The plane came to a slow halt as it landed on the runway. It had been a short trip, but the teens still refused to get off the plane.
"I still don't see why we had to come here," complained the tall red-head as she was drug onto real ground.
"Because your mom said that she found a case of strange happenings here," said the burly man, trying his best to handle his daughter and not strangle Jonny at the same time. Though Hadji was also reluctant to go, he knew better than to tempt Races anger, and rather big arm very capable of crushing one's throat. Jesse was still very upset.
"OK, so Mom wants us to investigate. That doesn't mean we have to become part of the community."
"Jess has a point, Race. I mean, we're just visiting. Is it really that important that we go to school?" Jonny pleaded.
"Well, seeing as we don't know how long this is gonna take, I'd say YES!" Dr. Quest stood by the entrance listening. He knew they all had valid points, but the time they were spending there had little to do with why the kids were going to school. He just hadn't found a way to tell them yet. Not without risking his life anyway. He shook his head as he helped the others unload the jet. This was going to be a *long* argument.
#JQ#JQ#JQ#JQ#JQ
"What?!" the young blonde screached.
"I said that you have been chosen for a special program and"
"I heard you I just can't believe you! You are actually going to me make cater to some high-price American kids who can't take care of their own selves?" Serena yelled in disbelief. "Mom, how could you do this to me?!"
"First of all, Serena, you aren't catering to anyone. You will simply be showing some visitors on their first trip here around the city. Second, *I* didn't do anything to you. It is a government program, you should feel honored that you were chosen."
"You know, I probably would if I didn't already have a LIFE!"
"Well, you'll just have to put it on hold to help these people, alright?" Serena was about to respond when she suddenly got a page she prayed her mom didn't hear.
#JQ#JQ#JQ
"No," Jesse said," I know this is the school uniform but I am *not* wearing this."
"You think you got it rough," Jonny added,"I have to wear this horrible version of a tuxedo most of the day and it is not at ALL comfortable."
"You two will get used to them. Just have patience and it will all work out fine. Besides you won't have to wear them all the time," Dr. Quest explained.
"When can we wear normal clothes?" they asked at the same time.
"Maybe you could ask your guides," he mumbled, clearing his throat.
"Dr. Quest, I must be hearing things. For a second there I thought you said we had guides."
"Hadji."
"Yes?"
"I did." The rather loud discussion began and ended quickly. Whether they liked it or not, the three teens were stuck with their despised fate.
#JQ#JQ#JQ#JQ#JQ
When Serena arrived at her friend Raye's temple she was greeted quite warmly with a hug from Darien, her frequently relationship-obstructed boy-friend. (Author's Note: This is my idea of what it is like after the little visit from Rini.) As the rest of the team gathered, they all sat down to start a quiet little chat which was quickly interupted by someone who obviously had a lot on her mind.
"Raye," Amy said with speed,"you called us here to discuss something. I don't mean to be pushy, but could you please make this quick. You see I have something to do this afternoon, plus I have a call to finish as soon as we're through. Now, if you don't mind, how about you tell us the imporant info and, I'm begging you, please don't say it has anything to do with the Negaverse, PLEASE?!"
They stared at Amy in disbelief.
"Don't worry, Amy, this meeting has nothing to do with the Negaverse," Raye assured her. "I just found out something that I wanted to tell you guys about."
"Then tell us, Raye. Amy isn't the only one with stuff to do this afternoon," Darien said impatiently.
"You have something to do? What time?" Serena asked pleadingly.
"About 4 pm. Why?"
"Oh man! I was going to ask you to help me with something."
"Well, I'd skip out on it if I could, but it was assigned by the government."
"Really? What's that?"
"Appearantly there are these American kids coming here with their fathers and the government said it was necessary for them to go to the school here and have a guide to show them around town."
"No way. I have to do the same thing. That's why I wanted you with me, so I wouldn't have to put up with them alone." Everyone's eyes widened. Then Raye spoke up.
"I don't believe it. I was put into the same program. I called you guys here to talk to you about it. And judging by the looks on everyone's faces I'm starting to think we were all assigned the same thing."
