently didn't. Since you were unaware, I will assume the father was as well. You tested clean of any STD's so you can be thankful for that at least. Would you like to explain to me where those bruises along your back came from, or can I assume that you 'walked in to a wall'?" She thinks I have an abusive boyfriend, Mina wondered with surprise. She thinks I am in denial. Mina wanted to laugh aloud. The mere idea of any man daring to hit her was humorous. The only one she had allowed to hurt her physically not in battle was... "Malachite," she murmured in surprise. The doctor turned to the door and began to walk away. She paused for a moment and sighed. "If you feel you need to talk...I can set you up with a battered woman's shelter. They take in harder cases than you. Maybe...maybe then you might want to think about what this 'Malachite' did to you. I'll be back later to do some more tests." As Mina watched the woman's retreating back, she felt icy sharp needles of pain in the tips of her fingers. She glanced down in surprise. Her hands were a faint shade of blue-white from the pressure she was exerting by clasping them together. Her entire body felt weak and shaky, a rolling pit of acid in her stomach screamed for release. Pregnant...I was pregnant...I couldn't have been...shouldn't have been...in the Silver Millennium they said we couldn't bear a child to anyone but our Knight. But...this is Earth, not the Moon Kingdom...I was pregnant. I would have had a baby...like Molly. But...I thought maybe we hadn't slept together, he seemed so sure...Pregnant. I have to call Jeremy...No! I can't...I can't...he'll want to know how I lost it. What am I supposed to say. "Oh yeah, Jeremy, by the way, I lost our child fighting some Nega-verse monster." She moaned aloud, closing to a soft whimper. What am I going to do?! Adam...it should have been Adam's child...but he's...he's...gone. And if he were alive he'd never forgive me...I was pregnant. * * * * * * * * * * Solan perched beside Auriel on her bed. Clad simply in a pair of black pants and white shirt, he looked faintly dashing with his white hair and wide purple eyes. "So," he continued with his story, "he's been acting way too weird since I met you guys. He's never around, and I'm not just talking about when I'm in training, I mean, never. He keeps looking at me oddly too. And asking why I haven't pursued Kristen since that night." Glancing up from grading a paper a child she was tutoring wrote, Auriel sighed. "Look, Solan, Jeremy can probably tell you've changed. Serena says Molly could when she became Sailor Moon and Darien says the same thing for his friend, Andrew. Once you get acclimated, everything should fall in to place." "Acclimated," Solan muttered. "How in the world am I supposed to get used to this? There have been ten attacks since I became a Knight, two weeks since Mina was taken to the hospital, Jeremy's avoiding me, and every time I go to school I wonder what the point is. You said so yourself, we're different. So why do you pretend that we're normal?" She lay the thick paper down on the bed and hugged Solan tightly to her. "Because," she whispered brokenly, her breath feathering against his ear, "if we don't, we would go insane. If there were no monster attacks, we would wish for them, and when there were, we would wish them gone. We may have been royalty in a past life, but here, now, is not then. We are mortals, we are reborn. We can not return to the sun, it has been too long since our people resided there, it is lost to us. So we must pretend and live out the rest of our lives in secret, here. One day, when Serena is Neo Queen Serenity, then it shall be as it was before. Until that time we must grow in to our powers and learn to love again in this life." Staring at the earnest face of his soul mate, Solan was stunned. She was so passionate, so fiery when roused. "I don't understand," he murmured, "but I shall try." She drew back, brow furrowing. "Solan," she glanced at him quickly, "have you had any odd dreams lately? Anything pertaining to Mina or Jeremy?" A shock rippled through his system at her words. Auriel felt his body tighten beneath her hands and she bit her lip in sorrow. He glanced up through large frightened eyes and nodded once. Swallowing harshly, Auriel took his hand and led him to her bathroom silently. He trudged behind, aware that what she was about to show him was not going to be of his liking. "Please," he moaned softly, "please don't make me see it again!" "You have to, I have to." "No," he denied, "If we ignore it, it won't happen." Pausing at the