DISCLAIMERS: The Sailor Scouts, etc., are not mine, they are copyrighted; I am using them without permission but without malice. Please don't sue! Anyway, this is my first attempt at a fanfic. This is not my first attempt at writing creatively, however. This was not intended to be a lemon(hentai), yet some of the scenes contain some sexual content (I tried to leave out anything that might offend someone, but no promises). To contact me, you can either reach me via e-mail at dwsrealm@yahoo.com, or visit my homepage at http://homepage.dave-world.net/~bctcable. "No one can withstand the power of Kain." -Tenchi Muyo! In Love ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Sailor Moon Parallel Universe Part 1 of 6 By: Brian Cable ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Her mud-stained clothing was drenched from head to toe. A thin line of crimson ran down her cheek and stained her blouse. Her tattered skirt flapped about violently in the wind. Directly standing across from her posed a youma. "Mars...Firebird...Strike!" Bolts of flame leapt at the massive being. It easily dodged the barrage, rampaging toward her. Its muscles rippled as he flexed, water dripping off them like bits of rotting flesh. The rain cascaded down from the heavens, a flash of lightning caught in a reflection in his gritting teeth. As a whole, the creature stood over seven feet tall. It grinned menacingly and charged at her. Disoriented, she feebly brought up her arms to try and avoid the inevitable. The youma deftly rammed into her, knocking her down. Blackness closed in about her. Sailor Mars fell unconscious. The monster stood over his prize, oblivious to the ensuing attack about it. The remaining four scouts began to chant, calling upon the forces of their respective planets to dispel the evil creature. Sailor Moon removed her tiara from her head. It glistened in the moonlight. She caressed the ornament as she held it in her hand. "Send this thing back to the Negaverse, okay?" she whispered to her tiara. It glimmered in response. She spun the disc, chanting the maxim that would release it upon the monster. "Moon...Tiara...Hal- CRACKLE! The youma looked up, hearing lightning strike a nearby tree. It spotted another girl, looking almost identical to the one lying in the mud. "More prey." It said to itself, smiling viciously. The creature quickly ambled over to her, its body looming in for another victim. The young scout's concentration lost, she desperately tried to use her tiara again. The thing across from her closed in swiftly. She couldn't think, dammit! Fear washed over her. She tried to run, but her legs failed her. She mentally told her limbs to scram, but they refused to move. The creature smiled in glee. Another piece of flesh to feast upon! He came closer, and closer... "Shabon spray!" A heavy fog came down around the thing suddenly. It twisted and turned, battling the gray mist, losing its bearings. A sudden fear preyed upon him. They'll destroy you unless you find them, its thoughts screamed. The being turned back toward the most likely direction of the scout and began moving again. The scouts didn't fare much better. They couldn't see anything, either. If it found any one of them, it would not hesitate to rip them apart without question. The scouts were too weak to fend for themselves. Minako became desperate. She had to stun it or die. She called upon her planet Venus for help. "Venus...crescent beam...smash!" She pointed into the fog. A beam of light shot through the nothingness. A moment later she heard some glass shatter. Deciding that the beam hadn't hit the youma, she resolved to try again in a different direction. "Venus...crescent beam...smash!" "Aaaaah!" a female voice cried out. "That was Ami! Damn! I have to find her!" She ran off toward the voice. The monster felt something brush past it, with the hint of a feminine scent. It reached out to grab her, intending to rend its victim from its earthly embrace and send it to an early grave. Instead, he just barely felt nothingness, and the scent passed him into another direction. The youma growled, and ran in its newfound direction. As soon as it had fallen, it passed. The fog lifted, and left the battle scene in chaos. Trees were broken and had been sent a great distance from its roots, while stones were cracked open and decimated. The scouts were in disarray, scattered amongst the different areas of the park, all within short distance of the creature. It chortled in glee and seeked the closest victim to tear into. You are now in control, it thought to itself. Stay in control and no one will get in your way. Feast, be merry, and destroy these pests. Abruptly, the sky burst into millions of minuscule bright beams as the moon shattered and reformed again. Amidst the light show, a man in a black suit and cape, adorned with a sleek jet black top hat emanated from its glow and floated down to the earth below. The scouts eyes grew lovestruck and hearts replaced their wearied eyes as they yelled out in unison. "It's Tuxedo Tim! Tuxedo Tim has come to rescue us!" Artemis groaned and put a paw up to his face "Oh my gosh! Look at them drooling