Something dark, glowing, and emaciated to the point of see-through
skin,  looked down at itself and said, "Ooooohhhh... dear... I seem to
be missing  some things. Fancy those not preserving. Excuse me, miss,
you wouldn't happen  to have a robe handy, would you?"
-Bishonen Muyo OAV#1

I remember that. It was amusing.

####
Amy Lynn rose with the sun and went to bed at around ten at night. It
was,  she had concluded some time ago, the most efficient use of her
time. She did  not waste time laying in bed, but rather immediately
gathered her things and  marched down the hall to the tub, which she
filled with water heated to a  comfortably warm sixty-five degrees.

....

Ten minutes later, she was out and towel drying her hair. Not bothering
with  a robe, she walked back to her room and donned underclothes, a
t-shirt and  jean shorts. Returning to the bathroom, she picked up her
hair brush and went  to work on her hair.

Amy Lynn's hair was bobbed. It covered her head, didn't get in her
eyes, and  quite frankly, that's all one should expect from hair.

Amen.

She had just finished breakfast when there was a knock at the door.
Opening  it, she found herself face to face with Molly and Bunny. Both
girls wore  T-shirts and jeans, Molly had on sneakers, and Bunny wore
work boots and what  appeared to the same work shirt she had on
yesterday. Molly also noted that  the "machete" was actually a very
large knife.

...With a big spherical crystal in the pommel?

"Great!" Bunny dashed down the stairs and returned with a box of tools.
 "Where's the furniture?"

Yeah, she's still Usagi.

Wordlessly, Amy Lynn pointed at the stack of boxes in a group in the
living  room.

"That's furniture?" Molly asked as Bunny opened up one of the boxes.

"Mom likes to buy furniture that can be assembled and disassembled at
will,"  Amy Lynn replied.

One wonders about what -else- is hidden in her mother's background.

"My dad," Amy Lynn replied, taking the frame from Molly. "He and mom
split up  when I was five because he was gay. This is the only picture
I have of  him-she doesn't know about this one. Mom destroyed the
others and fought like  mad to limit his visitation rights." Amy Lynn
ran a finger over the image.  "I've seen him only three times in the
last ten years and the last time was  almost six years ago."

Ah. Well, that explains it.

And so, having no way to gracefully refuse, Amy Lynn left a note for
her  mother and followed Bunny and Molly down the steps to where a
Great Dane sat  beside an old pickup truck. The maker's logo was
written across the grille in  dirt-covered chrome and the truck had
been repainted several times and had  been dented in various places.

Full size, of course. Has the bed been replaced with a wooden frame?

Bunny placed the toolbox into the back and rubbed the dog's head. "This
is  Luna," the blonde said to Amy Lynn. "Luna, this is Amy Lynn."

Luna held out her paw, which after a moment, Amy Lynn shook.

"Creepy, aint it?" Molly whispered as Luna clambered up the rear wheel
and  into the truck bed. "Sometimes I swear that dog understands
everything we  say."

At which point the entire audience lets out a knowing snicker.

"All aboard," Bunny said as she got in. Molly and Amy Lynn got in on
the  other side. Molly in the middle Amy Lynn by the window.

"You have a driver's license?" Amy Lynn asked.

Bunny grinned cheerfully. "Nope." She worked the shift and zoomed
backwards.  "No seatbelts, either," she continued, seeing Amy Lynn
frantically looking  around. "Pa cut them out. Said we didn't need
'em." Wrenching the wheel, she  swerved the truck onto the road,
shifted again and floored the accelerator.

Her Pa's an idiot.

Bunny's driving skill seemed to be best described as "Pick a direction
and  try not to hit anything." For fifteen minutes, the truck bounced,
the wheels  actually leaving the surface of the Earth several times as
Bunny steered it  over the grassy fields at speeds better suited for
high-speed aircraft before  finally coming to a screeching halt at the
top of a small hill. A narrow path  led down to a clearing by a
bubbling creek.

Fields? They're - right. South, not home. No mountains.

...

Don't look at me like that, I'm from West Virginia.

"We're here!" Bunny said and turned to look at her passengers.

Molly looked slightly queasy but Amy Lynn was sitting stiffly, her face
white  as a sheet and an expression of sheer terror on her face. Her
hands were  white knuckled as they held onto the edge of the seat in a
death grip.

Sounds like my first time on a rollercoaster.

