Shinigami High presents:
Disco Inferno
-a fic by Warrior Saturn, dedicated to all who perished in the Rhode Island nightclub blaze in Feb 2003

<music: ‘Max 300' -DDR Extreme>

     Lights flashed and the floor shook as Merrick Balinto and Alexander West competed on Maniac level on Dance Dance Evolution Extreme mix. Both were dancing in top form, their boots clanking and clunking against the metal of the play surface. Behind them Mina Lockheart, Lita Kino, Celia Chere Briggs, and Nick Andrews stood, their mouths open in awe as the two racked up combos and hit steps that were flying fast and furious.
     “I think I may pass out,” Lita commented, staring at Merrick’s and Alex’s butts, which were moving in rhythm. “Reminds me of...”
     “Say it Kino and regret it later,” Mina whispered in her ear, thus gaining Lita’s immediate silence. The blond grinned and patted Lita on the head. “Good girl.”
     “You’re both embarrassing to be with,” Nick commented, running his fingers through his short black hair. “And I’m calling next game.”
     “With me, of course,” Mina beamed, “and I have my songs picked out already.”
     The last few steps of the song came, and both Merrick and Alex stomped out the last rhythm, finishing in duplicate poses. They both looked at the screen, which was racking up their totals, and blinked when they saw they were evenly matched once again.
     “Shall we dance another song?” Alex asked, an evil glint in his eye.
     “Yes, let’s,” Merrick replied, a glint in his eye as well.
     “No, no, no, no, no,” Mina wailed, stepping onto the platform and grabbing Merrick’s arm, “You’re finished dancing for now. Let somebody else play for a few songs. Then you guys can fight over who’s the best dancer.”
     “And if you don’t agree to it we’ll sick Lita on you,” Celia smirked, glancing over at the tall brunette who had since crossed her arms.
     “So bring it on boys,” Lita purred, leaning over a little.
     “All right,” Alex sighed as he stepped down and stretched, “Mina, Nick, you’re up.”
     “Let’s get ready to party,” Mina beamed as she dropped her tokens into the machine. “C’mon Nicky, let’s not make this a quicky.”
     Nick simply sighed, a sweat drop forming on his head as he dropped his tokens into the machine. “Mina, we are not going to dance to that song tonight, no matter how much you want to,” he said as he selected his mode of dance. “Now hurry up and choose how you want to dance so that we can get this over with.”
     “With pleasure,” Mina said, selecting ‘Tricky’ for her level of difficulty.
     When the song select screen came up Mina dove forward and clicked it up to something rather fast and difficult. “Prepare to meet your maker,” she purred, slapping the ‘Start’ button.
     “Prepare to show me your moves,” the machine chimed as Nick and Mina put on their game faces.
     “Let’s dance!” they said in unison as the music started.

<music: ‘Dive (Deeper & More mix)’ -Be For U>
     Arrows moved quickly up the screen, and both of the dancers performed their best moves to hit the corresponding pad arrow before the flashing arrow passed on the screen. Those standing behind them watched in awe as Mina spun around during the song, hitting every arrow she was supposed to while giving a show to the rest of the people in the arcade. Nick, not to be outdone, danced part of the song while facing away from the screen while still hitting perfects.
     “Those two are more competitive than we are,” Alex said, leaning against Merrick for support. “We didn’t do anything insane like that while we were dancing.”
     “That’s because you guys chose heavy loads and not normal,” Celia said, playfully smacking both of them. “And you still haven’t unlocked Oni mode.”
     “I don’t think we’re ready for Oni,” Merrick said, running a hand through his shaggy brown and white hair, “it took us a couple of weeks just to learn Maniac.”
     “A couple of weeks and a small bank loan,” Lita said, sitting down between the two. “And I still haven’t even mastered Tricky.”
     “Don’t look now,” Alex said as he watched the other two finishing their first song, “but I think there’s about to be trouble.”
     Merrick and Lita looked up to see Mina leaning against the railing at the back of the platform, her platform sandals slamming against the dance pad. At the same time Nick was also leaning against the railing, his shoes slamming on the pad as well. The four person audience shielded their eyes as the lights on the machine flared up and went out, plunging part of the arcade into darkness.
     “Looks like we blew something,” Mina said, a hint of panic in her voice.
     “Whoops,” Nick said as both stepped down from the machine, “I hope we didn’t break it.”
