The crossover madness continues! ;)
The next day
The sun shone down brightly on the campus of Crossroads Junior
High. It was one of those days that made eating lunch outside not an
option, but a must.
“Yes Serena, as a matter of fact, I am going to finish my
sandwich!” said a voice that, oddly enough, would not have been out of
place in New York City’s Brooklyn, half a world away.
“Come on, Molly!” pleaded Serena. “I’m really, really, really
hungry! We’re friends and friends share.”
“I didn’t see you offering to share your lunch,” pointed out Molly.
“In fact, you sucked it down so fast I thought you were a vacuum
cleaner.”
“I only had time to grab some toast on the way out this morning,”
pouted Serena.
“Hi, hi, girls!” came an excited voice from behind the two. Serena
and Molly turned to find a boy with unruly hair and thick glasses
grinning at them.
“Oh, hey, Melvin,” said Serena unenthusiastically.
“Check this out!” gushed Melvin as he removed three slips of paper
from his pocket. “I got tickets to the aquarium! I was wondering if
you’d want to go.”
“Sure,” replied Molly. “I’ve never been to an aquarium. It’ll be
fun!”
Serena looked at her friend with disbelief. Molly actually thinks
looking at a bunch of fish is going to be fun? she thought. I know she
and Melvin are going out, but this is too much.
“Awesome!” shouted Melvin. “So, Serena, are you coming too? I hear
the aquarium just put in a new exhibit about squid that’s supposed to be
really fascinating!”
“Uh, no thanks, Melvin. Squids really aren’t my thing,” said
Serena, hoping not to hurt the nerdy boy’s feelings.
“Oh. Okay,” nodded Melvin, sounding more than a little
disappointed. Suddenly his eyes went wide and he seemed to perk up. “I
know! I’ll ask Ms. Haruna to come! She’s a teacher! I bet she’d love the
squid exhibit!” With that, Melvin dashed off on his mission.
“Remind again why you like that guy.”
“Aw, come on, Serena,” sighed Molly. “Melvin’s really a very sweet
guy. He may act like a dweeb sometimes, but it’s only because he cares
about me.”
“Yeah, I guess he’s not that bad.”
“And you may not think it, but he’s really brave too. He’s risked
his own life to protect me from being attacked by those monsters Sailor
Moon is always fighting. Twice!”
“Okay, okay,” grumbled Serena. “He’s Indiana Jones in a pair of
cokebottles.”
“Serena, can we talk to you for a minute?” someone called. Serena
looked up to see Amy and Lita waiting a few feet away.
“Uh, Molly, do you mind--”
“Sure, no problem,” assured Molly as she stood up to leave. “I’ll
call you later.”
It wasn’t until Molly was safely away that anyone spoke.
“So what’s up?” asked Serena.
“I just got a call from Mina,” began Amy. “She said that Artemis
thinks he might have detected some Negaverse activity. We’re all going
to meet at the temple after school to try and come up with a plan.”
“And try not to be too late this time, Serena. Raye’s been stressed
out enough the last few days. I don’t think that yelling at you will do
her any good,” chided Lita.
“No problem,” reassured Serena. “As soon as that last bell rings, I
will be out the door and on my way!”
“No you won’t,” said Amy “You have a detention today, remember?”
“For falling asleep in class. Again,” noted Lita.
“Oh yeah,” chuckled an embarrassed Serena. “Well, after detention.
Really, I promise!”
~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Serena promised she’d come here right after detention,” groused
Luna. “That ended twenty minutes ago. Plenty of time for her to get
here.”
“Oh, you know Serena,” shrugged Lita. “For her being late is like
breathing. It’s natural.”
“I know it’s a tall order, but she really needs to pull it together
on this one,” commented Artemis. “If you look at the readings Luna and I
have gathered, and add Raye's dreams to it, we could be looking at some
major Negaverse activity.”
“Speaking of Raye, where is she?” asked Mina.
“She’s off consulting her sacred fire,” answered Amy. “She said she
thought her vision was becoming more focused.”
“Heads up. Look who’s finally here,” said Lita.
“Sorry! Sorry!” exclaimed Serena as she joined her friends. “Ms.
Haruna keep me after to talk about my grades.”
“Failed another math test, huh?” quizzed Mina.
“You got it,” sighed Serena. “A parent-teacher conference is in my
future, big time.”
It was then that the door to the building the girls were waiting by
opened. Raye walked out wearing her priestess garb and a somber
expression.
“Hey, Raye. Sorry I’m late, but Ms. Haruna-” fumbled Serena.