over that guy! Who is Tuxedo Tim, anyway? I thought it was supposed to be Tuxedo Mask! And the rose? I didn't see a rose! What's with this bursting out of the moon thing? I've never known of any Tuxedo Whatever who appeared by the moonlight without some sort of rose appearing out of nowhere first!" Luna glanced at him. "Maybe he arrived at the flower shop too late to restock. Seriously, Artemis. Just let it happen. I've seen enough weird things pass to last me a lifetime. This new guy isn't going to bother me." The caped man took his cane, pressed a slight button located on the side of it, and the rod immediately extended thrice its size and smashed into the youma's face. It howled in rage, yet fell massively to the ground. "Quickly, Sailor Moon! Use your tiara!" Tuxedo Tim exclaimed. "Right." Sailor Moon groggily got off the ground and removed the tiara from her forehead. It spun around until it glowed, and she called out its hidden power for it to destroy the monster. "Moon...Tiara...Halation!" "Ahhhhhh!" the youma screamed as the metal headpiece burrowed through its body like it was shot repeatedly with a sawed-off shotgun. It slowly sunk to the ground and formed the infamous silver powder, moondust. "Moondusted!" Sailor Moon cheered. "Thanks to you, Tuxedo Tim." "Look into your heart and you will always know the decision you must make to save the day. Farewell, Sailor Moon." He slowly dissipated into the night. "Farewell, Tuxedo Tim," Sailor Moon sighed, then gasped. "Sailor Mars! I had completely forgotten that she was unconscious!" She ran to where the other scouts had already gathered before her. "Hi, guys. Is there any way we can revive her?" Luna looked up at her, thinking. "You know, I believe there is some power you have, Sailor Moon, that can heal people, that you have hidden within." Sailor Moon eyes met Luna's and shrieked, "I do! Tell me! I have to save Sailor Mars!" Luna shook her head. "That's just the thing. I can't quite remember. I know it exists, but I have some weird feeling that we somehow are either not supposed to know about it, or are not supposed to use it yet." Ami reached an arm out and embraced Usagi's hand. "Don't worry, Usagi. Everything will be all right. In a couple days, she'll be fine. She just needs some rest." Usagi smiles, and hugs Ami. "I know. Someone take her body, and let's go home. I'm starving!" Makoto sneers at Usagi. "Why don't you take her, if you're so worried about her." "Because I'm leader, that's why!" "Is that so?" "Well, I am." "I vote that leaders should be the ones to take her home. Who agrees with me?" Minakos hand instantly shoots up. Ami, grudgingly, raises hers too. "That settles it. Usagi, your taking the body." "Usagi do this. Usagi do that." she mutters as she limps along with a body slightly larger than her own laid across her back. "I'm hungry! I wanna go home now! I want my Mamo-chan!" * * * * He jerked up from his bed, his dream scattering for a safe haven of his brain, hidden from his careful scrutinizing over what it had been about. Sweat flowed over the contours of his face, forming small beads when they slowed to a halt. His sheets were damp where his sweat ran off his body and his hair was matted together. Slightly shaken, he could not recall what his dream had been, but it was something he had been visualizing for the past week, he could tell, by the constant array of reactions upon his awakening. Wearily, he glanced at the red, glowing LCD display on the headboard of his bed. It read 5:48 with a small red dot in the upper-left corner, signifying that it was morning. His thoughts slowly gathering, he remembered there was something he always did at six in the morning, but he could not quite place his finger on it. He shifted his feet so that they went over the edge of his bed and settled on the thick carpet of the floor. The thought struck him like a bolt of lightning. Sailor Moon would be on in fifteen minutes! He flung his covers off the bed and broke apart the door of his room with acute speed and burst into the hallway of his humble abode. The young man's footsteps pounded the floor with an ever increasing velocity. He almost passed the entry way to his hideout from reality, but he found he was too nimble and alert this morning to miss anything. The perceptive fellow leaped down the two sets of barriers, whose steps jutted out as if yearning to impale him if he made a wrong move, in two long leaps. Unadjusted to the tile terrain that met him after the second flight of stairs, the individual slipped slightly but regained his composure, gliding the last fifteen feet to the television set. * * * * She opened her eyes for a brief moment, hearing some unidentifiable sounds beyond her oak door. "Oh," she mumbled as she snuggled back under the covers, "It's Monday. His 'anime' cartoon is on, whatever it is." She instantly fell back asleep. His father had never awakened. They blissfully slept on, oblivious to what was going on about them. On the right wall, the silhouette of a constantly shifting, swirling vortex from outside cast its spell of prolonging sleep over the happy couple as the teenager's favorite half-hour