The Rebound Effect--Chapter 2
The Rebound Effect--Chapter 2
As before, this is going to be a short one, a bit over five pages in Word Perfect. Also, I'd like to note that my exposure to the first couple seasons of Sailor Moon was all the DIC dubs, though I have seen SuperS and about a third of Stars as fansubs, so I'm using the original names for most things, though I can't for the life of me remember how to spell the original name for the Silver Crystal (and I know that's not the full name, but it's how I remember it). In case the character portrays are too much like DIC, that's why... and it is an alternate reality so let it slide. Also, it's family name first because I'm fascinated with "Tsuki no Usagi" (it translates to "Rabbit of the Moon", in case you didn't know) and it just doesn't work the other way around. Also, I'll be using the honorifics sporadically, and only when I know which one to use.
Also, the Slayers/Ranma crossover title something like "Half a Sorceress" has a good bit of an influence on this thing, which I didn't realize till I'd already decided to write it this way. Well, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all.
Part 2 of God only knows how many
Queen Serenity awoke slowly. Even after 1500 years, she couldn't find her way to being a morning person, not that it really mattered. Most of her personal responsibilities could be taken care of in the afternoon, and the few that couldn't, her daughter was more than capable of handling.
That meant that most mornings she was able to gently rise from her slumber and greet the day gracefully and happily. It was amazing how much easier life was if one actually got adequate sleep.
This morning was different, however. Someone was shaking her quite violently and yelling. After a couple seconds of foggy confusion, her mind reached out for the Silver Crystal, readying herself to draw upon it's awesome power if this was an emergency, which it almost certainly was. In shock she realized that she could not find it and her eyes snapped open, a deep sense of foreboding filled her, but she was ready for anything.
Well, anything but the face that gazed down on her. It was a ghost. Dead for hundreds of years, but now somehow arisen and attempting to rattle her arm off.
A few of the apparition's words made their way into her mind before she fainted. Words that she had thought to never hear again.
"Usagi," her mother's voice demanded. "Wake up this instant, you're already LATE!"
***
Tsukino Usagi awake slowly. Even after 15 years, she couldn't find her way to being a morning person, not that it really mattered. Her mother always got her up and out the door in time for a nice brisk, headlong suicide dash to school.
Her eyes drifted open just as her mother was preparing to resort to the cold water treatment.
Over the years, Usagi had become fairly well versed in the methods her mother employed in waking her up. Cold water was the very last weapon in her arsenal, which meant that she was seriously late for school.
Her eyes snapped wide open, and a the familiar mantra formed on her lips: "OhmygodI'msolate!"
Her mother breathed a sigh of relief at not having to spend the morning drying out the mattress and hurried out of the way of the pajama-clad tornado that was her daughter. She made her way downstairs and gathered up the more portable items of Usagi's breakfast and her lunch.
Usagi spared two point three seconds to give her mother a hug as she snagged the proffered food, darted out the door, and made her way at amazing speeds toward school, a piece of toast gripped firmly between her teeth.
***
Serenity groggily came around and found herself to be running somewhere. Well, she wasn't really doing the running, but her body was.
//Where am I going?// she thought.
//Iamsolate! Gottogettoschool!// another thought answered. It sounded exactly like her own mental voice, but it certainly wasn't hers.
//Err... Hello?// Serenity projected. //Can I have my body back?//
"Ican'ttalkrightnowIamsolate!" her body said, drawing strange looks from several pedestrians that had been trying to mind their own business.
//I'll just wait till you get to school them... well, I guess it's we since you seem to be in control of my body,// she said with a mental sigh.
Whoever was controlling her body just ignored her and moved faster.
As they dashed along the streets, places and people began to tickle Serenity's memory. She got the distinct impression that she had been here before, but couldn't place it exactly.
Her body rounded a last corner and heaved a sigh of relief. After a couple seconds, Serenity identified the building ahead as a school. A junior high school. Juban Junior High, to be exact.
Suddenly, things began to fall into place and Serenity realized who was in her body with her. It was her. And this was apparently the past. It was a big shock, but also a big relief. Time travel wasn't anything new to her.
Though the fact that she was apparently without her body was a new twist on things. And the Silver Crystal was nowhere to be found, which meant that there was no direct way to contact Sailor Pluto. This could be bad. Very bad.
