The Rebound Effect--Chapter 5
The Rebound Effect--Chapter 5
Tsukino Usagi managed to get to school almost ten minutes early the next day, an accomplishment that had much to do with Serenity's low tolerance for being shaken.
Naru was quite surprised, to say the least. The two actually got to walk to school for once instead of taking part in an early morning marathon.
"Usagi-chan, are you going to be at the gem show tonight? Mother and I spent all last night getting everything ready. Where were you, anyway? I thought you said that you'd drop by and help?"
Usagi looked a bit nervous but answered casually, "Oh, I just forgot about it... I'll try to be there, but I might be a little late. What time does it start?"
"See? I knew I would need to remind you about this," Naru shook her head in dismay at her friend's lack of responsibility. "It starts at seven, but we'll be there around six to start setting up."
"Don't worry, Naru-chan. I'll be there."
"You'd better be. Mom wasn't very happy that you didn't show up last night."
Usagi frowned. "I'm really sorry, but I ran into someone I haven't seen in a really long time and we got to talking and I lost track of time."
"Who was it? Anyone I know?"
"Nah, she doesn't go to our school. I met her... at... um... summer school last year."
//Good save,// Serenity's voice rang out in her head, laden with sarcasm.
//Thank you.//
Serenity sighed as Usagi totally overlooked the real meaning of her words. The girl had so much to learn.
"Say, Naru-chan, would you mind if I brought a friend or two with me to the show? We're supposed to do something earlier today, and I think it would be nice if we could all do something together..."
Naru smiled slightly. "Sure. Bring as many as you want, it'll be fun. We can cut out early and go get ice cream or something."
"Mmmmm...." Usagi's eyes glazed over. "Ice cream."
Naru giggled in relief. "You've been acting a little weird all morning, but that look was definitely 100% Usagi."
At that point they reached the school and began the long process of mingling their way to class.
***
"Class, I'd like to introduce two new students," Ms. Haruna announced. "Kino Makoto and Aino Minako."
Serenity smacked Usagi in the back of the mental head, pulling her attention away from the manga she was reading and causing her to glance toward the board.
//That's them!// she announced happily. She seized control and rummaged through a her notebook for a clean page. Drawing quickly and methodically, she wrote the words "That you?" in the script of Crystal Tokyo and held it up to where Makoto and Minako could see it.
"Aino-san has just arrived from England." Minako bowed to the class as she was introduced.
"And Kino-san is a transfer student from a neighboring school," Ms. Haruna continued and Makoto bowed, as well. "I'd like to ask that you each make an effort to welcome them to their new school.
Each girl nodded slightly upon noticing Serenity's sign.
//What was all that, anyway?// Usagi asked, more than a little peeved at having her reading interrupted before actual class started.
//Friends of mine. Your new teammates.// Serenity replied.
"Now if you would each take a seat, I'm certain that we are all eager to get started." The few groans let out by the class were done quietly.
***
The scene at the shrine was more crowded than Rei had been expecting. Somehow, Minako and Makoto had both shown up, along with a slightly confused looking Mamouro.
//Isn't that they guy that keeps on calling Usagi "Odango-atama"? What's he doing here?// her younger self asked as she gazed at him dreamily. //Not that I mind, since he is rather cute.//
//He's not for you. Believe me, I tried,// she told herself. //You'll get most of your answers if this goes as planned.//
//Okay.// She let it drop, though she didn't sound very pleased at the evasive answer.
It was at that moment that Usagi chose to make her entrance.
Rei looked up as she approached and noticed that she was alone. "Where's Ami-chan?"
"She isn't here," Serenity replied. "I talked to her today at lunch and she isn't ‘of two minds' about anything."
"Please," Rei narrowed her eyes slightly. "Tell me that you didn't just make really obscure references like that at her and expected her to get them. She never was very good at picking up subtle hints, you know."
"Well, I also said, ‘Gribzaks sorpeto torboona kal.' to her, but she just looked at me strangely."
"Err... I would have looked at you strangely too, what does that mean?"
"It's an old joke between me and her. Remember that time we went to Rigel IX?" Serenity grinned mischievously.
Rei couldn't recall the story she was referring to and decided it was probably better to just letit go. "The others are here. Have you heard anything from the Outer Senshi? We should contact them as soon as possible."
"I talked to Pluto and right now she should be taking Haruka and Mirchiru to take care of any... problems that Hotaru might be having."
"You spoke with Pluto? Is she having the same personality conflicts that we are?"
"I don't believe so, but who can tell with that woman? Though two of her is a scary thought." Serenity shivered. "She's already made some kind of arrangements for one of our problems, though I'm not sure which one. She said something about us going on a ‘Vacation' this weekend."
"She's our travel agent now? How come that doesn't comfort me."
Serenity grinned. "We know that we can trust her, at least. Just be ready to go on... Say, what is today, anyway?"
"Thursday, do you think she means for us to leave?"
"I don't know, but be ready by tomorrow, just in case."
Rei nodded. "Well, the others are waiting. Shall we get this party started?"
***
Kiyone glared at Mercury. Her hair was now in a short cut, very like the one worn my Ami.
"I don't know what you're so mad about," Mercury said. "That look is perfectly fine. I wore it for centuries. And the others were all very popular as well."
"Popular for who!?!" Kiyone was fuming. "A colony of blind people?"
"Actually, it was an interstellar empire."
//It's impossible to argue with this woman,// Kiyone thought, feeling the anger drain out of here.. //She just doesn't get mad at anything. Almost... like... Mihoshi... well, without the crying. Mihoshi, it all comes back to her. Well, maybe she's better by now. Like I'd be that lucky, but still, maybe.//
Besides, this last hairstyle didn't look half bad.