     “Grid overload,” the arcade manager said as he approached, his face illuminated by a flashlight, “happens at least once a night when there’s heavy traffic on that machine.”
     “Bugger,” Alex sighed, “guess we don’t get any more dancing done here tonight.”
     “Come back tomorrow and I’ll make it up to you,” the manager said, “we’re getting this part of the grid overhauled in the morning.”
     “And that leaves us....” Nick said as the manager walked away.
     “High and dry with no place to dance,” Celia sighed, scratching the back of her head. “Oh well, no big.”
     “We could always check out that new club that opened a few weeks ago,” Lita said, pulling a flyer out of her purse. “Come and check out Club Chiquita, where the party is always hot and happening... and so are the people. Located in the middle of downtown... and then it gives directions.”
     “Sounds pretty cool,” Nick said, sliding his sunglasses onto his nose so he could scratch the top of his head. “Anything about cover charge?”
     “Nothing on the flyer,” Mina said, looking at the advertisement, “but we should expect there to be one.”
     “Well, let’s go,” Alex said, gathering up his jacket, “onward to the party of the century!”

<music: ‘Tokyo Ready’>

     “So how much further until we reach this Club Chiquita?” Alex asked, his arm wrapped around Merrick’s. They’d been walking for what seemed like hours, and all six of them were growing quite tired.
     “Shouldn’t be much further,” Mina said, her nose buried in the flyer, “Just another few blocks.”
     “Just admit we’re lost,” Lita said, stopping to rest against a lamp post, “then we can get some directions to the club and enjoy ourselves instead of complaining about how much our feet hurt.”
     “First rule of walking,” Merrick said, holing up his index finger, “Always wear comfortable shoes.”
     “And here’s rule number two,” Alex smirked, poking Merrick in the leg with two fingers. Merrick’s eyes bugged out almost instantly, and he dropped to one knee, holding the leg that Alex had just poked. Alex continued by saying,” Always know the location of sore spots and pressure points to add fun to long walks.”
     “Useful knowledge and very entertaining,” Celia said, leaning against Nick, “but how does it help us to find the club?”
     “Easy,” Nick said, crouching down next to Merrick, “we simply follow the direction away from Miss Ryouga and we’ll find it.”
     “Which would be rule number three,” Lita said, physically picking Mina up and directing her in the proper direction. “Mina, look out for that...”
     “Huh? What?” the blond asked, looking up from the flyer in time to run face first into a lamp post. The other five winced as Mina fell onto her back, a large red mark on her face where she’d kissed pole.
     “.... Pole,” Lita said, finishing her earlier thought.
     “At least she was going in the right direction,” Nick said, picking Mina up by the armpits, “Club Chiquita is just across the street.”
     “And it looks packed,” Alex said, cringing a little bit. “Huhhhhh.... I hate crowds.”
     “Quit being such a scaredy cat,” Merrick said, poking Alex in the ribs from behind. Alex jumped, and Merrick proceeded to tickle his ribs. “Say you’ll go in or else I’ll keep it up.”
     “All right, all right all ready,” Alex gasped as Merrick ceased tickle torment, “but only if you buy me a drink and save a slow dance for me.”
     “And just how straight of a line has he been walking recently?” Lita whispered to Mina.
     “Don’t ask,” Mina replied in a whisper as well, “just don’t ask.”
     “Hurry up or you’ll miss the fun,” Nick called from across the street, where he stood with Celia, Merrick, and Alex.
     “Keep yer shirt on,” Lita growled as she and Mina crossed the street to join the other four.
     A short time and a hefty cover charge later all six were inside, enjoying the loud techno music that reverberated through the walls, as well as the wide assortment of people and colorful clothes.
<music: ‘Sensitive’ (2001 remix) - Shiho>
     Alex more or less dragged Merrick up to the bar, where both took a seat and waited to be served.
     “What can I get for you boys?” the bar mistress, a woman of about 35 years of age with black and green hair and two different colored eyes asked.
     “I’ll have a soda,” Merrick replied, “and my friend here will have...”
     “A special #666,” Alex replied with a confident grin.
     “Sorry hon,” the bar mistress replied, “we don’t serve drinks like that here.”
     Alex sighed. “Then just give me a virgin sacrifice.”
     The bar mistress giggled. “Just how virgin do you want that?”
     “As pure as the driven yellow snow,” Celia answered, pulling up a stool to the left of Alex.