door, Auriel flipped on the bathroom light, flooding the blue and gold bathroom with light. "Solan," she admonished, "you know better than that. Your visions are appearing; you must work on strengthening them. Stare in to the mirror and concentrate on Mina, on Jeremy. What do you see? It is important to the future of the Scouts." "She's holding him," he whispered. Auriel nodded, it was as she had dreamed the night before. "And?" "He's dying," Solan forced out between white lips. "How is he going to die, Solan?" Auriel felt tears spring to her eyes at the words; her soul mate's pain was tangible. She felt it rip through her system as surely as if it had been her own. "He's going to save her, he's going to give himself up for her." Auriel bit her lip until she tasted blood. Tears dripped down her cheeks, stinging hot and salty as they dripped on her tender lips. "Now, is it fated or destined, Solan? Can it be prevented?" Solan's body shook as he dropped to the floor and curled in to the fetal position. "It's not fair," he moaned as Auriel dropped to her knees beside him to offer him comfort. "Why?! Why do I have to find this out now? Why? Why?" He hiccuped, "Whh..yyy?" Auriel eased his white head in to her lap and let her own tears silently flow. Solan and Jeremy had been friends since childhood, a thing she had never had in this life. They were as close as two friends could be, and she was ripping them apart by showing Solan the truth. "It's destined, Solan," she groaned. "We can do nothing. I am sorry." * * * * * * * * * * * Lita sat back, a shocked expression plastered across her face. "But...that's impossible!" A pause from the person on the other end of the line, and a tired voice answered back. "No, Lita. It's not impossible. Greg and I are going to have to abandon the team for awhile in order to take this business worldwide. I'm sorry honey, but we have to go to New York for awhile. Microsoft wants to talk to Greg and me about some programs we designed. Normally we'd just do all the arranging online or via satellite, but this time we have to be there in person. We have to sign papers or something." A tear slipped down her cheek. "But that's impossible. We really need you guys." There was a low sigh of exasperation from the other end and she smiled wetly. "I'm sorry, Ken. I just...I just didn't want to lose you so soon after...the dreams." On the other side of town Ken grimaced. Being away would be hard enough without the reminder of uncertain enemies hovering around. "I know babe. I PROMISE Greg and I will only be gone two weeks. We leave tomorrow afternoon, so both of us will still be able to make the Scout meeting tonight. Come on, it'll only be two weeks, we'll survive." Lita nodded absentmindedly. "I know, I know. It's just...well; I keep having this strange feeling the past week or so. Please, please, postpone your trip." Ken sighed again. "LITA, I CAN NOT..." he paused to control his lightening temper, "I'm sorry. You don't deserve to be yelled at. Please forgive me. Honey, I can not miss this and neither can Greg. If we mess this up we might be passing up one of the biggest opportunities of our lives." Swallowing back more tears, Lita sighed. "Okay. I understand. I'll see you at the meeting tonight then?" A low tap on the side of the pay phone caught Ken's attention. He glanced up just at Greg was tapping lightly on his watch. Nodding Ken picked up his bag. "Of course honey. See you tonight. Love you." "Love you too." Ken hung up the phone and opened the door to the phone booth. "So, where to?" Greg pointed to Tokyo Tower. "That way. Darien and Chad said to meet there, but we're going to have to hurry up if we want to pick up Apollo and Solan and still be there on time." "Let's move." Twenty minutes later all remaining male members of the Sailor Knights gathered under Tokyo Tower. Darien shuffled his feet and his brow furrowed as he concentrated on his medical text. Solan stared at the ground, heat burning in his cheeks despite the icy wind ripping through his thin clothing. Apollo watched his friend carefully, as he absently rubbed the sun tattoo on his collarbone. Chad lay back on a bench nearby gazing at the stormy sky. As Greg and Ken settled themselves down near Chad, they exchanged concerned glances. Normally Darien would have started the meeting right off, but he was studying rather than beginning the urgently called meeting. "Umm, Darien?" Greg asked. Darien glanced up, his dark blue gaze intent. "Yes?" "When are we going to begin the meeting?" Glancing at Apollo and Solan, Darien shrugged. "I'm not sure. Whenever their