Sailor Moon V
                                    *
                 The Dark Adventures of the Sailor Scouts


                              Episode Three
                                    *
                           "Of Love And Crystal"

 (Author's Note: This episode occurs three months after the end of the original
   story entitled "By The New Moon's Light".)


     The fire continued to burn in the meditation room.  It had been well fed
earlier and it still had plenty to go before it would think of burning out.
For now, it was content to remain in the confines of the ceremonial fireplace.
It usually burned alone, only occasionally kept company by someone meditating
during the night.  But never before had the fire shared its flames with another
entity, as it found itself doing tonight.
     The god stirred slightly, adjusting his position within the raging comfort
of the flames.  He watched in silence as his avatar was tortured, a procedure
that had been going on for nearly two hours now.
     Amazing, he thought.  If I tried to withstand that kind of torture in a
human form, I would have been broken half an hour ago.  Who would have thought
her willpower was so strong?  His mind reached out to her's and found that she
would not be able to withstand another ten minutes of such treatment.  Might
as well prepare for it, he thought with a sigh.
     He focused his mind and a thin globe of energy surrounded the room.  The
energy was such that no sound would escape the room to disturb the slumber of
the others.  Already the sound level in the room was increasing as his avatar
started to cry out, her willpower fading fast.
     Beside the god, the fire crackled out a question, the thin wisp of smoke
curling into a strange pattern.  The god thought for a second, then responded
to the query, the sound of his voice matching the fire's.
     "No, it won't be for many years to come.  But thank you for reminding me
about that.  I may be a god, but I don't remember every single piddly little
detail about everything."
     A loud cry echoed throughout the room as his avatar's willpower finally
gave out and she orgasmed.  Her whole body shook as every single muscle in her
body spasmed at once, a sight that impressed the god to no end.  I wish that
would happen to me, just once, he thought wistfully.
     The wave of pleasure running through her body caused her aura to become
visible briefly, and for one single moment the sigil of her god could be seen
on her forehead.  But her captor never saw it since he was busy dealing with
his own overflowing passions.
     The god's power reached out and crushed the life out of the seed that had
been planted deep within his now-spent avatar.  On impulse, he looked down a
branch of time to see what would happen if had not intervened.  His eyebrows
arched at what he saw and he shook his head in wonder.
     "How in the world could such a young girl conceive and bear triplets?" he
asked the flames next to him.  The fire crackled out a smart-aleck answer, and
the god laughed.  "True.  Anyway, I don't believe I am needed here any longer.
Thank you for the company, my friend."
     He stood up and gave the girl one last look before departing.  Such fiery
passion in her, he thought as he watched her recover from her lovemaking.  He
smiled to himself as he slowly drew the mantle of sleep over her and her lover.
"We shall meet again," he said to his avatar, knowing she would never hear the
words.
     And with a final nod to his burning companion, the god Mars left.

		*		*		*		*

     "I'm telling you, Leda, it won't fit," said a slightly amused Mina.  She
was standing outside Leda's bedroom, listening to her friend struggle to fit
inside an old swimsuit.
     "Of course it'll fit," Leda called out.  She grunted slightly, then added,
"It fit before, so it should fit now."
     "But that was three months ago, and I know that you've grown since then."
     "Yeah, right."  There was a brief silence, then a triumphant cheer.  "I
told you it would fit, Mina!"
     Mina closed her eyes and smiled.  A chocolate-fudge sundae says it won't
last ten minutes, she thought.  "Mind if I see how it looks on you?"
     Leda stepped out of her room wearing a dangerously tight gold bikini top
and bluejeans.  "Hah, I knew it would fit."
     Mina's eyebrows almost hit the ceiling.  "Whoa, girl, we're going to go
soak in the thermal pools, not go guy-hunting on the beach."
     "Well, this is the only one I have available right now," Leda said with a
slight blush.
     Mina held up the shopping bag she was carrying.  "That's why I told you to
buy one when we went shopping last week."  She reached inside and pulled out a
gold bikini that was two sizes larger than the one Leda was wearing.  "Here, I
got this for you on a hunch."
     Leda laughed.  "And what makes you think I want to change my swimsuit now
that I've got it on?"
     Mina reached out and lightly tapped her friend's nose.  Leda stepped back,
made a face, and sneezed.  The sound of the over-stressed fabric tearing echoed 
for several seconds as Leda's green eyes became impossibly wide.
     "Because you haven't got one on anymore," Mina said innocently as she held
out the swimsuit to her highly embarrassed friend.
     "You did that on purpose," Leda muttered as she dashed back into her room
to change.
     Mina laughed.  "Probably.  Or would you rather that happened when you were
in the middle of a hot mineral pool with four other people watching?"
     "It wouldn't be anything they hadn't seen before.  Besides, it's not like
I have anything to hide from my friends."
     "Perhaps, but there are some things you should.  You might want to change
the bikini bottom as well, if the top was any indication of how tight it is."
     "Thanks, Mina," came the dry response.  "I don't know what I would ever do
without you."
     "Probably start flashing everyone at inopportune times," she laughed.  She
blushed furiously as Leda not-so-politely suggested that she should perform an
advanced biological function.
     "But I thought you didn't want me to do that until I was eighteen...."
     There was a heavy sigh.  "Don't make me hurt you, Mina."
     "I didn't know you were into S&M," Mina commented.
     There was a roar of fury, and Mina was knocked halfway down the hall by a
pair of very dense and heavy pillows.  "Okay, okay, I'll shut up now.  You can
stop with the fluff attack."
     Leda stepped back out of her room, busy pulling a heavy sweater over her
bikini top.  "Mina, what's with you?  You're starting to sound like Artemis,
and that's bad."
     Mina stood up and dusted herself off.  "Sorry.  I guess I am starting to
get just a little smart-alecky."
     Leda smiled.  "Just don't let it get out of hand.  I take it you've got
your suit on under that?" she asked, gesturing to Mina's sweater.
     Mina nodded, and pulled up her sweater.  Beneath it was a rather slender
white one-piece swimsuit.  The suit was covered with tiny pieces of glitter, so
Mina seemed to twinkle as she moved.
     "And you yell at me for wearing a tight suit?" Leda asked.
     Mina smiled shyly as she tugged her sweater back down.  "But notice I'm in
no danger of falling out or anything."  Her tone grew softer as she added, "And
if I do, you'll be there to catch me."
     Leda blinked in surprise.  "Uh huh.... Girl, your curiosity is going to
get you into big trouble one of these days, you know that?"
     Mina nodded.  "I was just making sure you hadn't forgotten about that time
everyone spent the night at Ami's."
     "I haven't," the brunette replied softly.  "Maybe.... maybe once we get
back from this weekend trip, we'll talk about it...."
     "No problem, Leda."  Mina reached out and squeezed Leda's shoulder.  "Come
on, we've got to get to the bus stop before five, or we'll be late."
     Leda ran back into her room.  "I'm all packed and everything.  I just have
to get my boots and coat on.  How cold was it when you came in?"
     "Around two Celsius."  She heard Leda make a plaintive whimpering sound,
and she laughed.  "That's exactly what I said when I stepped out of my studio
this morning.  I think it's going to snow tonight."
     "That should be a gas.  Think of it: The five of us sitting in swimsuits
in the middle of a thermal pool with snowflakes floating all around us.  It'll
be a trip and a half."
     Mina chuckled.  "It might be just four of us.  I couldn't get hold of Rei
last night to make sure she was coming or not.  Ami called and said she'd be
coming, and that we'd better have a bunch of tranquilizers ready because Serena
is all hyper about this trip."
     Leda came back out dressed in cold-weather gear and holding a rather large
duffel bag.  "I think we can find a large mallet or something.  Ready?"
     The blonde nodded and hefted her backpack onto her shoulder.  "Let's go!"
she said as she slipped on a pair of earmuffs.
     The two of them left Leda's apartment building and walked along the cold
streets of Tokyo.  They walked in silence, trying not to breathe any more cold
air than they had to.  After twenty minutes, they ran across a slightly limping
figure with an over-sized backpack waiting at the bus stop.
     "Hey, you two!" the figure called out as she recognized Leda and Mina.
     Leda's face lit up.  "Rei!  I take it you could make it after all?"
     Rei nodded, the lower half of her face hidden by a thick scarf.  "Yeah, I
finally got grandpa to give me permission this morning."
     "Cool.  Umm, what happened to your leg?" Mina asked.
     "I, um, kinda hurt it yesterday during a practice fight with Chad."
     "Ow, sounds painful," commented Leda.  "You kick his butt?"
     Rei's eyes took on a strange look.  "Well, not exactly.... I think that
grandpa has been giving him extra lessons on the side without telling me."  She
caught the strange look Mina was giving her.  "What?"
     "Nothing," the blonde said with a shake of her head.  "You just look like
you're in a bit of pain, that's all."
     Rei sneezed abruptly, then nodded her head.  "A little," she admitted.
     Leda laughed and patted Rei on the back.  "Don't worry, tonight we'll toss
you into a hot mineral bath and that'll ease your pain.  And if that doesn't
work, I'll see if I can't massage the pain out."
     Mina's eyes brightened.  "You know massage techniques?"
     "Several.  I'm not very good at them, though, but they suffice."
     "Coolness.  Think you could teach us?" Mina said with a gleam in her eye.
     "Yeah, that would be so neat," said Rei.
     Leda chuckled.  "Okay, I'll teach you guys later.  Right now, we've got a
bus to catch."
     "It won't be here for another fifteen minutes," said a voice behind them,
and everyone jumped.  They whirled around to find the fourth member of their
weekend expedition smiling gently to herself.
     "Ami, don't sneak up on us like that!" Leda chided her blue-haired friend.
"You almost gave me a heart attack.  How'd you manage to get so close without
us hearing you?"
     Ami shrugged, her winter parka muffling any sound she might have made in
the movement.  "I don't know.  You guys weren't paying much attention, I guess.
I thought I made enough noise coming up here."
     "Yuck," said Mina, making a sour face.  "Girl, how can you be wearing a
skirt in this weather?"
     Ami blinked.  "I think it's made easier by wearing stockings and liking
cold weather.  Being a vampire might also have something to do with it."
     "Sick child," muttered Rei, and everyone laughed.  Rei's dislike of the
cold was made quite clear several times in the past few weeks, and she simply
couldn't comprehend how anyone could like cold weather.
     "Ami," said Mina slowly, "We have got to get you out more."
     Ami laughed, her breath condensing into a thick cloud of steam.  "You keep
saying that, Mina.  Why do you think I'm coming with you instead of spending my
time studying for my physics exam on Wednesday?"
     Leda muttered something underneath her breath and Mina blinked.  "That's
not very polite," the blonde said pointedly.  "Besides, I thought you liked it
when she drains you."
     Rei gave everyone a strange look.  "Do I want to ask?"
     Leda shook her head violently, but Mina spoke up anyway.  "Oh, Leda just
said that Ami was coming along so she could drain Leda's blood when the time
came."
     Ami looked at Leda.  "If you don't want me to, all you have to do is say
so.  Remember, you volunteered for this."
     Leda blushed.  "No, it's not that.  I was just being a smart-aleck."  She
looked like she was going to say more, but suddenly turned her head to stare
down the street.
     "Hear something?" Mina asked, following her friend's gaze.
     "I think I hear someone playing an ocarina...."
     The wind stirred lightly, bringing with it the soft sounds of music.  It
was a gentle melody, and the four girls found themselves in awe of its beauty.
The sound grew louder as its source moved closer to the bus stop.
     Ami's vision was the best of the four, and she was the first one to make
out the form of the music's owner.  Her breath caught in her throat as she
recognized her.  "No way...." she whispered.
     The form drew closer, her ankle-length ponytails streaming behind her as
the wind blew past her.  The pink winter jacket made no noise as she moved, the
only sound coming from the delicate ocarina she played.  When she reached the
bus stop, she stopped playing the beautiful melody and let her heavy backpack
slide to the ground.
     "Serena...?" Mina said, too stunned for other words.
     Serena looked up, her blue eyes twinkling.  "Wow, you guys, you look like
you've never seen someone play an ocarina before."
     Rei sneezed.  "We have, but we never expected to hear YOU play four notes
without screwing up, let alone something as beautiful as that."
     Serena made a face at Rei.  "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
     "Well," said Ami, "You do have a singular talent for clumsiness.  Just how
long have you been practicing that?"
     "It's only been five weeks, but Darian has been helping me out."
     Mina blinked.  "I didn't know he could play the ocarina."
     Serena shook her head, sending her bizarre hairstyle whipping about.  "He
can't, but he does play the flute and the two are quite similar."
     Leda laughed.  "Looks like there's hope for you yet, Serena."
     Mina patted Serena on the back.  "You're doing quite well.  Do you think
you could drop by my apartment sometime?  I think I can help you learn some of
the more difficult aspects of playing music.  I don't know if I can actually
help with the fingering or anything, but I can make sure you can read music."
     Serena knew of her friend's unearthly skill with the synthesizer.  "Sure,
I'd love to.  Thanks."
     "No problem.  It's rare to find a good musician these days."
     "Rare compared to you," Leda chuckled.
     Rei sneezed again.  "Hey, Serena, how come you're here so early?  The bus
won't be here for another ten minutes, and I didn't expect to see you until it
was pulling away from the stop."
     Serena blinked.  "What do you mean, I'm early?  I thought you four were
still standing here because the bus was late."
     Ami started to giggle to herself.  "My fault.  I told her the bus would
arrive at four-thirty, and figured she would get here around four-fifty."
     Everyone burst out laughing as Serena glared at the still-giggling Ami.
"That's not funny, guys," she muttered darkly.
     "But it worked," Leda said, still laughing.
     "Just in time, too," said Mina.  "Here comes the bus."
     "Coolness," said Serena as she grabbed her backpack.  "Let's get this show
on the road!"
     There were nods of assent as the bus pulled up to the stop.  "You think
Artemis and Luna will be okay for the weekend?" Rei said as she stepped onto
the bus.
     Mina nodded.  "I think they'll do fine.  Besides, I think they could use
some time together to catch up on stuff."
     "What kind of stuff?" asked Leda suspiciously.
     Mina just shrugged.  "I don't know.... Stuff," she said as she boarded the
bus.  She turned to the driver.  "This goes to the Hot Springs Resort?"
     "Express all the way," the driver said as he closed the door.  Seconds
later, the bus was on its way to the resort and to its naturally hot mineral
springs.