     “And in a glass with spotty residue,” Nick added, pulling up a seat to the right of Merrick.
     “So one soda and three virgin sacrifices?” the bar mistress asked, repeating the order. Four heads nodded. “Ok kids, I’ll see what I can do for ya.”
     As the bar mistress turned to fill their orders, Alex turned to Celia and asked, “So why aren’t you guys on the floor dancing?”
     “Mina and Lita,” Nick replied as the lights in the club shifted to a new pattern.
     “What about them?”
     “They’re dancing and we don’t want to be seen with them,” Nick replied as the bar mistress set their drinks in front of them. Nick took a long swig of his drink before adding, “They’re an embarrassment.”
<music: ‘Get It Groovin’ - E*rotic>
     Down on the dance floor Mina and Lita were dancing fast and furious, Mina’s long blond hair spiraling out into tangled webs of gold as she spun around and shook her assets and wiggled her hips. Near her towered Lita, the brunette amazon showing off her own moves, her ponytail shaking from left to right in time with the music.
     “They’re not so bad,” Alex said, watching the duo dance, “They’re no pointless sisters.”
     “They’re showing quite a bit of themselves,” Merrick said, noting Mina’s skintight dress and Lita’s midriff top and hip huggers.
     Other club patrons moved out of the center of the floor, giving the tow girls all the room they needed for their high energy dance moves.
     “You gotta get it groovin’, to get my body moving, when the heat is high,” Alex sang, tapping his feet against the bar in time with the music.
     “Move me, move me,” Celia sang, almost falling off of her stool while holding the last note.
     “You gotta get it groovin’, groovin’, to get my body moving, moving,” Nick and Merrick sang before clanking their glasses together in a toast.
     The song ended a moment later, and Lita and Mina bounced up to the bar, both flushed and out of breath. They plunked down near the other four and ordered a couple of mineral waters before looking at their friends.
     “Well?” Mina asked, brushing some of her hair back behind her ear before taking a long drink of water, “What did you think of our dancing? Pretty hot, huh?”
     “It was.... original,” Nick said, praying that he’d said the right thing to avoid a smack upside the head. “Original... and interesting are the words I’m thinking of,” he added, the straw from his drink still in his mouth.
     “Not as hot as the moves that Ami and I had at that school dance,” Lita said, staring off into space.
     “Wha... huh?” Celia and Nick said in unison.
     “Girl, I didn’t know you swung that way,” Celia said, patting Lita on the shoulder.
     Lita coughed on a mouthful of water, and choked for a moment or two before she was able to speak again. “What?! No, no, no. Ami and I are just friends who shared one memorable dance. That’s all. She was being nice because my date stood me up.”
     “It’s the truth,” Mina replied, “I was there, and her date turned out to be a really bad guy.”
     “You guys going to join us on the dance floor?” Lita asked, rising once she finished her water.
     “Maybe after a drink or two,” Alex replied, finishing off his first drink and part of Merrick’s.
     “Maybe when they play a good song,” Nick said, sipping the last of his drink, “for the moment I watch.”
     “Party poopers,” Mina said, sticking her tongue out at Merrick, Alex, and Nick.
     “Bratty blond,” Alex snorted in return, snagging Celia’s half empty glass and draining it completely.
     “See ya on the floor boys,” Celia said, not caring that Alex was polishing off people’s drinks.
<music: ‘Still In My Heart’ -Naoki feat. Paula Terry>
     “Good song,” Alex said, bouncing up from his seat. He snagged Merrick’s hand and more or less dragged the howling wolf ranger to the dance floor.
     Once on the floor Alex began to dance in a hyperactively spastic manner, while Merrick turned red and danced without really moving.
     “Alex, you need to slow down a little,” Merrick said when Alex was close enough to hear him over the pounding dance beat.
     “I don’t wanna,” Alex pouted, holding Merrick’s cheeks and carressing them. Merrick proceeded to blush crimson again, and Alex simply smirked before ruffling Merrick’s hair. “Lighten up mate. It’s our night to cut loose, kick back, and let our hair down.”
<music: ‘Synchronized Love’ full mix>
     “Time to change the pace a little,” the DJ announced as the slower song wafted through the air. “All of you couples out there, this one goes out to you.”
