"The Big Date" Part 3 Wednesday, 27-Sep-00 09:23:29 *The story so far...* Leviathan Walker and Widget Bernouli have finally started their first date, although a little hesitant to do so. With the help of Gadget and some other friends, the couple eventually begin to relax. In fact, newcomers and old friends alike drop by the Coffeehouse to have a good time. Even Tenchi Masaki and Sakuya stop in (with the rest of the "Tenchi in Tokyo" crew following). But all is not right. A mysterious figure is sickened by the events in the Coffeehouse, and orders...HIM...to turn Widget and Leviathan on each other to destroy their love. HIM attempts to do so, but is stopped by Widget's Magical Female Powers[tm]. The figure then tries to hire the bumbling Team Rocket to do the job, but Jessie, James,and Meowth refuse--much to the Evil One's chagrin. Next, he hires Negaduck and the Fearsome Five to try and take out Strider (on the basis that Leviathan is Strider's creation, and destroying Strider would take the "Dark Savior" out), but the Coffeehouse gang puts up an incredible fight, leaving the Fearsome Five running for their lives (and dropping some of their stuff on the way out). The Evil Presence, after seeing this, decides to do the job himself. After the battle, Mihoshi (of "Tenchi Muyo" fame) sits down with a forlorn Strider, who can hardly believe it: ~~~~~ "Mind if I sit down?" the gorgeous blue-eyed blonde asked Strider, smiling as though utterly ignorant that one with Magical Female Powers(tm) of her calibre should not be asking to sit with a "typical male Internet loser." "W-were you talking to me?" Strider asked, looking up and not daring to believe the vision before him. He half expected her to vanish like a mirage. "Sure! I asked if I could sit here?" "Y--you're Mihoshi!" he stated in unbelief. "That's right!" she said in an absolutely groundless happiness. "Sure, I don't mind you sitting here. But are you sure you hadn't rather be sitting with someone else?" "Why?" she asked. It really was maddening when these types with Magical Female Powers(tm) didn't know their own strength. "I'm afraid I don't have a chance with Tenchi, and I get tired of all the continual fighting." Strider tried to keep from getting his hopes up. But thanks to Mihoshi's Magical Female Powers(tm), he was having a tough time of it. "Say . . . what's wrong with you anyway?" she asked, "You seem unhappy about something. Want to talk about it?" And that clueless smile remained on her lovely face. *Must . . . resist . . . temptation!* Strider thought within himself, putting up a terrific struggle, *mustn't . . . get my hopes up!* "Oh. Well, if you'd rather I not sit here then I'll just leave--" "*NO!!!*" he shouted, completely taken aback by his own vehemence. He blushed as everyone looked at him briefly. "D-don't go. I'm sorry. I'm just afraid I'm not very good company." "Oh, nonsense!" she said, "By the way, my name's Mihoshi." "I know!" he said, again embarrassed by his enthusiasm, "My name's Strider." "Oh, you're the guy the Bad Guys were after! Do you have any idea why?" "No I don't," he said truthfully, "I can't imagine why anyone would make a target of me." And he sounded a little sad. "Say . . . maybe some Evil Force is trying to destroy all the love in the universe and has decided that getting rid of you is the key!" She sounded so satisfied to have thought of it. Strider looked shocked. "Yeah, *that's* likely!" he sniffed at last, "I'm the only guy here who's never had a girlfriend!" "Oh you poor thing!" Mishoshi said with compassion, "I had no idea. Well . . . Tenchi's got all those other girls fighting over him . . . I can be your girlfriend, at least for a while." Strider was completely taken by surprise. "But . . . but . . . you're so beautiful! You're absolutely, drop-dead gorgeous! You're so *intimidating!!!*" "Me, intimidating?" she replied with a bit of a sniffle in her own voice, "Oh, I may be conventionally good-looking, but I'm hardly a prize. In case you haven't noticed, I'm clumsy and ditzy and no one's fighting over me." "Well, then I don't know what's wrong with them!" Strider said, instantly ashamed and covering his mouth. Mihoshi, however, was thrilled. "You really mean that?" she asked. "Well, yeah, but I'm sorry if I embarrassed you." "Oh, but you *didn't!*" she assured him. "But how can a few kind words from me make you so happy?" he asked sincerely. "'Cause you're nice!" she said, "what's so hard to believe about that?" "Well . . . it's just that I've tended to idealize you is all. You know, beautiful girls like you, Sailor Moon, . . . " [Roy Neal Grissom] ~~~~~ After a few more moments of conversation (with Sailor Moon herself, Usagi Tsukino showing up), every female in the Coffeehouse, including Widget Bernouli, use their Magical Female Powers[tm] on Strider (but not at full force), turning him into an ecstatic pile of goo. ;) [Oh, and Roy Neal--thanks; you have no idea how much that cheered me up. ^_^] After such a display of power, the Evil Presence decides not to take matters into his own hands, and hires the ultimate villain--the "One-Winged Angel", Sephiroth--to do the job. However, Sephiroth is intercepted by an unknown force on his way. So the Evil Presence decides on two things: 1.) Since the Coffeehouse is full of friendship and love, all he'll have to is ruin Widget and Leviathan's date, and he'll topple the entire Coffeehouse in a domino effect. 