friend gets here I suppose." Chad sat up. "Huh?" Apollo rose to his feet and lay a reassuring hand on Solan's shoulder. "Solan's friend is going to be involved with the Sailor Soldiers very soon, and he will be here momentarily. Something must be explained to him before anything else goes wrong with Destiny's timeline." Greg shivered at Apollo's harsh words. "Something is wrong? Why haven't you told us before now? Why don't the girls know?" Burying his head into his backpack, Solan winced. His muttered voice drifted up from the worn canvas. "Auriel and Aurora know. Mina has an idea, but nowhere near a clue as to how badly things are going wrong." He raised his head, eyes streaming tears. "Jeremy was, is, destined to die for a Sailor Scout. Mina, to be exact. But not in this way. That's what triggered my powers over destiny, the fact that my best friend was in trouble." "Wow," Chad whispered. "Does Mina have any idea?" "That's the thing. That's why we called a meeting." Apollo raised his hands to the sky. "We must all leave, especially Solan." He turned to his friend. "I'm sorry, but I can not risk you altering fate and meddling with destiny for the sake of your friend. It's beyond rough, I know, but it is for the best. If it will make you feel better, you will meet him again, I promise. There are other worlds than this one, and Jeremy will be much better off in the one he's going to." Solan turned his head away and sighed. "I know. But it hurts like a hole in my stomach. It hurts more than I can bear." Darien sighed and lightly touched Solan on the shoulder. "We will always be here for you Solan. But what do you mean 'We must all leave'?" Apollo glanced at his watch. "Just that. We must all leave. All of us must go home in less than an hour and pack our bags. We can't leave a message for our ladies; we must simply disappear for two weeks. When we return, all shall be well, but we can not be here for it." Eyes widening, Chad rose to his feet in one fluid motion. "Are you nuts?! I can't just abandon Raye! Darien can't just take off of work! We have lives here!" Solan grinned. "It's all been taken care of. You'd be surprised what a few calls and a little hypnotism can do. Darien has been released for a special conference in New York due to his excellent internship. When he returns, he shall assume his old duties, just with a pay raise." "I can't accept that," Darien protested. "I didn't earn it." Apollo shrugged. "They were going to offer it in a month or so anyway. I merely sped up the process. And there actually is a convention and conference in New York you were being considered for. I merely made the decision for him. The same goes for Ken and Greg. Your meeting with Microsoft was going to take place about two months from now. Your proposal mysteriously made it's way to the top of the stack that's all. It spoke for itself." Chad shook his head angrily. Apollo smiled at him gently. "Don't worry Chad. When you return home there will be an urgent message from your mother who happens to be in New York. Your father has the sudden desire to see his "godly" son. The fight you have been having over your stay at the temple is over. They decided last night to forgive you what they consider throwing away your life and make amends. That is not my doing though, they did that without any meddling from me at all." Slowly shaking his head, Chad sighed. It was no use, he'd have to leave Raye alone this weekend and go to New York. "Man," he muttered, "she is going to be pissed." Apollo smiled. "Raye will be upset at first, that is a given. But tonight the planets align exactly at midnight, a feat that only occurs every thousand or so years. It is a magical time, blessed by the ancient gods and tonight it shall unlock the key of history for our lovely ladies. That alone should make your sudden disappearance no more than a momentary annoyance." * * * * * * * * * * * Jeremy left Tokyo Tower more confused than before. Solan and his new friends waited for him there and they had talked to him for a short period of time before he decided Solan had completely lost it. "No!" he snapped at his best friend. "No! I don't care if it's for my own good; I'm still going to see Mina. I'm probably going to ask her to marry me too! So back off! You're supposed to be my compadre! How in the world you think that she is Sailor Venus is beyond me! Lay off, Solan, I'm warning you!" He stalked away, not noticing the looks of shock and surprise plastered on the men's faces. Back at the Tower, Apollo and Solan shook with surprise. "This changes everything," Apollo whispered in