     Merrick suddenly turned bright red again, since he had promised Alex a slow dance in order to get the mage to enter the club. He remained the same shade of red as Alex put his arms around behind his neck and set his head against his shoulder.
     “Slow dance,” Alex said into his ear, and he gently put his arms around Alex’s lower back as they began to sway in time with the beat.
     “No fair, no fair!” they heard Nick protest as Mina pulled him onto the dance floor against his will.
     “You owe me a slow dance,” Mina retorted, setting him on the floor and positioning his arms like he was a doll. The blond bombshell then began to dance in a slow and sensual manner, rubbing up close to Nick, who blushed crimson since Mina was making a bit of a scene.
     <‘... won’t you take my hand, for I will be your man, so tonight we’re gonna dance the night away. One and one is two, don’t you be so cruel, synchronize this love is what we’ve got to do...’>
     Merrick slowly began to get into the groove, and about midway through the song he and Alex were really synchronizing their steps with the beat of the song. As the song came to a close he spun Alex around a couple of times, stopping with the mage facing away from him but locked in his embrace.
     “My debt has been repaid,” he whispered into Alex’s ear, and the mage shuddered a little.
     “At this rate you’ll owe me dinner and a good night kiss,” Alex smirked, reaching up to scratch the back of Merrick’s head.
     “Get a room you two,” Mina said, suddenly looming up in front of them, “No PDA’s!!”
     Both of them recoiled in horror, since Mina was a scary person when provoked. Alex quickly recovered and retorted with, “What the hell did you call that thing with Nick?!”
     “Dancing,” Mina snorted, primping her bow.
     “Right. You were all over him and getting him hot and bothered.”
     “What!?” Mina gasped, “I so totally did not.”
     “Did too!” Alex responded, glaring at the blond.
     Mina pressed her forehead to Alex’s, sparks shooting from her eyes. Alex returned the death glare as they argued.
     “Did not!”
     “Did too!”
     “Not times infinity!”
     “Too times infinity plus one!”
     “Not times infinity plus... two!”
     “Too times infinity to the infinite power!”
     “Calm down you two,” Lita growled, pushing the two apart to break them up. “Go to your respective corners and chill out!”
     “I’ll buy you another drink,” Merrick said, putting his hands on Alex’s shoulders while steering him towards the bar.
     “This isn’t over West!” Mina snarled as Nick led her to a quiet corner of the club.
     “Dream on Lockheart!” Alex retorted as Merrick pushed him up the stairs to the bar.
     “Why me?” Merrick and Nick sighed in unison.
     The lights dimmed quite low as a young lady in a black spandex body suit with pink socks, a pink sweater around her waist, and black combat boots bounced onto the stage. She spun around a couple of times, her butt length aqua hair spiraling about as well. She giggled and adjusted her pink beret before producing a microphone. “Club Chiquita would like to announce a karaoke contest. My name is Mariah, and I’ll, like, be your judge for the evening! But before we get to the karaoke, Miss Keiko Haruna is here with us for a song or two.”
     A young lady of about nineteen years of age strutted onto the stage wearing a very revealing silver dress, silver strappy sandals, silver bracelets, and a silver and black bow in her waist length auburn hair.
     “This song goes out to all my loyal fans out there,” Keiko said, taking a bow as the music started.
<music: ‘Stay’ -Initial D>
     “Stay, wherever you want to feel the same, Forever. I need you if you stay,” Keiko sang, awing the club goers with the lyrics and her subtle movements.
     “She’s good,” Mina commented, leaning against a railing overlooking the dance floor.
     “She’s gorgeous,” Nick and Merrick commented in unison.
     Several small pyrotechnics displays began to fire off near the end of the song, and the club goers figured these were part of the performance until Keiko was almost toasted by one.
     “Hey, lighting crew, what the hell are ya tryin’ ta do ta me?!” she demanded, glaring off to the side of the stage.
     “Technical difficulties,” a very frightened engineer replied.
     Something shorted out in the control board, and Keiko hit the ground and covered her head as the entire front of the stage erupted into sparks and flames.
     “Miss Keiko, are you ok?” Mariah asked, approaching the stage. “Keiko?”
     “Get me outta here!” Keiko screamed, skittering backwards as the stage was slowly consumed by flame.
     “Ever notice how trouble follows us wherever we go?” Nick sighed, sliding his shades down onto his nose.
     “We’ll need to make this as quick as possible,” Celia said as the curtains and soundproofed back of the stage went up like tinder, “the sprinklers appear to be out of commission.”