Might as well have a talk with myself, she decided.
***
All morning, Usagi had been feeling a bit strange. Her head felt... full. She was used to having cobwebs and the like when she first woke up, but this was something different, though not altogether uncomfortable. That and she kept having to ignore these strange thoughts that would surface periodically.
Now it was lunch time and she was sitting underneath a tree with Naru, chattering about various subjects, boys being a particular favorite.
//Ahem, do you think we could talk?// a strange voice that sounded suspiciously like her own asked inside her head, much louder than before.
"What?!" she exclaimed and jumped slightly.
"Usagi-chan, are you alright?" Naru leaned forward, concern in her eyes.
She shook her head to clear it. //I'm hearing things again. Just like this morning,// she thought and frowned slightly. "Yeah, Naru-chan, I'm fine. Just thought I heard someone calling my name is all."
//Would you like to actually listen to me? I've been trying to get your attention all morning. Don'tspeak! Think what you want to say,// the voice tried again.
Usagi's expression turned puzzled. //Err... Hello?//
//There! That wasn't so hard, now was it?// The voice sounded decidedly happy.
//Who are you and what are you doing inside my head?//
"Usagi-chan, are you sure you're alright? You keep staring off into space like that..." Naru was leaning forward now, waving her hand in front of Usagi's eyes which had been slightly glazed through most of the internal dialogue.
"Oh... ah... I'm just fine! I was just thinking about Motoki, that's all!" Usagi answered hurriedly. //We'll talk later.//
"Oh, I know, isn't he just..."
Serenity sighed mentally, //Whatever.//
And things went back to normal for a while.
***
Serenity dozed lightly inside Usagi's head, waiting for a chance to talk to herself, strange as that may sound.
She finally got her chance when Usagi was sitting in detention, slowly working her way through a set of kanji exercises. Another memory tickled her mind and she gave a short mental laugh.
//What's so funny?// Usagi thought back to her, more than just a little annoyed. //Who are you, and am I going crazy?//
//Well, I'm you, it's possible we're both insane, and you don't know kanji,// Serenity smirked slightly.
//If you're me, then you can't do it, either, so there!// Usagi stuck her mental tongue out at the voice.
//Really?// Serenity exerted a good deal of her will and grabbed control of her writing hand. It was amazingly easy, her past self having nowhere near the experience with mind control and possession that she did.
"Hey!" Usagi exclaimed, drawing an odd look from the teacher overseeing her and the other two students sharing her detention.
Soon, the page was covered with perfectly drawn characters and she released her control of the arm. //There. How's that?//
//Errr... perfect... except for one thing...//
//Oh?// Serenity replied, a bit shocked. She had spent almost five years learning how to write the junk and was rather proud of her ability.
//No one is going to believe that I wrote this...// Usagi replied, causing Serenity to heave a sigh of relief. //But it'll still get me out of here, I hope.//
She took the paper up to the teacher who was standing watch. "Sensei, I have completed the assignment, my I go home now?"
The teacher shot her a disbelieving look and perused the work. She immediately walked past Usagi and began to search the classroom.
Usagi, puzzled, followed after her. "Sensei, what are you doing?"
"I'm trying to find the person that did this work. I know your work, Tsukino-san, and I know that those two," she gestured at the two boys sitting near the front of the room. They smiled sheepishly. "Couldn't have done it."
"Oh, I just got a flash of inspiration, that's all." Usagi laughted nervously and began debating the intelligence of handing in the paper.
The teacher heaved a sigh. "I guess you can go, but next time, I want you to sit closer to the front of the room so I can keep a closer eye on you."
Usagi bowed slightly in gratitude and took her leave.
//Great, that little stunt of yours almost got me in trouble,// Usagi fumed at herself.
//Hey, it's been a while since I was in school. How could I be expected to remember how bad a student I was?// Serenity shot back. //Besides, it got us out of there, didn't it?//
Usagi just grumbled.
//Say, where are we going, anyway?// Serenity was suddenly serious, almost sensing what was coming.
//We are going to talk, that's where.//
//Oh, goodie. How about we talk while you walk?// Serenity suggested as a sudden idea hit her. //We can go to the arcade or something. I haven't played a good game of Sailor V in far too long.//
//Sailor who?//
//Mina-chan,// was the only answer she received.
