Author's Notes: Well, I hope your all enjoying the holidays and in this chapter we'll see how the Sailor Moon characters spend the Christmas season (I know your saying "Wait a minute, school had just started in the FALL!" hey, I'm writing this story later than I wanted so I have to do something about it! :) All comments to: amslerd@globalserve.on.ca Copyright Notice: Sailor Moon is copyright Naoko Tenchi and is being used without permission (I hope that no one takes offense!) and I reserve all posting rights. Note: Sailor Pluto Susan Sailor Uranus Erica Sailor Neptune Michelle Sailor Moon: Whose Reality Is Right? Part Four After Daniel woke up from passing out yet again (Serena joked that even *SHE* didn't pass out/fall asleep as often as Daniel did) he made his way back to Darien's place being supported by both Darien & Mina. As he fell into his bed only one thought was going through his mind... "home" Daniel dreamed a fitful dream during which he was nearly successful in returning to "his" reality but something dark & sinister blocked his way each time and as Daniel got more frustrated and angry the form laughed a blood curdling laugh that was full of malice. Daniel awoke at 7am with a start. "I have to get out of here!" Daniel thought "No matter the cost I have to return home!" He moved silently to the phone and prayed Amy was awake. "Anderson residence?" a sleepy voice mumbled. Daniel was apologetic "Sorry to wake you Amy, but we have to talk, have you made any progress in finding a way for me to get home?" Amy struggled to clear her mind "Yes, but they're only theories at this point, they're *EXTREMELY* dangerous!" Daniel returned "That's fine, can we meet to discuss them around 9am? You pick the place" Amy was concerned now "Daniel I don't think you understand, these are DANGEROUS ideas, they probably would result in your DEATH if I'm wrong" Daniel retorted "Fine, whatever, I'm willing to take that risk, will you help me?" Amy sighed into the receiver "Fine, 9am on the outskirts of Tokyo, Darien knows..." Daniel cut her off "No, Amy, Darien has to know NOTHING of this or the Scouts!" Amy shot back "What about Mina? she really cares about you know" Daniel felt a stab at his heart "Especially Mina, I love her Amy, god after that fire reading, I knew the feelings I had for her were genuine, but this *isn't* where I belong, maybe Mina would come with me... No I couldn't ask her to abandon her home either. It just has to be this way" Amy was subdued "Ok... these are the directions...." After Amy got off the phone with Daniel she pressed the All Call button on the communicator "Sorry Daniel, but I can't do as you ask..." The meeting at the Temple was to put it mildly *agitated* Mina was practically ready to kill something, or more specifically someONE. "How could he *DO* this without telling me first? I thought he *LOVED* me" Amy spoke softly "He does Mina he told me so, but he seemed insistent, almost obsessed, with the idea of returning to his *home*". Rei was thoughtful "You say he seemed obsessed and driven Amy?" Amy nodded and Rei spoke "Perhaps he had a vision of something terrible happening back in his home dimension. Is that possible Luna?" Luna who was glad to get out from the snoring Serena's grasp said "It's possible, I mean he may have developed other powers and his subconscious tapped into them while he slept..." Mina shot to her feet "Fine, whatever, we *HAVE* to meet him and try to convince him not to do this until Amy's determined a safer way to get him home!" Amy spoke softly "There may *never* be a way to get him home, as I told him all I have are theories that haven't been fully examined." Mina shot back "All the more reason to go after him then! I'm coming with you Amy!" Amy looked at her friend sadly "Okay, but I think he's gonna be mighty upset". Mina shot back "You haven't *seen* upset yet Amy! Let's go" as the meeting broke up with the sight of Amy being practically dragged along by Mina. Daniel stood at the edge of the field all the misgivings welling up in his soul again "I *knew* this would be dangerous, Amy told me that, so why am I so nervous?" Daniel shivered in the chill autumn wind and suddenly sensed a presence. "Hello Susan, or should I say *Sailor Pluto*" The woman who had appeared behind Daniel in a portal she had created smiled "I see your powers of detection have returned". Daniel laughed, the first real laugh he'd had that day "Hardly, Sailor Pluto, your wearing the same perfume that you had on when you tried to... *seduce me*" Sailor Pluto smiled sadly "I know I probably should have been a bit more straight forward with you but I wasn't sure who you were" Daniel smiled sadly in return "Sorry wrong answer thanks for playing, you set me up perfectly with your two friends Sailors Uranus and Neptune" Sailor Pluto looked surprised