     “We get one shot at rescuing the idol singer,” Merrick said, leaping over the railing and dropping ten feet to the dance floor below.
     “Gimme something I can use,” Nick muttered, bracing his right hand with his left, his index finger glowing ice blue, a targeting cross hairs dancing over his lens. He locked onto a human heat signature and grinned. “Stay frosty. Dust Chip!”
     A large ice crystal fired from his finger, striking the stage and freezing everything within a ten foot radius. Merrick leapt onto the stage, picked up an unconscious Keiko, and love onto the floor seconds before the ice melted. He glanced up to the bar and gave a reassuring thumbs up to those up there.
     “The easy part is over and done with,” Celia said, reaching out telepathically to the club goers in hopes of instilling some calm in their panic filled minds.
     “At least like this they won’t see us transform,” Lita said, taking her henshin wand from her pocket, “we need sailor power to deal with this crisis.”
     Alex and Mina nodded, both producing their power up items as chaos continued to ensue around them.
<music: ‘Dive to the night’>
     “Saturn Cosmic Power!”
     “Venus Crystal Power!”
     “Jupiter Crystal Power!”
     “Make... UP!”
     Angel wings erupted from Alex’s back, surrounding him for a brief moment before spreading apart, rings of energy shrinking in around his body to form his outfit and armor. The wings vanished a moment later as he summoned his glaive, which he spun over his head before bringing it to a rest behind his back, the blade pointing at the floor.
     Ribbons with a star pattern erupted from Mina’s wand, and these she lashed around before spiraling them down her body. The ribbons broke away from her pen, forming a circle around her feet. A wave of energy and stars exploded and surrounded her. When the wave subsided there stood Sailor Venus, posing with her right hand reaching to the stars.
     Lightning bolts erupted from Lita’s pen, spiraling around her body, shrinking inward before exploding. There, in her place, stood Sailor Jupiter, posing in some sort of dance move.
     “Scout power will prevail,” Sailor Venus said, standing on a table, “no need to fear, Venus is here!”
     “Mina, you are such a fruitcake,” Lita sighed, covering her face with her hand.
     A loud cracking sound filled the air, and those still in the club looked up to see the fire chewing through the rafters and support beams.
     “Roof collapse!” some cried on the floor before being trampled by a stampede rush for the door.
<Music: ‘Dive (More & Deeper mix)’>
     “Venus Love - Me - CHAIN!” the goddess of love cried, sending her chain of hearts spiraling towards the roof. Faster than any mortal eye could see a net of glowing chains was set up to keep some stability to the situation. She gave a thumbs up to her teammates as she took the weight of what seemed like the world.
     “Aqua Create!” Celia cried, pressing her palm to the floor. A row of waterspouts erupted from the floor, spraying up towards the ceiling. Much of the water turned to steam and vapor before it reached anything that was ablaze, which added to the heat of the situation.
     “Blizzard!” Nick cried, bringing his palms together at the heels, a blast of arctic wind filling the air as he sprayed down the area around the exit that most of the people were heading towards. He gritted his teeth from the strain and muttered, “Did anybody think to call for help?”
     “Already done,” Merrick replied as he joined Lita in crowd control. He shivered a little as Nick’s blizzard engulfed him, and a sigh of relief escaped his lips. “Now that’s what we need.”
     “Sea Blast!” Saturn cried, grasping hold of a pipe leading to the sprinklers. The ceiling nozzles coughed, sputtered, and ultimately released a spray of scalding hot water. Screams filled the air as Saturn fell back, pulled away from the pipe by Celia, who looked as shocked as he did.
     “Bad idea?” he asked, looking at the vampyress, who nodded. “Thought so.”
     “Just stick to what you’re best at,” Celia said, punching him lightly in the shoulder. “When you find what that is.”
     “No time for insight,” Saturn told himself as he took in the speed that the club was being consumed and the speed that people were leaving. “No time for lengthy incantations either,” he added, waving his hands about in arcane motions. “Storm!”
     A dark cloud formed near the ceiling, and a moment later a torrential downpour soaked everyone and everything still in that area. Steam and smoke rose from the point where the cloudburst had occurred, and a moment later it burst back into flame due to the intense heat.
     “Sheizz,” Saturn cursed, his bangs plastering themselves to his forehead as he realized just how hot the club had become. “That worked almost as well as throwing a cup of soda on a campfire.”