		*		*		*		*

     Lieutenant Commander Shar-Tei entered her private quarters, and was nearly
knocked over as a crystalline spider the size of a small pony ran over to her.
The weaver was chittering quite excitedly in its species-language, sounding to
Shar-Tei like a set of wind chimes in a hurricane.
     "Nice to see you too, Dyvach.  Now calm down before you kill me."  The
silver-haired Dragoon commander made her way over to her couch and sat down.
"Now tell me what's got you all excited, and where exactly you've been for the
past two months."
     The weaver skittered over to her and sat down on the floor.  At a much
slower pace, it told her about its discovery.  Shar-Tei never quite understood
the language, catching about three words in seven, but she was able to make out
what Dyvach was saying.
     Her featureless red eyes went wide.  "And how do you know this?"
     In response, the weaver promptly coughed up a tiny shard of crystal.  It
wiped the digestive slime off of it before handing it to Shar-Tei.  Then it
started talking in complex mathematics, reducing Shar-Tei's understanding to
about one word in twelve.
     The Dragoon held up the crystal shard and gazed at it carefully.  If the
weaver is right, she thought, then this really is a piece of Eternal Crystal.
"And you say you could tell what this was by eating part of it?"
     The weaver chimed an affirmative.  "This is.... most unexpected.  Tell me,
where there any more crystals like this one around?"  Again, the weaver chimed
an affirmative.  "How many?" she whispered, holding her breath.
     Dyvach chimed once more, and the number was staggering.  The wastelands,
thought Shar-Tei.  It's got to be the wastelands.  Queen Beryl wouldn't have
put so many crystals there if it wasn't.  "Tell me," she said urgently, "Do you
remember the coordinates?"
     The weaver chimed a complex and lengthy response.  Shar-Tei sat back and
considered it carefully.  "How long did it take you to get there?"  The weaver
thought for a second, did a few quick calculations, then chimed back an answer.
     Shar-Tei shook her head.  "Too long.  Very well, Dyvach.  Go ahead and
convert your measurements into standard.  I'll try to find a Silkworm crystal
to get us there faster."
     The two of them went off to work.  The weaver skittered off to a special
crystal loom and started to work the threads, performing vast mathematical
calculations in a matter of seconds.  Shar-Tei left her quarters and proceeded
to make her way to the Dragoon headquarters complex.
     A single tear slid down her cheek as she considered what she was going to
do.  Don't worry, my love, she thought, I may not be able to free you from your
prison, but I can give you the peace of death befitting a Dragoon.  Her mind
set, she increased her pace and walked into the Dragoon headquarters.

		*		*		*		*

     The soft-packed snow crunched noisily under their feet as the five girls
made their way down the narrow pathway.  Occasionally they would come across a
steaming mineral pool, but Ami would briefly scan it with her computer and keep
walking.
     "I don't get it, Ami," complained Serena.  "That's the sixth pool we've
passed so far, and they all look perfectly good."
     "Yeah, girl, what gives?" asked Leda.
     Ami poked at her computer for a few seconds before replying.  "I'm trying
to find a hot spring that doesn't have a high mineral-salt content."
     Mina looked confused.  "Why does that make a difference?  I thought those
kinds of salts were harmless."
     "They usually are, but they have a strange irritating effect on my skin."
     "You did just fine last time we were here," said Serena.
     Ami gave her a look.  "I wasn't a vampire last time."
     The blonde's eyes went slightly wide.  "Oh."
     "Hey, what about this one?" Mina said, pointing to a smaller pool that was
several dozens yards away from the path.
     Ami walked over to the edge of the path and held out her computer.  After
a few seconds the computer chirped softly, causing Ami to smile.  "This one's
perfect.  It's one of the newer ones, so the minerals haven't had the chance to
build up."
     "Well. come on then, what are we waiting for?" Leda said as she started to
make her way towards the steaming pool.  Serena and Mina started to follow her,
but Ami held back to talk to Rei for a second.
     "You've been awfully quiet today, Rei.  Is something wrong?" Ami asked.
     Rei shook her head.  "I'm still in a bit of pain from yesterday, and the
cold temperature isn't helping much."
     Ami smiled.  "Don't worry, the heat from the mineral water should ease any
aches and pains you have.  Come on, the others are getting impatient."
     They made their way along the path of footsteps made by the others.  Rei
had a slight difficulty making her way through the snow due to her ankle, but
they eventually made it to the clearing by the pool.
     When they arrived, Serena was busy pinning her hair back while Mina was
undressing.  Leda had already peeled down to her bikini and was arranging her
stuff near the pool's edge.
     "We were wondering if you two were going to join us or not," said Mina as
she finished removing her sweater.  Her white swimsuit seemed to twinkle in the
evening light as she unbuttoned her jeans and slid out of them.
     "Be with you in a bit," said Rei.  "I'm going to start a fire so we don't
have frozen towels when we're finished."
     "Hey, there's a thought," said Leda as she crouched at edge of the pool.
"I wouldn't have thought of something like that."  She eased into the mineral
pool, and a blissful smile crossed her face.  "Oooh, this is nice.  Come on,
the water's fine!"
     Ami set her pack next to a tree stump and started to unbutton her parka as
Rei started to dig out a fire pit.  Mina sat at the edge of the pool and fussed
with the ribbon in her hair as Serena unbuttoned her blouse, revealing a pink
bikini.
     "You're not going to pin your hair back, Mina?" Serena asked as she worked
at the last few buttons on her blouse.
     "No, I figure I'll mess with it later.  It needs cutting anyway, so if it
gets too messed up it's no big deal."  She smiled exactly like Leda as she slid
into the hot water.  "Oooh, you're right.  This does feel quite nice."
     "Need any help, Rei?" Ami asked as she removed her shoes and stockings.
     Rei finished stacking the wood and stood up, her silvery Mars Wand in her
hand.  "Nope.  Got everything all taken care of."  She held up the wand up to
the sky.  "Mars Power!" she yelled.
     She was engulfed in a whirling field of energy, and was transformed into
Sailor Mars.  She blinked as the energy faded, and the surrounding cold crept
in.  She was wearing her sailor suit, which consisted of low-heeled pumps, a
very short mini-skirt, a short-sleeved blouse, arm-length gloves, and a tiara.
     "Yiiii, it's cold out here!" she squealed, shivering slightly.  She closed
her eyes and focused her internal energies.  "Mars Fire.... IGNITE!!" she said,
and a crackling ball of fire formed at her fingertips.  The ball leapt into the
stack of wood, starting a nice, cozy little fire.  The fire had barely caught
when she concentrated once more, causing her transformation to reverse.
     "I don't think I've ever seen you transform that fast," Leda commented.
     "S-s-so w-w-what?" Rei said, her teeth chattering violently behind the
red scarf she wore.
     Serena had finished undressing and was testing the water with her toes.
"Feels warm enough," she said.  Without warning, she was hit from behind with a
snowball, causing her to lose her balance and fall into the pool with a loud
splash.
     "Hey!" she yelled when she surfaced.  "Who threw that?"
     Ami merely smiled as she let her skirt fall to the ground.  Beneath it she
was wearing a one-piece swimsuit in a medium shade of blue.  "Sorry, impulse,"
she giggled, and everyone but Serena started to laugh.  She turned around to
look at Rei.  "You coming?"
     Rei nodded and slowly moved over to the pool's edge as Ami slid into the
pool.  Ami made a strange face as she stood up and went to get her computer.
     "What's up, Ami?  Salt in the water?" Mina asked.
     "No, it's not that," Ami said slowly as she poked at her computer for a
minute.  "The water just feels.... weird."
     "It's just because it's a mineral pool, that's all," Leda said as she made
her way over to the pool's edge.
     "Rei!  What happened to your face?" Serena said suddenly.
     Everyone turned to look at Rei.  She had taken her scarf off, revealing a
nasty bruise on one cheek and a jagged scar on the other.  "I told you guys,
practice got a little rough last night," she said as she sat down and removed
her boots.
     Leda surged out of the pool, her face a mask of concern.  "Rei, that looks
like a cut on your cheek.  Let me take a look at it."
     "Back off," Rei snapped.  "It's nothing, just a bad scratch."
     Mina and Serena swam over to the edge to get a better look, and Ami walked
over with her computer in hand.  The computer beeped suddenly, and Ami frowned.
She looked at the display for a few seconds before reprogramming her computer
to do a scan.
     Leda's eyebrows went up as Rei removed her socks.  "Great Zeus, what did
you do to your foot?" she asked, staring at the scar on her ankle.
     Anger flashed in Rei's bottomless black eyes.  "I told you, practice got
rough and we both tore each other up.  It's nothing, so forget about it." she
snarled as she stood up and took off her winter coat.
     "Rei," Ami said quietly.  "I want to talk to you."
     "Forget it."
     Mina got out of the pool and moved behind Leda as Ami stepped forward.
"Rei, this is serious.  Do you know what my scans have picked up?" Ami said,
her blue eyes showing concern.
     Rei opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off as Leda screeched,
her hand shooting out to grab the top of Rei's black swimsuit.  She yanked it
down fractionally to reveal more of the thin scar on the top of Rei's chest.
     Rei tried to break Leda's grip, but it was a futile attempt.  "Leda, let
go of my suit!"
     "Tell me what happened, Rei.  I might believe this rough practice stuff
about the marks on your face and ankle, but this," she said, gesturing at the
scar, "This was made by a dagger, and it's too even for it to have been a mere
accident."
     "Rei, I'm showing moderate bruising on your left cheek, a first-degree cut
on your right cheek, a second-degree cut on your right ankle, a pair of cuts on
on your chest, a second pair between your eighth and ninth left ribs, a single
cut on your upper left thigh, and moderate bruising across your entire upper
back," Ami said quietly.
     "What?" Leda said, shocked.  She turned to Rei with a fire in her eyes.
"Off with the suit, Rei.  I want to see those cuts."
     There was a startled gasp from Mina as Rei glared at Leda.  "You've got to
be kidding, Leda.  I'm not taking off my suit."
     "What's going on?" Serena said, her blue eyes wide.
     "Rei," said Ami softly.  "I need to talk to you about this."
     "What don't you guys get?  I keep telling you, I got these in a practice
fight with Chad last night," Rei snapped.
     "And I don't believe that for one second!" Leda shot back.
     Mina reached out and grabbed Leda's arm.  "Girl, I think you ought to ease
off a little...."
     "Then explain the vaginal bruising and torn hymen."
     Everyone fell silent as Ami's statement registered.  The only sound heard
was Serena getting out of the mineral pool and walking over next to Ami.
     "What was that?" Mina asked quietly.
     "But that would mean...." Leda trailed off, unable to say more.
     "Rei, did Chad rape you?" Ami asked gently.
     Rei shook her head, tears streaming from her eyes.  "No, he didn't.  I....
I wanted it to happen.... the way it did...."  She shivered lightly, but not
from emotional distress.
     Ami reached out and helped Rei unzip her jeans.  "Come on, we've got to
get you in the water before you freeze."  Rei nodded her assent as the others
quietly made their way back into the pool.  Ami help Rei finish up, then led
her to the pool's edge where they both silently slid in.
     Ami waited until Rei had warmed up sufficiently before swimming over to
sit next to her, computer in hand.  "Rei, I need to get a better look at those
cuts.  We're all girls here, and we're your friends, so there's nothing to be
embarrassed or ashamed about," she said softly.
     Rei nodded silently and reached behind her.  She untied her swimsuit and
peeled it down to her waist.  Everyone gasped in shock as they saw the cuts.
Ami started to reach out but stopped, giving Rei an inquisitive look.  Rei
nodded again, and Ami gently touched the scars nestled between Rei's breasts.
     They started at the tops of her breasts and went diagonally down to just
beneath the other breast, forming a vicious X-shaped scar.  The only sound that
could be heard was Ami's computer chittering softly to itself as it scanned the
cuts.
     "They're only surface cuts, but they'll take several days to heal.  There
isn't any sign of infection, so they'll heal without any serious scarring."
She moved her computer lower to scan Rei's ribs.  "Same story with these two."
The computer moved even lower to scan Rei's thigh and abdomen.  "It's the same
with the cut on your thigh.  You've got minor internal bruising, but its not
anything to really worry about.  There's no internal bleeding, and my scans
show no signs of pregnancy."
     Ami fell silent as Rei put her swimsuit back on.  "So I take it I'll be
fine?" Rei said eventually.
     "Yes, though you might want to go see your doctor just to be sure."
     "Thanks," was the soft reply.
     Mina swam over next to Rei and put a hand on her shoulder.  "Will you tell
us what happened?"
     Rei closed her eyes and wiped the tears away.  No one said anything as she
fought an internal struggle.  Finally, she nodded her head and began to speak.

