Data 8: Ami Joins the Free Lawndalers When Ami came to, she could see in the haze that wreckage was strewn everywhere. She was feeling groggy. There were flames everywhere, since there was some flammable material on board, and the smell of burning flesh was everywhere. Ami though her eyes were playing tricks on her when she thought she saw two familiar faces. She began to speak, though she still was a bit groggy-headed: "Usagi-chan, Mamoru, is that you? And if it is, why are you in that ridiculous cheerleading uniform, Usagi-chan, and why is Mamoru dressed up like a American rules football player?" "I don't know what you're talking about," Brittany said. "My name is Brittany Taylor, head cheerleader at Lawndale High; this is my boyfriend, Kevin Thompson, star quarterback for our team." She was twirling her hair again. Ami was now getting used to her surroundings. The moans of the injured and dying could be heard everywhere. The wreckage was scattered for about several hundred feet. At least the plane managed to avoid the football field. Ami now began to ask questions: "Where am I?" "You're in Lawndale," Kevin responded. "Are there any casualties?," Ami wanted to know. "We saw a lot of icky dead bodies around here! EW!," Brittany responded. Ami could see that there was a lot of carnage around. It was sickening. Ami felt like she wanted to throw up. She staggered, not noticing that she had a big gash on her head, the result of the tiara she wore cutting into her forehead when it hit the control stick. The blood was dripping all over her seirafuku. It was like something out of a nightmare, except this was for real. At least Akbar had been thrown out of the plane along with his nuclear device before it went off. That would have made matters infinitely worse. Ami began to count the small blessings right now. "I only hope that word gets out that I'm OK to my friends back in Japan", she said. She now saw the damage to herself. The blouse of her seirafuku was ripped, and part of her bra beneath that was ripped off, exposing her left breast. Her miniskirt was also tattered, and her boots were scuffed. Ami needed some attention. "We've got to have a doctor check you out!," Kevin stated. "OK by me," Ami replied. Ami was so overwhelmed by what she saw that she began to cry. She was going to Germany so she could become a doctor and help end people's suffering, but now she needed some of that attention herself. Somehow, she thought she saw a vision of Amaterasu-Omikami before her. She began to speak some words or encouragement to her: "My child, be strong. The world is in peril, but you and your friends will prevail. Thus have I sworn!' The vision seemed to dissolve. "Amaterasu-Omakami!," Ami cried out; "Don't leave me in my time of need!" She stretched her arms out to the vision, which had now completely vanished. Ami collapsed and began to cry furiously. Brittany herself was now on the verge of tears. She hugged Kevin. "Why us? Why our community? Why now?," she sobbed. "I wish I knew the answers, Brittany," was all that Kevin could say. ----------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- The football field was all in confusion now. Everyone was on the field, tending to whoever they could find alive. Mr. DeMartino went to Ms. Li and spoke to her rather harshly: "I hope you're goddamn satisfied! You went ahead with the game and we just became the target of an international terrorist! I will report this matter to the State Education Department!" "If you do that," Ms. Li warned, "I'll see to it that you never work in this state as a teacher ever again! Hell, I'll make sure you can't work in this entire country as a teacher ever again! The only way you'll ever get a job teaching is in some straw hut in Burkina Faso as part of the Peace Corps!" Mr. DeMartino couldn't hold his anger against her back any longer. His right eye bulged out and he yelled: "Angela Li, you are nothing but a greedy, egotistical bitch!" With that, he huffed out of the area. Timothy O'Neill, the English teacher, was tending to someone who just went to cardiac arrest. He was performing CPR. A doctor checked the person over. "I'm sorry, but we've lost him," the doctor said. Mr. O'Neill stood there, the life drained out of him. He began to weep. Jane and Quinn were tending to someone who had a broken leg. Quinn took some wooden boards that were laying on the side while Jane took her jacket off, ripped it up and used the strips to bind the boards to the leg. Soon enough he was taken to Lawndale Hospital. In all the commotion no one noticed when a group of Lawndale Militia soldiers approached the football field. Anthony stood in front of the troops. "Now, people, we've got the town!," he announced. "Now, let's take its people!" With that they stormed into the facility, guns blazing. The charging troops lead to mass panic everywhere. In the confusion, Jane and Quinn were separated. Jane lost track of where