“It’s here.”
“It’s here? What’s here?” inquired Artemis.
“The monster from my dreams. It’s real and it’s here in Tokyo,”
said Raye flatly.
“Monster? Wait a second, you never mentioned a monster,”
interjected Lita.
Raye didn’t seem to notice her friend’s words. “It’s here and it
will be more powerful than anything we’ve ever faced.”
“Jeez, Raye, you’re starting to scare me,” whispered Mina.
“You should be scared. We all should be. I…I know I am,” admitted
Raye. “Just a little.”
The other girls couldn’t think of any way to respond to that.
“I think Raye is right on this one, Artemis,” said Luna to her
fellow cat. “I’ve been having a bad feeling about something all day. I
just hope that whatever it is, that the Scouts will be up to facing it.”
The white cat simply nodded his agreement.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Like any major metropolis, Tokyo has its share of after dark
entertainment. If you’re looking for the most posh restaurant, or the
most exciting nightclub, then you want the Ginza district, located in
the very heart of the city. And in this bastion of hip, there is no
restaurant more acclaimed than Ginza Otaku.
“Stop fussing with your tie, Grunge.”
“I can’t help it, Mr.L! It’s so tight it’s cutting off the oxygen
to my brain!”
“How can you tell?” snickered Bobby.
“Stuff it, matchstick!”
“Knock it off, the both of you!” snapped Lynch. “Ken will be here
any second and I don’t want him to see you two acting like children.”
“Ah, the impetuousness of youth is never ending is it, John-kun?”
said someone. The speaker was a Japanese man in his mid-fifties who
sported a conservative brown suit and a friendly smile.
“Ken-kun, it’s good to finally see you again,” grinned Lynch as he
reached out and shook his friend’s hand.
“The pleasure is mine as well, John. Now, when are you going to
introduce me to your young friends?”
“Of course. The tall young lady is Caitlin Fairchild.”
“Konbanwa,” said Fairchild as she bowed slightly.
“And good evening to you as well, Fairchild-san. Your pronunciation
is excellent.”
“Domo arigato.”
“Moving on,” continued Lynch. “The girl with the pink streaks in
her hair is Roxanne Spualding.”
“Uh, hi.”
“Rounding out the girls is Sarah Rainmaker.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
“Next we have, uh, well, he prefers the name Grunge to anything
else.”
“Hey, Ken. ‘Sup?”
Lynch mentally rolled his eyes. “Finally we have Bobby Lane. My
son.”
“Your son?” asked Ken in surprise.
“A long story. I’ll explain it to you in private later. As for now,
I belive our table is ready.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Roxy, you really gotta try this unagi stuff! It’s great!”
exclaimed Grunge.
“No thanks,” declined Freefall. “I’m going to stick with this
kamameshi. You can’t go wrong with a casserole.”
“You gotta be open to new experiences, Rox!”
“Grunge, you do know that unagi is grilled eel, right?” asked
Fairchild.
“Did you say…eel?” rasped Grunge as a slightly green tinge began to
suffuse his face.
“That’s what she said,” chuckled Bobby.
“Uh, excuse me, please,” gulped Grunge as he stood and held a
napkin to his mouth. He then took off in a mad dash for the bathrooms.
“I told him to stick with the noodles,” smiled Rainmaker.
“And now that the entertainment portion of the meal is over…”
sighed Lynch. “Perhaps we could get down to business. Did you bring the
information, Ken?”
“Check your right coat pocket.”
Lynch did so and was surprised to discover a computer disk there.
“Still have those clever fingers, I see,” he remarked.
“Blame it on a misspent youth in the streets of Yokohama.”
“Thank you, Ken-kun. I know the risks you took to give this to me,
and I will always be grateful,” said Lynch.
“Think nothing of it, John-kun,” replied Ken. “It is as the saying
goes; what are friends for?”
“This calls for a toast! Waiter, a bottle of your finest shochu,
please.”
As per Lynch’s request, the bottle was brought and everyone’s glass
was filled.
“Mr.L finally loosens up enough to let us have whiskey and Grunge
misses it. Boy, he’s going to be pissed,” remarked Freefall.
“He’s in the bathroom hurling up stuff he ate in the second grade.
I don’t think booze is high on his list of priorities right now,”
commented Bobby.
“Settle down,” said Lynch. “I’d like to propose a toast. To that
which has brought us here tonight and what will, hopefully, serve us all
in the future. To friendship!”
“To friendship!” everyone chorused.