shock. "He wasn't supposed to fall in love." Ken shook his head. "And this changes everything how...?" He let the sentence hang in the air like a subtitle, subtly confused. Solan gasped. "He has a chance! He has a chance now! Mina can save him!" He jumped up and dashed in to Darien's arms to give the tall man an embrace. Darien looked utterly startled then a bit relieved as Solan's shaking body ceased its wild quivering. He wrapped his arms around the slighter boy and gave him a light squeeze to convey his support. Wiping tears from his eyes, Solan drew away, slightly embarrassed at the sudden display of emotion. "We must go. Everyone go home and pack your bags, meet us for flight 315 at International Airlines," Apollo ordered. "The next few weeks will definitely be interesting." * * * * * * * * * * * "Those JERKS!" Raye stormed. "I can NOT believe that EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM just took off like that! Just took off! No goodbye, no notice, just left!" Auriel and Aurora shook silently with laughter. Raye did not like surprises and this had definitely come as a surprise. The fiery priestess stormed about Lita's living room in a huff, her thick ebony tresses swirling around her shoulders with each violent turn she gracefully made. "Calm down Raye," Auriel urged, "I'm sure they had good reason." "Oooo, Chad!" Raye snapped, ignoring the Solar Sailor's words, "Is he going to get it when he returns! IF he returns! How could he just..." A low knock broke through a pause in Raye's loud complaints and Lita sidestepped Raye's pacing form to answer the door. Mina raised her bloodshot eyes to Lita's own as the door opened. "Oh my god, Mina! What happened?" Lita took one look at Mina's puffy eyes and tangled hair and whisked her friend quickly in to the living room. "Do you need anything? Some food, a drink, perhaps a pillow?" Mina settled on the couch and shook her head. "I'll be fine, I just feel lousy. It's no big deal, don't worry or fuss over me, I promise I'm okay. Is everyone here?" she sniffed. "Serena's at the restaurant, but she called and said she'd be here as soon as her shift was over. She should arrive about eleven thirty or so. Ami is in the back room taking a nap. Would you like anything? Are you sure? What happened?" Smiling at Lita's obvious worry, Mina shook her head and reached in to her bag. "Nothing happened, I just started my period today. Call it the monthly blues if you must. Come on out Artemis. It's safe." She lay down on the couch and drew her long legs beneath her as the white cat poked his head from the folds of her bag and sighed. "I really need a better mode of travel Mina. Where's Luna?" Lita pointed to the back bedroom and the cat jumped from the purse and sauntered down the hallway. Raye, now thumping dishes in the kitchen, poked her head around the corner long enough to wave abruptly and return to slamming cabinet doors and dumping ingredients in a bowl. "What is she doing?" Aurora murmured to Auriel. Her twin smiled mischievously and shrugged her dainty shoulders. "I have no idea, Aurora, but I bet if she makes cake it'll be chocolate and have arsenic in it." The two chuckled together, before meeting eyes and glancing at Mina. She had curled up on Lita's couch, her arms wrapped protectively around her stomach. "Does she know yet?" Aurora nodded. "She found out about two weeks ago. In the time since there has been much soul searching and decision making. I think our Venus is growing up. She called Jeremy and they are going to meet tomorrow at the mall. This is good, I think. They need to talk." "Is this when...?" Aurora shook her head. "Apollo contacted me. Things have changed, circumstances have altered. Now whether he lives or dies is in Mina's hands alone, though she doesn't know it yet. This is neither fate nor destiny, but mere chance alone. Even if he should die, Mina shall grow with his death. It will be a life and destiny altering experience. It should prove to be interesting. As of midnight tonight, we will be witnessing one of the strangest things to ever happen to the Sailor Soldiers yet. It is completely out of the Solar Circle's hands. Not one of us can predict or tell where this will lead." Auriel stared at her twin in horrified amazement. Sometimes Aurora could be as Mother Nature is, cruel in her sheer understanding of the utter balance of the universe. "Sometimes I wonder how we can even be related," she whispered. "This is Solan's friend, Mina's...friend. How can you take this so callously?" The gentle woman sighed. "There are some things you will never understand, Auri. This