***
They sat in a ring. Usagi was between Mamouro and Minako. Minako was beside Makoto who was beside Rei who was on the other side of Mamouro.
"Okay," Serenity announced. "Each of us is experiencing a shortage of head room, but that's not the problem we're going to address tonight." She looked over to Rei and nodded slightly. "Rei has received signs that something evil is about to arise. That means that someone is going to have to come forward to stop it."
The older minds in the room who were in command of their bodies nodded grimly.
"It's time for each of you to make a choice." Serenity swept her gaze around the room. "Everyone here, including Usagi, has the power to fight this evil, whatever it is. That power comes with memories of another life, as well."
"When we faced such a danger in out own youths, the choice was taken out of our hands. It was fight and remember or forget and die. We chose to remember, and it ruined any chance that we would ever have for normal lives. If you don't want to fight, or to remember, we won't force you."
"Though I must warn you, you may be forced to remember whether you want to or not. We forgot for a while, once, but there is always another battle waiting to happen."
"You, however, must choose." Serenity fell silent. The speech came out much better the second time, she felt. The first was only for Usagi's benefit, though.
Rei was the first to speak up. "I know that I cannot sit idly by if there is evil threatening. It is my duty to accept."
Makoto jumped in right behind her. "I won't back down form a fight."
Minako and Mamouro both seemed to be locked in internal debates. Mamouro's finished first.
"I've been searching for my past for far too long to pass this up," he spoke softly.
Finally, the Minakos seemed to reach a decision and nodded silently.
"Alright then," Serenity managed to hold back the sigh of relief she wanted to heave. "Everyone just relax and join hands."
Gently she began to probe around in Usagi's head until she found what felt like the right barriers and released them. She waited for a moment before hazarding a question.
//Was that it?//
//Yeah,// Usagi replied weakly. //I think that was it.//
Accepting that as proof that she could do this, Serenity pushed herself out of Usagi's body and into Mamouro's. Her mind met that of Endyminion and together they searched Mamouro's for the barriers. They were a lot more complicated than Usagi's had been, which explained a lot about the multiple personalities that he had manifested in their own world.
Soon, those barriers fell, as well and Serenity was off around the circle, destroying barriers one by one until she finally reached her own body again.
By that point, Usagi had recovered from the flood of memories and formed her questions. Serenity paused to answer a few of her most pressing concerns before taking control of the body again and speaking.
"I realize that this is all very confusing for you all, but try to relax. Let it sort itself out in your minds before you get too worried about anything. Now, you will have to forgive me," she moved to stand, "but Usagi has a convention to attend. If any of you wish to join her, I'm certain that you'll have plenty of time to talk."
Slowly the group broke up. Rei said she needed to finish her chores and wouldn't be able to make it. Mamouro begged out of it by claiming that he had a paper due the next day, but both Minako and Makoto agreed to accompany her as long as they got a chance to run home and change first.
Usagi said that it was a good idea, and Serenity voiced their agreement.
Serenity had made her way almost a third of the way down the stairs leading to the Hikawa Shrine before Usagi decided which of her questions she wanted answered first. From there on, Serenity had a lot of explaining to do.
***
Minako darted in the front door and up the stairs to her room where she found her cat sitting up on the bed, waiting on her.
His day had been rather eventful. One minute, he was just a regular cat, laying happily in a sun beam, the next, he had sensed something evil in the area and sleeping memories had been unlocked.
Now he knew who he was, where he had come from, and why he had been drawn to Minako. She had to turn into Sailor... Sailor... Sailor something... V? that sounded almost right... and fight it.
She completely ignored him as she opened the closet and began rummaging through the boxes of clothes that filled her closet.
Gathering up all of his courage, which was quite an incredible amount for a cat, he spoke. "Minako, there is something evil stalking the city. You must transform into Sailor V and destroy it!"
To his surprise, Minako didn't run out of the room screaming. Instead, she just stopped her rummaging and looked at him over her shoulder. "My, it certainly took you long enough to finally talk to me."
Artemis didn't have a heart attack, though he only escaped because of his naturally relaxed nature.
"And don't you mean Sailor Venus?" Minako replied, her smile hidden by the fact that she was again searching her closet.
"Err... you're not surprised that I can talk? Not even a little?" he asked, not believing any of this.
She stepped back from her closet with an armload of garmets which she dumped on the bed beside the cat. Then she scooped him up in her arms and gave him a hearty scratching behind the ears.
"Let's just say that my memory is probably better than yours." She opened the door to her room. "But you're not going to get to watch me change anymore."
Artemis could only stare at the closed door, disappointed that he wasn't going to get to see anything now that he was actually of a mind to enjoy it.
***
To Serenity's surprise, Mianko showed up wearing Artemis. Of course, Usagi found the sight rather comical, or at least, a lot more entertaining than the lecture she had been receiving on combat tactics.
"Look who finally found his tongue." Minako smired as the feline grumbled something about always being the last to know. "He says there's something evil stalking the city. Probably youma."
"Did he say where?" Serenity asked, confident that Usagi would take her more seriously after a few battles.
"It's really close to this place, it seems." Minako inclined her head to the smallish convention center across the street.
Makoto arrived shortly and they went insdie for a date with Destiny and Fate. Of course, that would mean that someone would have to sit out if they danced, but so be it. Unless Lady Luck showed up, then Makoto and Minako would probably end up dancing together, but they were still trying to keep themselves from finding out about that.
END
Okay, forgive that last bit, but I'm going slightly insane.
Tim Williams
https://www.angelfire.com/tn/twillia/
twillia4@utk.edu