and Daniel smiled again "I had a *revelation* you might say the other night. Found out *why* you were after me along with *who* you were and those friends of yours. Now that we have that out of the way mind telling me why your here?" Sailor Pluto smiled a taut smile "Ok, no tricks, no deception, here is the straight goods. You *CAN'T* go thru with what you are proposing here, your *NEEDED* here!" Daniel scoffed "By who? You? Sorry I don't belong here and frankly I don't like being told what I *have* to do especially by someone who I can't be sure has anyone's interest in mind other than their *own*." Sailor Pluto looked at Daniel sadly "I understand but think long and hard about all that is here for you..." Daniel replied with "Fine, whatever, could you leave now please, I'm expecting someone soon" Sailor Pluto turned away "If you need someone I'm here..." and with that she disappeared into another of her portals. Daniel sighed "Great, this is *all* I needed, even more doubt about what I'm going to do..." Suddenly Amy appeared in the distance, Daniel waved but could instantly see that she was not alone and a second later he saw *who* was with her. Daniel groaned inwardly "Another log on the fire of doubt" Daniel, Ami and a fuming Mina stood in a barren field just outside the city limits of Tokyo, Ami having determined that this would be the safest place for Daniel to attempt to return home. Her exact words have been "Minimize the possibility for damage to property or people", words that had not filled Daniel with confidence at all. Mina was the first to speak "Daniel how COULD you! I thought you *loved* me!". Daniel stood silent for a moment and as he spoke, tears welled up in his eyes "Mina, I *DO* love you! More than anything I'd love to settle down here with you and carve out a future but this *ISN'T* my home! I'm a stranger in a strange land with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal man!" Mina shot back "Nice clich's, but it doesn't excuse the fact that you were going to try and leave without even telling the rest of the Scouts, Darien or *ME*" she turned as the tears started. Daniel pulled something from his jacket "Mina, I didn't know if I was going to get to give you this in person but I think this is the perfect chance to give it to you now along with an explanation" Daniel cleared his throat "Mina, I love you and want to be with you always, I just woke up this morning feeling like I *HAD* to try get home but seeing you and the pain I'm causing you I can't do it. I know we're both young yet but I wanted you to have this as a token of my love for you" and with that he opened the box he'd been holding. Mina turned more out of curiosity than anything for she was still angry, but her anger melted when she saw what he held in his hand. It was a ring in which was placed her birthstone and the sign for Venus. Neither spoke for a long moment until Mina took the ring "It's beautiful" she breathed. Daniel smiled "It's just a ring *YOU* are the real treasure my Venus." Mina smiled "Flatterer, you sure know how to make a girl feel special!" Daniel smiled "That's because you *are* special Mina and with that he kissed her with all his emotion behind it. Now do you know how much I love you?" Mina smiled dreamily "Yes, but are you still going to try and return home?" Daniel thought but a moment "No but I need to at least try and see what's going on back home. Amy?" Amy had moved off to a respectful distance away from the couple during their *discussion* but returned when she realized that the situation had been resolved. "Yes?" Amy spoke. Daniel questioned Amy "Can you see any harm in trying to open a portal to my dimension to 'look in' as it were?" Amy typed a few quick calculations and smiled "No, it should be fine, but you might want to be sitting down when you try this as it will take a fair amount of your strength to open it. Daniel nodded and sat down cross legged on the ground "Ok here it goes" and with that the sky began to darken as Daniel concentrated his powers towards one spot. A faint ripping sound could be heard and what could best be described as a mirror appeared and began to reflect an image of a Christmas tree and presents beneath it. The image shifted and it showed people skating on a pond Daniel knew. Another shift showed a calendar with a date of December 23rd, 1996 on it. The image collapsed as Daniel finally lost his hold on the portal. Daniel although winded spoke "That was my dimension wasn't it?" Amy nodded "Yes, it was and it seems to be slightly *out of phase* with our dimension, by about a month and a bit" Daniel nodded sadly "Well, looks like I'll miss Christmas at home this year" Mina looked at Daniel sadly "If there was anything I could do" Daniel shook his head "That's OK Mina, how about breakfast? I'm starving!" Mina laughed