***
They arrived at the arcade a short chat latter, Usagi now knowing about as much about the situation as Serenity. However, she was having trouble getting any facts about the future out of the voice that claimed to be her future self.
//And why won't you tell me anything USEFUL about the future?// she asked for the third time.
//Well, let's put it this way, if I accidentally give you information that changes your future, I might end up not existing. I can't tell you anything important, sorry.//
Usagi grumbled to herself again, only slightly concerned that she was beginning to make a habit of it. The doors slid open at her approach and she looked around the arcade, hoping that Motoki was working.
//So, what was it you wanted to do here?//
//Sailor V! It should me the fourth machine in the second row, near the fire extinguisher.//
//If you're from a long time in the future, how do you manage to remember things like that? I have trouble with things that happened just a few months ago.//
//Trust me, if you spend anywhere near as much time as I did in here, you'd know the whole place by heart.// Serenity smiled slightly to herself at the prospect of enjoying one of the many activities she hadn't been able to engage in for several hundred years.
//Is this it?// Usagi peered at the machine scepticly. The blazing title "Barbarian Warrior Goddess" was surrounded by scantily clad, highly muscular men and women.
//Err... no. I don't remember this one at all.// Serenity watched the demo game kick in. //It doesn't even look like her.//
//Well, this is a total bust, Motoki's not even here,// Usagi pouted.
//He has a girlfriend, you know.//
//He WHAT!?! How COULD he?// Usagi almost broke down wailing, but Serenity seized control of her body.
//Not on my watch, you don't. Just because he's not available doesn't mean that there isn't someone out there that was destined to be with you.//
Usagi sniffled mentally, but it just wasn't the same. //Hey, aren't you sharing facts about the future with me? Didn't you just spend fifteen minutes talking about how you couldn't do that?//
//Err... well, I'm starting to think that this may not really be the past, after all. So I don't guess it really matters what I tell you.//
//Wait a minute, if you're not in the past, why are you in my body? And if you're me, how come you can write kanji as well as the teachers? And-//
//I never said I wasn't you. I'm just not the you that you'll grow up to be. Get it?//
Usagi thought for a few seconds. //No, not really.//
Serenity sighed. //Okay, let's head over to the shrine and see if anyone else is having our problem. You do know where it is, right?//
//Which shrine?//
//Never mind, I'll just do the walking. Mom isn't expecting us home for a while, is she?//
//Nah, I usually go hang out with Naru-chan. But she's helping her mom set up for some big jewelry show.//
Serenity, still in control of the body, nodded.
After a few more minutes of walking, the Hikawa Shrine came into view. //Here we are,// Serenity announced
//This place? Isn't this a shrine a bit small? We could always go to the big one over on-//
//It's not the shrine I want to see, but the people.// Serenity marched up the stairs, a faint grin of nostalgia on her face.
She spotted Rei's grandfather, who looked up from sweeping the stairs at her approach.
"Excuse me, kind sir, but I'm looking for a Ms. Hino Rei. Would you happen to know where I can find her?"
"Of course. I'm always happy to help out a pretty young lady such as yourself. She's around back chopping wood for the furo," he smiled at her in a benevolent manner that Serenity suspected would change into a leer the second she turned her back.
"Thank you very much." She bowed and continued up the stairs.
//So, exactly who is this Rei person, anyway?//
//One of my dearest friends. She's the only I can think of to talk to about what's going on.//
Usagi accepted the answer grudgingly. //But will she help us? I mean, she doesn't know you yet.//
//Got any better ideas?//
Usagi let it go at that.
By that point, they had reached the top of the stairs, and the faint sound of wood being chopped could be heard from behind the living quarters area of the shrine.
Moving stealthily, she made her way around the corner and spotted Rei, dressed in her Shinto robes, wielding a small axe and cutting small log down to size for use in the shrine's furo heater. When the maiden stopped for a second to catch her breath, Serenity cleared her throat quietly.
"Excuse me, but are you Ms. Hino Rei?" she managed to put a hint of doubt into her voice, just in case.
Rei looked up, startled. "Serenity-sama?"
Serenity broke out into a wide smile. "Now where have I heard that name before?"
Rei dropped the axe and threw herself at Serenity in a bone-crushing hug.
END
Tim Williams
https://www.angelfire.com/tn/twillia/
twillia4@utk.edu