2.) The only way to ruin that date...is to get someone in the Coffeehouse under his control. ===== The Evil Presence looked into the Coffeehouse with hatred in his eyes; he would have destroyed Widget and Leviathan's love had it not been for one or more of the Coffeehouse's current patrons stopping him in his tracks. So now, he set his sights on turning one of them against the rest to help him in his conquest. "But who to control?" he pondered... ===== Strider sat back in his chair, a contented look on his face. He had just been the recipient of a burst of Magical Female Powers[tm] that had the force of a BFG blast, and wasn't about to let it slip away so easily. "Are you alright?" Mihoshi worriedly asked as she waved her hand in front of Strider's eyes--to no response. "He's fine. Just give him a couple..." Kat looked at the young man's face as she passed by the table, sipping her cappucino. "...er, days, and he'll snap out of it. I hope." "Oh, okay!" Mihoshi cheerfully acknowledged, then got up to go back to Tenchi and Company. But before she left, she gave Strider a hug. "Thank you for the kind words, Strider!" she said. Then she rejoined the bickering, fighting, and general chaos that was Tenchi Masaki's life. Strider looked like he had just died and gone to the center of heaven. ===== Leviathan and Widget were sitting at their table, still (almost) completely oblivious to the outside world. They stared into each other's eyes, saying nothing as they sipped their drinks. "Hey, can I get you guys something to eat?" Grace Gigabyte asked. She was acting as a waiter for the two, since she knew she was a mutual friend of the two. "Oh, uh..." Widget broke her gaze with Leviathan. "I don't know... Leviathan, what do you want?" "How about just a pepperoni pizza?" Leviathan replied. "Okay, we'll have it ready in a few minutes, guys," Grace replied as she walked off. Leviathan and Widget resumed GAZING into each other's eyes. "Leviathan, why did you accept my offer?" Widget asked. "Because...because you're smart, pretty, and nice," Leviathan answered. "And being nice is what matters the most to me." "Oh, Leviathan..." Widget trailed off as she blushed. Then she gave Leviathan a quick kiss on the cheek. It was now Leviathan's turn to blush--and nearly faint. ===== "AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHH!" The Evil Presence almost passed out at the sight. "I had better get someone there under my control, and quick! Or I'll never destroy their love!" ===== (Yes, some of this was a bit of self-gratification. We're allowed that every once in a while, right? :) "Quote the Strider, forevermore." Triple-S --- A Trip to the Bathroom Kat had been on her way to the bathroom when she stopped by Strider's table long enough to check on him and assure Mihoshi that he'd be fine. She was tempted to linger longer, but Aivars had asked her to check on one of his fictives. However, Kat didn't really want to do that, especially after remembering what her Writer's version of that character was like. "Dealing with one Lawhiney is bad enough." she muttered to herself. The cat-earred human then got an idea. "There's safety in numbers." she thought as she headed toward Kuwani & Chipper. "Hi, Kat!" they greeted her. "Hi guys." Kat replied. "Hey, have either of you seen Lawainee Lait recently?" "Not since that brawl with Negaduck. Why?" asked Kuwani. "Aivars asked me to check on her. He thinks she's still in the bathroom." "Want me to reach out with the Force and check on her?" asked Chipper. "Sure! That would be helpful." The Jedi chipmunk seemed to concentrate on the table for a moment. "Yep, she's in the bathroom--and still her usual grouchy self." "Thanks, Chipper. I guess I should go in after her. Wouldn't mind some backup, tho'." Kat sighed and gave Kuwani a Meaningful Look. The Tari nodded."Excuse me, dear, but I better go with her. Ms. Lait can be just as much of a pain as our Lawhiney. Maybe even more." "S'okay. Want me to order dinner for you?" asked Chipper. "Yes, please do." replied Kuwani as she rose from her chair. In the ladies' bathroom... Her dress was still a bit damp and so was her hair. Lawainee Lait was -not- amused. If she found out who had dumped that lobster-filled water on her, there would defintely be trouble (and that's putting it mildly). She muttered curses as she brushed her golden hair. Suddenly, a shadowy face appeared on the mirror. Lawainee glared at it and exclaimed, "What the he--?!?" Kat --- "Did you hear that, Jack?" Thursday, 28-Sep-00 23:00:34 "Sounded like some lady in trouble." "Must have been, she got part of a BAD WORD out before the Coffeehouse censor system nulled her." The two had stood and were hurrying down the hallway where the sound had seemed to originate, as they spoke. AtticRat's shorter legs forced him to run to keep up. "Looks like we're not the first ones to this party," Jack commented, pointing at the