is one of them. Death can be a blessing, not a curse. For every good person that dies, another is born. Such is the circle of life; such is the balance in the universe. I am not cruel for understanding this, merely wiser than you are yet." Stung at her sister's reproachful words, Auriel stared hard at the floor, twin pools of tears gathering in her eyes. "I see." Soft arms surrounded her; gentle hands soothed away the sting of the harsh words. "No, you don't. The only reason I know so much, Auriel is because I spent a thousand years in hibernation, but my mind was free to wander. I spent a great deal of time with holy men, watching them pray, learning the ways of the wise ones. I have learned much during my sleep, and learn more with each passing day. Balance alone is the center of the universe. There can be no good without evil, no order without chaos. In nature, no male survives without a female as his other half. Yin and Yang, the light and dark." She pointed to the door. "Even Sailor Moon has an alternate half, a creature who harbors as much evil and malice as she does beauty and love." Aurora sighed again and shook her thick mane of violet hair out of her amber eyes. "So it is understandable. If Jeremy must die so a child with the potential to be great must be born, so be it. He would be merely traveling to a greater incarnation, not being snuffed out of existence altogether." "That's easy for you to say," Auriel muttered bitterly. "You are immortal, you can't die. You've never died." "That's not true on two counts," Aurora replied. She rose to her feet and walked to the patio door. The moon shone bright in the sky and high above the earth the planets aligned as she spoke. "I can die, and I did die. I died with you when you perished in the Silver Millennium. I was there with you in your body as you died. So I do know what death is like. I can die and so can Solan. Saturn alone can take our lives. Death Reborn Revolution would destroy us all, though if I were safe in the Gates of Time with Pluto I could recreate the universe. Everything would be reborn as if nothing had happened." "You can die?" whispered a low voice across the room. Aurora and Auriel turned to see Mina sitting up on the couch and a wide-eyed Ami beside her in the hallway. Raye and Lita stood amazed at the kitchen door. A low knock interrupted the incredulous stares, and shaking herself free of surprise, Lita glided to her door. "Hey Serena. Come on in." Serena bustled in and dumped her bags on the floor in front of the fireplace. "The boys left," she complained. "They didn't even say goodbye. I'm sorry I'm a little late." She glanced at her watch; it was only eleven forty five. "The new manager is totally obnoxious." Lita snickered at the reminder of the boys' abandonment as Raye's eyes flashed fire once more. Aurora glanced at the position of the planets outside and raised her arms for silence. The Inner Scouts stilled, aware that something special beyond their control was going on. The tiny goddess spoke and her words sent chills down each of their spines. "Tonight something interesting will occur. The planets are aligning and four errant children will be returned to their rightful homes. The decision must be made by all of you; your Knights have left in order to allow you to make a decision without their interference, unlike last time. Mina," she turned to the tiny Sailor Venus, "your decision will be especially hard without Adam here. Make your choice wisely, for no matter what your choice, your fate lies within your own hands in the next few weeks. Even Auriel and I can not stop the wheel of fate and destiny once you have made your choice." Aurora turned to the other girls. "The same goes for you. In these next few weeks you are no longer merely Sailor Scouts. You are no longer planetary royalty. Though you were unaware of it, in this life not even Serena and Darien are compelled to marry. The soul mate principle, though still valid, has lost one thing. You may marry someone who is not your Knight and bear his child. Such is the will of the Sailor Circle. In this incarnation, you may have a choice, much like the one I gave Neptune and Uranus long ago in the Silver Millennium. Your love may come from your heart not your soul. Your children will not have this choice, they will be forced to comply with destiny and bear their Knight's child. Due to your loss on the Moon, you can escape this prison if you so wish and your children will still be born as the chibi-scouts." Outside the window, the planets aligned as the midnight hour struck. Auriel turned to Aurora