“So, Mr. Sato, I hear there’s a good story behind how you and my
dad meet,” Burnout said.
Ken glanced at Lynch and raised an eyebrow.
“Go ahead and tell them, Ken. I guess it won’t hurt to let them know
what happened after all,” assured Lynch.
“It’s quite a story,” began Ken. “It starts with an ancient legend
about a lost kingdom and seven magical rainbow crystals. The story goes
that ages ago our moon was home to a great civilization ruled by--”
“Mr. Lynch, are you okay? You don’t look so good,” interrupted
Rainmaker.
Lynch indeed did not look good . His skin was yellow, his eyes went
in and out of focus, and he was sweating profusely. “I…feel…I…warm,”
stammered Lynch. His eyes then rolled back in his head and he fell face
first into the remains of his sushi.
“Oh, man! Did he find out he’d eaten eel too?” It was a slightly
pale Grunge who had returned from the restroom just in time to see Lynch
collapse.
“Ohmigod!”
“Is he dead?!”
“No, he’s still breathing!”
“Someone call 911 or whatever it is they have in this country!”
Amid the shouting and confusion, a figure appeared in a dark corner
of the restaurant. The figure watched the chaos for a moment and
grinned.
“The first part of my plan is a success!” thought Malachite. The
next second he was gone.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Almost, but not quite, thought Lita. She rolled the bit of meat
around in her mouth again and tried to ascertain what was missing.
Curry! It needs more curry, she realized.
After retrieving the appropriate bottle from her spice rack, Lita
dropped a small amount into the cooking pot and stirred the contents.
“That should do it,” she smiled. “Five more minutes and another batch of
Lita’s Five-Alarm Chili Inferno will be ready.”
The ringing of a phone interrupted the young chef’s moment of
satisfaction. “Always when I’m busy!” cursed Lita as she ran to get it.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Lita. I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time,” said Amy.
“Hey, Amy. No, I’m just finishing up dinner.”
“Great. Look, I just got a call from Serena and she’s really
worried about Raye.”
“Yeah, Raye really hasn’t been herself lately,” commented Lita.
“She’s only yelled at Serena five times in the past two days. That’s way
below her average.”
“That’s what Serena thought. She thinks we need to do something to
get Raye’s mind off those dreams she’s been having.”
“I’m all for that. What does she have in mind?”
“She suggested that we take Raye to the mall tomorrow after
school,” informed Amy. “In fact, her exact words were ‘Raye has been
such a downmeister lately. A couple of hours mall trawling is just what
that old grump needs.’”
“Going to the mall, how totally Serena. Okay, I’ll meet you guys--”
Lita stopped as a strange smell caught her attention. “What in the world
is that?” she thought. “It smells like something’s burni—My chili!!”
With a quick shriek, Lita dropped the phone and ran for the kitchen.
There she found a cloud of smoke billowing from the pot on the stove.
She quickly grabbed a towel to protect her hands, snatched up the pot,
and dumped its contents into the sink.
“So much for Lita’s Five-Alarm Chili Inferno,” the tall girl
sighed. “Oh no! Amy!”
“Hello? Hello? Lita, are you there?” came Amy’s voice.
Lita dashed back in the living room and grabbed the phone. “Yeah,
yeah, I’m here!” she panted.
“What happened?”
“I just forgot about some stuff I had on the stove. My chili is now
Chernobyl.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to distract you,” apologized Amy.
“Forget it. It was my own stupid fault. Anyway, do you want me to
call Mina and fill her in?”
“No, Serena said she’d do that.”
“Okay, see you tomorrow then. Oh, and Amy, can I ask you
something?”
“Of course.”
“You wouldn’t happen to know the number of a good pizzeria, would
you? Preferably one that delivers.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tokyo Memorial Hospital
“Wow, Mr. L looks pretty bad,” remarked Freefall, quietly.
John Lynch did indeed look bad. He lay motionless in the bed, his
skin pale, a breathing tube up his nose and an IV in his left arm.
“Do not worry, Spaulding-san,” reassured Ken. “I’ve known John a
long time. He’s a fighter. Whatever is wrong with him, he’ll pull
though.”
It was then that a tall man in his early thirties, dressed in a
doctor’s uniform, entered the room. “Hello, I’m Dr. Nakagawa. Which of
you are members of this gentleman’s family?” he asked as he studied
Gen13 and Ken who stood around Lynch’s bedside.
“I’m his son,” said Bobby. “Do you know what’s wrong with my dad?
Is he going to be okay?”
