Golden Children (part 4) Don’t Follow Me PG (One or two bad words) By: Aya-chan: kawaii_lady@fushigiyuugi.net Garnet-chan: chibi_chibi_acky@hotmail.com Disclaimer: If we owned them, we wouldn’t be writing this, now would we? *************************** Authors’ Note: Thanks to everyone who took the time to email us about the story! WE LOVE YOU! You make writing this story worth writing, and we just want you all to know how much we appreciate you! You’re the best! We’ve been getting a lot of, "What’s with you guys (Garnet: we are girls, please recognize this! *Aya-chan whacks Garnet over the head with a mallet) and Minako?" Answer: We like Minako, she’s awesome, and there’s a lot of depth to her that you don’t see. We’re just trying to highlight this! And the other: "Stop torturing poor Usagi-chan! She doesn’t deserve this! Why are you so mean? Answer? Because we can be! Just kidding! (well not really *evil grins*) We want Usagi to kick ass in this story, and she’ll be making a grand return sooner or later, so don’t you worry you’re pretty little heads, okay? Sorry for such a long note... now on with the story! ************************************* Books. They were everywhere. In front of her, in back of her... Usagi was suffocating in a sea of small printed text in their out-dated textbooks. The library wasn’t that bad itself, but it was what it contained that horrified Usagi. Books. Everywhere. Usagi began to reread her notes aloud, "The first president of the United States of America was George Bush-" She scribbled out "Bush" furiously, and replaced it with "Washington." "It’s official. I’ve lost my mind." Usagi let her head fall to make a loud *bang* as it impacted with the wood table. "Aw, working too hard?" An amused voice from above her asked innocently. "Do. You. Know. How. Long. I. Have. Been. Here.?" Each of her words were enunciated to the maximum. "Four hours and-" the sandy haired man checked his watch, "fifteen minutes and twenty, no twenty one, no-" "Taiyo-chan, what are you doing here?" Usagi cut in on his counting. He gave her a charming grin and slid into the seat next to her. "I’m just checking up on my lil’ sister! What’s wrong with that?" Taiyo asked innocently. Usagi "accidentally" shut the four hundred page book she had been looking through on his fingers. "HEY!" Taiyo yelped, holding his hand away in mock anger and hurt. Usagi raised her brow almost challenging him to scold her. "Well! I was just here to see if you needed any help studying, but since your fine by yourself, I’ll just be on my way!" He mimicked a woman’s voice perfectly. Standing up, and pushing his chair in, the angry glance from the librarian did nothing to muffle the hysterical laughter of Usagi. "Well you don’t have to be snippy about it!" Usagi was trying to control her voice, "You woman!" "Hey! I wasn’t the one that said George Bush was the first president of the United States!" "Aw, shut up." Usagi gathered her book bags, "I don’t need your help anyway." She huffed. She realized he had grabbed her hand and was pulling her towards the library door. "C’mon, I’ll buy you some ice cream!" His crystal blue eyes sparkled with delight at her lit-up expression. She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but then turned away. "Don’t worry Imouto! Double scoop as always!" He smoothed his navy polo shirt with his palm and stuck his hands inside his kaki pants. "Sooooooo..." He hated the silence that had forced itself upon them. Taiyo had always hated silence. Sneaking a glimpse at his younger companion, he couldn’t help but notice her faraway stare. He would have questioned her about it, but the street signal had already changed, letting them cross safely. Meanwhile, Usagi was off in a far-off place. Sure, the promise of ice cream usually always cheered her up, however, today she just wasn’t in the mood. She couldn’t turn her "brother" down, especially when he was in such a chipper mood. She snapped back into reality when Taiyo asked her a question, "So how’s school going?" "Fine." "Fine? Fine as in ‘Ooooooh! It’s so fine!’ or fine as in, "It’s such a fine piece of work!" Taiyo grinned sheepishly at her. "Those both mean the same thing!" She pointed out, shaking her head. "I meant fine as in well, silly!" When they arrived at Crown around three o’clock on that Sunday afternoon, they were met by a sea of chaos and confusion. Streaming out of the building and screaming bloody murder were the customers, followed shortly by a rather nasty looking youma. The youma must have sprung from one of the video games, because it’s shape and size were bulky. Thought Usagi with mild panic. Out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn she saw Taiyo reach for something in his pocket... Ruling that out as her imagination, she was nearly thrown back by an angry owner. "Motoki-onii-chan!" She called, stopping the boy from attacking the youma full out with his own bare hands. Motoki, realizing what the youma could do to his breakable body when it was destroying and ripping up sidewalks, hurried over to where Usagi and Taiyo were sheltered in the nearby alley. "Heh. I think I overreacted just a tad bit..." Motoki said sheepishly. Usagi patted his back, "Don’t worry about it! I’m just glad