Quinn was. Quinn was being jostled by the crowd. Then, suddenly, an arm jerked her out of the crowd. "Jane, am I glad to see you!," Quinn began to say, but then she saw who yanked her, and heard the hideous laughter. Quinn screamed as Beavis began to grope her breasts while Butt-Head grabber her legs. Those two picked her up and carried her off. "I'm gonna go home and spank my monkey!," Beavis said. "Yeah, then we're going to score!," Butt-Head added. Ami, Brittany and Kevin saw what was going on from a few feet away. "Oh, my god! Beavis and Butt-Head just kidnapped Quinn!," Brittany shrieked. Ami saw what was going on, and tried to summon whatever energy she had left to use her Shabon Spray, but the exertion was too much. She began to black out. Mr. DeMartino saw what was going on. "Everyone who can, retreat to the school!," he shouted. Many people did. The whole area was becoming a mob scene. Chaos was now ruling Lawndale. ----------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Beavis and Butt-Head had arrived at the bus stop with Quinn. Quinn was pleading with her captors: "Please let me go! I'll do anything you want! My parents are loaded! They'll pay you any ransom you want!" "Shut up, bitch!," Beavis snapped at her. "We're going to score with you, and you'll just lay back and enjoy it! I'm getting a stiffie just thinking about it! HEH-HEH-HEH-HEH-HEH-HEH-HEH-HEH- HEH-HEH-HEH-HEH!" Butt-Head joined in with his "UH-HUH-HUH-HUH-HUH-HUH-HUH-HUH-HUH- HUH-HUH-HUH-HUH-HUH!" The bus pulled up to the stop. Quinn screamed for help. Beavis, however, got on board, kicked off the driver, and let Butt-Head and Quinn in. Beavis took over driving the bus, which was empty. Butt-Head undid Quinn's bra and used it as a gag. "Man, you've got big hooters!," Butt-Head said as he looked underneath Quinn's shirt. Quinn slapped him. "OW! You bitch! Why'd you do that? I was just complimenting you!" Beavis drove live a demon all the way back to Highland. ----------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Lawndale High now had the air of a M*A*S*H unit. The injured were everywhere. Doctors and nurses were taking care of them. At the auditorium, all those who were able were gathered. Ami had her injuries tended to, and now was feeling a bit better. Mr. DeMartino was on stage, and he had a TV set on. The news was grim. The Lawndale Militia now had control of the entire town, and all but forty-five passengers had died in the cras and the death toll was mounting. Bobbie Baptistia on CNN stated that the militia had seized the mayor, the police chief and the city judge. Things were grim outside as well: The report of the Neo- Zero theft and the subsequent bombing of Tokyo were given just a much coverage. Ami went into shock when she heard that. "My friends! Who knows if they're all right?," Ami wondered. Jane was also worried, since Daria was over there. "Good god!," she said, "I hope Daria is all right!" Ami turned around and saw Jane. "Jane Lane, right?," she asked. Jane was stunned; "Yeah, how did you know?," she asked. Ami replied, "I'm Mizuno Ami, Daria's friend." Right now was not the time to beat around the bush about her secret identity as Sailor Mercury; besides, they had taken off her clothes when they tended to her injuries and gave her a Lawndale High T-shirt and blue jeans to wear. "You're the one who asked Daria over to Japan!," Jane continued. "How did you wind up here, and what's happened to Daria?" "It's a complicated story," Ami began. "And I don't know anything about this Neo-Zero business. I didn't have anything to do with the JAL plane being hijacked, either, in case you were wondering about that." Jane took a close look at Ami. Somehow she could sense the spiritual affinity that she shared with Daria. Daria and Jane, after all, were the least liked in school, and it seemed that Ami seemed to be in that same category, or at least she had suffered some hardships. "Ami, you're not telling me the whole story here," Jane shot back. "What's happening here? What's happening to all of us?" Ami looked deep into Jane's blue eyes. She could sense that Jane really valued Daria even if the rest of the school didn't. "How long have you known each other?," she asked her. "Ever since we met in kindergarten," Jane replied; "My family moved here from Highland after second grade, but then Daria moved here a couple of years back. Not only that, she's got a crush on my brother Trent." Suddenly, Ami could see deep into Jane's soul. She could see Daria and Trent. She could see them about to kiss, but it seemed that suddenly Queen Beryl came out of nowhere and snatched Trent from Daria. "This isn't right!," she said, and began to black out. "It must be the medicine they gave you," Jane told her; "It's probably playing tricks on your brain." Ami felt that had to be it. She remembered that it was Endymion who was taken away from Princess Serenity, not Trent from Daria. but somehow