“Our initial findings seem to indicate that your father was the
victim of a very rare, but extremely virulent, form of food poisoning,”
explained the doctor.
“It was those eels. I knew it,” grumbled Grunge.
“Will he be all right?” asked Fairchild.
“We expect him to make a full recovery,” Dr. Nakagawa assured.
“However, it will take several days for his body to purge the toxins
from his system. I expect that he will be unable to speak or move for
the duration of that time.
Now I’m afraid I must ask all of you to leave the room. I must run
some tests. Tests which I think the patient would prefer done in
private.”
The group silently left the room and assembled in a nearby
visitor’s lounge.
“Well, this is certainly living up to the disasters that were our
last few vacations,” grumbled Sarah.
Fairchild nodded in agreement. “It’s really terrible this had to
happen now. Mr. Lynch promised to take me a Noh performance at the
National Noh Theater the day after tomorrow. I guess that’s canceled.”
“It may not be my place to say this, but I don’t think you should
let this unfortunate event ruin your trip,” said Ken. “John-kun saw this
as a rare educational opportunity for all of you, and I think he would
be disappointed if you didn’t take it.”
“But we just can’t leave him here and go running around playing
tourist!” objected Burnout.
“I admire your loyalty to your father, young man. But I really
believe this is how John would want it,” replied the Japanese man. “He
would not want all of you to do nothing but sit at his bedside for days
on end.”
“Sato-san does have a point,” remarked Sarah. “Mr. L did make a big
deal about how he wanted us to learn about Japanese culture.”
“I guess you have a point. But I feel weird about leaving him here
alone,” admitted Bobby.
“Your father is getting the best care possible, Lane-san. I’ve seen
to it,” assured Ken.
“So, Mr. Sato, do you know any good tourists spots?” asked Freefall
“It depends on what you’re looking for, young lady.”
“Well, do you know any good malls?”
At this Ken smiled. “Young women, they’re the same everywhere. But
yes, there is a fine shopping mall not far from where I live, out in the
suburb of Juuban. I’ll get you a map of how to get there, plus a few
other points of interest.”
“Thanks, Ken. We really appreciate you being so righteous,” grinned
Grunge.
“It is my pleasure, Grunge-san. I’m only sorry I can not show you
around the city myself. Sadly, I have been called to Kyoto on urgent
business. I’ll have that map sent to your hotel.”
“We can’t think you enough for your help, Sato-san. Domo arigato,”
said Fairchild as she bowed.
Ken returned the bow and smiled. “Do oitashimashite, Fairchild-san.
One last thing, what happened to the disk I gave John? In all the
confusion I lost track of it.”
“It’s safe in here,” informed Fairchild as she held up her purse.
“I grabbed it out of his pocket while they were loading Mr. Lynch into
the ambulance.”
“Very fast thinking,” complimented Ken. “Now I’m afraid I must
leave. Please enjoy your stay in my country and give John-kun my best
when he is better.” With a final bow, Ken headed off.
“Do you think we should go back to the hotel?” said Roxy.
“There’s no reason to stay here,” noted Sarah. “We can’t do anything
for Mr. L, and I’m beat.”
“You guys mind if I track down a soda machine first?” asked Bobby.
“I’m dying of thirst.”
The others nodded their assent.
“Let me come with you. I could use something to drink myself,”
admitted Fairchild as Bobby headed out of the room.
The two walked down the hospital’s corridors for several moments in
silence.
“Are you going to say it or am I going to have to?” quizzed
Fairchild.
“Say what?” muttered Bobby.
“That you really aren’t looking for something to drink. That you
said that as an excuse to get out of there.”
“You’re being silly.”
“Bobby, we’ve been friends too long for us to start lying to each
other. It’s about your dad, isn’t it?”
That stopped Burnout in his tracks. “Dad’s right, you know. You
really are perceptive,” he sighed as he leaned against a wall.
“Want to talk about it?” asked Cat.
“Not really. But you probably won’t stop bothering me until I do.”
At that, Caitlin smiled. “It’s just that it’s not fair. I mean, I only
found out Mr. Lynch was my real dad a few weeks ago. And the way he’s
always keeping secrets has made it hard to get to know him. As a father
anyway.”
“Try and understand where he’s coming from, Bobby,” implored
Fairchild. “This is just as hard for him as it is for you. He has made
some efforts to get closer to you, but you just seem to push him away.”
“Yeah, I guess part of it is my fault,” nodded Bobby “It’s just
that, well, I guess I’m mad at him.”
“For what?”