"Amy Lynn?" Molly asked, touching her arm. With a shriek, Amy Lynn
jumped,  slamming her head into the roof and then grabbing it in pain.

"Where...the hell...did you learn to drive?" Amy Lynn said between
clenched  teeth as she gripped her head as though if she didn't, it
would open like a  suitcase.

Oh dear. And here's where she gets the first of those migranes.

"Pa taught me. 'Course, I don't drive recklessly like he does."

Amy Lynn let out a whimper.

She's a better person than me - I'd have screamed.

*****************
"Feeling better?" Molly asked as she took the canteen from Amy Lynn."

There's a spare quote at the end of that line.

"Yes,"�Amy Lynn replied as she leaned against the side of the truck.
The two  girls were sitting side by side on the ground. "I'm glad you
had you had  those headache pills with you."

I'm not quite sure that she'd have used "headache pills" - at least not yet.
"Painkillers," maybe?

"Don't worry," Molly said. "You get used to her driving eventually."
Together  they walked over to where Bunny was waiting.

Or you'll go insane.

There were also rumors of a blond haired woman who roamed the woods
near the  lake whenever the moon was in the night sky accompanied by a
black-haired  wolf, searching for something.

Heh.

Soon, school started and Juuban Hollow's forty-five or so children,
ranging  in age from six to seventeen gathered in the school house, a
dilapidated  structure on a hill west of town. It was a single room and
ran by Miss  Haruna, a tall, imposing woman who's manner was almost as
intense as Rayelene.

After Amy Lynn, plus two new students, Mina, who's blond hair was tied
with a  red ribbon, and Lita, a tall brunette who looked as though she
could lift the  school off it's foundation had been introduced, Miss
Haruna got down to  business.

(Note: the following is written on the (potentially mistaken) assumption
that the author intends to conform roughly to the sequence of events
present in canon)

Now, I realize that it makes sense that in a town that size that everyone
would know each other, but shouldn't Mina still be out of town at this
point? After all, Sailor V did work in England, and didn't return until
well on in the series.

Black Mountain Plantation was a huge estate that covered most of the
county  east of Juuban Hollow. The main house, was in fact the mansion
Amy Lynn had  seen when she and her mother first arrived in town. The
owner, Ms Ande, was a  recluse and her four managers did most of the
work.

You know, in retrospect, I should have seen it coming from right about here.

Amy Lynn sighed and pulled on her work gloves. She was wearing one of
Bunny's  work shirts, old jeans and a pair of work boots with paper in
the toes to  make them fit.

*wolf whistle*

The students, about twelve or so in all trudged along the dirt path
towards a  small area with green sprouts dotting the brown path. At one
edge, Ms Haruna  stood with a man dressed in a white, buttoned down
shirt, and tan slacks. His  white hair was tied back in a ponytail and
his smile was friendly.

"Class I want you to meet Michael White. He's-" she broke off as Amy
Lynn  gasped.

Michael White? Groan. Another thing I should have seen instantly.

Michael smiled. "Right. How are things?"

"Good. Great, actually. I've made a few friends and Juuban Hollow is
very  different from Saint Paul. I just wish it wasn't so hot." She
stared out at  the field. "Why does Mom hate you so much?"

This spoken on a day when it's seventy-five out.

"I don't remember that," Amy Lynn said softly. "All I remember is the
fighting and then you left."

"I know," Michael said he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I'd
give  anything to change that, but I can't."

Awww. I hope they get a happy ending.

Even if it -does- have to include the pretty boy.

Another man dressed almost identical to Michael walked up to them. He
had  short, curly blond hair and the coldest eyes Amy Lynn had ever
seen. "This is  Jeddadiah Cite," Michael said. "Jed, this my Daughter,
Amy Lynn."

I did catch that one, though. I was -expecting- to see him this early.

"A pleasure," Jeddadiah said perfunctorily. His handshake was very
stiff.  "Her teacher, while pleased that she has been reunited with her
father, would  like it if she would begin her project."

"Of course." Michael gave his daughter a hug. "I'll drive you home
tonight,  and talk to your mother. Maybe we can work something out."

"I'd like that." Amy Lynn said softly and walked back towards her
friends.

"You're fooling yourself," Jeddadiah said. "Once we find Empreya, the
Queen  will slaughter her and the rest of the humans like pigs. You
really think you  can save her?"

"Shut up, Jeddite," Malachite snarled.

This would be the point where, first time through, my expression
went "BONG!"

Blessed be.
Nathan Baxter



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