cat-eared woman he'd seen before, and her companion. Jack had no background from which to describe the muscular female being, but was glad she seemed to be "on the side of the angels". She looked dangerous. "Let's slow down, I don't think we should rush at these two all of a sudden-like." Jack finished. "Good idea." Opined AtticRat. Karl --- A Talk in the Bathroom Lavainee was not in the best mood. Having been dunked with water had been bad enough. Now there was something wrong with the mirrors as well. "Better i had listen to Alex's advice," she sighted. "What's this?" The Evil Presence chuckled to him/herself. Why hadn't he thought about it earlier? "Hello, my dear," his reflection in mirror said. "Its sure so sad to see such a beauty to be in such a bad situation, please accept my best wishes to your well-being." To say teh truth, even if it was his reflection in the mirror, said Evil Presence had made major cosmetic corrections to his apearance. Lawainee pouted. "Day sure could have been better." "Well, it still can, my dear. I have a power to help you." "Doubt it," Lavainee answered. "Who's gona make my writer to finish my story? Many have tried before. He just shrughs off all efforts and goes around translating stories of other writers." "Well, i think, we can make a deal," Evil Presence suddenly noticed several persons moving toward the place, conversation was happening. Better not to risk being discovered, and blow this chance. This mouse was listening to him. "do you have a cosmetic mirror in your purse?" "Of course i have!" Lavainee grined. "Im not Gadget, you know." "Open and look in it, when you get alone, we will talk again. Trust me, i know a solution to your problems." "Wait a sec, you..." "Keep silent about our talk, or i wont be able to help you." "Hey, i..." And Evil Presence was gone, same moment the doors opened... Aivars --- Kuwani heard a shout... ...and it came from the ladies' bathroom. "Sounds like trouble Kat, port in there!" "Not sure if that's a good idea, Kuwani. Dunno what's going on in there--might teleport on top of somebody." explained Kat "We're alomst there, anyway." Kuwani shouldered the door open and skidded to a halt. The only person she saw was Lawainee Lait. Kat came in a second later. "What happened?" asked the Tari. Ms. Lait composed herself. "I thought I saw something, but it was just a smudge on the mirror." the mouse grabbed a towel and rubbed on one of the mirrors. "Oh. I thought it was something serious." said Kat. Kuwani elbowed the human and commented, "So that's what made you scream?" "Yes. I thought for a moment something dreadful happened to my face." Lawainee lied. This made sense to Kat, especially knowing how vain Lawainee could be. However, Kuwani wasn't convinced. "Uh, Aivars was wondering what was taking you so long. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was, er, worried about you." declared the cat-earred human. "What took me so long?" Lawainee began to rant. "I picked out something really nice to wear tonight and before I got a chance to show it off, I got -drenched- by some fool in a brawl! I've been trying to dry off ever since!" The mouse sighed and thought a moment. "Tell him I'll be out soon." "Uh, okay. C'mon, Kuwani." said Kat. "Go on--I need to take a pit stop." said the Tari as she walked into one of the stalls and closed the door. Kat snickered "Pit stop? So you're a race car all of a sudden?" "You know what I meant." came a reply from the stall. Kat was still snickering when she left. Kat --- Having ducked into the men's room: AtticRat and Jack held the door open a crack and listened to the conversation in the hallway. "She screamed at a smudged mirror?" Jack seemed perplexed at this concept. "I don't get it." "Don't look at me," AtticRat replied,"I don't understand women either." He paused, thinking, "I know they do tend to scream at nothing at all, like when I drop out of the ceiling in front of them." Jack considered this. "I think I can understand that. Have any of them tried to kill you yet?" "Kill? I don't know. Maybe." "Shhhh!" The cat-eared woman walked past, toward the party in progress. "Anyway, we'd better be getting back." AtticRat whispered a few moments later. "Better than hanging out in restrooms with rats." "Funny guy!" "Yep!" Jack grinned widely. "Besides," AtticRat continued, "Lawhiney Lait might accidentally mistake me for whoever poured water on her new dress. I wonder if she knows that "water" was really the 'The Liquidator' all over her?" "Let's not find out." The two began nonchalantly walking back to the party. Karl --- Being left alone... or near alone... Lavainee Lait tossed last piece of paper into trashcan, and turned off the air-blower. None could say that she looked good, but at leat she wasn't wet anymore. Being representable was another question. She give one eye toward the stalls where Kuwaini had disappeared, tehn puled in air, and leaved the bathroom. Anyone who dared to call her wer rat, was to regret it immediately, she decided. -- Aivars breathed a sign of relief, seeing first returning Kat, and then Lavainee appearing shortly after. "Poor girl," he sighted. Aivars --- The Evil