the shock of everything was taking its toll on her. She collapsed. "Ami, Ami, are you OK?," yelled Jane, shaking Ami. Nothing was OK for her. She seemed to have been transported into the middle of a raging sea. She was now nude. Suddenly, it seemed every enemy the Sailor Senshi ever faced swarmed out of nowhere. "Now we will have our revenge!," roared Kunzite, and it seemed he had a long dagger that he flung right at Ami. Ami dodged it, only to bump up right against Ann. "I never got to kiss Mamoru, and it's all your fault!," she yelled. With that, it seemed Ann drew out a red hot poker and stuck it right across Ami's abdomen. Ami seemed to be screaming in agony. Sailor Galaxia came out of nowhere and seemed to rip open the heavens and the earth. Ami seemed to be sucked into a black hole. When she hit bottom, she seemed to be in an area that was completely dark. She was now clad in her Sailor Mercury seirafuku. Suddenly, strong, intense shafts of light appeared, and the rest of the Sailor Senshi stood there, with scowls on their faces. Not only that, but it seemed that Tuxedo Mask and Moonlight Knight were there as well, along with many of her other friends. "Grandpa is dead now because you wanted to go to Germany!" Rei seemed to scream. Then she brandished a demon banishment scroll and shrieked "AKURYO TAISAN!" in the loudest voice possible as she flung the scroll at Ami. "I think you had plenty to do with Mamoru breaking up with me five years ago after Chibi-Usa arrived," Usagi said. "For that, you will pay! MOON PRINCESS HALATION!" Ami seemed to be screaming in agony. "You're the real 'Dumpling Head' around here! You abandoned us! You betrayed us!," Tuxedo Mask said as he flung a rose dart. Everyone was yelling over and over again, "COWARD! TRAITOR! SPINELESS COWARD!" The voices seemed to be going on and on and on and on. . . Finally, Ami couldn't take it any more, and began screaming, "MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!" Suddenly, a bright red flash ripped Ami back to reality. It seemed that Mr. DeMartino slapped her across the face to calm her down. "Sorry, kid, but I had to do that to calm you down," he began. The TV was turned off now, and he went back to the stage. It seemed that he was going to make a speech. "I knew that the day would come," he began, with his right eye once again bulging out, "that something like this was going to happen. Mr. Corlew and his associates in the Lawndale Militia had been plotting to overthrow the local government for some time now. But I was not going to stand idly by and let them get away with it! NO! NOT I, ANTHONY DEMARTINO! I was prepared for this!" He paused to draw the curtains of the stage, and it seemed that a whole stockpile of weaponry was right behind him. He continued: "Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I prepared for this very moment! I managed to get some weapons stockpiled myself so I can raise my own little group and take back this town! From here on end, you are all part of the Lawndale Resistance Movement, or the Free Lawndalers for short. It is a shame that those who wish to subvert everything this nation stands for bully and intimidate the silent majority who stand by our democratic institutions. These so-called right wing militias and taxpayers groups are really wolves in sheep's' clothing. They claim they want to restore 'constitutional government' but in reality want to install a fascist dictatorship that would exterminate the poor, the elderly, minorities and the disabled. Is this what our Founding Fathers wanted when they established our nation? I tell you loud and I tell you clearly: NO! If we just stand by while the Anthony Corlews and the Timothy McVeighs and the Bob Schulzes of this nation try to subvert the principles of equal rights and equal justice, then we have truly lost the battle. These Neo-Nazis must be stopped, for as the old Latin saying goes, 'Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?'--'Who watches the watchmen?'" Mr. DeMartino paused and went up to Ami. "Young lady," he told her, "I sense that you seem to have abilities far greater than any of us here. We could use them in our battle. Will you join us in repelling the Lawndale Militia from here?" Ami was too groggy to say "No." "All right, I will," she replied. "Very well, then," Mr. DeMartino replied. "We will move out at once and retake this town from the enemy!" Soon everyone received weapons and began to move out. The battle to retake Lawndale had begun. ----------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Beavis, Butt-Head and Quinn had arrived back at Highland. The two boys opened the door to their crumbling house and threw Quinn like a sack of potatoes into a closet, which they promptly locked up. Quinn could hear them through the keyhole: "Yeah, we've got Diarrhea's sister now, Beavis!," shrieked Butt- Head. "Yeah, cool!," replied Beavis, then went into his "HEH-HEH-HEH- HEH-HEH!" Butt-Head then said, "I'm going to score with her first!" "No, dillweed!," said an angry Beavis; "I'm gonna score with her first!" "No, I am!," roared Butt-Head. Beavis yelled back, "No, I am!" "I'll kick you ass, Beavis!," butt-Head warned. "Go ahead and try, Butt-Head!," dared Beavis. They began another fist fight. Quinn could hear it going on. Somehow, uncalled, a memory flitted up to the surface of her mind. It was a couple of years ago, when she and Daria were still living here. They were going down the street when Beavis and Butt-Head approached. They began that sickening chant they made when they saw Daria: "DIARRHEA, CHA-CHA-CHA! DIARRHEA, CHA-CHA-CHA! DIARRHEA, CHA- CHA-CHA!" "Uh, Diarrhea, is your sister available?," Butt-Head asked. "No, she's not, you little perverts!," said Daria sternly. "Leave us alone!" "But we want to score with her!," Beavis said. They then made a grab for her, grabbing her by the legs (she was back then wearing that stupid red miniskirt, the same one she tried to seduce Kevin with) and her breasts. Daria then got real mad, and kicked the both of them in the crotch. They were sent howling. Quinn ran screaming to her sister, crying and saying things like "Thanks for saving me" and all that. Somehow there were unconfirmed reports that later that day Beavis and Butt-Head were setting off firecrackers and had thrown an M-80 into a dirt pile. It went off and apparently a kid in an orange hooded parka--who apparently was with his classmates from an elementary school in Colorado on a field trip-- was blown to pieces. Somewhere in the distance, the rumors went, a kid in a hunting hat was to have said: "Oh, my god! They killed Kenny! Those bastards! " Somehow, to Quinn, this wasn't interesting right now. She began to cry uncontrollably. She was the most afraid in her entire life. "If only Daria was here, she'd save me from this mess!," she sobbed. If she only knew then just how her wish would be granted. . . ----------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Back at the Kuriles, the repairs to the Neo-Zero were now complete. A fresh batch of Neo-Sidewinders was loaded and ready to go. Yoriko was ready to fly once again. But there was some unfinished business to attend to first with Dr. Vander Helffen. "I'm warning you, Dr. Vander Helffen," Yoriko began, "if you don't make a fresh batch of 'Hi no Tori' pills for me soon, there will be Hell to pay!" "I will make more, I promise!," he reassured her. Yoriko replied, "You'd better or else--" She made a cutting motion across her throat. With that, she climbed back into the cockpit and taxied down the runway. Son she was flying again. Dr. Vander Helffen turned to two ninja spies and said, "Prepare the Iron Cross armor for me. I have a feeling that I will need it." ----------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Tokyo was in a state of siege. The air raid sirens were going off again. At SDF Headquarters, the Sailor Senshi were preparing for the next round. Daria approached Brian Mackenzie. "You wouldn't have a cousin named Michael Jordan Mackenzie back at Lawndale, do you?," she asked him. "As a matter of fact, I do," replied Brian. "I know him," said Daria; "we're classmates at the high school." "How is Mike doing these days?," Brian asked. "OK, hopefully," was Daria's reply. But there was bad news about to be delivered from an NHK reporter: "This is just in from our international desk. A double tragedy has struck the American community of Lawndale. First, it seems that the hijacked JAL flight from Tokyo to Berlin has crashed in that town. Further, it is now confirmed that a right wing militia group calling itself the Lawndale Militia had now taken over the town. We don't have any casualty reports for either disaster as of this time, but NHK will keep on top of these rapidly unfolding events as they develop!" All of the Sailor Senshi were in shock. Ami was on that flight, and she may be seriously injured, perhaps even dead. Sailor Moon was the first to speak: "I know that this is a blow right now, and Ami's whereabouts are unknown, but we must concentrate on the matters in hand here. If Ami is indeed killed, then let this battle be dedicated to her memory. We swear that we will avenge whatever has happened to her on our own lives. Now, let's prepare for the next attack." Daria stood there in shock. For the first time in her life, she was genuinely worried for her family. Her mother may be domineering, her father a nebbish and her sister an airhead, but deep down inside, where most times she didn't want to admit it, she really did care for them. Daria seemed to let a stray tear fall from her face. Sailor Neptune noticed it. "Are you all right, Daria?," she asked her. Daria replied, "I'm fine, really." But right now she was fighting an inner tempest of raging emotions like she had never faced before. And God only knew how all this would sort itself out in the end.