you’re not hurt!" "What happened?" Taiyo asked, getting straight to the point. Usagi shot him a exasperated look. "Well... I’m not quite sure exactly... one minute this little boy was playing the Sailor V game, and the next-BAM!" Usagi and Taiyo jumped as Motoki crashed his fist into his palm, "He was gone." Taiyo was pondering so deeply, that he almost missed what Motoki asked Usagi next. "So... aren’t you going to do anything about this?" Usagi looked away, "Nope. Let’s just hope the Senshi get their act together and get here." "But I thought-" Motoki began, but was cut off by Usagi, "Well, you thought wrong." Both men were surprised at how venomous her voice was. "And anyways, what could Usagi do? She’ll hurt herself!" Taiyo insisted, trying to figure out an escape plan for himself. There was a thunderous crash as the youma knocked down the light post, sending it crashing through the glass windows of Crown. Motoki let out a moan, "Aw man, I just got those fixed!" He whined, "Where are those Senshi?!" "GIVE ME THE CRYSTAL!" The youma roared. The three humans covered their ears, "Great. Now, not only am I insane, I’m deaf!" Usagi muttered sarcastically. "WHERE IS THE CRYSTAL?!?!?!" "WHAT CRYSTAL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Usagi screamed silencing the youma. Taiyo and Motoki’s jaw dropped at her audacity. "THE CRYSTAL!" Was the youma’s reply, who had quieted his rampage to face the small girl. "Oh, the crystal, huh?" Usagi asked in an amused voice. "YES!" "And which the crystal would that be?" She paused to tick them off on her fingers, "A starseed? A pure heart crystal? The Golden crystal?-" Taiyo’s eyebrows shot up. "Or!" She paused for the affect, "Are you looking for the Ginzuishou? The youma perked up and began nodding. Usagi made a motion with her hands, indicating that Motoki and Taiyo should make a run for it. Motoki didn’t seem to have a problem with running to safety, however, Taiyo was still in shock of what Usagi had said. "Go. Taiyo-chan." She muttered. "Uh... um... but-!" "GO!" She hollered. Taiyo, seeing this was his only chance to actually be able to help, followed Motoki’s path. His footsteps pounded into the sidewalk, and he splashed through the puddles of the backstreet. Sliding into a dark crevice, a voice above him called, "Well it took you long enough!" "Oh hush, Mr. Cat, I’m working on it!" He held up a magnificent white rose... ... and where a normal college student had once been, now stood a dashing man in an impeccable white suit. "Now, we’re talking!" Tuxedo Sol grinned at his cat, "Would you like your youma cooked or fried? -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "Uh, Rei-chan, we have a situation outside of Crown!" Ami’s frantic voice buzzed over Rei’s communicator. Rei looked over to her study partner, Makoto, and spoke to them both, "One of us needs to stay behind to watch over the princess..." She sighed, knowing it would be her left behind with the princess, yet again. Ami was already there, and Makoto wasn’t one to miss a good fight. "Go Mako-chan, but hurry back!" Rei scooted her out of the temple before returning to her room, only to find a new occupant. "Oh! Princess!" Rei bowed, remembering the lecture the princess had given them about etiquette around royalty. "Hello Mars, I was just inspecting your chambers." Selenity’s amethyst eyes were piercing into Rei’s. "Please, Princess, remember that you can’t go around calling me that in front of people..." "Oh yes, my apologies." She stared into a picture, raising an eyebrow in mock curiosity, "And who is this runt?" The girl in the picture was wearing a pink and red bathing-suit, her normal odangos were braided, and she was standing next to Ami and Minako. Rei, hurt by Selenity’s rude comment about Usagi, set the picture face down. "Her name is Usagi." "Well isn’t that precious!" Selenity’s smile and giggles didn’t nothing to calm the evil in her eyes. And for a moment, Rei was sure that she had known exactly who Usagi was. Even before she asked. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= "Stop right there!" "FINALLY!" Usagi threw her hands up in exasperation from where she had been arguing with the youma about the name of the first president of the United States. "IT’S GEORGE BUSH!" The monster roared. "Oh, for the LOVE OF GOD!" Usagi cried, "It’s WASHINGTON! GEORGE WASHINGTON!!!" "Eh? What?" Sailor Jupiter was confused. "It doesn’t matter, just attack!" Usagi cried as she ducked behind the shattered window of Crown. "Uh, right... Sparkling... Wide... PRESSURE!" "Shine Aqua Illusion!" Bubbles and electricity danced through the game youma, and it let out a shrill screech. About to charge towards Usagi, who had made a rather mean face at it, the youma let out an obnoxious battle cry. Suddenly, a pure white rose struck the ground, pinning the youma’s cord that had been trailing behind it in place. "Tuxedo Kamen?" Three shocked girls looked up to see a ghostly white figure, outlined in the sun. "Uh... no. Sorry if that disappoints you, but I am Tuxedo Sol, guardian of the sun." "Well, whoopty-doo!" Usagi bit sarcastically, "Nice intro." "Hey, I’m trying here!" He shot back. "Just do your job!" A small voice called from behind Tuxedo Sol. Orion, the