		*		*		*		*

     Rei stood at the doorway, boku-toh in hand, and waited for her adversary
to show himself.  In her mind, she tried to remember why exactly she decided to
accept Chad's challenge to combat.  She knew he was going to leave tomorrow to
start a six-week concert tour of southern Japan, but she still didn't quite
know why he challenged her before he left.
     "I wanted to pay you back for everything," he had said, "And that I want
to give you a little something to remember me by."
     Well, she thought, the only things that will be given are a nice set of
bruises to you as I turn your butt into Swiss cheese.  She indulged herself in
an evil grin.  This is going to be so easy.
     Something whizzed by her ear, and a bare second later a shuriken embedded
itself in the wall she was facing.  She whirled around to face the enemy behind
her and slashed her ankle on the razor-sharp spine sticking up from the floor.
     In an instant, Rei realized her mistake.  The spine was thrown past my ear
to make it seem like the shuriken came from behind me, she thought at the speed
of light.  But they both came from above me, and now my back is unguarded.  The
information didn't arrive fast enough to help her.
     Pain exploded across her shoulder blades as she was smashed in the back by
a powerful force.  The blow sent her skidding painfully across the temple floor
until she collided with the wall.  She tried to stand up as fast as possible,
but she was hampered by the stinging of her bleeding ankle.
     There was the sound of running footsteps, and Rei instinctively swung her
wooden blade up to ward off the next blow.  There was a hideous cracking sound
as wood met tempered steel and her weapon splintered.  Rei cried out in pain
as the tip of the steel blade sliced across her cheek, leaving a bloody line in
its wake.
     A hand grabbed the front of her robe and roughly hauled her to her feet.
She looked up at her assailant and found a pair of vengeful eyes staring down
at her.  The dark emotion behind those eyes was unfamiliar, but the rest of his
features were quite known to her.
     "Chad!" she said in shock and surprise.
     "Silence!" he roared as he backhanded her.  Rei grunted softly as the blow
landed on her undamaged cheek.  She could feel it bruise almost instantly.  She
tried to focus on the dark figure holding her, but the pain in her ankle, back,
and cheeks made it difficult.
     The grip on her robe grew tighter as his face moved to within inches of
her own.  "I've waited a long time for this," he hissed.  "I have suffered at
your hands for long enough, and now it's payback time.  And as you can see, my
training has been far more advanced than you had thought."
     Tiny tendrils of fear made their way into Rei's blood.  "What do you want
from me?" she said, and was backhanded again for her efforts.  Again the blow
landed on one cheek, and Rei was fortunate it wasn't her bleeding one.
     Chad's voice was barely audible as she whispered in her ear.  "What I want
is for you to know the true meaning of torture shortly before I relieve you of
your virginity."  There was a soft metallic hiss, and a ceremonial dagger was
pressed against her throat.
     Rei froze in absolute fear, her heart on the verge of exploding inside her
chest.  "You would rape me...?" she whispered in utter shock.  She tried to run
but her body was paralyzed with fear and wouldn't respond.
     Chad laughed quietly, a low and ominous sound.  "It all depends on how you
react to the torture, my dear Rei.  Respond well, and I won't have to.  Respond
poorly, and...." he trailed off.  His dark smile made Rei shiver.
     "Shall we begin?" he asked, then slashed the dagger downward.  Rei braced
for the sensation of being flayed alive, but was surprised when the blade never
touched her skin.  Her surprise turned to horror as the front of her ceremonial
robe was cut away, revealing the dull gray of her sports bra.
     "I know you quite well, Rei," he said as he lightly drew the dagger's flat
surface across the top of her chest.  "I have seen how you react to certain
situations, certain sensations, certain stimulations...."  Now the blade was on
its razor-edge, still being carefully drawn along her skin.
     "I know you react to fear of pain by remaining motionless, hoping that if
you keep still, it won't hurt you."  Rei's black eyes widened as his words sank
in.  She was suddenly made keenly aware of the exquisite pain in her ankle and
on her face.  No, don't let him know.... she thought desperately as the tip of
the dagger dug ever so lightly into the flesh just above her bra strap.
     His voice was like the whisper of leaves over stone as he breathed in her
ear.  "But I also know your true secret...."  The dagger was slowly drawn in a
diagonal line across her chest, slicing both skin and silk.  "The secret that
you like pain...."  A hair-thin line of blood welled up in the track left by
the dagger's passage.  "And that a very fine pain turns you on...."
     "No...." came Rei's ragged voice.  She meant to scream, but it came out as
a soft moan.  She felt as if a line of fire was being drawn on her chest, and
her passions started to stir.  The threat of being raped only seemed to further
excite her, despite her fears.
     The dagger came to rest at a point just beneath her breast.  Chad's lips
lightly brushed her throat as his hand separated the slashed halves of her bra.
Rei closed her eyes as the fabric moved, revealing her tender breasts and the
diagonal line of blood between them.  Rei knew it was only slightly deeper than
a surface scratch, but the pain was as sharp as the dagger's edge.
     "They are as beautiful as I had imagined," whispered the voice in her ear
as the flat edge of the dagger slid over her breast.  Rei whimpered softly, not
sure whether it was in fear, desire, anticipation, or a mixture of all three.
Chad laughed softly.  "You like this, don't you, Rei?" he whispered.
     She couldn't speak at the blade dug into the skin above her breast.  Ever
so slowly, the blade carved a diagonal path down to her other breast, mirroring
its previous trail.  The keen sensation of pain set her blood on fire, making
her nipples ache with passion.
     "Ah, so you really do like this...." Chad whispered as his lips trailed
down Rei's throat.  The blade's flat edge was carefully drawn over her nipple,
the cold metal sending a chill down Rei's back.  The dagger suddenly flashed
downwards, and Rei felt more of her robe being sliced away from her body.
     The combination of fear and passion was starting to overwhelm her, and she
could feel her leg muscles giving out.  She started to slide down the wall, but
she felt Chad pinch her flesh and twist.  The agony was far from stimulating,
and Rei jerked back up.
     "None of this falling down quite yet, my dear Rei.  I'm not even close to
being finished with you," he laughed softly as his lips slid down to the top of
the bloody X on Rei's chest.  Rei gasped as the contact heightened the sharp
stinging sensation.
     The blade's razor edge was very carefully drawn along her ribs.  The skin
yielded slightly but was not cut as the dagger passed over her stomach to the
other set of ribs.  The sensation caused a strange knot to form in her gut and
only served to further weaken her self-control.
     Chad's lips brushed her hardened nipple, and Rei could barely hold back a
moan.  A dim part of her mind realized that if this was kept up much longer,
being raped wouldn't matter to her since her brain would be too overloaded to
care.
     A thin line of fire was drawn between two of her ribs just as Chad's lips
drew her nipple into his mouth.  The combination of pain and sheer pleasure was
too much for her to handle, and she moaned aloud.  She then gasped as Chad bit
her nipple briefly.  A second blazing line of pain was drawn parallel to the
first, and Rei knew that a loss of control was imminent.
     Her captor apparently knew it too.  "You seem to have a problem," he said
softly as he kissed his way over to her other breast.  "Is the torture becoming
too much for you?" he teased as he drew the flat edge of the blade down across
her waist.
     The dagger flashed down once more, and the last tattered remains of Rei's
robe fell away from her, leaving her bare except for her lace panties and the
remains of her bra.  A light wind stirred up, sending shivers racing across her
unprotected skin.
     "So what does the mighty Rei Hino have to say now that she has fallen in
battle?" said Chad as he kissed the softness of her breast.  Rei couldn't find
the words to speak as the blade's flat edge was drawn down across her hips and
onto her thighs.  "What do you have to say before you become completely and
utterly vanquished?"
     Rei's only response was a loud moan as Chad ran his tongue over her tight
nipple before drawing it into his mouth.  The dagger's keen edge lightly bit
into her thigh even as Chad's teeth bit into Rei's nipple.  The sensation was
too much for Rei, and the last shreds of her control shattered like glass.
     She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and tightly drew him close, her
breathing ragged and her sheath on fire.  "Please end this," she cried out as
he returned her crushing embrace.  The deep chuckle in her ear send a wave of
desire coursing through her blood.
     "You respond well, Rei," he said as he kissed her ear.  Her head turned
and her lips sought out his.  Their passionate kiss lasted some time before he
gently pushed her away.  "You are in no danger of being raped, my dear, but you
are far from losing your virginity."
     "No...." Rei whispered through a haze of passion.  "Chad.... I want you to
take it.... I want you to take me...."  Chad's dark laughter sent a strange 
chill down her spine.
     "Perhaps I will, my dear Rei.  All in due time."  His voice dropped to a
soft whisper as his lips roamed over her ear.  "But how long will you be able
to stand the pleasure I'm going to give you?  How long before your passions
drive you mad with unquenchable desire?  How long until you beg me to release
your passion and send you to the very peak of pleasure?"
     Rei made a plaintive whimper as the meaning of his words sank in.  "What
do you mean by that?" she asked, her voice quivering with emotion.
     "And now the real torture begins," he said as he drew her down to him....

		*		*		*		*

     The silence was profound as Rei's voice trailed off, unable to say more.
     "Rei, what happened after that?" Leda asked softly.
     It took Rei several seconds to find the words to explain what had happened
to her that night.  "He.... he stimulated me just enough to make me lose all
control, but never quite finishing.... It.... it WAS torture.... He did that to
me for two hours before finally making love to me.... He finally pushed me over
the edge, and.... it felt like I died from pleasure...."
     "He was rough with you, wasn't he?" Ami asked softly.
     Rei looked down at the water.  "Yes.... but I...."
     "You wanted it that way." Mina said.
     "Yes...." Rei said, her cheeks burning with shame.
     Mina squeezed her shoulder.  "I think I understand.  It's not the pain you
really wanted, it was the feeling of total helplessness and domination, right?"
Three pairs of eyes turned to look at Mina as she continued.  "I've done a bit
of psychology research on the subject.  You have a natural desire for absolute
control over your life, and one of the results of that is you find yourself
aroused by the complete loss of control to someone you care about.  It's a
rather common sexual fantasy among people with your personality type, and it's
nothing to be ashamed of.  That's just the way you are."
     Ami and Leda nodded their heads in understanding and agreement, but Serena
still seemed a little confused.  "Umm.... I don't quite get it.  You're saying
that Rei wanted to be beat up like that?"
     Rei opened her mouth to say something, but Ami spoke up.  "Serena, it's
nothing to be concerned about.  If you don't understand, then that's all the
better.  Trust me on this, it's nothing important."
     "We all have our little quirks and oddities, Serena," said Mina.  "It's
just a matter of personal preference."
     Serena arched an eyebrow.  "Umm.... I think I understand."
     "If you're really bothered by it, Serena, come talk to me tonight and I'll
see what I can do to clear things up," said Mina.
     "Umm.... okay...."
     Leda swam over to Rei.  "Rei, I'm sorry I went off on you like that.  It's
just that I was concerned for your welfare, and something didn't sound right.
I didn't mean to pry or upset you like that," she said, then started to swim
toward the far end of the thermal pool.
     "Where you going?" Mina asked.
     "I'm going to go skinny-dip for a bit.  Something in the water is making
this suit irritate my tits, and it's starting to drive me nuts."  She started
to swim off, then stopped and turned to Rei.  "Rei, I don't want you to take
this the wrong way, but you have nice breasts and you should try to take care
of them."  Then before anyone could say anything, she swam off.
     "Does she have to be so blunt?" Serena said.
     Mina shrugged.  "That's Leda for you."  She felt a funny sensation on her
back and turned around to find Ami staring at her.  "What?"
     "I can hear the gears turning in your brain.  Now what are you up to?"
     Mina laughed.  "Well, I was just thinking that I've never skinny-dipped
before, and...."
     Ami cut her off, waving a hand at a distant corner of the pool.  "Just 
take it somewhere out there, okay?  Some of us have a thing called modesty."
     "You didn't seem to care about Rei's modesty when you were poking at her
chest," Mina said pointedly.
     Ami blushed a delicate shade of pink.  "That was different.  I was doing a
medical analysis."
     "We're all girls here, and we're your friends, so there's nothing to be
embarrassed or ashamed about," Mina mimicked as she fussed with the fastenings
to her swimsuit.  "Hey, Serena, you ever been skinny-dipping?"
     Serena blushed lightly.  "Once, but not by choice."
     Rei blinked.  "What happened?"
     "Well, we were here that one time and my little brother stole my towel."
     Mina and Rei burst out laughing, causing Serena's blush to deepen.  Rei
managed to stop laughing long enough to ask, "How bad did you hurt him?"
     "Well, Mom and Dad were here, so I didn't have to."
     Mina smiled as she sank below the waterline.  Her head popped back up a
few seconds later, holding her suit in one hand and making a strange face.
"Ami, could you scan the water?  I think Leda might be right about something
making the fabric a little irritating."
     "Sure," she said, poking at her computer.  She made a face at the reading.
"There appears to be a rather high concentration of alkaline salt in the water.
That explains both the irritation as well as why it feels funny to me."
     "So in other words," said Rei, "There was a good reason that the resort
guide suggested that swimsuits shouldn't be used in the thermal pools."
     "Looks like it," admitted Ami.  She felt a slight itch develop and sighed.
"I think given a choice between being modest and being comfortable, I'd have to
say I'd rather be comfortable," she said as she reached for the fastenings to 
her suit and slid deeper into the water.
     Mina waited until Ami's ears were under water.  "If she was as modest as
she claims to be, she would have gotten out of the water and sat by the fire
instead of staying put," she said with a smile.
     Serena blinked as she watched Ami poke her head out of the water and lay
her swimsuit on the edge of the pool.  "Umm, then I take this has been turned
into a skinny-dipping expedition?" she said with a hint of nervousness.
     "Unless you don't mind the irritation," said Rei.  She adjusted her suit
slightly and her eyes went wide.  "Oooh, that hurt big time.  I take it that
alkaline salt is bad for healing cuts?"
     Ami nodded.  "Very much, especially if something is rubbing against it."
     Rei sighed.  "Figures," as she started to untie her suit again.
     Serena shrugged.  "When in Rome...." she said as she sank down below the
waterline.
     Leda swam over, her eyebrows arched up past her hairline.  "What's this?"
she said, holding her swimsuit in her hands.
     "Agreement that the water is irritating us," Mins said as she tossed her
suit on the edge of the thermal pool.  "Besides, I've never been skinny-dipping
before and I wanted to try it."
     "It's just like bathing," said Rei.
     "Nah, it's cooler.  Plus, you get to make fun of your friends," snickered
Leda.
     Ami was about to say something when she saw the surprised look on Serena's
face.  "What's wrong, Serena?"
     "Umm, I don't mean to be rude or make fun of you, Ami, but you've got a
dark spot down, umm...."
     Ami looked down.  "What?  I don't see any marks or anything."
     Mina giggled.  "I think she means your pubic hair."
     Ami blushed and Serena looked shocked.  "That's hair?" the blonde said,
faintly disgusted.  "What's it doing there?"
     Mina looked highly amused as she swam over to Serena.  "I hate to break
this to you, girl, but there's supposed to be hair down there."  She laughed as
Serena's eyes became impossibly wide.
     "Umm...."
     "Relax," said Leda, "You'll grow some when you get older."
     Rei laughed.  "Yeah, that way you'll really be a natural blonde."
     Mina shot her a dark look.  "That's not funny, Rei," she said, pointedly
toying with her own blonde hair.
     Leda chuckled.  "Besides, there's no guarantee it'll be the same color."
     Rei blinked.  "What do you mean?"
     "Well, I'm a brunette up top, but I'm auburn down under."
     Rei looked mildly surprised.  "You serious?"
     Leda nodded and sat up on the edge of the pool, still holding her suit in
one hand.
     "That was blunt," Rei said, blushing furiously.  Ami developed a fit of
coughing and Serena found interesting little water swirls to study.
     "We get the picture, Leda, so you can get down from there," Mina said.
     "You asked," Leda said as she slid into the water.
     "Not.... like that," Ami said, still coughing.
     Leda shrugged and looked around.  "Anyone else a two-toner?"
     Ami and Rei shook their heads, but Mina nodded.  "Light gray, but I'm not
crass enough to flash everyone just to prove it."
     Leda laughed.  "Spoilsport."
     "Umm, does stuff like this fall under the 'quirks and oddities' of your
friends?" Serena asked.
     Mina nodded.  "Most definitely, especially Leda's behavior.  I'll be sure
to go over it during our talk tonight."
     Leda snorted.  "Just make sure you give the same amount of attention to
your own quirks, girl," she said, and Mina blushed a deep crimson.
     Rei suddenly sat up.  "Ami, what's wrong?"
     Ami blinked.  "What do you mean?"  She looked around to find the four of
them giving her concerned looks, and Serena was starting to edge away.
     "You mean you don't know?" Mina asked.
     A cold wind blew through Ami.  "Know what?" she said slowly.
     "You're.... umm...." Rei said, making a gesture towards her mouth.
     Ami ran her tongue along her lips and promptly slashed it on her vampire
fangs.  She sat up and winced in pain.  "My fangs...!  But how?  I'm not hungry
or anything....  Are my eyes different, too?"
     Mina peered closer and nodded.  "Yeah, they're that odd steel blue color.
Ami, are you sure you're not hungry or anything?"
     Ami thought for a second.  "No.... Well, wait...." She reached behind her
and grabbed her computer.  She did some quick programming and passed it over
her body.  It beeped, and she passed it over the water.  "This is weird.  It
seems like I'm having some sort of reaction to a mineral in the water."
     "Umm, you going to be okay?  I mean, you're not going to go ballistic on
us or anything, right?" asked Serena nervously.
     "I don't think so, but I might want to get out of this water for awhile."
She turned around to reach for her swimsuit, but she couldn't find it.  She
sighed and turned back to her friends.  "Okay, where is it?"
     "Where's what?" Leda and Mina chorused innocently.
     Ami's gaze darkened as she glared at her friends.  "If my swimsuit doesn't
appear in front of me in the next ten seconds, I swear I will kill each and
every one of you," she said in her best dark-evil voice.
     There was a quick flurry of motion and her swimsuit landed in the water in
front of her.  "Thank you," she said sweetly as she put it on.  Maybe being a
vampire isn't quite so bad after all, she thought as she climbed out of the
thermal pool and moved over by the fire.
     Something brushed her face and she looked up.  "Hey, everyone!  Get this!"
she yelled back as she pointed to her discovery.  In an eerie silence, the snow
started to fall.