     “Everyone out of the pool!” Nick called, tapping deeper into his power reserves than he’d ever had to in the past.
<music: ‘Bah Kwah' -Lee Jung Hyun>
     “I hear sirens outside,” Merrick shouted over the commotion as he helped to usher people out of the burning club.
     “Burnout is imminent at this rate,” Sailor Venus said, the strain of maintaining a net of love chains showing on her face.
     “Diamond Dust!” Nick shouted, a conic wave of ice and snow blowing against the fastest burning section of the stage. “Double!” he added, a larger pulse of snow and ice riding its way to the front to hit a larger patch of flame.
     “Keep it moving folks,” Sailor Jupiter instructed, wiping a film of perspiration from her forehead. “Stay calm and in single file!”
     Something close to them cracked, and a large burning ceiling beam dropped towards her and Merrick.
     ‘I won’t have time to move,’ ran through her mind as she shoved a couple of people out of the way before bracing for the inevitable impact.
     “Ice Ring Strike!”
     Several rings of blue light crashed into the beam, extinguishing the flames and knocking it off center. Jupiter cartwheeled out of the way as the beam crashed down and fell off to the side. She turned her head in the direction of the energy attack to see Warrior Saturn floating a few inches from the ground, his arms spread to the side, his head tilted upward, multiple rings of elemental energy flashing into existence seconds before they were directed off on a tangent to assist in the evacuation efforts.
     “Two Super Sailors and one Cosmic Warrior and we barely scratch the surface,” Saturn said, descending a couple of inches. “Sheizz... and I’m getting weaker by the minute.”
     “We’re stretching our powers to their limit and beyond,” Venus said, her bangs melting to her forehead from the sweat pouring down her face.
     A loud crack ensued from the rafters above as several burned through beams gave way, dropping debris onto those below. Three large chunks fell towards Saturn and Venus, both of whom couldn’t break their concentration to move or retreat.
     “Sparkling Wide Pressure!”
     Jupiter sent a disc of electricity spiraling over Saturn’s head, aiming for the rafter that was heading for the warrior. The attack struck its target and exploded, showering all with pieces of wood and ash. The two remaining rafters continued to fall, leaving Venus and Saturn as good as doomed.
     “Haze to Wheel!”
     Three ghostly images of Celia appeared in the air above the warrior and sailor, all three drawing swords. The three images swung upwards, energy blades cutting into the rafters and splitting them into smaller pieces. The images vanished a moment later, the vampyress reappearing behind the duo.
     “We need to get out while we still can,” Celia said, coughing as smoke began to fill the club. She turned her head to see Nick stumble forward, his power exhausted. “Cancel that last thought. We need to get out NOW!”
<<go to alternate ending #1?>>
<<alternate ending #2>>>
    “I’ll get our ice enchanter,” Merrick said, dashing into the rapidly thickening smoke.
     “I’m about to crash,” Venus moaned, the chains in her hands losing a lot of their glow. “Need some gogo juice.”
     She felt a set of glove clad hands touch her shoulders, and a moment later raw power flowed into her body. She turned her head a little to see Saturn standing behind her, drawing upon his reserves to give her the extra boost she needed.
<music: ‘Synchronized Love (Red Monster Remix)’>
     Instead of the usual single chain, multiple chains of glowing hearts formed and spiraled up around Venus, all dancing like charmed snakes.
     “Venus... Melt My Heart Strike!” the soldier of live cried, flinging her hands out to the sides, the chains trailing off to reenforce the weakened structure while creating a stronger safety net out of them.
     “Celia, vortex us!” Saturn called when he saw Merrick returning with Nick.
     “Too many to take at once,” Celia said, opening warp holes underneath people shoving through the doors, “I’m gonna be wiped after this.”
     “Most of ‘em are out,” Jupiter said from near the doors, “they should be fine if we leave them.”
     “Just leave me,” Nick said, breaking free of Merrick’s grasp, “You guys go.”
     “What?!” Saturn exclaimed, “Nicholas Wolfgang Andrews, if you don’t smarten up...”
     Nick grabbed Saturn by the shoulders and pressed his lips to those of the very startled mage. A gentle glow encompassed the ice caster as he drew upon the reserves of his friend’s untapped abilities. Saturn slumped down, a blush creeping over his face, and Merrick hurriedly lifted the mage to his feet.