of the day played itself out before him. * * * * Eight minutes until the show would start. He fumbled for the "On" button on the set, but failed to make contact. His arms flailing wildly, he desperately jabbed at it, touching the button this time. The screen maliciously refused to comply, ignoring the obscenities sputtered out in vain for it to bring his show to life. After one last fleeting attempt, the bulky black box gave up and allowed the viewer to watch a vivid, seductive color show, in hopes of sucking out any thoughts from the spectator; as is its job. The beholder basked in the light, wary not to be tempted by the occasionally evil thing leering across from him. His strength returning, the man tested the channel buttons to see if the box would taunt him and decline his wishes a second time; it did not. The images on the screen depicted two persons dictating the local news to whoever cared to listen, then a meteorologist displaying the local weather, and a screen with colorful vertical bars running down the length of it. This was the channel he had been wanting to find. The amount of button presses to reach had been permanently etched in his skull. Having found the channel he had been dying to see, he checked the slot in the tape recorder to see if his second video tape for the show was still in there. He felt nothing. 'My damn brother,' he thought to himself. 'He took it out.' Five minutes left. Yanking the door to the video cabinet open with ease, he searched frantically for his tape. As the channel sprung to life, the colorful screen vanished and the local station name was displayed. Recklessly knocking aside a set of Disney tapes, he took his tape out of hiding and shoved it in the VCR slot. The Star Spangle Banner was blaring away as the box sung to him. Jabbing at the play button on his remote, he quickly found the ending point of the last episode. With a futile effort he tried to stop the tape. After a couple presses of the buttons on the remote, the Sailor Moon title screen appeared. The record button was pressed just in time. For the next half hour, his subconscious was intently watching the show. Not a muscle moved. Only during a commercial break would he shift his weight so that he was in a more comfortable position. Not caring about the world around him at the moment, he did not see the vortex through the glass door. * * * * A dark-clothed man standing outside of the sliding rear door, looked through the glass at the person watching an anime cartoon show. He was puzzled why the vortex was not taking any effect on him. He should have been falling asleep by now. So far, every person the swirling pool ventured near fell asleep. How was this guy able to resist the pool? After contemplating over this for a few moments, he shrugged and turned to the glimmering pool. "Onward," he said. The green pool complied, awaiting its next victim. * * * * The sudden disturbance of a high-pitched noise startled him from his trance. The telephone was ringing. He dragged his body out of his seat and trudged toward the phone. "Hello?" He wearily asked. "Hey, Harper, Detre's picking us up for school today. Be ready by 7:00," the phone answered hastily, as in a hurry to do something. His thoughts drifted back to his show that he would prefer to be absorbed in right now. "Raymond, you interrupted me." The man stated abruptly. "Huh? Uh, from what?" Raymond seemed like he needed to visit the bathroom real bad, from the bounding noises he heard over the receiver. "You halted my pleasant enjoyment of a show I was watching." "You mean Sailor Moon?" "Umm...yeah." He said hesitantly, unsure of Raymond's reaction. "I had a problem getting away from the screen, too, but Detre called about the ride and asked me to call you. Don't you just love their kick-ass plot lines?" he queried. "Of course!" The teen exclaimed, feeling better now that I knew someone who actually liked the show. "I'm glad you happen to like it. Every else I know only watched it a couple of times, and think it's for queers. Anyway, see you at seven." "Later." "Bye." He placed the phone on the receiver. Looking back to the television screen, he realized he had only missed a minute. He decided he would live. Besides, he had just taped it. He quickly finished eating and picked up his bag to leave, hearing a car horn. * * * * BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BE- Yawning, Niki flicked the switch to her alarm clock. Time to get ready for school, she thought to herself wearily. Her room was decorated with stuffed animals and clothes were strewn about. She sat on the edge of her bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Yay, I get to go to school and talk to all my preppie friends," she speculated. She tried to suppress a shudder, but could not. She couldn't help thinking how boring they were. They never had anything of interest to say. They would only talk about their egotistical selves and how popular they were. The only reason she associated with them was because she was scared to lose the popularity she had earned over the past few years. She noticed the light reflection on the wall was glimmering slightly