Presence chuckles "I got them now," Evil Presence whispered, watching into his scrying lens how Lavainee Lait diverted the attention of her rescuers away from the problem. "No risk for me, and who cares what happens with her, when the task is done. I will raise a storm in your dumb place you think soo safe," it leered. Too bad, there was no auditoreum... -- Lavainee dropped last piece of dry paper, turned off the hairblower and looked over herself. "At least i wont die from pneymonia," she sighed. Dress sure was ruined. She pulled in air deeply, sighted, and went out. "First one to call me wet rat, dies slowly and painfully," she promised. -- Aivars smiled happily, when he saw Kat returning and waving 'all's fine' to them. Seconds later appeared Lawainee, and turned toward the bar. "O, not again!" Alex sighted, stood up and ran to catch her before she reached her destination. Aivars --- Kuwani returned to Chipper Thursday, 05-Oct-00 18:21:13 Kuwani returned to Chipper and took her seat at the table. "That didn't take very long." commented the Jedi."Our food was served only seconds ago." The Tari nodded. "She was in the bathroom alright. Something fishy is going on, though." Kuwani looked at her plate. "And I'm not talking about the sushi platter." "What makes you say that?" asked Chipper. "Before we got there, Kat and I heard her scream. But when we got there, she was the only person in there. She claimed that a smudge on the mirror made it look like there was something wrong with her face & that's what made her scream. I know she's as vain as Rat Capone is ugly, but I get the feeling that something else was going on in there." explained Kuwani. "Well, this wouldn't be the first time she's tried to cover up something. declared Chipper. "True." said Kuwani, who noticed that Alex had intercepted Lawainee at the bar. "I swear she's worse than the insipid islander we know." "Dunno about that. Remember what Lawhiney & Shake'a Bake'a did the first time they came to my treehouse?" Kuwnai snickered. "Kat tried to warn you they'd be trouble." "I shoulda listened." he chuckled. Kuwani grinned impishly at him as she grabbed a piece of sushi with a pair of chopsticks. Kat --- It was quiet... Too quiet. Sunday, 08-Oct-00 18:19:51 "I couldn't convince the cappucino machine I wanted to try that 'real coffee' stuff you drink, so here's a triple espresso, no sugar, black." "With tabasco?" "Here's a bottle." "It'll do." Jack and AtticRat sat facing the entrance of the Coffeehouse. Wondering while they talked of unimportant things, what, or who, would appear next. Karl --- And then. . . Sunday, 08-Oct-00 22:37:36 [...unWARP!!!] Good evening. ************* As The J.A.M. continued to be in warp mode in the shadows, he noticed Luhwinie walk past him. She was looking at her pocket mirror, and she appeared to be talking to herself. And then, the Panther's fur stood on end, as he sensed yet again the Tremendously Evil Presence. *Luhwinie is the TEP?? How can that be?* he asked himself. Nevertheless, he decided to follow this insipid islander and see what happened. . . ************* Until next time, remember: I AM THE J.A.M. Good evening. [WARP!!!] The J.A.M. --- Just as Lavainee rounded corned... Monday, 09-Oct-00 12:25:40 ... to come into the main room, she collided with the different version of herself. The compact she was holding in hands, felt to ground, only to be joined by a similar version held by other mouse. "Watch where you walk!" Lavainee hissed. "Hey, excuse me, it was YOU who walked into ME!" Luhwhinie put hands on her hips and stared her opponent up and down. "Girls, girls," Alex appeared by side of them. "This cheap reflection of mine dares to accuse me that i was crashing into her? It was she who just stepped into my way!" "Who to talk! You so clumsy you could trip over your tail!" "Ladies!" Alex frantically looked for help. If the oter Lavainee was like his version, soon there will be another fight. For a moment he considered splashing them with ice water from teh bar, but then, Lavainee Lait was steamed up already, no need to call an eruption of a new volcanoe here. On teh other hand, if he could splash it on the other girl, who he saw was clearly not looking where she was going, maybe... Alex edged closer to the bar and stretched paw over to the bucked with ice standing on top. Just one push... Aivars --- The Big Date (Part 4: In 3D) Wednesday, 11-Oct-00 16:00:20 As the two identical Lawhinies glared at each other, their two identical compact mirrors spun on the floor until, by some unimaginable chance, they lined up exactly, mere inches apart. An "infinite hall of mirrors" effect instantly occurred though none could have seen it unless that one were looking out through one of the mirrors... A thin scream of anguish and horror was audible to the suddenly quieted party-goers, who had all turned to see the Lawhinies duel. The sound was oddly stretched out, as though someone had been pulled by terrible forces into an infinitely long, infinitely thin, strand... Between the two compacts, a glowing energy field grew, as the scream went into the ultrasonic range. The mirrors simultaneously exploded. Karl ---