"I see that we were,"said Amy. Suddenly her eyes grew larger than ever. "Oh no! I forgot about the call! Greg is going to kill me!" The moment she said that she instantly regretted it.
"So," Lita said smoothly,"you've been seeing Greg, haven't you?"
"I did not say that. I simply said that he wanted me to call him whenever the meeting was over so we could finish our previous conversation about this weekend." She slapped her head when she realized what she said. Mina looked around the table. She decided to save Amy before it was too late.
"Raye, couldn't Amy use the temple phone real quick?"
"I guess she could. Sure, Amy, go ahead." Amy gave a look to Mina saying 'I owe you my life.'
"Well," Darien piped in,"I suggest that after Amy finalizes her date plans, we all should go to the school seeing as it's nearly 4 and that's where we're supposed to meet these newcomers." When Darien finished speaking, he heard Amy hang up as she completed her phone call. What he DIDN'T hear was the pillow pelted at him from the other room. He knew it was coming.....as soon as it hit him.
#JQ#JQ#JQ#JQ#JQ
The Quests arrived around 4 and started to look for the assigned guides. Hadji spotted a group of young people who seemed to be in a similar position. He pointed them out to the others and they headed toward them with Race in the lead.
"Excuse me," he said,"but we're supposed to meet some people here. We were wondering if you might be them." 'Please be them, please be them!' Hadji thought, experiencing a rare rush as he looked at the four girls standing in front of them.
"We are," said Darien.
"Good," said Race. "I'm Race Bannon and this is Dr. Benton Quest. These are our children, the ones you will be helping. This is my daughter Jesse. This is Jonny, Dr. Quest's son. And this one," He said putting his hand on Hadji's back, "is Hadji Singh. He's the doctor's assistant and once adopted son." The others said hello while Hadji just stood there.
"Hadji, you OK bud?" Jonny asked with a puzzled look. Jesse waved her hand in front of his face. Both followed Hadji's stare. They looked up at eachother, and burst out laughing. Darien and the others seemed extremely confused.
"Forgive us," gasped Jesse. "It's just, Hadji is very polite and finds it rather rude for someone to act strangely in a lady's presence. And, seeing as he's never been stunned speachless by anyone, it struck as quite hilarious."
"Are we gonna let him live this down?" Jonny asked Jesse.
"Not a chance!" Just then Hadji snapped out of his trance. He saw the looks of his two friends and the other group and turned a deep red. This had never happened to him before. Jonny, yes. Jesse, sometimes. But himself, never! He tried to make up for it.
"Umm, forgive my rudeness. It is nice to meet all of you. And since you know our names, then it is your turn for introductions." He was still blushing.
"I'm Darien," he began,"and this is my girlfriend Serena." They all shook hands. "And these are some other friends of ours." He waved his hand in their direction. "This is Raye." They shook hands. "This is Amy." They shook. "This is Lita." Same thing. "And this is Mina." The first two teens shook her hand. But when Hadji grasped her hand in preparation to do as before, he bent over and kissed it instead. After introductions were complete, and both Hadji's and Mina's faces had lost a bit of their flush, the two adults left and the tour began.
"So, why are you three here, anyway?" asked Serena.
"Well," Jesse said,"this is probably gonna sound crazy, but my mom, Dr. Estella Valesquez, an archeologist, was here on somewhat of a vacation. While here, she came across some strange happenings and, as usual, called the Quest team in to investigate. Whoopee!" She twirled her finger in the air sarcastically.
"Do you have something against Tokyo?" accused Raye. "I mean, your fathers being famous and all, I'd think you might enjoy a little trip to a far-way place where you're given personal caterors who have no choice but to treat you like masters." Jesse was about to make a rude remark to justify what Raye said, but decided to let it slide.
"Enjoy it? You think we enjoy having no real freedom? Trust me, there is no way we could enjoy having to have a guide with us wherever we go. We like to go out on our own without any restrictions. Like the fact that we have to go to school in a country we just finished learning the original language. Can you believe it took us three months to master this language? And that was with the sessions where we tutored eachother if one person was better at something than another!" Jesse complained.