		*		*		*		*

     Shar-Tei focused her thoughts on the series of coordinates the weaver had
given her.  When she was sure she had them down, she directed those thoughts at
the ancient Silkworm crystal she held.  There was a brief surge of energy and a
wormhole flared into existence in the wall before her.
     Well, she thought, here goes nothing.  She was about to step through the
whirling vortex when she felt a thought-presence intrude in her mind.
     <Where off in such hurry?>
     The Dragoon sighed and turned around.  "That's a rather stupid question
coming from a telepath, Ra'vel."
     Ra'vel clucked softly and spread her avian wings.  <Perhaps is, but closed
mind cannot read without touching-contact.  Broadcast thoughts only can read
from distance.>
     "I'll keep that in mind.  You mind telling me what you want?"
     <Dragoon mind closed, but weaver mind open.  Perhaps know plan, want to
accompany with.>
     Shar-Tei said nothing as she studied the avian.  Ra'vel was only five feet
high and looking like a cross between an owl and a human.  Her shiny black eyes
seemed to study everything, and Shar-Tei knew her hearing was exceptional.  But
what made her most valuable to the Dragoon division was her powers of the mind.
     "If you know what I plan, then why come along?"
     The avian fluffed her feathers, the equivalent of a shrug.  <Wasteland not
hospitable, denizens less so.  Accompany for support, tactical, butt-covering.>
     Shar-Tei finally smiled.  "And you don't think I've learned enough to take
care of my own rear-end?"
     <Care-take not issue.  Issue loyalty, service, emotion Dragoon commander.>
     Shar-Tei blinked.  "Lieutenant, what exactly are you saying?"
     Ra'vel snapped her beak, a sign of frustration.  <Touching-contact needed
explain deeper.>
     Shar-Tei nodded and stepped closer to the telepath.  Ra'vel reached gently
reached out with a clawed hand and lightly brushed Shar-Tei's face.  Instantly,
a series of images flooded the Dragoon commander's mind, and she understood.
     The Dragoon telepath stepped back as Shar-Tei regained her bearings.  "So
you want to come with me out of loyalty and respect for him as well."
     Ra'vel nodded.  <Doubt none would perform same, considering after-effects
Mintaka battle.>
     "Very well, Ra'vel, you may come with me.... And thank you." she said as
she turned to the still-open wormhole.  Together, the two Dragoons left the
safety of the Dragoon complex and entered the harsh environment of the area
called the wastelands.
     They came to a halt at what they saw.  In front of them lay literally tens
of thousands of giant crystals, each one containing a poor soul destined to be
frozen for eternity by Queen Beryl's wrath.
     "This is it, alright.  Problem is, it'll take forever to find which one is
his," Shar-Tei said with dismay.
     <Closed mind cannot read, mind can identify from distance.>
     The Dragoon commander shook her head.  "He's psi-mute, Ra'vel.  It won't
work with him."
     <Mind cannot read, cannot identify then identified.>
     Shar-Tei caught on.  "So we look for the ones whose minds you can't get
identified.  Thank you, Ra'vel.  Let's get started, shall we?"
     <Easier not blast-reflex region entire?>
     "Not a chance.  I know some of these people, and believe me, they wouldn't
deserve it.  Okay, if you can start with the skies, I'll start looking from the
ground."
     Ra'vel nodded as she spread her wings and took off.  Shar-Tei took a deep
breath and looked at the crystals around her.  So many, she thought.  Don't
worry, my love, we'll find you and finally set your spirit free.  Picking a
starting point at random, Shar-Tei started her search in the wastelands.

		*		*		*		*

     Serena slowly walked out of Mina's room, her head still spinning from the
conversation.  Now I know why they say ignorance is bliss, she thought as she
wandered into the cabin's tiny kitchen.  Too much understanding gives you a
real headache.  What a motley bunch we make: Ami's a vampire, Mina's curiosity
is unimaginable, Leda's a.... whatever that word meant, and Rei's got a thing
for pain.  Makes me wonder how I'm going to turn out.  We have anything good to
eat in this kitchen?
     She heard a strange noise coming from the living room and decided to check
it out.  I hope it's not Rei snoring again, she thought.  How are we supposed
to get any sleep if she's at it again?  She turned the corner and froze.
     Leda was half-naked and stretched out on the floor with Ami kneeling above
her.  Even from across the room, Serena could see Ami's eerie steel-blue eyes
and vampiric fangs.  As she watched, Ami reached out to caress Leda's breasts.
Leda made a soft noise and whispered something to Ami.  The blue-haired vampire
smiled and bent her head down, teasing Leda's nipples with her lips.
     Serena watched in astonishment and wonder as Ami continued to arouse and
stimulate Leda.  Ami's lips slowly trailed up to Leda's throat, whispering to
her.  Serena saw the fangs gleam in the moonlight as they slowly descended, and
she knew that she was going to drain Leda.
     She wanted to cry out a warning, yet a tiny part of her mind told her to
watch and learn, and she couldn't speak.  She watched in silence as Leda's body
first tensed as Ami bit down, then relaxed.  A soft smile appeared on her lips,
and she reached up to gently caress Ami's neck.
     Serena's attention was drawn to Leda's throat as Ami drank her blood.  As
she watched, a tiny rivulet of scarlet escaped Ami's lips and slowly trailed
down Leda's neck.  The sight caused Serena to involuntarily cry out softly and
Ami's head snapped up to look at her.
     The blonde tried to run, but Ami's gaze suddenly took on an eerie gleam
and she was frozen in place.  She watched helplessly as Ami went back to Leda
and whispered something to her.  She then got up and went over to the couch,
bringing back a pillow and several heavy blankets.  She gently tucked Leda in
where she lay, then turned her attention to Serena.
     "Follow me," she said, her voice sounding strange.  Serena found herself
following Ami, despite what she was telling her body.  It's as if she's taken
control of me! Serena thought in a panic.
     Ami led her into her bedroom, where she closed the door and gestured for
Serena to sit down on the bed.  Serena did so, then found that she had control
over her body once more.  She looked at Ami and found her staring outside at
the falling snow.
     "You weren't supposed to have seen that, Serena," Ami said quietly.  "How
long were you there?"
     "I saw you touching Leda before you bit her," Serena managed to say, her
voice quivering with fear.  "I'm sorry, Ami, please don't be mad at me...."
     Ami turned from the window to look at Serena, all traces of her vampiric
nature gone.  "Serena, I'm not mad at you or anything.  It's just that now I
have to explain it to you, and that's something I never wanted to have to do."
     Serena blinked.  "What do you mean?"
     "Serena, of the five of us, you are the one who has the innocent mind and
soul.  I'm not sure Leda was ever innocent to begin with, Mina routinely tries
to lose her innocence with regard to everything, Rei's innocence was lost when
her fiery nature became too much for her, and my innocence was destroyed the
night I became a vampire."
     She crossed the room and sat down next to Serena.  "But you, Serena, are
still innocent and thus can't fully understand the darker sides of people.  But
if you are exposed to too much of that darkness, your spirit will be corrupted
as well, and I don't want that.  We all lose our innocence eventually, but it
is far better to lose it gradually and naturally."
     The blonde shook her head.  "You're not making much sense, Ami."
     Ami sighed.  "Once you understand something, it permanantly changes your
perception of life.  Innocence is how you view life before the change has been
made.  Understand so far?"
     Serena nodded.  "Good.  Now there are many ways to understand something,
and each way has a different effect on your view of life.  For example. someone
who understands that kissing is socially acceptable behavior will view kissing
differently than someone who understands that kissing is only to be done in
secret or private."
     Serena nodded her head.  "I think I get it now.  They act differently
because their innocence to kissing was lost in different ways, right?"
     Ami smiled.  "Exactly.  And if you lose your innocence in the wrong way,
then you'll wind up behaving differently than you would if you lost it in the
right way."
     Serena's mood seemed to darken slightly.  "So I take it you're upset that
you have to explain things to me the right way instead of not needing to tell
me about them in the first place."
     Ami got up and went back over to the window.  "Right.  And explaining some
things would alter your perception unnecessarily, causing you to lose more of
your innocence."
     "Couldn't we just forget I saw it?"
     "No, because your subconscious would still work on coming up with answers
to your questions, and none of them would be right.  If it's going to be done,
it has to be done right the first time."
     Ami turned away from the window and sat down next to Serena.  "Go ahead
and ask your questions, and I will answer as best I can," she said.
     "Why were you touching Leda like that before you bit her?"
     Ami sighed.  "I knew you were going to ask that, and that was one of the
questions I had hoped to avoid answering.  I was stimulating Leda's passions so
I could taste them in her blood.  Just between you and me, her blood is rather
flat and tasteless and her passions add a bit of favor.  Did Mina tell you of
Leda's desires?"
     Serena nodded her head.  "Yeah, she said Leda was by something and that
she likes girls as well as guys."
     "The word is bisexual.  Having a girl stimulate her instead of a guy has
the effect of intensifying her pleasure, adding to her passions and to the
taste of her blood.  We both enjoy it in different ways, so that is why I do
that with her."
     Serena digested the information in silence.  "Do you do the same when you
drain Mina?" she asked.
     "Yes, but for different reasons.  Her blood is sweeter so it doesn't need
any changes.  However, the sensation of being drained affects her differently
and she becomes rather aroused.  The taste of her arousal in her blood causes
my passions to react and to respond to her desires.  That in turn increases her
arousal and starts a resonance effect."
     "Is Mina a bisexual as well?"
     Ami shook her head.  "No, her curiosity is causing her to experiment with
the idea, just to see if she really is or not.  Once her curiosity is, umm,
satisfied, she'll most likely stay with guys.  With any luck, she won't start
experimenting with guys until she's much older."
     Again Serena fell silent as she thought about the information.  "Ami, are
you bisexual?"
     Ami chuckled to herself.  "No, I prefer the touch of guys.  Leda doesn't
stimulate me and Mina only does by accident.  It feels good, but not nearly as
good as when Tolaris touches me."
     The blonde's eyes went wide.  "You mean you and Tolaris...?"
     "Yes.  It happened shortly after he bit me, and...."
     "Hold it," Serena interrupted.  "You mean Tolaris bit you?  But I thought
you said you were bitten by a vampire."
     "I was.  Tolaris was briefly changed into a vampire by a change in the
Negaverse's moons, and during that time he bit me."
     Serena blinked as Ami made a strange face.  "What?"
     Ami stood up, feeling odd.  "I don't know.  All of a sudden my skin is
starting to tingle...."  Her eyes widened as her hand darted up to the sapphire
pendant she wore.  "Tolaris...?" she whispered as the pendant started to glow
with an inner light.
     Serena looked up in concern.  "Ami, what's wrong?"
     "Tolaris...?  But the moon...!  Something feels wrong...." she said as her
body started to tremble.
     Serena ran over to the door and threw it open.  "Rei!  Mina!  Come quick,
something's wrong with Ami!"  She turned back to her friend.  "Ami, what is it?
What's wrong?"
     There was a scramble at the door as Rei and Mina burst into the room.  Rei
was still dressed in her nightgown while Mina was busy fumbling with the sash
on her robe.  "What?" asked Rei.
     Without warning, the room was filled with a bright cloud of electric blue
motes of energy.  The motes whirled around the room before coalescing into a
humanoid form.  The form had barely solidified before he was collapsing onto
the floor.
     "Tolaris!" Ami screamed and rushed forward.  She tried to catch him, but
she staggered under his weight.  "Someone give me a hand!"
     Rei lunged forward and helped Ami move Tolaris onto the bed.  Mina turned
around and started poking at the pile of clothes on the floor.  She found what
she was looking for, turned back around, and handed Ami her computer.
     "Thanks," she said as she passed it over the Dragoon's inert form.  "His
vital signs are starting to weaken," she said in a panic.  "I can't seem to 
identify what the problem is, or what I can do to help him."
     "Crystal...." Tolaris said weakly, his voice barely audible.  "Need.... 
rose...."
     Ami moved closer to him.  "What?  Tolaris, I don't understand."
     "Crystal...." he repeated.  "Pendant...."
     Ami's mind was running in circles.  I've got to help him, but I can't
understand how.... A sudden thought occurred to her.  "Tolaris, listen to me.
Focus your mind on what you're trying to tell me.  Think as hard as you can
about it."
     Mina blinked.  "Ami, what are you going to do?"
     "Get the information the hard way."  She closed her eyes, and focused her
mind.  Her vampire fangs emerged from her gums, and when she opened her eyes
again, they were a strange steel-blue color.  She took hold of his arm, found
a suitable vein, and bit down.
     Tolaris stiffened in pain as Ami started to drain his blood.  She only
drained a tiny bit, but it was enough for her to taste what he wanted.  "Rei,"
she said as she lifted her head.  "Get on the phone and call Darian right now.
Tell him we need that crystal rose he's got, and tell him to hurry."
     "Right," Rei said, then limped out of the room.
     "Ami, what's wrong?" asked Mina as Ami started to double over in pain.
     "I don't know.... I think.... his blood must be toxic...." she said as she
started to convulse.  "Got to get rid of it...."  She staggered out into the
hallway and Mina guided her into the bathroom.
     Serena moved over to Tolaris's side, unsure of what to do.  She looked at
Ami's computer, but the readouts were too complex for her to understand. 
     Tolaris groaned weakly as he tried to move.  Serena reached out to steady
his arm, and she noticed that the back of his hand was dripping his gray blood.
That's where Tuxedo Mask's rose cut him during our battle! she thought.  But
that was months ago!  Why would it be bleeding after all this time?
     Rei ran back into the room.  "Darian's on his way, but it'll take him at
least an hour to get here.  Hey, where's Ami?"
     "She's here," said Mina as she helped a very pale Ami back into the room.
She was still vampiric and her fangs were coated with a pale red fluid.
     "What happened?" Rei asked with concern.
     Ami slowly sat down on the bed as Mina explained.  "She had a reaction to
Tolaris's blood and threw it up.  Does anyone know if she's drained Leda yet?"
     Serena nodded her head.  "She just did a few minutes ago."
     Mina seemed to relax a bit.  "Okay, so that explains all of the blood.  I
just wasn't sure if she bleeding internally or something."
     Rei spoke up.  "Hey, where is Leda, anyway?"
     "Sleeping in the living room." Ami said as she reached over to grab her
computer.  She poked at it briefly before scanning Tolaris again.  "His vital
signs are slowly deteriorating.  What we need to save him is that crystal rose
he gave Darian."
     Mina shook her head in confusion.  "What's so special about that rose?"
     "Just before he was frozen in crystal by Queen Beryl, he infused the rose
and my crystal pendant with different parts of his essence.  Without the part
he locked away in my pendant, his body will weaken and die.  But since his body
was frozen, it didn't have the chance to weaken.  But now it seems he's not
crystallized anymore and now it's starting to take its toll."
     Serena blinked.  "But you have your pendant right here.  Why do we need to
get the rose to save him?"
     Ami paused as a shudder ran through her body.  "The crystal rose is the
catalyst for the reaction.  Without it, his essence can't be released from the
pendant and infused back into him."
     "And you got all that information from the tiny amount of blood you took
from him?" Mina asked in amazement.
     "Yes."
     There was a sleepy yawn at the door as Leda slowly walked in.  "Ami, we've
got to talk.  I think you ripped out a chunk of my neck when you moved your
head to glare at Serena."  She blinked as she saw the form on the bed.  "Huh? 
Who's that?"
     "Tolaris, but I don't know how or why he's here.  I can't help but think
that something is seriously wrong," Ami said.
     Mina set a hand on Ami's shoulder.  "Is there anything you can do until
Darian gets here with that rose?"
     Ami shook her head.  "Nothing."
     "Then go lay down and rest.  You look like you're still recovering from
your reaction.  We can keep an eye on Tolaris.  Just program your computer to
do automatic scans, and we'll call you if something comes up or if Darian gets
here."  She looked up at Rei.  "You mind watching him while I help Leda get all
patched up?"
     Rei shook her head.  "No problem.  I doubt he's going anywhere."
     "Come on," said Serena, "You can lie down in my room."  She waited until
Ami was finished messing with her computer, then slowly guided her down the
hall and into her own room.
     "Now lie down and relax," she said.  She noticed that Ami was still in her
vampiric mode, and frowned with concern.  "Ami, you okay?  You're still doing
that vampire thing."
     Ami nodded.  "I'm fine, just a little weak."
     "Well then, you should try to calm down and relax.  And I just happen to
have the tools to help you."  She reached over to her backpack and pulled out
her ocarina.  "A little music should work nicely.  I don't think it'll be the
same as Mina's synthesizer, but it'll have to do."
     Serena lifted the delicate instrument to her lips and began to play.  It
was a soft and simple melody, but Ami found herself getting quite relaxed by
the sounds.  The combination of fatigue and weakness was too much for her mind
to handle, and she quietly slid into a silent sleep.