“Not being my dad, I guess,” admitted the blonde Gen-Active. “I know
about all the crazy stuff that happened to separate me from him and my
real mom, but that’s cold comfort. It doesn’t make up for all those
years I spent in foster homes.”
“What’s done is done,” said Cat. “You have to look to the future. I
really wish my dad could have been there for me while I was growing up,
but he couldn’t. Now that we’re together I don’t want to waste a
moment.”
“That’s sorta how I feel,” sighed Bobby. “I finally get my real dad,
but before I really get to know him he’s taken out by some bad fish. It
just blows!”
“You heard the doctor, your dad is going to be fine. You’re worried
about him so that means that you care about him, right?”
“Right, I guess.”
“Think of this as a chance to get closer to him once he’s better,”
suggested Fairchild.
Bobby spent several moments thinking that over. “Okay, once he’s
better I’ll try and give him a real chance.”
“Good for you,” smiled Cat.
“Thanks. Now can we try and find a soda machine? I really am thirsty
now.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In Lynch’s room Dr. Nakagawa smiled as a shimmer of light encased
his body. Once the light faded the visage of the doctor was gone. In his
place stood Malachite.
Foolish humans. They never suspected a thing, thought the General as
he removed the Dark Crystal from his pocket. He then let go of the
crystal and watched as it hung in the air and glowed with a blue light.
The crystal then began to send out small waves of energy which washed
over Lynch’s body. The American never moved a muscle.
Once the pulses stopped, Malachite grabbed the crystal out of the
air and studied its glow intently. “Yes, according to the Dark Crystal,
these beings are even more powerful than I thought. They're perfect for
my plans!”
Malachite then leaned over Lynch’s prone form and sneered. “Your young
friends don’t know it, old man, but they’re going to help the Negaverse
gain ultimate victory over the Sailor Scouts. And once they have, well…”
Malachite’s sneer grew larger. “Pity you’re in no position to warn
them.”
Still gloating, the General stepped away from the bed and again
gazed at the Dark Crystal. Now all that remains is to convince Queen
Beryl of my plan, he thought as he vanished.
Inside his mind, John Lynch was screaming.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next day
In an ordinary shopping mall in the Tokyo suburb of Juuban,
commerce continued its never-ending march. Among those taking part in
that parade were the Sailor Scouts in their civilian forms.
“Amy, I’m telling you, that skirt would have looked great on you!”
exclaimed Mina.
“I don’t know. It seemed awfully revealing,” said Amy.
“And our Scout outfits aren’t? You’ve never complained about them,”
joked Raye.
Amy blushed deeply.
“Hey, Raye’s cracking jokes,” observed Lita. “Does this mean you’re
finally coming out of that funk you’ve been in the last few days?”
“I think so,” nodded Raye. “Thanks for dragging me out of the
temple and bringing me here. This is just what I needed.”
“It was my idea,” grinned Serena. “I just couldn’t stand any more
of you being Ms. Doom-and-Gloom. It was starting to make you even more
annoying than Melvin.”
“Thanks, meatballhead.” Raye smiled as Serena blanched at her hated
nickname. “I really was letting that dream get to me way too much. I
mean, we’ve beat Jedite, Nephlite, Zoisite and every monster Beryl has
thrown our way. I’m sure tha--”
“Everyone look! The new Sailor V game is finally in at the arcade!
I thought it wasn’t supposed to be out until next month!” cheered Serena
as she pointed to a colorful poster affixed to the window of the Crown
Game Center.
“Serena, you can play video games anytime,” chided Amy. “Today
we’re supposed to be helping Raye.”
“It’s okay,” assured Raye. “Serena, go have fun. We’ll meet you at
the food court later.”
“Thanks, Raye! See ya!” called the blonde girl as she dashed inside
the arcade.
“That was really nice of you, Raye,” complemented Mina. “Letting
Serena off like that when she was being so rude.”
“It was no big deal. There’s only so much of that meatballhead I
can take at one time.”
“Say, Mina, this is a really nice picture of you,” commented Lita
as she appraised the Sailor V poster.
“Thanks,” smiled Mina as she took in the poster. “You know, even
after all this time, it still feels kind of weird seeing my face on
posters, toys, anime, and all that other Sailor V stuff.”
“I bet you wish you got royalties on all that,” said Raye.
“You bet I do. If I did, I’d be making a lollipop!” grinned the
blonde girl.
“Don’t you mean, making a mint?” Amy corrected.
“Whatever.”
“Let’s forget about that stuff,” suggested Lita. “Come on, I know a
shoe store that’s having a sale!”