"Maybe if you would've given me tha right answers instead of making most of it up, then maybe I wouldn't have found out and did the same thing to you!" Jonny said in his most accusing voice. Hadji let out a sarcastic laugh.
"Yes, then maybe I wouldn't have been caught in the middle of it!" With that everyone laughed and the small argument was quickly forgot. However, Raye did not forget Jesse's complaining.
"So, what else about our city do you not like?"
"Hey, don't go making assumptions about what I say. There is nothing in this city that I don't like. It's just that certain things, no matter where I am, tend to make me uncomfortable. Speaking of which, I have a question to ask?"
"What's that?" inquired Lita.
"OK, as soon as we got to where we are staying, we recieved our outfits for school. I just gotta know how you can stand those things?!" The girls giggled.
"I guess," said Amy,"that after a while we sorta got used to them. Not that we like wearing them, but it's kind of normal now." Jesse nodded in agreement, though it still bothered her. She held up a finger indicating another question.
"I know you said that now you're kinda used to it, but don't you feel a little exposed sometimes? I knew I was exposed the moment I put mine on." Jonny mumbled,
"Not that it didn't look good."
"What?!"
"Nothing! I didn't say anything.-Except that you look like a total babe in it.-" he finished real low. He thanked God when Jesse gave him that look like 'Speak in some understandable form of language please.' indicating she hadn't heard him. The conversation continued a while longer, going from subject to subject, until the four teenage girls said that everyone best be getting home if they want a good start at school the next day. So they went their seperate ways and each went home to prepare to meet the others in the morning in time for a quick tour of the school.
#JQ#JQ#JQ#JQ#JQ
The next day Jonny, Jesse, and Hadji dragged themselves out of bed. After they got ready, Race took them to in front of the school to meet the others for a tour of the school. Mina arrived first. She was shortly followed by Lita, then Raye, and Serena, to everyone's surprise. They waited and waited for the last guide to show. Darien came walking by to wish Serena a good day at school, and then went on his way. Before he left, Lita asked him some rather impatient questions.
"Darien, do you have any idea where Amy is?"
"Sorry, Lita, but I haven't seen her since yesterday."
This was starting to greatly annoy the others. A few minutes after Darien left, the four still waiting began to hear loud clomps. Like the sound of Serena running when she was late for school. As the person got closer, Raye gave a deep sigh.
"Amy." Amy slowed to a halt as she approached her friends. One: because she was out of breath from running. Two: you try running with death glares aimed in your direction. She caught her breath and then spoke.
"I'm very sorry I'm late. It's just, I had something to do last night and it lasted until sometime around midnight and I was so tired I just had to get the extra sleep."
Luna shook her head while watching from around the corner.
"Look, it doesn't matter. Right now what's important is showing the newcomers around school," said Lita in a frustrated tone.
"She's right," agreed Mina. "We really should be concerned with the more direct issue." And so Jonny, Jesse, and Hadji experienced their first day in the Tokyo public school. At the end of the day, everyone met Darien on the corner near bye. During their stroll around a part of town they hadn't toured yet, Jesse saw a building she had to go to. The only building in the whole city that she was comfortable in. She drug the others inside and immediately caught site of hair as fiery red as hers.
"Mom!" Estella Valesquez turned sharply at the shriek of her daughter's voice to make sure she avoided getting trampled. As Jesse zipped towards her, preparing a hug, she stepped aside and let Jesse colide with Race, whom she had been discussing the situation she came across with. Dr. Quest was able to dodge his tumbling gaurd just in time.
"Estella, did you have to do that?"
"Race, you and I both know that I have never been able to withstand her bullet hugs. Maybe one day you should learn to dodge and let her hit the wall. Who knows, she might even stop."
"I doubt," complained Hadji, who had tripped on the way in. He saw a hand extended in offering to help him up. As he grabbed the hand, a warm sensation ran up his arm. He looked up to who was helping him. It was Mina. When he stood completely up, he was right in front of her. He stared into her eyes. He was shaken out of the trance by someone clearing his throat in a mock manner. He turned to look at his two best friends, who were holding back what seemed like uncontrollable giggles. Nope, he was wrong. They both broke out in uncontrollable laughter instead. Hadji blushed a moment, then his embarrasment turned to cleverness.