this was the Daniel she had grown to love! Things had been progressing slowly for Jedite & Metalla, they had determined that in order to avoid detection they had to resort to the "salami slice" technique, that is a bit at a time from many people which added up over time. Metalla sensed something "Our volunteer has opened a portal to his home dimension!" Jedite looked nervous "What does this mean?" Metalla's attention seemed to be diverted elsewhere "The portal is closed, he didn't even *TRY* to go through it. Strange" Jedite gulped nervously "I've been observing him in secret as per your decree, he appears to have developed a romance with one of the humans here..." Metalla seemed even more agitated "Who? SHOW ME!" Jedite displayed an image of Mina & Artemis. Metalla made what passed for a face at the image "He's in love with a *CAT!" Jedite face faulted "No my Regent, with the girl..." Metalla quickly recovered "I knew that! That girl looks familiar somehow, long ago... I *KNOW* who that is!" Jedite had stopped shaking long enough to ask "Who my regent"? It's the reincarnated Sailor Venus! That means that he's..." Suddenly a new voice spoke up "Lord Light yes, he and I were to marry before he discovered that I had turned to your service Metalla!" Jedite turned white as a sheet "Beryl? is that you?" Beryl spoke up "Of course it's me you worthless peon Jedite! I left you frozen in an eternal sleep crystal, Metalla? were you responsible for thawing out this fool?" Metalla rumbled "Watch your tongue Beryl! You nearly destroyed me, at least Jedite seems to be better at taking orders!" Beryl stared slack jawed "How DARE you! If you hadn't tried to destroy 'Daniel' as he calls himself now perhaps I could have turned him to your cause!" Metalla roared back "You are a lovesick fool Beryl! He was engaged to the Lady Venus and if you hadn't turned my destructive force into a portal we wouldn't have to deal with him now!" Jedite cleared his throat "My regent?" Both Metalla and Beryl screamed "WHAT?" Jedite was really nervous now "Metalla, if you could tell me what he saw in that portal we might be able to use it against him." Metalla seemed puzzled now "All I could see was preparations for something the Earthlings here call 'Christmas' what about it?" Jedite looked thoughtful "If there is one thing I've learned watching him, it's that he is a sentimental fool especially when it comes to holidays, and females it appears" This last comment earned him a look of death from Beryl. Metalla seemed to brighten considerably "Ah the beginnings of a plan, Beryl, Jedite listen well for I have an idea how to get Daniel to work for us!" and a malevolent chuckle filled the air. Artemis found Daniel later that day in the local park huddled against a tree looking as miserable as a human could possibly look. Artemis started towards him when a voice popped up in his head "Remember what they said about curiosity". Artemis dismissed the warning with a shrug "He wouldn't hurt me, I think" and he approached as silently as he could. Unfortunately it wasn't silent enough. Daniel muttered under his breath "What do you *WANT* I want to be left alone!" Artemis replied softly "Mina was worried, you seemed down after you got a look into your home dimension" Daniel turned slowly "Why should I be down? I don't know what's happening with my family, my job, my friends, I don't know if I'll *EVER* be able to go home *AND* I'm probably going to miss Christmas at home too! Everything's PEACHY!" he muttered further "If it wasn't for Mina I'd probably HAVE tried to go home just to blow this place, I mean I've got people chasing me, to be a slave, a destroyer and a lover, just great" Artemis hopped into Daniel's lap "Hey, it's looking bad now but you know as well as I do things could be a lot worse! You've got the Scouts, Darien, us cats." Daniel smiled slowly and began to stroke Artemis absently "I know Artemis, but it's so hard..." as he stroked Artemis he could feel his eyelids growing very heavy, he hadn't slept well at all last night and was starting to feel the effects. Artemis watched Daniel drift off into slumber "Poor guy, I wonder if there's anything that we can do for him. I think I'd better get myself added to agenda for the Scout meeting this afternoon" At the temple that afternoon Artemis waited until everyone was seated (This meeting included Darien too, Daniel was as far as Amy's computer was able to detect still snoozing peacefully at the park) Artemis spoke "OK guys here's the problem, Daniel got a look at his home today and apparently our universes aren't *quite* in synch with each other, apparently his universe is a few days away from Christmas and he's quite depressed about missing out on Christmas with his family" Amy spoke up "But Artemis, I ran a few more calculations this afternoon during