		*		*		*		*

     The nightmare tore at Ami's soul.  It was the same one that plagued her
dreams for months, the one that occurred on the nights that she had drained one
of her friends.  Let it end now! her mind shouted, but as always she could only
stand by as the sequence played itself out.
     Sometimes Leda would urge her on and whisper encouragements into her ear.
Other times, Leda would scream in agony and cry out for mercy.  But the end
result was always the same.  Sometimes Mina's touch was cool and soothing until
the last moments.  Other times, she would lash out in fury and anger.  But the
end result was always the same.
     After an eternity, the fatal blow landed and Ami burst into consciousness,
her body drenched in sweat and her pulse racing.  But unlike the other times,
the first thing she became aware of was her overwhelming hunger for blood.  She
was about to sit up and go look for Leda when her memory returned.
     Oh no, she thought, I lost Leda's blood when I threw up, and Mina's still
recovering from the last time I drained her.  So now what do I do?  Her mind
suddenly realized that someone was shaking her arm and calling her name.  The
voice sounded familiar, somehow reminding her of a peaceful glade.  She thought
some more and decided that peaceful wasn't the right word.  Calm?  Relaxing?
Serene...?
     Serena.
     Ami's mind snapped back to reality as the name registered.  "What?" she
groaned as she tried to sit up.
     "Ami, are you alright?  Come on, speak to me, let me know you're still on
the same planet as the rest of us...."  The voice trailed off as Ami felt her
vampiric fangs emerge from her gums.
     "Umm, Ami?  You feeling alright?" Serena asked quietly.
     Ami only partially heard her.  She was waging an internal war against her
vampiric nature, fighting the instinct to grab Serena's throat and drain her 
blood.  Not her, she thought, not the innocent one.
     "Serena, you've got to leave," she said between clenched teeth.
     "You're hungry, aren't you?" the blonde replied, her voice oddly flat.
     "No time to argue, Serena.  Please, you must leave now."
     "No."
     Ami looked up in surprise.  Serena knelt on the bed next to her, a strange
look of understanding in her eyes.  "You can't drain Leda, and Mina is still
too weak for you to try."  As she spoke, she started to unbutton her nightgown.
"Tolaris's blood is toxic, Rei's blood is probably a bit low from her 'fight'
with Chad, and Darian isn't here yet.  You need blood now, Ami...."
     She trailed off as her nightgown parted, revealing her tender throat and
her dull white bra.  She took hold of Ami's hand and drew her close.  "And I'm
the only one who can help," she said in a whisper.  "Just.... be careful."
     Ami nodded slowly, then tilted her head up to kiss Serena.  The blonde was
surprised by the move, but didn't resist.  Ami's lips then trailed down to her
throat, lightly brushing the skin in search for a suitable vein.  The sensation
was rather pleasant, causing Serena to tremble slightly.
     I wonder if I could get Darian to kiss me like this, she thought.  Then
all thoughts fled as Ami bit down.  Her muscles went rigid and she cried out,
despite the pressure on her neck.  Then she felt a wave of warmth flow across
her body, relaxing her muscles and almost completely dampening the pain in her
throat.
     "Ami...." she managed to say, her voice only partially muffled by Ami's
fangs in her throat.  "Ami, this feels wonderful...."
     Ami was far from paying attention.  Serena's blood was by far the sweetest
thing she had ever tasted before in her life.  She drank as slowly as possible,
savoring the taste.  She could also taste an odd sort of energy in the blood,
something she had never run across before.
     The more she thought about it, the less she liked it.  Energy has to come
from somewhere, she reasoned.  Question is, what could be the source?  Never
had this problem with Mina or Leda.  Her sense of unease increased when the
energy level started to increase dramatically.
     Serena was aware of an increasing sensation inside of her body.  It seemed
to come from everywhere at once, a tingling feeling that kept growing stronger.
On her forehead, the crescent moon sigil became visible and started to shine a
bright golden color.  The feeling continued to strengthen until Serena thought
she couldn't stand it any longer.
     A cold wind blew through Ami as she finally realized what the source of
the energy was: Serena's aura.  She immediately stopped draining Serena and
started to withdraw her fangs.  I sure hope it doesn't think I'm something that
needs to be dealt with because....
     Her train of thought was interrupted as Serena's protective aura pulsed.

		*		*		*		*

     Mina looked at the computer's display just as the readings dropped a bit
lower.  She sighed softly and looked up at her friends, slowly shaking her head
back and forth.
     "I don't think he can hold out much longer."
     Rei was about to say something when she perked her head up.  She listened
for a second, then smiled.  "That sounds like Darian's jeep."  She sprang up
and bolted for the cabin door.  She returned several seconds later with Darian
in tow, holding a colorless crystal rose.
     "Hey, guys, I got your message and.... Whoa!" he said as he caught sight
of Tolaris's inert body.  "Tolaris?  What's he doing here?"
     "No time to talk," said Leda as she made for the door.  "Let me get Ami so
we can...."
     Without warning, the girls staggered as if they were hit by a huge force.
Darian managed to catch both Leda and Rei before they fell down.  Mina grabbed
at the bed and somehow managed to stay on her feet.  She looked up, her face a
mask of confusion.
     "Whoa, what gives?"  She blinked as she looked at her friends.  "Hey, your
sigils are glowing!"
     Rei and Leda looked at each other and blinked in surprise.  The sign of
Mars was glowing a bright red on Rei's forehead while the sign of Jupiter was
burning a vivid green on Leda's forehead.  They turned to Mina and saw that the
sign of Venus was shining a bright orange on her forehead as well.
     "Same with you, Mina," Rei said as she slowly got up.  "I don't know what
that was, but I don't like it."
     "Come on, we've got to go check on Ami and Serena," Leda said as she got
to her feet.  "Umm, Darian?"
     "Yeah?" he said, still watching the celestial sigils glow on their heads.
     "I appreciate you stopping me from falling, and I know you didn't mean
anything by it, but in the future could you grab onto something other than my
breasts?"
     Darian blinked and blushed a dark shade of red.  "I... uh.... umm.... I'm
sorry, Leda.... I'll try to keep that in mind."
     Mina pushed past them and into the hallway.  "Come on, let's go," she said
with a touch of impatience.  She made her way over to Serena's door and was
about to knock when a sudden thought occurred to her.  She mentally calculated
the odds of it happening and didn't like the answer.
     She turned around to face everyone.  "Change of plans.  Darian, I want you
and Rei to go back and keep an eye on Tolaris."
     Darian blinked and Rei frowned.  "What gives?" she said.
     "I think Ami's going to be very hungry, and both of you are prime targets.
Leda's already running on empty, no surprise there...." She reached out and put
her hand over Leda's mouth, keeping her quiet.  "And I'm still recovering from
the last time, so she won't attack either of us.  But she won't have any qualms
about attacking either of you since you still have all of your blood.  Unless
you want to volunteer to be lunch, I suggest you be somewhere else before we go
in there."
     "But what about Serena?" Darian asked with concern.
     "We can find out in a bit, but I want to make sure you two are safe before
I go check."
     "Come on," said Rei, tugging on Darian's arm.  "I don't think she's joking
about Ami's appetite."  She quickly led him back into Ami's room and closed the
door.
     Mina breathed a sigh of relief and let go of Leda's mouth.  "Before you
start, I had to get rid of them before we went in.  I think I know what's going
on in there, and neither of them needs to see it."
     Leda made a face.  "And we do, right?"
     "No time to argue.  I'll handle Ami, you patch up Serena."  She pushed the
door open and went in.
     "Patch up Serena?  But.... Hey, wait up!" Leda said as she dashed inside.
She came to a complete halt as the situation fully sank in.
     Serena was spread out on the bed, the top of her nightgown open.  The sign
of the Moon still shone brightly on her forehead, illuminating the small traces
of blood on her throat.  She seemed fine, but Ami was a different story.
     Their blue-haired friend was sitting in a corner, half-naked and making
soft sounds to herself.  Leda couldn't see exactly what she was doing because
Mina was in front of her, but she got the general idea.  Oh boy, Leda thought,
this should be a fun one to explain.  She moved over to the bed to check on
Serena, listening as Mina tried to figure out why Ami was acting strangely.
     "Ami?  It's Mina.... Umm, no thanks.... Ami, can you tell me what's wrong?
Ami?  Ami, tell me what's wrong...."
     The response she got was so heavily slurred that Leda couldn't understand
anything.  Ami went on for a few seconds, still toying with the shredded pieces
of her nightgown.  Leda reached out and took hold of Serena's wrist.  Pulse
slightly rapid, but normal for having been vampired.  Breathing steady, body
temperature fine.  Head's glowing like a beacon, though.  Probably quite bad.
     Mina only partially understood what Ami was saying.  "I think I understand
what you mean, Ami, but right now we need your help.  Darian's here with the
rose, so we need you to come with us and...."
     Ami burst out in a fit of giggles.  She said something incomprehensible as
she reached up and tried to pull Mina down on top of her.  Mina was prepared
for this, however, and was able to keep herself on her feet.
     "Another time, perhaps.  Come on, get up and get dressed.  Here," she said
as she picked up a nearby bathrobe.  "Put this on and try not to turn this into
confetti as well, okay?  We need you to help save your boyfriend's life.  You
remember Tolaris, right?"
     Ami stumbled to her feet, saying something about boyfriends and clothes.
She giggled again as Mina helped her put the robe on.  Mina proceeded to tie
the sash into a complex knot, keeping it quite secure.  Ami frowned slightly
and started to fuss with the knot.  She was unsuccessful, however, in trying to
figure out how to undo it and gave up after several seconds.
     Leda quietly walked over behind Mina.  "Serena's fine.  Right now she's
sleeping.  What's wrong with Ami?"
     Mina shrugged.  "As far as I can figure out, she's drunk."
     "WHAT?!"
     "Ish no' possib'l," muttered Ami, the sign of Mercury glowing a dark shade
of blue on her forehead.  "No alk.... alch.... no beer."
     "She said she didn't drink any alcohol and I believe her.  It's just that
her entire behavior matches that of someone who's drunk off their butt."
     Ami giggled.  "Ish shill here," he said as she fussed with the back of the
robe.  "Wanna shee?"
     Leda blinked.  "Umm, I'll pass, thanks."  She turned to Mina.  "You think
we'll still be able to help Tolaris?"
     Mina sighed.  "I think so, but we'll need her cooperation to do it, and
right now she's got the mental capacity of Jell-O.  I think I've got an idea
but I'm still working on it."
     There was a sleepy yawn behind them.  "If it's raspberry Jell-O, save some
for me...." muttered Serena, still asleep.  She shifted positions and proceded
to snore softly.
     Leda blinked.  "Tell me that just didn't happen."
     Mina shrugged.  "You know Serena and food.  Come on, let's get Ami over to
her room so we can help Tolaris."
     "This should be fun,  Let's go, bubble-brain," she said as she took hold
of Ami's arm.  Mina grabbed the other arm and the two of them carefully led Ami
down the hall.  Ami didn't notice since she was preoccupied with a careful
examination of a broken fingernail.
     "You know," Leda said thoughtfully, "I hope I wasn't this bad when I got
drunk that one night."
     Mina blinked.  "You got drunk?  When was this?"
     "Oh, I'd say about twelve hours after I got dumped by my ex."
     Mina braced against the wall to keep Ami from falling down as she stumbled
over her own feet.  "Uh huh.  And do you remember anything from that time?"
     The brunette shook her head.  "No, and I'm beginning to think that was a
blessing.  I just remember hating life the next morning, and not just because
of Freddy."
     Ami giggled.  "Sund'rheart try to f'get good time shee had." she slurred.
     Leda turned a sickly shade of white.  "Mina, what exactly did she say?"
     Mina blinked.  "I could of sworn she said 'Thunderheart tried to forget
the good time she had', or something to that effect."  She blinked again as
Leda's complexion lost even more color.  "Leda, you okay?"
     "I'm fine.  Come on, let's go." she said quietly as she helped pick Ami up
off of the ground.
     "Right...." Mina said slowly, not convinced in the least.  She resolved to
talk to her about it later, then turned her attention to Ami to find out why
she started cooing to herself.  "Ah, so that's why Napoleon did it...."