     “Nick... why?” Saturn asked weakly.
     “My all mighty mega spell,” the ice caster smirked, sliding his shades on. “Now get out so I can cast this thing!”
     “That’s the last of them!” Jupiter coughed as the air became thicker with smoke.
<music: ‘Ever Snow’ -DDR>
     “Mistril.....” Nick muttered under his breath, a magical circle of ice blue energy runes forming around his feet. A second circle formed and overlapped the first, this one glowing a pale green, the runes of this one filling in gaps on the first circle. “STORM!” he cried, a blizzard blowing up around him. In the air above them formed giant cubes of ice, which rained down and crashed upon the burning dance floor and surrounding areas.
     The area effect increased as the caster tapped deeper into his reserves than he’d ever had to in the past, most of the club interior being bombarded by these large cubes of ice. A small tornado funnel sprang into existence in the middle of the room and grew to titanic proportions as four smaller funnels formed and spiraled around the central one.
     “A reverse tornado?” Sailor Venus asked as she began to lose her footing.
     “The mother of all vacuum cleaners,” Celia gasped, grasping hold of a railing to keep from being swept away by the winds.
     The flames began to die away as the oxygen supply was sucked away by the tornado. The cubes of ice had since ceased to fall, leaving the winds the only unnatural elemental activity within the confines of the club.
     “Celia, pull us out,” Nick said over his shoulder.
     “One warp gate, coming up,” the vampyress said, her eyes glowing green as glowing portals opened underneath them. The moment that they were out of the club the chains, as well as the tornado, vanished into thin air, leaving the flames to leapt back to life and devour what remained of the club.

     “This is Cheryl Noble, reporting live from what remains of the fabulous Club Chiquita. As you can see there isn’t much left of the club, but surprisingly there was no loss of life.”
     The cameraman panned over the charred remains of a large dance club, which was now a pit of burned up wood and melted metal. Near the front of the stunned club goers stood Alex, Merrick, and Celia. Across from them stood Nick, Mina, and Lita, all three wrapped in emergency blankets provided to them by the fire crews who arrived to lend aid to those affected by the tragedy.
     “There were three guys, and three goddesses, ushering people out while battling the blaze,” the bartender was explaining to the reporter, “they were amazing, and to think they were here when we needed them.”
     “There was this really cute guy in leather pants who leapt onto the burning stage to save me,” Keiko said when she was interviewed, “I don’t know who he was, but I want to thank him... and maybe date him.”
     “I want to give a shout out to the dude with the icy cold powers,” a club goer with black and green hair said when the microphone was passed his way, “Dude, you rock! Thanks!”
     “We should go,” Alex said after a while.
     “Too much media?” Celia asked as they pressed into the crowd.
     “Too much ego stroking,” Merrick said, glancing over to where Lita was dragging Mina and Nick off by their collars. “Any more of an ego trip and their swelled heads wouldn’t fit through the door.”
     “So what do we do now?” Celia asked as they wove their way through the crowd.
     “I’m still in the mood to dance,” Alex said, shrugging deeper into his jacket against the chilly night air.
     “Are you bloody serious?!” Merrick asked, stopping to stare at Alex. “I figured that after tonight you’d want to sleep for a week.”
     “Nah, we’ll leave that to Nick and Mina,” Celia giggled as they exited the crowd to meet up with the other three.
     “You wouldn’t think that if you saw them,” Alex said, watching Mina dance to something on her discman.
     “Save me please,” Lita sighed as they approached, “Miss love and beauty here is far too hyper for her own good, and if she doesn’t calm down I’m going to hurt her.” she added through gritted teeth.
     “I must, I must, I must increase my bust,” Mina sang while dancing. Those around her sighed.
     “Why don’t we leave her behind?” Alex whispered to the other four, pointing down the road.
     “Sounds good,” Nick yawned, “lead the way.”
     As the five walked away from the scene towards the all encompassing darkness of early morning, Mina suddenly realized that she was all alone. “Hey!” she called to her five friends, her voice echoing down the street, “Guys, wait for me! Guys?!”
     “Better run,” Lita suggested, urging the other four to take off at full tilt down the street, with Mina struggling to run in platform sandals.
     “Guys! Wait up!” Mina’s cries echoed as they were swallowed up by the night.

<music: ‘Back 4 the morning’ - Neja>
-End

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