unusually, reminding her of waves on a beach... "Silly me," she thought to herself, "It's Monday. I've become so used to sleeping in over our long weekend that I'm startled by the early morning sun." Getting out of bed, she strolled over and stepped into the bathroom. The white tile was cool and was a welcome change to the late summer heat. It's glossy shine reflected the sunlight from the other room. It was so bright, it could have blinded anybody who dared look at it for a long period of time. The whole room radiated a bright, pure, white that one might mistaken it for snow. The bathroom was connected to her room, so she did not have to worry about waking anyone up at the moment. She walked over to the faucets of the bath and turned them so that the liquid would be about the approximate temperature she could enjoy. Niki lifted her nightgown off of her head. There was nothing underneath it, yet modesty was not usually needed in a private bathroom. She was not overly worried anyway because her only brother was only five years old. Her parents never got up this early either, so, with a pleasurable sigh, she was satisfied no one would walk in on her. She picked up a magazine on the ground. Its black hue greatly contrasted the rest of the room. Its color absorbed the brightness like a vampire would suck blood out of its victim. She turned it over, confused at what it could be. The front displayed in large letters, "National Cheerleaders Monthly." "This must have been the magazine I haven't read yet," she mused to herself. "Oh well. I'll read it later." She threw it onto the toilet seat. She tested the water and noticed that it was only lukewarm, After adjusting the knobs again, she walked back over to pick up her magazine. Opening it to the third page, she sat down for a moment to read some of the letters NCM had received. Once she was done with the page, she set it down on the sink and strutted over to the mirror. She looked over her body through the mirror, scrutinizing it to find some imperfection. Finding none, she admired the image it gave her. The teen was not surprised that every boy in her school would drool over her. At the age of fifteen, Niki had matured fully. She had caught many people at her school staring at her long, slender legs many times before. Sometimes she had problems finding a date because everyone was too scared to ask her out. Her hair was shoulder length, blonde, and curled inward towards the ends. She regretfully turned away from her great-looking body and tested the water once more, satisfied that the water temperature was at a comfortable level. Before lowering herself into the tub, she locked the door, just as one last precaution. She lowered a foot in the water and gasped slightly as a wonderful feeling surged through her leg and up her body like she had just been electrocuted. Her back arched slightly and she let out a quick, short sigh of delight. Niki received the same reaction when lowering her other leg into the water. She finally slipped her body fully into the water so that the water level was up to her neck, letting a brief moan emit from her lips at even intervals along the way. She thoroughly relished the lavish warmth the tub brought her and laid there a moment, a smile protruding in the mists. She suddenly had a desire to sleep right there. Her eyes closed and she fluttered them open. She realized that if she fell asleep here, she just might drown. Looking at the door that would lead to the bed in her room enticed her, but she shrugged the urge to sleep off as some freak happening. She began lathering herself up and washing her body with a sponge. Another frown. The vortex moved on... * * * * The school was a boisterous place. Cars careened into the parking lots and flew into donuts at 35 miles an hour. The car doors burst open as its occupants spilled onto the warm pavement. Students would watch these spectacles loitering in the shade of trees, smoking their Marlboros and Camels. Broken beer bottles could be found in hiding after a passerby caught a shard in the sole of his or her shoe. Freshmen were thrown off busses and beaten raw for their 23rd "initiation" in dank alleyways while the homeless watched on. Yet through all this, Tim Harper emerged unscathed, as all the other Sophomores did. He was known as "The Unseen" for he had avoided being beaten as a Freshman. Hell, he thought, he had even become friends with a few of the seniors, who had saved him more than a few times. He lunged out of the car with Raymond and strolled towards the school. A couple freshmen he despised emerged from another vehicle, thinking they were slick by not riding a bus. He and Ray proceeded to give them a severe thrashing for their wrongdoings, for all of the Seniors were too busy beating the others. Tim walked inside, strutting to a second hallway, where Freshman are seldom allowed passage. Checking to see that none of the authorities were around, he quickly unzipped his bag and pulled out his Discman. Hiding it inside his jacket pocket, he then proceeded to pop his "earplugs" on, an invention a college friend of his thought up. They were basically cordless