study hour and there is still no safe way to get him home at all!" The other scouts and Darien looked shocked for several reasons, first the news that Daniel would probably never be able to get home and second it wasn't like Amy to give up study time for ANYTHING! Serena spoke next "What about holding a Christmas party? We could make it a surprise party at Darien's place!" Mina spoke up "That's a great idea Serena! You can be in charge of decorations and I'll help too! anyone else?" All of the scouts and Darien volunteered. Mina started again "Whoa, too many people! We'll need a few people to run interference for him because he finishes work soon after we do school and we need time to set up! Amy can you be the first distraction?" Amy nodded she had a few things she could sidetrack him with and so it was decided Amy, Rei and Lita would act as a barrier until they got the all clear signal from the communicators. Darien's job was to get supplies during the day for the party. The group broke off to go home and plan a surprise bash that Daniel wouldn't soon forget! Unfortunately this planning had not been done in total secrecy as Metalla turned away from viewing the scene at the temple. Metalla hissed "Perfect! BERYL!" Beryl stood at attention, she hated the idea of being subservient to Metalla but until the opportunity presented itself she was stuck taking orders like that lackey Jedite. "Yes my Regent" Beryl even hated saying the word 'regent' to Metalla. Metalla intoned "This is the plan, Jedite will be selling the Scouts some of the food supplies they will need for this 'party' and when the food does it's work you are to grab Daniel and bring him here! Understood?" Beryl muttered "Yes my queen" but Beryl thought to herself "We'll see who's following *whose* orders soon enough!" and with that she disappeared to make ready her own plans. Darien looked at the list Serena had given him, it was to be charitable a bit hard to read "Got remind Serena to take her penmanship course more seriously" and he proceeded to the supermarket. As he proceeded to get what he thought the items on the list were he noticed that there didn't seem to be many people at the market today "That's odd, this place is usually busy, must have caught a break!" as he brought his bundle to the cash he noticed that only one cash was open, staffed by a pleasant smiling blond man. Striking up a conversation with the clerk Darien remarked on how quiet the store seemed to be and how his was the only cash open. The clerk remarked that "Since the store was currently so quiet the boss decided to let everyone else have lunch" Darien thought nothing of that explanation and proceeded with his load to his car, unbeknownst to him the "staff on lunch" were really passed out in the back room, further energy for Metalla. Jedite shed his disguise as Darien left the store "Enjoy your little party fool! It will be one of the last you'll ever enjoy as a free human!" and with that he disappeared cackling evily. Daniel had a rough day at work that day, tripped on a power bar when he arrived at work, nearly fried himself forgetting to cut the power to a machine he wanted to work on and finally involved in a one sided screaming match with a customer who wanted to know where the 'Any Key' was on his computer! In other words a day he rather wanted to forget. As he made his way out the door he nearly tripped into Amy. "Oof!" Daniel grunted "Amy? what brings you over here?" Amy held out a thick and imposing textbook "Here, I thought we could go over a few of the dimensional theorems in this book and see if any of them could help you get home!" Daniel groaned inwardly, this was the LAST thing he felt like doing right now but he smiled and said "Sure" and for the next hour they poured over theories until Daniel thought his mind would explode from the information overload. "Sorry Amy" he declared "But I gotta call it a night here, I'm officially brain drained!" Amy looked slightly worried "OK, well maybe I'll keep the book and try to go through a few more theories myself. Daniel spoke up "Thanks for your help Amy, I really do appreciate it but you should really try and relax!" Amy got a crooked smile on her face and wandered off into the night. Daniel smiled to himself "Amy's a nice girl, but having your nose buried in books as long as she has got to be hard on a person". Just as he let go of that thought Lita called out "Hey Daniel! Wait up!" Daniel sighed inwardly "Oh boy this is gonna be one of those YEARS!" aloud to Lita he called back "What's up?" Lita came up to him "Well, I was wondering do you have a few minutes to talk?" Daniel said "Sure we can go back to Darien..." Lita cut him off quickly with a "No that's okay, here is fine. It's a personal problem I've been wrestling with... Listen do you think I'm too pushy when it