"And do we both remember where you got that little mockery you just used?" he asked with a smug voice. Jonny and Jesse stopped laughing. They looked at eachother for a means of escape. They both blushed at eachother with nervous giggles, then turned their looks to the floor. Hadji gave a sly grin, then turned to face the three adults next to Jesse. "Private joke," he chuckled.
"Whatever," said Race. "So, just what are you guys doing here?"
"Well, Jesse wanted to come visit her mom and gave us no choice on whether or not we could or wanted to go someplace else," explained a slightly aggitated Serena. Dr. Quest chuckled.
"I suppose I should have warned you all of the way Jesse and Jonny can .... persuade people to do what they want."
"Yes, and how painful it can get if you're not careful. They can be rather persitant at things and will do what they want. Which brings us to why Jesse wanted to see me in the first place," Estella added.
"Well, I haven't seen you in weeks. Can't a daughter want to see her mom?" Estella rolled her eyes.
"Normally, yes. With you, not quite. You either want money, permission for something your father would never let you do, or you don't want to miss out on the adventure. Seeing who you brought along with you, I'm going with the last one." Jesse held up her hands in defeat.
"Alright, you've got me figured out. I figured since I was forced to come here, I might as well be able to help find out what was going on. I mean, am I right?" Estella gave a soft laugh. She looked at Race, who just grinned. She looked back at Jesse, who now bore a wide grin, similar to her fathers.
"Well, I guess. And I suppose you want in, too, right, Jonny?" Jonny gave his lop-sided grin. "OK. You all can listen in if you'ld like. While I was here, I came across quite a few people talking about seeing monsters and such around the Tokyo area. I decided to investigate. The government jumped at the idea of having Dr. Quest and the famous Quest team here, by their rules of course, so it was arranged for the investigation of these "Negaverse monsters", as one poor looney called them, to take place. Now you know the situation, now you can go to the hotel and forget about joining the search. It is too dangerous." Jesse looked shocked.
"What?! Mom, that's not fair! Oh, you have to let us help!"
"Jesse's right, Estella. We should be able to help." Estella looked at the pleading teenagers. Then she turned to the others, who seemed shocked at the words "Negaverse monsters".
"What do you think? You're their guides. Do you think we should let them help?" Darien seemed to have the most on his mind. Then a smile broke on his face.
"If we can, too." The girls seemed surprised, then started nodding in agreement. Finally giving in; Estella, Race, and Dr. Quest agreed to let the teens help.
#JQ#JQ#JQ#JQ#JQ
"OK," began Race, "you kids are to look around the city during your tour. If you see anything wrong, tell us. Got it?" The 9 teenagers nodded in agreement. "Good. Remember, if you see anything, come find us."
"That's right," Dr. Quest piped in. "No matter what happens, remember to come tell us. And even more importantly: No heroics."
"No heroics."
"No heroics."
"No heroics." The unison surprised the other 6 teens. Dr. Quest shook his head.
"I need a new saying." After a trip to the hotel and a change of clothes, the group of teens headed on their tour through the city. At one point, a look came across Serena's face. Jesse looked at her with concern.
"Are you alright, Serena?" Darien heard Jesse's question and looked at Serena's expression. He started laughing.
"She's fine, Jesse. Meatball-head here is just having an ice-cream attack." All but Serena laughed. They went to the video arcade and, while Serena chowed down, the others played games. Particularly Jonny and Lita.
"Ha. Beat THAT score, Lita." She played then stopped and leaned back so Jonny could see the score.
"You mean like that?" Jonny's eyes widened.
"What the?! You only played for-! Geez!" Lita laughed.
"I don't think I've ever seen someone go through that many expressions at once." Suddenly, a young teenager came running into the arcade.
"Oh, cripes. Oh, cripes. Oh, cripes!!" He rushed into a booth and ducked. A second later, a man walked into the store and looked around. After surveying the surroundings, he left. The boy relaxed and gave a huff of relief. "Phew. That was close." The young man then looked at the person across the table from him. A young dark-skinned boy was standing with his head craned to look down at his clothes, which were now thoroughly soaked with two chocolate milk-shakes. Next to him stood a young blonde girl with a look of concern on her face. The boy looked up from his outfit and stared hard at the boy. The boy in the booth smiled and waved. Looking at the blonde girl, he pointed to the now unfriendly looking new-comer. "Is he dangerous?" She raised her shoulders.