gray cat, nudged Tuxedo Sol forward with his head. "Solar FLARE!" The blinding light nearly...well... blinded all three girls below. But, it did do it’s job of totally incinerating the youma, leaving only a little boy in a pile of dust. "Heh. I think I over did it." And with that sheepish statement and smile, even behind the mask, Usagi knew who it was. Mercury ran over to scan the boy with his computer, but Jupiter called out to Usagi just as she was turning to chase after Tuxedo Sol, "Usagi!" "What?" Surprisingly enough, Usagi’s voice wasn’t as cold as she hoped it would be. "I like your haircut!" And for once in nearly a month, Usagi smiled back at her old friend. "Thanks." *_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_* Usagi thought, glancing up the dark alley. It’s revolting smell was nauseating her, and the rats... well... we won’t go into detail. "TAIYO-CHAN!" She called out, listening as her echo rang through the backstreet. "Uh... there’s no one by that name here!" A male voice called with a fake-sounding accent. "Oh, and who might you be?" Usagi was following the trail of his voice. "Um... I am a... hobo! Yes! Just a homeless man-" "-that lives in a garbage can, right?" Usagi lifted the giant trash can lid, "Hello, Taiyo-chan. Why are you in a garbage can?" Taiyo gave her an innocent look. "I was hiding from the youma!" She offered her hand to help him out. "Cut the crap! Don’t you dare lie to me, Taiyo." She let him drop into a puddle on the ground. "Me? Sweet lil’ old me, lie? To you?" If looks could kill, Taiyo would be in the hell of hell. "Okay, so how’d you find out?" "I just knew." Usagi said with a secretive smile on her face. "Ah-hah! So it was one of those "women intuition" things?" Taiyo tried to ignore the ugly wet stains on his clothing as he stood up. The stench wasn’t very pleasant either. "No, it was most likely you being yourself." A small voice called from the rooftop above. "Hello to you too, Orion!" Taiyo called bitterly, as Usagi leaned up against the wall, unfazed by the new talking arrival. Taiyo’s facial expression changed drastically as he realized for the first time, that Usagi might not have ever met a talking cat before. Boy, was he wrong. "Oh! Um, crap!" Taiyo stuttered for the hundreth time that day. "Well, aren’t you adorable!" Usagi bent down to scoop Orion up in her arms. "You’re not freaked out?" He paused, "By a talking cat, I mean." Usagi just smiled at her "older brother." "You’d be surprised of what I’ve seen..." She lifted the cat up in front of her face, "And I suppose you’re from Mau too, huh?" She giggled at the cat’s surprised reaction. "Who are you? An enemy?" Orion pried himself from her grips. "Of course she isn’t!" A streak of white lightning flashed before their eyes, using up the fifth of his nine lives. "Hey Artemis!" Usagi let him jump up down and onto her shoulder, "Where’s Minako-chan?" The cat let out a sigh, "Trying to console Motoki over the loss of his windows.." "Artemis?" Orion’s voice was dignified, "You haven’t changed." "Hey! That’s almost exactly what your sister said to me when I met up with her again!" "My sister?! Where is she?" "Oh, like I’m supposed to know! Luna’s an independent woman-er, cat." "And I suppose you both know each other." Taiyo muttered, tears almost in his eyes over the loss of his favorite outfit. "Oh yeah, Orion and I go way back!" Artemis exclaimed. "Like a thousand years back?" Usagi asked. "Eh... more or less..." "But that still doesn’t explain who this girl is." Orion nodded his head towards Usagi. "This is Usagi, Orion. I’ve told you all about her, remember?" "I know that, you imbecile-" Taiyo eye’s shot daggers at the feline,"- but how did she know about the Golden Crystal, and more importantly, the Ginzuishou?" "That’s really none of your business mister kitty-cat." A new voice called upon arriving. "And who is this, now?" Orion’s voice was heavy. "For love and beauty, a beautiful soldier in a sailor suit: Sailor Venus!" She paused, "Well... I used to be..." She scratched her head. "Great, I’m surrounded by loonies." "Nope, actually, you’re surrounded by moonies." Usagi grinned at the poor gray cat. "You’re going to have to explain all of this to me." Taiyo pointed out, "I’m utterly bewildered." Usagi grabbed Orion, pulling him back towards Crown, "C’mon, let’s go to central control, we can explain everything there..." Minako nodded, leading the way. "Right. Central control." This left only Taiyo and Artemis standing in the dark, damp, alleyway. Artemis sniffed the air, "Tuna? Does anyone else smell tuna?" Taiyo hung his head, and finally began to cry. ++++++++++++++++++++++ Garnet’s notes: Okay, it wasn’t that good, but this is more of a "filler" chapter that had to be there to move everything along. In the next chapter, Aya-chan and I will start on the bad guys... so email us with ideas, comments, and even flames! Aya-chan and I like flames :) Aya-chan: *smacks Garnet* Aya's notes: Yup, we take flames. But you can send them to Garnet because shes likes them *so* much. *glares at Garnet* We'll spice up the next chapter for sure. And I'll _make_sure_ there will be no more Taiyo-bashing from Garnet *seething* luvs and hugs Garnet-chan, and Aya-chan http://kupo.bored.org