comes to guys?" Daniel was struck by two things 1) Lita *was* pushy around guys (having witnessed one of her 'he looks just like my old boyfriend' episodes) and 2) This didn't exactly strike him as the type of question that a girl normally asked a *guy*, let alone one she knew so little in comparison to say, Darien. Daniel steepled his fingers and thought about an answer. Lita looked at him "Hey are you okay?" Daniel awoke from his revere "Sure, I was just thinking about what you asked me. Frankly, I think your fine just the way you are. The only person you have to ultimately please is yourself when it comes to your behavior or anything else." Lita looked at him for a moment "That makes a lot of sense but when did you come to that conclusion?" Daniel smiled "Hey when you are so 'different' compared to the 'norm' in society you have to learn to adjust!" Daniel looked at his watch and saw that another 3/4 of an hour had passed and yawned "If it's all the same to you Lita I need to get home, there's a lonely bed waiting for me!" Lita looked agitated but saw the Daniel was determined to leave "OK then thanks a lot" and she proceeded to hug Daniel. Daniel (after catching his breath) thought to himself "That girl could probably squeeze a metal pipe closed one handed!" and he made his way home. Rei spotted him not two blocks from Dariens apartment "Oh my gosh" she thought to herself "I'd better catch him before he gets to the apartment" just as she was about to call out to him the all clear came over the communicator "Rats, I'd better get there before *HE* does, too bad though I could have tied him up in knots" she smiled to herself. Daniel finally made it to Darien's apartment building "Whoa glad this day is over, wonder what possessed Lita to ask me that question and for that matter what was Amy doing so far out of her way with that tome" in the end his tired mind rejected working on the answers and he made his way to Darien's door "I really have to get Darien something for putting up with me. He's been so good about me staying there" and he opened the door, the first thing he noticed that the lights were off "Must have gone out with Serena" he said to himself "Now there's a cute pair" He turned the lights on and the first thing he noticed was everything was decked out in red & green, the second thing was the Christmas tree standing in the corner fully decorated "Now what the..." and before Daniel could complete the thought Amy, Serena, Rei and Lita jumped out from behind the furniture "Surprise!" they yelled. Daniel just stood there with his mouth agape, being too shocked to utter anything other than "eeps". Amy giggled "You look like Serena does when she's thinking about Darien, like a big old frog waiting for a fly.." "AMY!" Serena yelled good-naturedly. Rei laughed "Lucky for you everything was set up Daniel, I was the last line of defense and I was going to see how resistant you were to hypnotic suggestion!" Daniel got a mental picture of himself clucking like a chicken on command from Rei and could only start laughing, as the others joined in with his laughter he suddenly realized the group was missing two members. Suddenly with a jolly "Ho Ho Ho" what could best be described as 'Santa Mask' appeared from the kitchen area "Ho Ho Ho! Have you been a good boy this year Daniel?" Daniel blushed and said "Um, I can't plead the Fifth in Tokyo can I?" and started to laugh again 'Santa Mask' smiled "Well, I think you deserve your present anyway!" and with a flourish he stepped aside to reveal a *GIANT* box. Daniel quipped "I'll bet THIS present didn't make it down the chimney! Did it Santa?" Santa Tux smiled "Better open it fast!" Daniel attacked the box like a termite attacks wood, got a large portion of the paper off and proceeded to pull down one of the sides. The inside of the box was dark so Daniel stuck his head in... and proceeded to get kissed full on the lips! Daniel fell backwards in surprise narrowly missing the cats on the way down and as his 'present' stepped into the light Daniel couldn't help but stare with a silly grin on his face. There stood Mina in the cutest elf costume he had ever seen making her look for all the world like Tinkerbell minus wings. Darien had gotten out of his costume by this time but intoned in his 'Santa' voice "Now you promise to take good care of your present?" Daniel smiled "Yes Santa, if she'll let me" as he hauled himself off the carpet and with that the party began in full swing with a recording of 'Jingle Bells' starting to play in the background. Mina came up to Daniel "Look up" she purred, Daniel did and found a sprig of mistletoe attached to the ceiling. Daniel drew Mina close and laughed "And how much do I want to bet that you knew *EXACTLY* where to place that"? Mina smiled wickedly "Well, you always *did* seem to have a