		*		*		*		*
     
     Rei looked up from the computer and her jaw hit the floor.  "What happened
to her?" she said, her eyes wide with surprise.
     Mina made a face.  "Not sure, but for all intents and practical purposes,
she's drunk."
     "WHAT?!" chorused Rei and Darian.
     "Nosh sho loud," complained Ami.  She tried to stand up straight but kept
losing her balance and slumping against Leda.
     "Yeah, I'd say she's blitzed," muttered Darian.  He held out the crystal
rose to Mina.  "Well, here it is."
     "Thanks," said the blonde as she took the rose from him.  She reached into
the pocket of her robe and pulled out Ami's sapphire pendant.  She then waved
her hand in front of Ami's face until she got her attention.
     "Ami, do you remember what to do with these?" she said, carefully holding
out the rose and pendant.  Ami nodded her head violently and grabbed the rose,
ignoring the pendant completely.
     She carefully looked the crystal over and watched it sparkle in the light.
After a few seconds, she held the stem in one hand and proceded to tug on one
of the petals with her other hand.  "He lovesh me...." she said with a smile on
her face.  Mina sighed heavily and plucked the rose out of her grasp.
     "So much for that tactic.  Darian, I've got two questions for you.  First,
you're a college student, right?
     "Yeah...." he said, slightly wary of the next question.
     "Would this theory work: The best way to get a drunk person's cooperation
is to delude them into thinking they're in a particular situation where their
actions correspond to the level of cooperation desired?"
     Darian thought for a second, trying to translate Mina's psychological
statement into English.  "From what I've seen, yeah, but the more complex the
situation is, the harder it is for them to concentrate and to respond."
     Mina nodded.  "That's what I thought.  Okay, now everyone follow my lead
and play along."  She took a deep breath and turned to Ami.  "Doctor Mizuno?"
     Ami blinked.  "Doct'r M'zuno.... You mean me?"
     Mina nodded.  "Yes, Doctor.  We need your help."
     Ami giggled again, much to Leda's irritation.  "No' Doct'r M'zuno.  Esh
Doct'r Scherling.  Married, 'member?"
     "Of course, Doctor Sterling.  Sorry I forgot," Mina said, a slight blush
on her cheeks.  She remembered a conversation she and Ami once had where Ami
confessed that she wouldn't mind marrying Tolaris if he ever asked her.  Mina's
curiosity had turned the conversation down interesting paths, but right now she
didn't have the time to worry about what Ami might say about that night.
     "Doctor, Commander Sterling is in critical condition resulting from the
after-effects of his premature arrival on Earth.  I think I have diagnosed his
condition correctly, but I need your help with the cure.  Do you remember how
to do it?"
     Ami blinked and tried to focus her eyes on the prone figure in bed.  "I
need the shart, Nursh," she said to Rei, holding out her hand.
     Rei blinked in confusion before she saw Mina motioning to the computer she
was holding.  "Oh, the chart!  Of course, Doctor.  Here," she said as she gave
it to Ami.
     "He'sh going to need a mash... mash.... large energy boosh," she said as
she examined the readings.  "You shaid you have the nesheshary t'ings?"
     Mina nodded and held out the pendant and rose.  Ami dropped the computer
to grab the items, ignoring the crunch of the electronics as it hit the floor.
Once she had the items in her hands, she moved over to stand at Tolaris's side.
     Darian gave the damaged computer a strange look.  "I'll bet that's going
to be fun to try to fix."
     Ami turned around at the sound of his voice, looking for its source.  Her
eyes lit up as she saw who it was.  "Oh, Doct'r," she purred, "Do you shink you
could give me a hand wish thish?"
     Mina smiled at Darian's panicked look.  "Now, now, Doctor Sterling, you
know that Doctor Chiba has other patients to attend to, like the young blonde
girl in the next room.  You just go on ahead with this patient first."  Mina
watched as Darian nodded his thanks before bolting out of the room and down the
hall.
     Ami pouted.  "Oh, well."  She turned her attention back to Tolaris and
smiled.  "Rel... Re.... Calm down, C'mmand'r Scherling, I'll have you pashed up
in no time," she said, patting his arm.  She nestled the sapphire pendant in
the center of the crystal rose and concentrated briefly.
     The crystal rose started to glow with a bright golden color.  There was a
sharp crack as the pendant exploded upwards into a cloud of blue motes.  The
cloud drifted over to Tolaris and slowly settled over his body.  After several
seconds, the blue motes faded and the rose returned to transparency.
     "Okay, all done!" Ami said, bouncing lightly on her toes.  "Twelve hoursh
resht, then shee me in the morning," she told the semi-comatose form.  She then
turned to Mina.  "Okay, Nursh, who'sh next?"
     Rei blinked in surprise.  "You mean that's it?" she asked. 
     "As long as it worked," replied Mina.  She glanced at the computer still
lying on the floor.  "Unfortunately, I don't think we'll be able to tell right
away.  And as for you, Doctor Sterling, you've had a very long day today so its
off to the showers with you," she said as she took the crystal rose from Ami.
     There was a muffled groan from the bed as Tolaris did his best to sit up.
"Ay'cha navidshi," he muttered, holding his head gingerly.  He winced in pain
as he moved his still-bleeding hand, leaving a gray trail of blood.
     Ami frowned and walked back over to him.  "I shaid you should resht," she
said as she reached out and pushed him back down.  Her gaze caught the injured
hand and she blinked.  "You're hurt.... Nursh, I need shome gauze for thish."
     Mina nodded.  "Nurse Kino can do that.  Come on. you need to get some rest
as well, probably more than he does right now.  Leda, if you can take care of
his hand, Rei can keep an eye on him while I figure out what to do with Ami."
     Leda nodded silently as she left the room.  Mina waited until she was down
the hall before turning to Rei.  "Listen, I think Leda's got a problem but I'm
not sure what.  Could you also keep a discreet eye on her?"
     Rei nodded.  "Sure.  What do you think we should do with her?" she asked,
gesturing towards Ami.
     Mina smiled.  "I think I have an idea."  She turned and started to hustle
Ami out of the room and down the hall, then paused and gave Rei a soft smile.
"Let me warn you ahead of time.  If you hear Ami scream, ignore it.  If she's
still screaming after ten seconds, it means I need help.  And if you hear me
screaming, call an ambulance."  She turned and left, leaving behind a very
tired Dragoon and a very confused Rei.
     "Right," Rei said slowly.  She heard a loud groan behind her and she went
over to Tolaris.  "Commander Sterling?  You feeling any better?"
     Tolaris opened his eyes and looked at Rei.  It took him a full two seconds
to realize that it wasn't Ami who was bending over him.  "Who.... who are you?"
he said weakly.  "And where am I?"
     Rei smiled.  "My name is Rei, and I'm a friend of Ami's."
     Tolaris closed his eyes for a second.  "Rei.... I remember Ami telling me
about you.... Miss Mars, correct?"
     She blinked in surprise, then nodded.  "Yes.  You're on Earth right now."
     The Dragoon coughed.  "How.... How did I get here?"
     Rei shrugged.  "Actually, we were hoping you could tell us."
     Leda walked back into the room carrying a roll of gauze and several large
strips of adhesive medical tape.  "Decided to wake up, Commander?" she said as
she started to bandage his hand.
     Tolaris grunted as Leda's attentions sent a wave of pain through his hand.
"I haven't felt this bad in centuries.  And who might you be?"
     "Leda," she said as she finished her work.
     "Ah, yes.... Miss Jupiter, I believe.  Thank you for bandaging my hand.  I
didn't have the time to take care of it earlier before I was turned into a lawn
ornament."
     "You're welcome.  How'd your hand get cut like that, anyway?"
     "That was my fault," said Darian as he walked into the room.  "We weren't
on the best of terms when we met and we really had it out.  You doing okay?" he
asked Tolaris.
     "No, but thanks for asking," Tolaris said with a small frown.  "You must
be Darian, correct?"  Darian nodded and the Dragoon grunted softly.  "We need
to talk, but it can wait.  Where's Ami?"
     Rei coughed lightly.  "It's a long story...."
     Everyone jumped as they heard a high-pitched shriek coming from down the
hall.  Darian was about to run out into the hall when Rei grabbed his arm.
"Mina said to wait a few seconds first before rushing in.  I think she knows
what she's doing.  I hope," she added with a touch of concern.
     "I'm awake already, bitch, so you can let me out of here!" roared Ami from
the bathroom.  Darian looked shocked while Rei and Leda exchanged horrified
looks.  They knew that Ami only cussed when she was mad enough to kill someone.
     There was a flurry of motion and Mina burst into the room.  She skidded to
a halt and looked around frantically before her gaze settled on Darian.  "Hey,
you're tough and strong, right?  Hide me," she said as she ducked behind him.
     Leda groaned.  "Oh, great, here's were we all get killed...."
     Just then a very wet and very pissed off vampire burst into the room.  She
looked about before seeing Mina trying to hide behind Darian.  "You're in for
it now, Mina...." she growled as she advanced.
     "But I thought you liked cold water...." Mina said, trying to keep Darian
between her and certain doom.
     "Uhh, perhaps you should calm down before you...." Darian suggested before
Ami grabbed his shirt collar and tossed him aside like a poker chip.  Before he
even hit the floor, Ami had grabbed the front of Mina's robe with both hands
and pinned her against the wall.
     "You are going to explain to me, in great detail, why you just did that,"
Ami said.  Mina's eyes went wide at the sight of Ami's fangs hovering only a
few inches away from her face.
     "W-w-we needed to get your brain back in working order, and I thought that
since you acted like you were drunk that a suitable body-shock would unscramble
your mind," Mina stammered out.
     "So you threw me into an ice-cold shower?" Ami growled.
     "It worked, right?"
     Ami glared at her for a few seconds before releasing her.  "I'll get you
for this, just as soon as I think of something suitable."
     "A little vindictive, aren't we, love?" Tolaris said from the bed.
     Ami whirled around and promptly forgot all about revenge.  "Tolaris!" she
said as she rushed over to his side.  "You're alright!"  She threw her arms
around him and hugged him tightly.
     Rei reached down and helped Darian to his feet.  "You okay?" she said in a
quiet tone, trying not to attract Ami's attention.
     Darian nodded and suppressed a moan of pain.  "I can't believe how strong
she's gotten.  Are you okay, Mina?"
     "So.... That's what Death looks like...." Mina said, trembling slightly.
     Rei gave Mina a reassuring look.  "You're still breathing, so you can calm
down now.  Ami, I take it you know what happened to you?"
     Ami nodded.  "I was draining Serena when her aura decided I was something
that needed to be dealt with.  This is only a guess, but I think it did the
equivalent of shouting at the top of its lungs in my brain's synaptic ear, so
to speak.  The result was scrambled eggs for brains."  She shuddered.  "I can
remember what I did, but I have no clue as to why."
     Leda chuckled.  "And I was so looking forward to hearing your explanation
on why you turned your favorite nightgown into so much confetti."
     Ami made a face.  "You and me both.  I really liked that nightgown, too."
     Tolaris whispered something audible only to Ami and she blushed.  "No, it
was the light blue silk one.  That one was made of satin."
     "So I take it that's why our sigils start to glow?" Rei asked.
     Ami shrugged.  "Probably a residual effect from the aura-blast."
     Tolaris smiled at Ami and opened his mouth to say something but wound up
yawning instead.  "Excuse me," he said when he was finished.
     "Tired?" Ami asked.  Tolaris nodded and Ami kissed him.  "Okay, just let
me do a scan first, then we'll see what we can do about sleeping arrangements."
     "Uh, Ami?" Mina said cautiously.
     "What?" the vampire said in a flat tone.
     "You can't do a scan with your computer anymore."
     Ami blinked.  "Why not?"
     Mina gestured to the pile of silicon on the floor.  "You kinda dropped it
when you went for the rose."
     Ami looked at her computer for a second before carefully picking it up.
She shook it tentatively and her eyes widened as she heard something rattle
inside the hard casing.  "Oh, my...."  She opened it and tried to boot it up,
but gave up after she got six hardware errors in three seconds.
     She sighed and set it down on the windowsill.  "Looks like now would be a
good time to install a few upgrades while I'm fixing it.  Okay, we'll do it
like this:  Tolaris, do you feel like you're dying?"
     Tolaris shook his head.  "No, and believe me, I know what it feels like."
     "Then I guess its safe to say you'll live."
     "Thank you, Doctor Mizuno," Rei muttered under her breath.
     "Hush up, Rei," Ami said.  "Darian, how's Serena doing?"
     Darian rubbed a newly-acquired bruise.  "Well, I'm no doctor, but I think
she's fine.  She sounds fine, judging from the way she was snoring."
     "Good,  Okay, now that we're sure everyone is relatively alive and intact,
and seeing how it's.... ugh, one o'clock in the morning, we should all try to
get some sleep," Ami said.
     "Dibs on the couch," said Leda.
     "Ditto for the fireplace," chimed in Rei.
     Ami nodded.  "No problems with that.  You two go on ahead while we sort
out the rest.  Good night."
     There was a round of "good nights" before Leda and Rei left the room and
headed off, Leda to sleep on the couch and Rei to meditate in front of the
fireplace.
     "I'm going to head on home.  Talk to you guys later," Darian said as he
started walking towards the door.
     "You're not going anywhere, Darian.  Have you looked outside lately?" Ami
said, gesturing to the window.  "There's got to be at least a good foot of snow
out there, and it doesn't look like its going to let up anytime soon."
     Darian peered out the window and blinked in surprise.  "Okay.... So maybe
I'm not going anywhere.  Makes me glad I always keep a change of clothes in the
back of my jeep."
     Mina started thinking.  "Three rooms, and Serena's already asleep in one.
Darian and Tolaris get this one, and Ami and I will have to work out who gets
which room."
     Ami laughed quietly.  "No, it's going to be like this: You get your room,
Darian and Serena get Serena's room, and Tolaris and I get this room."  Three
sets of eyebrows rose up while Darian and Mina exchanged glances.
     "Ummm...." said Mina.
     Ami smiled at her.  "Oh, calm down.  Tolaris is too weak for me to try
anything with him, and Darian knows that if he touches Serena in the wrong way
that I'll drink all of his blood before I hand him his heart and something else
as well.  Understand, Darian?" she said sweetly.
     Darian turned as white as a sheet.  "Perfectly," he said in a small voice.
     Ami laughed again.  "Relax, Darian.  Just behave yourself and I won't have
to hurt you.  You're allowed to kiss her if she wants.  Now you go on and keep
Serena company while Mina and I have a bit of a discussion in her room."
     Now it was Mina's turn to pale as Darian exited the room and entered the
room Serena was sleeping in.  Ami gestured Mina into the hall and followed her
to Mina's room.  Once there, Ami quietly shut the door and turned to face her
friend.
     "Ok, it's payback time and here's how its going to happen: I've been doing
some thinking about how I drain people and the effects is has on them.  I think
I've come up with a way to induce the effects without having to drain any of
their blood, but I haven't had the chance to test it out."
     Mina nodded.  "So I'm to be a guinea pig, then."
     Ami smiled.  "Exactly.  If it doesn't work, you'll only lose a very small
amount of blood.  If it does work...."  She paused to smile in such a way as to
make Mina fear for her life.  "If it works, then your hormone level should go
through the roof.  Only problem is, you're sleeping alone tonight."
     Mina blinked.  "You would, wouldn't you?"
     "Yes, I would.  Shall we begin?" Ami said, then reached out and untied the
sash to Mina's robe.  She blinked in surprise when she discovered that Mina was
naked beneath the robe.  "You sleep in the nude or what?"
     "I was busy changing into my nightgown when Serena started yelling."  Mina
paused, a thoughtful look on her face.  "Now that you mention it, I don't think
I've ever tried sleeping nude before...."
     Ami giggled.  "I did once.  It was after Tolaris first made love to me,
and I only did it because I was too lazy to get out of bed and get dressed."
She gently pushed Mina down flat on the bed and leaned over her.  Her lips
gently kissed Mina's throat in search of a vein.  She found one and promptly
bit down.
     Ami had to battle her instincts as Mina's blood washed over her tongue.
She savored the taste, noting with amusement that she could taste a sizable
amount of fear in Mina's blood.  Fighting the urge to swallow and go for more,
she reversed the flow and carefully forced the blood back through the puncture
wounds and into Mina's veins.
     Mina's eyes widened as she realized what Ami was doing.  Ami's right, she
thought.  If this does work, I'll still feel the effects of being drained
without losing any blood.  Mina shuddered as she felt a wave of desire course
through her body.  She shuddered again as Ami reversed the flow, sending a
second wave of desire through her.
     Mina started to worry.  If this happens every time she changes the flow's
direction.... She involuntarily whimpered as yet another wave of desire washed
over her.  I'm in trouble, she thought as her nipples started to ache.
     "You've made your point, Ami, and I'm sorry I threw you into the cold
shower.  You can let go of me now," she said softly.  The pressure on her neck
and the raging passion in her bloodstream made it difficult for her to talk.
A wave of dread washed over her as she heard Ami chuckle softly to herself.
     The vampire lifted her head up from Mina's neck and gave her an evil grin.
"You're not screaming loud enough.  You must want more...." she said, then went
back to her task.  She clamped her hand over Mina's mouth just as the blonde
started to scream.