headphones. Looking like earplugs, he could get away with listening to it during school. He slipped in Metallica's Master of Puppets CD and continued to play it at the highest volume that would not be heard by other passerby. The sophomore began to plan the day in his mind. "Hi," a voice could faintly be heard over the electric guitar blasting away in his head, shunning away his trance. He spun around. There was Alice, dressed in her cheerleader uniform, smiling at him. "Oh, hi." he said. "You startled me." Tim quickly brushed by the stop button, dispelling the pounding bass. Regaining his composure, he observed her body unwittingly. Her legs were mostly revealed, hidden only partially by the short skirt of the uniform. She had not bothered to hide any of her features under her garb. Her face was so fair, it made her seem she was a descendant of angels. She noticed his inspection and grinned. "Did I pass the test?" she jested flirtatiously. "With points to spare." He replied, a red complexion surfacing upon his cheek. "Well, back to what I was going to say, what are you doing for Homecoming?" she queried. "I believe that evening I will pay someone to f- No, I'm going to be enjoying the warmth of my bed, dreaming of a world that will satisfy my every desire." Except the desire to have the flesh of a female lying in bed with me, he thought inwardly. "Too bad. I was hoping to see you there." She took a step toward him, took his hand, and rested against his chest, whispering, "You know I would have gone with you if I had known you wanted to go." She was breathing heavily, her passion for him was obvious in her voice. "That's alright. You go with John and have a good time. It doesn't really bother me that much." His lips brushed by her cheek. "I'd rather be with you." She teased, playfully rubbing his leg. Mike swallowed hard. He wanted to take control of her right then and there, but he knew he could not. His head grazed by her face. "Go." The word escaped his lips as he nudged her away. "Bye." she called, a longing look on her face. He nodded good-bye in return, unable to speak. BOOM! After she was out of sight, Tim slammed his fist against the locker. "This is torture!" he screamed, tears welling in his eyes while he tore the locker's contents out and tossed them across the hall. He tried to get her image out of his head. Shaking, he leaned against the hall. The teen had almost lost control. She would have been willing, but he did not want to take her virginity from her at such a young age. His heart was beating like a hammer taken to a anvil. He finally decided to shove his feelings for her in a dark corner of his mind with the help of Ozzy. He quickly slipped the CD into his Discman. The bell rang. He left for his first class * * * * "What is the current status quo, Arkindel? I am anxious to hear how the plans for the Earth's destruction have been carried out." The vortex in the room...or rather, dimension, glimmered in the background, the only source of light in the area. It's emanating light shimmered off the two individuals. The man -no, thing referred to as Arkindel fell to his knees, groveling before his elder. "W-well, master, since the alternate dimension's demise cannot be incurred until the existing planet is destroyed, we have put most of our effort into bringing the actual Earth to its knees. Our new invention, The Inducer..." he indicated the vortex in the corner, "has been an astounding success! Currently, ninety percent of the earth's inhabitants have been found and placed under its eternal sleep. There is one problem, however-" Arkindel paused to clear his throat and kicked at the floor nervously before continuing on. The eyes of the elder widened a bit in surprise. "What kind of problem, might I ask?" "Uh...ah...so far, four certain individuals have failed to respond to the pool." He gestures to the vortex, then quickly shrinks back in expectancy of what was to come. He was correct. The elder's hand just barely swept by his cheek. The mage's eyes flared, and electricity jolted the area near his vicinity. He then suddenly calmed a bit, his mind lost in thought. His hand began to tremble. "Tell me, was it a fault in the vortex?" "I'm...afraid not...sir." stated Arkindel uneasily. A long silence filled the domain, quieter then any other era ever. "Then, possibly, it is as we have feared all this time?" Arkindel shifted about uncomfortably. "Yes, I believe so. There must be some in this realm as well." The wizard slammed his fist on his throne. "NO! This cannot be possible! It can't! It mustn't! They'll screw up my plans!" "I don't think they know exactly what they are." "YET." The elder corrected him. A smile arose. "They must dispensed of immediately. Get rid of them soon. But, there are five in the alternative reality. Why is that not the case here?" "We have only covered ninety percent of the world, remember. I suspect there could be another in the remaining ten. These are slightly different, however. Of the four we know, two are female and two are male. Two are in high school, and the others are adults. None have guardians, cats or otherwise. And..." he pauses, "none realize