and nodded slightly. "So it begins." Each of the girls gasped as Auriel and Aurora grasped hands and began chanting as one voice. As if they were initiating a joint attack, they began to glow, a low light at first, then shining golden bright as Auriel shimmered a faint blue tinted gold in opposition to Aurora's red tinted gold. The words were foreign and quick on the two tongues, shimmering lightly in the air and raising the small hairs on each of the girls' napes. The words changed rhythm and tone. Soon they were speaking in an understood language again. "Lady, Lord, Lady, Lord, cry to me...we call on thee, open your doors, four roads met at midnight shall not be controlled..." Serena's eyes widened at the words. 'Four roads met at midnight'. Was this the warning Pluto had given her? Something deep within her shook its head and denied the thought. This was similar, but not the warning Pluto had given. "...hear our plea...open the gates of time, rip free the bonds of earth...boy-children reborn to save their souls and all shall be right in the world!" The air shimmered between them and a bright flash of light encased the room with its brilliance. Mina shrieked and raised her arm to cover her eyes from the intensity of the light. Lita and Ami did the same. Raye dropped to the ground in a fighter's stance and turned her head away from the increasing dazzling glow. The light went on forever, sparkling and seizing the room in heat waves. Mina felt her necklace begin to grow heavy around her neck, drawing her head down to the floor. The piece of stone dangling from the thin gold chain snapped off and hit the floor with a thump. Mina furtively glanced down to avoid the ebb and flow of the intense light and gasped. Her broken necklace was glowing also! As the light from the sisters began to fade, the sign of Venus swirled around on the pendent, shivering in its own momentum, spinning faster and faster as a low glow began pulsing from the center of the stone. The orange glow shivered off each internal facet of the smoothly shaped orb, fragmenting and reflecting until a regular pulse began to reflect back and forth within. Glancing up, Mina noted the same was happening to each of the Scouts save Serena. She held her stone in her hands though, and it faintly glowed with a gentle white light bathing her cheeks in a low ivory shimmer. Her moon insignia appeared, flashing and shivering as the light increased. Blue shimmering lights danced across Ami's cheeks and Lita stared in open-mouthed amazement at her own green gleam. Mina didn't even check to know that Raye's stone also glowed, most probably a scarlet red. What is going on here? The waves of colorful light increased exponentially, brightly glinting and reflecting in Mina's irises. Her skin prickled as a wave of intense heat explode from the crystal, cupping her body in its warmth, then Mina felt the situation spin utterly out of control as her mind shut down and her consciousness ceased. Across an ocean, several young men jerked awake on the last leg of their flight to New York. Darien gripped the arms of his chair and turned to Ken. Jupiter's face was paper-white as he shook his head and fingered his green rose habitually. Across the aisle Chad glanced at Greg and mouthed the words they all were thinking. The girls! * * * * * * * * * * * "Oh," Ami whimpered. "What happened?" Raising her head to gaze at the frightfully black room around her, Ami bit back a low gasp. The night's shadow was complete and only by straining her eyes could she make out any figures in the utter blackness of Lita's living room. She seemed to be the only one awake, but the sight that met her eyes was horrifying. It looked at first glance that a massacre had occurred. There were bodies strewn all around the room, more than just the Scouts and the Solar Goddess. "Raye? Mina? Lita? Serena?" No answer came from the crumpled forms lying about on the floor. "What in the hell is going on here?" she muttered as she struggled to rise to a sitting position. Beside her a low moan broke from the slender figure lying partially across her lap. Ami's hand reached down and inadvertently wove in to thick luxurious strands of hair. A faint breath tickled her leg, raising goosebumps on the sensitive skin beneath her knee and above her calf. "Mina? Is that you? Are you okay?" Shaking the slight figure, Ami's heart caught in her throat. Though the moan had been soft, the timbre was too deep to be Mina. It was too deep to be any female. "Oh no," she whispered. "Oh, no. What is going on?" Tears sprang to her eyes and Ami fought down a wave