		*		*		*		*

     Darian entered the room and quietly closed the door.  His gaze fell on the
bed where Serena was sleeping, her nightgown still partly open.  She really is
quite beautiful, he thought, when she's not tripping or falling over anything.
     He sighed to himself as he looked around the room for a chair to sleep in.
Beats sleeping on the floor, and I'm not about to incur the vampire's wrath by
sleeping on the bed with Serena.  Not that I would mind, he thought, but I'm
not about to take any chances.
     He sighed again when he couldn't find a chair.  Oh, well, he thought as he
sat down against the wall farthest from the bed.  He quickly removed his shoes
and socks, placing them in a neat pile in the corner.  Now all I need is a
pillow and I'm set.
     Darian looked around for something suitable.  The pile of shredded blue
silk made him wary and nothing else seemed available.  He briefly considered
stealing a pillow from the bed, but Serena rolled over in her sleep and he
quickly dismissed that idea.
     So much for that thought.  Looks like I'll have to make-do.  He took off
his shirt and wadded it up into a ball before setting it on the floor.  He laid
down, using the shirt-ball as a make-shift pillow.  Not the best of pillows,
but it'll serve.  He closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
     "Wouldn't the bed be more comfortable, Darian?" said a soft voice.  Darian
jumped and quickly sat up.  Serena was watching him from the bed, still looking
partially asleep.
     "I didn't mean to wake you up," he said.
     Serena smiled.  "You didn't.  I'm not going to bother asking why you're
sleeping in here instead of elsewhere.  Not that I mind.  I don't see how you
can sleep on the floor.  It's all hard and cold while the bed is all soft and
warm, with pillows and all."
     "Umm...." was Darian's response.
     Her smile became softer.  "And I'm here as well...."
     "That's why I'm on the floor.  Sleeping in here was Ami's idea, but she
said that if anything happened she'd kill me in six different ways."
     Serena stretched and Darian couldn't help but notice the fact that the top
of her nightgown was still open.  She was briefly puzzled by his blush before
she realized her state of undress.
     Several lines of thought ran through her mind.  She weighed each one very
carefully before listening to the one she thought would be the most satisfying.
She reached down, finished unbuttoning her nightgown, took it off, and let it
fall to the floor, leaving her clad only in her bra and panties.
     She was about to say something to Darian when she noticed his eyes were in
serious danger of popping out.  That has got to hurt, she thought.  She took a
deep breath more for courage than effect and spoke.  "Darian?"
     It took Darian a few seconds to find his voice.  "Uhhh.... Yes?"
     "Come to bed," she said softly, hoping she knew what she was doing.
     Darian gulped and started to sweat.  "Umm.... is that wise?  I mean, the
idea sounds good.... really good.... but I happen to like my life and my blood
as they are."
     "Nothing is going to happen.  You are going to get into this bed with me,
give me a good-night kiss, wrap your arms around me, hug me close, and we are
going to fall asleep like that."  She blinked and wondered where she had gotten
the boldness from.
     Darian said nothing as he considered several factors.  He finally arrived
at a decision and got up off of the floor.  Serena moved over to make room as
he walked over to the bed and carefully stretched out on it, praying that he
hadn't miscalculated somewhere along the line.
     Serena reached down and drew the covers over them both.  She then hugged
Darian tightly.  "You don't know how much I've dreamed of falling asleep in
your arms," she said before she tilted her head up to kiss him.  Darian kissed
her back, wrapping his arms around her bare waist.
     Their kiss lasted for several seconds before they broke apart.  Serena
stretched again, then twisted around so that her back was to him.  She felt
Darian's lips brush the back of her neck and she shivered lightly.  "Mmmm, that
felt good," she purred as she melted into his embrace.
     Darian chuckled softly as he kissed her neck again.  "Good night, Serena."
     Serena was already starting to drift off to sleep again.  "Darian?"
     "Yes?"
     "If you could without getting killed, would you make love to me?"
     Darian froze as his mind shifted into overdrive.  "I.... we would have to
sit down and really talk about it first.  This is not something I would want us
to rush into," he said carefully.
     "But eventually you would, right?"
     Darian kissed her neck again.  "Eventually, yes."
     Serena moaned lightly at the contact.  "Thank you, Darian.  I figured that
since I was making a dream a reality tonight, I would need a new dream."  She
reached up and unhooked the front of her bra.  She then took his hand and held
it to her bare breast.
     Darian realized what she was up to and tried to pull away but she held his
hand in place with a grip of iron.  "Darian, I want to feel your touch, if only
for a little bit tonight.  Call it something I can take with me to my dreams,"
she said as she rubbed his hand across her nipple.
     He nodded in understanding and gently squeezed her flesh.  Serena moaned
lightly again and let go of his hand.  He continued to gently explore her for
a few seconds, feeling how soft and tender her breast was.  He felt her nipple
harden at his touch and decided that too much more would drive them both over
the edge.  With a final squeeze, he released her flesh and placed his hand back
on her smooth stomach.
     "Darian, I love you," Serena said as she fell asleep in his arms.
     Darian smiled and kissed her ear.  "I love you too, Serena."  He laid his
head back on the pillow and was soon lost in the world of dreams.  Neither of
them noticed the blue-haired vampire leaving the room as quietly as she had
entered.