their power." "Strange...yet somehow, perfect." he grinned. "Dispose of them." "How, milord? They would still be a powerful group when threatened with their lives! We risk the possibility of them discovering their power right then and there!" Arkindel beseeched. "Fool! Think of it. If the Earth has no scouts, the world will go without a fight. Throw them through the portal into the other dimension." "Are you crazy! That will make the alternate dimension even harder to deal with!" "Ah, but you are a forgetful one. If the reality is destroyed, so is the illusion. Throw them in." Arkindel bowed his head. "Yes, master. I'll do your bidding. "Perfect." * * * * A quiet darkness faded into view, slowly coming into focus. After a little strain of thought, but mostly after a short period of time, a delicate, wooden...table, slowly fixiated itself into the impermeable pseudo-reality. Soon after followed a stark white cloth and six thin, sleek silverware forks, knives, and spoons passed into being and positioned themselves onto the table's facade. Finally, two china discs and wine glasses were set onto opposite sides. A floor, ceiling, and walls emerged into existence and enclosed the setting as a cell might trap a prisoner. A single person was flung into one of two abruptly established chairs and a romantic piece emanated from a room that was suddenly perceived. Tim shook his head, very confused as to what had transpired. What he saw, however, depicted what seemed his own dining room, with no one currently present at home save himself. Still disconcerted as to why he could not remember anything beforehand, he stumbled into the kitchen to look at the calendar. A solitary day was circled three times in a thick red permanent marker with the content proclaiming, "Dinner w/ Niki @ 6:00." The date proclaimed the 23rd of the May. Tim scrambled to the living room to check the time and date. 5:26. P.M. 5-23. Thirty-four minutes before she would be arriving. He ran into the bathroom to prepare for her coming, wondering why he hadn't remembered such an event. He was certain he would remember the particulars for one he liked as much as her. Tim was also surprised that she had even agreed to a dinner date in the first place. He couldn't recall the circumstances, but was even more worried about getting prepared, dressed, and ready. After he swiftly threw some decent clothes on and shaved, he ran back to the kitchen. Ransacking the fridge, he decided on the only food item he saw in there, a small platter of spaghetti, mysteriously already prepared and waiting. He shrugged and took out the dish, then set the oven at the right temperature. He then decided that something as a side dish would be somewhat of a necessity if he were to contrive a meal worthy enough for a first date. Or was it his first? Tim paused, but, since he could not answer his own question, continued to slice the bread and set it on a small plate as an appetizer until the spaghetti was ready to be served. He continued to work so diligently that he failed to notice an unusual movement behind him. THUD! Tim snapped his head up from the food and saw a nine-inch long butcher knife embedded into the wall before him, its hilt still reverberating back and forth silently. His body stiff as a rat caught in a trap, he gradually turned around. Nothing unusual. Yet. A thin stream of smoke rose from the oven. The spaghetti! Wait, that was still on top of the counter. What could it have been, then? He uncovered the lid, and flames leap out at Tim. Barely, he shut the cover before he had been completely engulfed by flames. What had gone wrong? WHAM! A toaster collided with his skull, knocking him to the ground. Far off, a doorbell rang.... This isn't right, Tim thinks as he faded into unconsciousness, this is to hard to do...not natural...not- * * * * "Tim!" A voice. One he recognized. "Tim Harper!" Again. He recognized it. He knew. "Tim!" He opened his eyes. The fuzzy light shifted to focus on a beautiful being. "Wake up, Tim!" Finally focusing on its sight, he identified her. Niki. His body reared up. The dinner! His head being hit by a toaster! It came back to him! But he was in a classroom. English, fourth period. Teacher Ms. Darcy. She was in fact trying to communicate with him. "Tim! Welcome back to reality! The office has a pass for you. You are to go to the Administration office." She handed him a slip of paper. The signature was that of the Assistant principal, Mr. Dumner. With a slight groan escaping his lips, he wearily stood up and hodge-podged out of the classroom. He saw a slight smile escape from Niki's aura as he passed from cell to hallway. He was free from behind one set of bars, only to be sent before another set. He silently ambled down the hallway, the steps, and down the corridor, only to turn into the Administration Office. "Pass please." The secretary nasally commanded, not even pausing to look up from behind her cubicle up toward the student. Tim takes the green slip and placed it down on the counter. A red demon's claw impaled the paper and drug it down to a level of which she could see. "Mr. Dumner? Go down that hallway, turn left, go