"I don't know, but in this situation I wouldn't be exactly over-whelmed with the idea of finding out if I were you." The boy nodded and stood, shakily, to face the other young man. He held out his hand.
"Hi. Sorry for that. My name is-"
"Greg!" The boy looked to the origin of the voice and saw Amy run up to him. He smiled and hugged her tightly.
"Amy! What are you doing here? By the way, I wanted to apologize for keeping you up so late the other night on the phone."
"It's alright. I was a little tired in the morning, but-" Amy stopped as she heard giggling coming from where the others stood, Serena now standing with them. Amy groaned. "What is it?"
"Oh, nothing," teased Raye. Mina rolled her eyes at the other three girls.
"You guys really should ease off of Amy. Especially you two, Raye and Lita. I mean, when you think about it, at least she HAS a boy-friend." Raye and Lita quickly changed their expressions. Particularly Lita.
"I guess you have a point, Mina. We're sorry, Amy." Amy smiled.
"It's alright. I suppose it would be slightly interesting that I'm the one who has a relationship."
"Forgive me for interrupting, but perhaps you could do a better introduction of this new *friend*." They all looked at Hadji, including the two teens who had been slowly backing up. Mina laughed lightly.
"Allow me. Hadji, this is our friend Greg. Greg, this is Hadji, and those two are Jesse and Jonny." The two smiled and waved. Then nodded and ducked behind a table. Mina raised an eyebrow. "Umm...is something wrong, guys?" Jesse giggled in a frightened tone.
"Well, y'see, Mina...Hadji is still soaking, and still most likely overly embarrased. While he usually doesn't lose control to his anger, Jonny and I are just taking precautions." Smiling again, she ducked back. Mina turned to Hadji, who was now taking napkins and wiping at his shirt. And mumbling.
"Why that little...Oughta be more careful..someone could get hurt..mainly him! that little..." Greg gulped.
"Y'know, I seem to have come at a bad time, so I'll just be going now.."
"Going? Oh, no, my friend. You are staying right here. I mean, I am sure you would like to stay here with Amy and perhaps explain why you were in such a rush. Especially seeing as murder is less likely to result if the victim-to-be has a good reason for aggravating the murderor." Greg was starting to sweat. Mina took the napkin that Hadji was reaching for next. Dabbing at a spot on his shirt, she talked as if to scold him.
"Hadji, please don't. I'm tired of having people mess with Amy and Greg. I am certainly not going to put up with someone new annoying them, either." Hadji shook his head.
"Alright. Greg, I am sorry for threatening your very existance because you aggravated me by ruining a brand new shirt that I bought just for this trip." Jesse and Jonny, who had crawled back into the open, sat giggling at Hadji's pathetic excuse for an apology. Greg stared with a speechless expression while Amy laughed lightly, not sure of why she was laughing. Serena and Darien were still standing, not sure of what to do. Lita and Raye took seats across from where Jesse and Jonny were sitting. Mina looked at Hadji's face as she "accidentally" pinched him while wiping at the spot on his shirt. "Ow!" He looked at her as she smiled innocently. He rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Greg, I truly apologize for being so..."
"Cruel? Unkind? Rude?"
"Thank you, Mina. I think he has the point now. Anyway, I'm sorry for my behavior. Trust me. After that pinch I think I'll be regretting this for a long time." Greg laughed.
"It's alright. It was mostly my fault for running into you in the first place. Please forgive me as well. Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Hadji. Are you Mina's new boy-friend?" Hadji and Mina both stood straight up, Mina's head hitting Hadji's chin.
"Ow!"
"Ow! Geez, Hadji, you have a sharp chin!"
"Huh. Your head isn't exactly a cussion, you know!" They stood for an awkward moment, realizing how they were acting, then they laughed.
"I must admit," Hadji said as his laughter tapered off, "even after traveling around the world several times, this is probably the strangest situation I've ever been in."