of childish fear. "Please not now. Come on, Ami," she muttered, "you can handle this. Worse things have happened, right? You've died several times, so you can certainly handle a guy dumped in your lap." Ami's hand strayed through the hair again. The texture was rich and silky to the touch. It was long and curled lightly around her fingers at the ends. A faint scent of sea spray clung to the young man and as Ami pulled her hand away from his head her hand brushed his shoulder. Oh no! No, No NO! Why!? Why does it always have to be me?! What in the name of Mercury am I going to do?! The shoulder beneath Ami's hand was bare as was the rest of the sinfully smooth skin she tested as she ran her hands down his back to discover exactly how naked he really was. When her hand tested his lower back and slightly beyond, she ripped her hand away in surprise and fright. "Oh, my." She gasped as he moved beneath her touch, sighing as he settled further in to her lap. Addressing the man, Ami blushed at her bravery, "You are completely naked, sir." She paused, "But then you're also asleep and probably don't realize that, much less that a complete stranger just accidentally felt you up." There was a low chuckle from nearby as another low male voice answered her innocent comment. "I assure you Princess Mercury, he won't mind at all." There was a shifting of bodies a few feet away and a low feminine moan as the man bent over the female form at his side. "Raye? Raye? Wake up, okay? Come on, lazy bones, you need to wake up." Raye shifted as tender hands cupped her shoulders and a low and loving voice cut through her dreams. She sighed and smiled as the dream world melted away. "Chad." The hands on her shoulders stiffened and the voice hardened momentarily. "Hardly. I would throw myself in to a bottomless pit before I allowed myself to be mistaken for that callous boy twice." Jerking to an upright position, Raye's unaccustomed eyes strained in the darkness. "Who are you! Answer me!" Ami's soothing voice cut through the inky blackness of the room. "Calm down Raye. We're all okay. I'm not sure who these guys are, but we need to get them cover quickly." "Cover?" Raye wondered aloud. The voice behind her chuckled softly and took her hand gently in his before laying her cool fingers on his hot upper thigh. She gasped and ripped her hand away. "You're not dressed!" she accused in a high surprised voice. "And here I was thinking I was the height of fashion for mystical crystals," murmured the voice dryly. "Observant as always, my lady Princess." Lita's quiet voice cut through the mild argument. "I don't mean to disturb your discussion here, but I just brushed up against something I am extremely aware Ken would not like. So if you don't mind, I would like a tiny bit of an explanation as to why there is a naked man horizontal across my lap at the moment." After a moment of mild discomfort, the male voice next to Raye replied. "Your guess is as good as mine." "Ugh," moaned a voice from across the room. A figure staggered to its feet and made its blind way to the couch where it plopped down with a sigh. Then it sat up again. "Is anyone awake?" Cringing at yet another male voice, Ami answered. "Three others, I think. Are you okay?" The man ran hands up and down his body, assessing damages, Raye guessed. "Nothing broken or hurt," he replied. "Though I am suffering from a lack of clothing. Anyone know why that is, or am I the recipient of some undue prank?" Ami had to chuckle at the calm way the men were taking their apparent lack of covering with. She was very aware that if the situation had been reversed, she would not be taking it with such aplomb. "We don't know." Soon another figure awoke and shifted. Mina groaned and shook her head. "I feel like I just got run over by a dump truck." The figure on the couch stiffened at the words. "Mina?" he whispered incredulously. Mina turned towards the sound of the voice. "No," she whispered. "It can't be. You're...you're..." "What is going on here?" Raye demanded. "Mina, do you know these people?" The voice beside her sighed and shook his head. "Poor confused Mars. Haven't you figured it out yet, dear? We've woken up." "Who," Ami asked timidly, frightened of the answer, "is we?" Auriel's tired voice cut through the silence. "'We' is very simple, Ami. Greg was taken from you in the Silver Millennium because one man loved you so much he'd go to any lengths to win you back. In case you're wondering, it is Zoisite draped across your legs, not just any old man off the street. They deserve a second chance to start over, don't you think?"