down that, turn left, and its the second door on your right." The green pass crumpled into a tiny ball and was ushered into the black box of a trash can beside her. Tim mumbled his thanks and weaved his way through the moray of offices to that of his correspondent. KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! A brief sound of shuffled papers emerged from the door, and then a not even cordial "Come on in." The brass bar on the face of the wooden blockade was pushed downward, and the possible delinquent advanced into the room. Tim looked up at his authoritarian. A questioning frown was the only obvious feedback on Mr. Dumner's feelings. The assistant principal motioned for the youth to have a seat. Gradually, the boy sat down and gazed upon his superior. A "Harumph!" broke from the elder's lips, and he glared at Harper with fiery blue eyes. "Give 'em to me." The youth mind seemed to slam into a cemented fortification. Groggily, he asked, "What the hell are you talking about?" Mr. Dumner raised his voice. "Boy, you know damn well what I'm talking about! Don't play the Fuster's cuss with me! Where the hell are they?" The boy pondered, yet still was bewildered. "I still have no idea what you're wanting." "Now look here, son. Look!" He shuffled out a thick pamphlet and began to scan through it. Stopping at a page he exclaimed, "Page 73 of the Hollendale High School Student Handbook says that 'all electronic music playback devices' shall be con-fis-ca-ted. Now hand over them earphones, or handplugs, or headgear, or whatever the hell you call those things. Earplugz! Your CD player, too!" "I don't have 'em." "What in the blazing hell do you mean you don't have them!" "I mean I don't have 'em. They're at home." Mr. Dumner eyed him suspiciously. "I can tell you're lyin', kid. Don't think I can't tell, cuz I can. You know I could always call home and inform your guardians of this." Guardians! The thought coursed through Tim's mind, called out to him, begged him to understand, but he just could not comprehend what it was that he was supposed to remember. The assistant principal sat back, and grinned. "But you know I wouldn't do that, don't you. I see that's why you're just sitting there, not making up some lie like your best friend made you hide it in there for a party he was having over the weekend or some such rubbish like that, or sweating like a mother just after she gave her first child and praying to whatever entity or nonentity would grant you consolation and banish you from whatever punishment I could bestow upon you. No, you realize how close I am to your Pop, and meet with your uncle to acquire certain, ah, commodities." At this Tim smirked inwardly on himself. His uncle was a fairly well-known leader of a prostitution ring that was fairly efficient at evading the law, famed to have some of the cleanest whores in the southeastern side of town. Mr. Dumner could only have meant these as his commodities. "You know what? Other than this earplug deal, which has been buggin half the school teachers about you not payin' attention in class, you are really a good kid. I ain't never known a time I have seen you need to be down here. So I'm a gonna let you off with just a warning this time. Don't ever bring them back again, you hear? Or else you'll be hearin' from me again." "Yes, sir. May I leave?" "I believe so. That's all I need from you for a while, I hope." Tim quickly, yet politely, rose from his seat and departed out the door. As he passed from the main office, he lightly nodded his head toward the secretary and walked out. * * * * The hallway met him in a deathlike embrace, or so it seemed to the adolescent as he trusked down the blanched white corridor in stillness. Not a soul could be seen strutting their pimp dance through the hallway, not one individual could be heard from within one of the classrooms. This was highly unusual, considering that there was always some clamor of discord resounding somewhere in the school at all times, even when all classes were in session. Since some students should have been heard, for being in class, this startled Tim. Bewildered, he glanced into one of the rooms. Everyone, teacher, student, and all, were still in that particular room, a plus, but all were also asleep, or dead. Completely disturbed by this outset, he peered into another room. And another. All were in the same state of inactivity. What was even more confusing was that none had any form of emotion showing on their appearance. They looked as if their life or lifeless forms had been set in stone for future generations to see. He immediately entered one of the cells and knelt down to one of the forms. Gene Traveir. The one who had helped him out so often when he needed it most, both financially and socially. A single tear moistening his cheek, he extended his arm and felt for some sign of life. A very low pulse faintly reverberated deep inside. Shedding the tear, he checked another form. The pulse was present in her as well. After a few more checks for a beating heart in a few other students, he realized that all were probably in this condition and left, hurrying for his own room, spying