slightly off center of balance dear!" and she proceeded to give Daniel the ultimate lip lock with the other Scouts in various states of head turning, peeking thru covered eyes and just plain staring! Serena cuddled close to Darien "Doesn't that give you any ideas muffin?" Darien smiled "Yeah, that reminds me we have to get the pop out of the fridge!" Serena looked devastated, Darien smiled "Oh come here Meatball head!" and he proceeded with his own long term lip lock attempt. Finally Rei spoke up "Enough you guys, we came here to party not watch you perform long term CPR on each other!" and with that Daniel and Serena broke away from their partners and said a single word in perfect harmony "Jealous?" Rei could only blush a bright shade of red as the respective couples broke apart laughing and joined the group. As the group started towards the food & drink that lay assembled in the kitchen there was a knock on the door. Daniel looked at Darien quizzically "You invite someone else over Darien?" Darien shook his head negatively. Daniel looked grim "OK, I'll go answer it, if it's trouble I can react to it sooner than anyone else" As Daniel made his way to the door Mina whispered "Be careful" Daniel winked at her "Hey aren't I always?" and proceeded to open the door.... At the door stood Susan, Erica & Michelle! Daniel looked like he wanted to faint "Can I help you ladies?" Susan motioned inside "Can we come in?" Daniel started to say that this was a private party but Darien (after speaking with the others) indicated that it was fine. Daniel let the girls in and spoke again "So what brings you all here this time of night?" Erica spoke "We heard about your party and thought it would be a chance to get re-acquainted" Daniel looked at her quizzically "OK" Erica smiled "What actually happened was we wanted to talk to you Daniel, saw the activity and the girls sidetracking you and put two and two together" Daniel had to smile "Your faster than *I* was" Erica looked at him smugly "Indeed" Daniel decided to let that dig pass, this was a party after all "There's more than enough food & drink, dig in everybody!" Rei spoke up "Are you sure about that Daniel? Between you and Serena you might just demolish the whole buffet yourselves!" Daniel just grimaced but Serena took up the challenge and in moments things had degenerated into yet another war of tongues between Serena & Rei. Daniel spoke up "Enough, this is supposed to be a Christmas party! Y'know 'Good will toward men'" and with that he broke the two apart. Amy laughed "Thanks Daniel, usually *I'm* the one who has to play peacemaker!" Daniel laughed "It's said 'Blessed are the peacemakers' hope it's true!" and as he broke up laughing the assembled group (including the cats) began the task of demolishing the buffet. As people began to sit down after eating Daniel couldn't help but noticing his limbs felt like lead weights. Mina was sitting on his lap and he noticed that she too was falling asleep "Ish my company that boring Mina"? He couldn't understand why the words were coming off his tongue so poorly. Mina smiled "No I shink I need to get more shleep..." and with that she collapsed! Daniel struggled to look around and found the other scouts and cats in various states of distress. Daniel's brain hurt but the thought "The food, it was doped!" managed to percolate through just as a form appeared in front of his wavering eyes. He struggled to clear his vision and got one clear look at the mystery guest "Beryl! Whash are you gooing here?" Beryl smiled a malicious smile "I was sent here to get *you* but I have a better idea! With that she made a move toward Mina "I don't shink sho Beryl...." these were the last words he got out as Beryl whacked him with a bowl of dip upside the head! Daniel found himself on the floor covered in onion dip "Ogh, what was the number of that semi?" as he struggled to his feet he saw the others dragging themselves into consciousness, doing some mental math (Though his head still felt like it was a conga drum in a Latino band) he noticed the missing person *MINA*. Daniel spoke with a voice that sounded like he had gargled with razor blades "Anyone seen Mina"? The others who were awake indicated they hadn't when he saw two things on the ground, one was a note and the other was ring he had given Mina! He grabbed the note "I have the girl, to prove it I'm leaving her ring behind. Come alone to the Tokyo Tower at 5pm today or the girl will DIE!" Daniel crumpled the note as the group all returned to the land of the conscious "Where's Mina"? came a chorus from the group. Daniel spat out one word "BERYL!" as he set the paper alight in his hand! (Except unlike when Nephrite did it *HURT*!) Daniel grunted and asked where Darien kept the band aids... Stay tuned for Chapter 5 of Sailor Moon: Whose Reality Is Right?