on other chambers as he went by them. They all looked the same. What a motivating portrait they would have made. Absent in his contemplation, he suddenly slammed into something that should not have been into the hallway. A garbage can? Or a manifestation of an entirely different structure of matter? The figure, it turned out to be, before him seemed to be the only living, breathing being other than him in the entire school. The entity felt like something inhuman, however, like a solid mass of iron, or stronger. Looking up, a large humanoid towered above him, beaming satisfactorily. He was cloaked in a demonically dark purple robe, which formed a hood that almost completely hid the being's features. Two yellow...eyes, he thought, but was not sure, seemed to float out from the darkness, and a blood red trident shape rose between them. The eyes curled into what could only be guessed as a look of surprise, fear, or a nasty smile. "Finally found you, boy. You don't realize how much grief you have caused me. He raised a robed limb and the cloth fell away to reveal severely pure white skin that molded an arm and hand. What was more upsetting, though, was the glowing green welds that rose from it. The ghastly glow shredded at the youth's very essence and made him cringe in disgust. The humanoid let out a fiendish laugh and lowered his arm once again. "You caused that. Master gave them to me in punishment of his own failures. Do not pity me, however. I am going to fix all the pain that you are responsible for. As of this moment." He lowered his hood and muttered a single word. "Kuru." A new structure diverted the adolescence's attention away from the humanoid. A tall, mirror-like device crept from behind the being and seemed to stare at the youth, if it had eyes. It did not show any reflection upon its facade, however. It seemed as if one was in a dream, or looking into a pool of a green-blue liquid that constantly moved and shifted position. The humanoid 'giggled' slightly, and said, "You'd better run now. I always enjoy a good chase!" The boy stiffened. The humanoid's eyes grinned. "Eru." The vortex sounded as if it was sucking on a stubborn milkshake. The youth could feel the winds start to rise and flow into the swirling void. He quickly turned and began to run from the 'mirror'. If I could only get out of the building, I might be able to lose it, he thought. He bolted down the flight of steps, and down another corridor. The vortex and humanoid were close behind him. He rounded the corner and started passing into the entryway. I'm getting close! But then he noticed his speed was rapidly decreasing. Focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, he slowed to only about a foot per second. Only a couple more yards, and I'll be out! but his incentive was fading expeditiously. His velocity shortened to a stand-still, and then increased in the other direction. I'm being sucked in! He futily grabbed for the door handle, but only worsened the situation. His legs lost their footing and took the rest of his body into the wyrmhole. "I am finally rid of you. I shall soon be rid of you all." * * * * "He's gone." Everyone turned toward Usagi. "What do you mean he's gone?" queries Ami. Minako breaks from her daydream and Rei looks up from her manga. "Tim-sama. He left." Minako stands up and fumbles over to where Usagi had scattered over a hundred of Rei's, then asks, "What is going to happen to him?" Usagi shrugged her shoulders, stared out into space. "I don't know. It depends on if he survives." "Survives? What?" Usagi sat in complete silence. Minako shook her figure harshly, trying to gain a better answer from her. "Usagi? Usagi! What do you mean, survives?" Staring out before her, Usagi's eyes blank as if she were not even in her own body. Tears welled up in Minako's eyes, but she could not hold them back. She burst into tears and ran into her bedroom, her sobs echoing throughout the apartment. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Not that bad for my first attempt at fan fiction, is it? I promise the next part in the series will include more Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts (He gets sucked into a vortex, the name of the series is "Parallel Universe," you do the math). This has taken me a long time to complete, with a ton of schoolwork to do, but I still think it needs revised a little bit. I believe it was a little short and I had to leave out some areas I would have liked to be in here. First, though, I will try and start the second section. I hope you like this story. I would enjoy any comments you could give me, even flames and criticizing. Please take into consideration, however, that this is my first fanfic, and may not be as well done as some other stories out there. If you would like to contact me via e-mail, it is dwsrealm@yahoo.com. To find later parts as they are written, visit my homepage at http://homepage.dave-world.net/~bctcable/. Please do not modify this; it is MY story, even if some of the characters are not. If you would like this to be changed in any way, send me E-mail. Thank you. Do and it shalt be law. Brian Cable dwsrealm@yahoo.com