		*		*		*		*

     Tolaris sleepily rolled over as he heard the bedroom door shut.  He looked
up to find Ami with a very smug look on her face.  "And what have you been up
to?" he asked.
     Ami gave him an innocent smile.  "What makes you think I've been up to
anything, dear?"  She gestured at his uniform.  "Do you always sleep in your
uniform or is this just a special occasion?"
     Tolaris blinked.  "No, I don't.  I just haven't had the time to undress
yet.  And I know you're up to something because you've got a wicked smile on
your face.  What'd you do to Mina?"
     "Oh, I just supercharged her hormone levels and made her sleep alone."
She bent down and tried to figure out how his boots were sealed shut.  "That,
and I told her that if she tried to enlist Leda's help tonight that I'd kill
her in the morning.  Ahh, here we go," she said as she released the latch.  "I
did tell you about her and Leda, right?"
     Tolaris nodded.  "I think you mentioned it before, but I thought that Leda
was still thinking about the idea."
     "She is," Ami said as she carefully removed his boots.  "But I figured
that Mina might be very persuasive, considering her situation."
     Tolaris chuckled.  "You're starting to let your darker side show by doing
things like that, you know."
     The vampire stopped tugging on his socks.  "You really think so?" she
asked softly.
     "Perhaps.  Maybe you should ask yourself what you would have done a year
ago if you were vampiric.  Do you think it would have crossed your mind to do
such a thing?"
     Ami seemed to wilt slightly.  "No," she admitted.  She finished her task
and sat down next to Tolaris.  "So how exactly are you feeling?" she asked as
she reached out and started to unbutton his tunic.
     "I haven't felt this bad since the battle of Mintaka.  There are eight
layers in my skin, and I swear I can feel every one of them ache.  My muscles
feel as mobile as rocks, the slash on my hand itches like crazy, my stomach
feels like its trying to digest a live rakketh, and worst of all, I've got a
migraine."
     Ami giggled as she finished unbuttoning his tunic.  "And say you're sure
you'll live?"
     The Dragoon smiled.  "As much as I wish otherwise at this instant, yes."
     "That bad, hmm?"
     "You'd be surprised."  He shifted slightly as Ami started to pull his arms
through the tunic sleeves.
     "So what happened at the battle of Mintaka?" Ami asked.  She almost jumped
at how fast Tolaris's mood darkened.  "Dear, you alright?"
     "I'd rather not talk about Mintaka right now, if you don't mind.  I'll
tell you one of these days, though, when I'm sure I can do it without cringing
at the memories.  Let's just say that I was critically wounded in several
different places."
     Ami paused to think, trying to decide if she should push the issue to
answer a question that had been on her mind for months.  "Tolaris, if you don't
mind my asking, is it because of your injuries at Mintaka why you can't have
any children?" she asked cautiously.
     It was several seconds before he spoke.  "Yes.  My abdomen was cratered by
plasma bolt.  What wasn't burned outright was damaged because of residual
radiation.  The doctors said all my injuries would heal in time except that I
would be sterile."
     Ami laid her head on his bare chest and silently hugged him.  She looked
up at him when she felt his chest quiver with laughter.  "What is it?"
     The Dragoon smiled ironically.  "The idea of being sterile didn't bother
me nearly enough as the fact that I couldn't use the bathroom correctly for
three months."
     Ami was torn between wanting to laugh with him and wanting to cringe.  She
finally settled on laughing very quietly and went back to her task of removing
his tunic.  She had just gotten it off when he made a face and sat up.
     "What, did I scratch you or something?" Ami asked with concern.
     Tolaris shook his head.  "Nope.  It's just that duty calls," he said as he
slowly got out of bed.  "Umm, where's the bathroom?"
     Ami blinked in confusion before it registered.  She burst into a fit of
giggles and told him.  She watched as he painfully made his way out of the room
and down the hall.
     There was a soft noise at the door and Rei stuck her head in.  "Hey, why
is he up and walking?  I thought you said he needed lots of rest."
     Ami shrugged.  "When you have to go, you have to go."
     "Ah," Rei said, then glanced down the hallway.  "You know, maybe it's a
good thing that Leda's asleep right now.  If she saw Tolaris walking around
with his shirt off like that, she'd start some serious drooling."
     Ami smirked.  "Jealous, Rei?"
     Rei thought for a second.  "To be honest, yes.  He's a major hunk, Ami,
and if you know what's best for you, you won't let him get away."
     The vampire smiled knowingly.  "Trust me, I don't intend to."
     "So my fate is already sealed, eh?" came the deep voice from behind Rei.
     Rei jumped and turned around, blushing furiously.  "Ummm...." was all she
could say.
     Tolaris chuckled and laid a hand on her shoulder.  "I think I'll take your
comment as a compliment, if you don't mind."  He blinked and looked at her more
closely.  "Your aura is unusually strong," he said.
     Both Rei and Ami blinked.  "I've spent most of my life training to be a
Shinto priestess," Rei said.  "It's a deeply involved spiritual process.  That
might have something to do with it."
     "Hmmm.... a spiritual priestess.  Rei, would you object to a spiritual
probe of sorts to see what kind of potential you have?" the Dragoon asked.
     Rei shrugged.  "I don't see why not."
     Tolaris nodded and focused his spirit.  "Just relax and do your best to
open your mind and spirit."  He let his spirit flow out through his fingertips
to merge with Rei's spirit.  He was amazed at the amount of raw power available
for her to use should she learn to tap it.
     The Dragoon let his concentration return to the present.  "Rei, I've been
practicing my spiritual arts for a long time now and have built my power levels
up to a considerable amount.  Right now, you've got more than triple my power
levels to start with, and that's all raw potential."
     Rei blinked.  "I take it that's good?"
     "That's beyond good.  With the right training, you could very well become
a neo-goddess.  Well, maybe not that powerful, but you would still possess
powers beyond your immediate comprehension."
     Rei looked stunned.  "I don't think I'm quite following you here.  You're
saying I could become super-powerful?"
     Tolaris nodded.  "Yes.  For example, I've learned to focus my spiritual
energies in such a way as to allow me to run incredibly fast, almost as fast as
the sound barrier.  Granted I can't do it for very long, but I can still do it.
With the right training you could easily do the same and probably go twice as
fast."
     Ami reached out and grabbed Rei as she started to sway.  "Come on, Rei,
stay with us here."  Rei shook her head rapidly to clear the shock and stood
up straight.
     "Ummm...." was all her brain could manage to say.
     "Rei, go lie down and meditate for awhile.  We'll talk about this later
when the shock's worn off.  If you want, I can give you a simple practice
exercise to help keep you occupied," Tolaris said.
     Rei nodded and Tolaris told her to imagine an itch on one of her fingers.
She was supposed to concentrate until she could actually feel the itch as if
it really was there.  She was then to imagine the itch moving across various
portions of her body.
     "It'll take a while before you can really make it work," he told her, "But
when you can do it, I'll teach you the next phase of the exercise.  Think you
can handle it?"  She nodded and he smiled.  "Good.  Now off to bed with you.
We'll continue this discussion at a later date.  Good night, Rei."
     Rei smiled.  "Good night, you two.  And thanks, Tolaris," she said, then
wandered back into the living room.
     Ami looked at Tolaris.  "She really has that kind of power?" she asked.
     Tolaris nodded as he made his way back over to the bed.  "Yes, she does.
She will need to find an experienced teacher, though, for her to become really
strong within her lifetime.  Remember, I've had seven hundred years to practice
the spiritual arts, and I doubt she'll live past a hundred.  Unless one of the
first things she learns is how to control the rate of decay in her body."
     Ami waited until he had stretched out on the bed before sitting down next
to him.  "It's funny," she said.  "I always thought that spiritual meditations
and such were a bunch of nonsense until I saw one of her fire-readings.  Then I
was convinced that there had to be something to it, but I wasn't quite sure
sure what."
     The Dragoon chuckled.  "Trust me, it's very real."  He suddenly yawned and
made a face.  "Love, can we talk about this later?  I'm rather tired and the
thought of sleeping sounds appealing."
     Ami smiled and stood up.  Moving slow enough to catch Tolaris's attention,
she untied the robe and let it fall to the floor, leaving her clad only in her
panties.  "Sure I can't convince you to stay up for just a while longer?" she
said seductively as she stretched out next to him.
     The Dragoon's eyebrows arched up almost to his hairline.  "Mmmm, you do
know how to put up a convincing argument, my love.  But I'm afraid I'll have to
pass for tonight.  Sorry," he added as Ami started to pout slightly, "But I
simply don't have the energy for anything.  Besides, I believe I'm under orders
to get at least twelve hours rest."
     Ami blinked.  "Orders?"
     "Of course, Doctor Sterling.  Don't you remember?"
     Ami blushed a deep shade of red.  "Umm...."
     Tolaris laughed.  "Do I want to hear the explanation for that one?"
     Ami closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  "Tolaris, I.... I remember
telling Mina that if you ever asked, I would marry you."
     Tolaris blinked in surprise.  "You would be my lifemate?" he asked softly.
She nodded and he blinked again.  "I.... will have to consider this matter
very carefully.  Do you know what you are asking?"
     "Most likely not, but I think we can come to an understanding."
     The Dragoon said nothing as Ami drew the blankets over them both.  He
reached out and embraced her, hugging her close and kissing the tip of her ear.
"You've given me much to think about, Ami, but right now I'm too tired to try
to think this one over.  Can we talk about it some other time?"
     "Of course," she said, slightly unsure of the situation.
     "Then sleep well, my love," he said.  He kissed the back of her neck and
settled down to sleep.  It wasn't more than a minute before his body's needs
overrode his brain's desires and he fell into a deep, restful slumber.
     Ami didn't want to sleep.  She knew that she would have the nightmare once
she fell asleep.  Please don't let it happen tonight, she prayed.  She soon
slipped into a similar state of sleep, still embracing the slumbering form of
her true love.
     Outside, the night's quiet was broken only by the sound of falling snow.

		*		*		*		*

     The hunter-scout made no noise as it walked across the snow towards the
cabin, intent on its mission.  Ordinarily such a mission would have been given
to someone with a fully sentient brain, but the computer crystal implanted in
it's head made it's skills uniquely qualified.
     Those same skills had allowed it to track the mysterious aura-pulse to its
source.  Even as it concentrated on approaching the cabin undetected, the tiny
crystal reviewed its mission and assigned priorities to the various parameters.
     <Priority One: Remain functional at all costs.  Priority Two: Remain
undetected.  Priority Three: Neutralize vampiric life-form.  Priority Four:
Neutralize human life-forms after vampiric life-form is neutralized.>
     The hunter-scout's mind approved the mission priorities and prepared to
execute it's mission.  It stopped a few feet from the cabin door and laid down
in the snow, its motionless body indistinguishable from the snow around it.  It
blinked its eyes and switched to thermographic vision.
     Despite the blindspot created by the fireplace, the hunter-scout could
make out six heat traces.  The fact didn't overly concern it.  It had been told
that there would be five life-forms present, with the remote possibility of a
sixth being present as well.
     A sub-routine was activated in the crystal.  <Past analysis indicates that
one of the targets prefers to keep a large fire source within immediate range
of her,> it told the hunter-scout mind.  <Suggested course of action: Detailed
thermal scan of the area in close proximity to fire.>
     It mentally nodded and looked closely at the glaring white spot.  It ran
several filters over its vision before it could make out the heat trace of the
life-form inside.  The hunter-scout mind congratulated itself on successfully
locating a camouflaged target.
     <Warning: Target total exceeded projected amount.  Suggestion: Continue
mission with extreme caution.>  It wasn't about to ignore the suggestion of
caution.  It immediately tried to do a motion-sensor sweep of the area, but the
thousands of moving snowflakes effectively blocked the scan.
     Infrared and ultraviolet scans showed no life-forms in the immediate area
except for the seven targets.  Satisfied that nothing currently posed a threat
to it, it started to walk around the cabin, seeking to identify which target
was which.
     It stopped outside the section where the lone life-form was.  Lying down
in the snow, it focused its meager psionic powers to try to examine the target.
The crystal had been designed to interface with its powers and was able to
instantly analyze the raw data it received.
     <Target One: Human female, bio-index 99%, respiration above normal, pulse
above normal.  Beginning alpha scan.>  The hunter-scout told the crystal to
cancel the brain scan and instead do a blood analysis.  It knew from the bio-
index that she wasn't it's primary target.  However, something was wrong with
her and it wanted to know what.
     The crystal analyzed her blood as best it could, but it could find nothing
in its limited databanks to describe her current condition.  <Status: Unknown,
probability of injury is 1.4%.  Theory: Target One is in the middle of her
mating cycle.  Theory based on elevated levels of both primary and secondary
hormones, increased adrenaline, and increased synaptic activity.>
     The hunter-scout smiled to itself knowingly,  It perfectly understood the
concept of being stuck in the middle of a mating cycle with no one around to
mate with.  It decided that Target One would pose little or no threat to it.
     It got up and walked further down the edge of the cabin until it came to
the section where two more life-forms were.  Again it laid down in the snow and
extended its mental powers, concentrating on the target on the right.
     <Target Two: Human male, bio-index 100%, respiration normal, pulse normal.
Beginning alpha scan.... Danger: Alpha scan pattern match to known life-form.>
     The hunter-scout blinked in surprise and asked for the identification of
the target.  It didn't think that they had alpha scan patterns for many humans.
     <Target Two identified as Prince Darian.>
     It started to sweat.  It might not be fully sentient or very intelligent,
but it knew trouble when it found it.  Prince Darian meant Tuxedo Mask, and
having Tuxedo Mask around usually meant that the Sailor Scouts were around.
In a burst of intelligence unnatural to most of its kind, it jumped to a
conclusion: that the other human life-form targets were the Sailor Scouts.
     The hunter-scout was torn between staying around to fulfill its mission
and running for its life.  It reviewed its priorities and decided that it would
neutralize the human targets if and only if it could do so while remaining
unnoticed.  Otherwise it'd be too vulnerable to injury and that would violate
its first priority.
     <Projection: Based on past observations of Prince Darian's behavior, it is
highly probable that Target Three is Sailor Moon.  Suggestion: Make no attempt
to engage.  Suggestion: Attempt to scan and record Target Three's vital signs
for future intelligence.>
     The hunter-scout agreed with the assessment and concentrated his psionic
powers on scanning the target on the left.
     <Target Three: Human female. tentative identification as Sailor Moon, bio-
index 100%, average respiration, average pulse.  Beginning alpha scan....>  The
crystal proceded to analyze and record everything it could about the target.
When it was finished, it recorded the target's current thermal image and told
the hunter-scout to proceed to the next target.
     It walked along the edge of the cabin until it reached the other section
with two occupants.  It sat down in the snow and proceded to scan the target
on the left.
     <Target Four: Human female, bio-index 74%, normal respiration, abnormal
pulse.  Beginning alpha scan.... Warning: Unable to differentiate brain waves.
Beginning blood analysis.... Warning: Excessive concentration of foreign blood
cells in bloodstream.  Projection: Vampiric life-form.>
     It smiled to itself.  It had found its primary target, and now it was
ready to complete its mission.  It suddenly remembered the human targets and
their probable identities, and decided that it would be best to scan the other
life-form in the room.
     <Target Five: Denizen male, bio-index 100%, normal respiration, normal
pulse.  Beginning alpha scan.... Danger: Alpha scan pattern match to known
life-form.>
     The hunter-scout froze in absolute fear.  The life-form lying next to the
vampire was from the Negaverse.  It considered the possibility of its mission
being compromised and quickly developed several contingencies.  It didn't want
to know, but it asked for an identification anyway.
     <Target Five identified as Dragoon Commander Tolaris.>
     Several decisions ran through its feeble mind at once.  It finally sorted
out its options and chose the one that it felt most comfortable with.  It got
to its feet and retracted its steps carefully, trying not to leave any more
tracks than necessary.  It knew that the snow would cover any tracks it made
within minutes, but it didn't want to take any chances.
     It had failed at its hunting mission, but it felt that its success at its
scouting mission would more than make up.  Armed with the information about the
cabin's occupants, it returned to its point of origin as fast as it could while
still remaining undetected.

		*		*		*		*

     Serena woke up and was immediately blinded by the morning sunlight coming
through the window.  She reflexively rolled over and promptly bumped heads with
the still-sleeping Darian.
     There was a soft grunt and Darian opened his eyes.  "Good morning to you
too, meatball head," he muttered, wincing in pain.
     She blushed and kissed him.  "Sorry about that," she said sleepily.  She
scooted back and stretched, making sure she didn't hit him again.  It took her
a second to realize that Darian was looking at her and blushing an interesting
shade of red.  It took her another second to realize that her bra was still
open and that she was in a rather provocative position.
     Serena's hands darted down to her chest to fasten her bra.  She halted her
movements when Darian reached out and ran his fingertips along the side of her
neck.  She closed her eyes as the sensation sent a small shiver through her.
     "Serena, have I ever told you just how beautiful you are?" Darian said
quietly as he stroked the soft skin of her throat.
     She opened her eyes and found him smiling at her.  "Darian...." she said
softly, her cheeks turning a rosy shade of pink.
     "You really are, Serena...." he said.  He wrapped his other hand around
her waist and pulled her closer, dipping his head down to gently kiss her neck.
She whimpered as the contact sent another shiver through her.  She reached out
and started to massage the back of his neck.
     "Darian...." she whispered as she started to tremble with desire.  Darian
continued to softly kiss her throat as he slid his hand beneath her bra to cup
her breast.  She moaned at his touch and whispered his name again.  She closed
her eyes and let the strange sensations of arousal take her.
     She opened her eyes when Darian abruptly pulled back and cast a suspicious
glance around the room.  "Darian, what is it?" she asked with concern.
     He blinked and shook his head.  "Nothing, really,  It's just that for a 
moment it felt as if someone else was in the room watching us."
     Serena looked around the room.  "There's nothing here."
     "You mean you don't see me?" said a surprised voice.
     Serena blinked and screamed as she suddenly saw Ami leaning against the
far wall.  Darian also yelped in surprise and shock, almost falling out of the
bed.  Serena quickly grabbed the sheets and yanked them up to her chin, her
cheeks burning a bright red.
     "Where did you come from?!" the blonde squealed.
     Ami blinked.  "I've been standing here for the past three mintues.  You
honestly didn't see me?" she asked.
     Darian nodded, visibly shaken.  "No, we didn't, and I know I would have
seen you earlier if you were here.  How did you do that?"
     The vampire spread her hands and shrugged.  "I don't know.... I mean, I
was just standing here.... Wait a second.... I was hoping that you wouldn't
notice my presence while I was seeing what you two were up to.... And I think
I know what YOU were up to," she added, glaring at Darian.
     Darian turned as white as the bedsheets.  "It's not what you think...." he
started to say.
     "That doesn't matter," Ami interrupted.  "What matters is that I thought I
made it quite clear to you that you weren't supposed to touch her."
     "Ami, did you mention anything about the morning?" Serena asked.
     Ami blinked.  "What?"
     Serena smiled.  "I was just asking if you had said anything about what he
was allowed to do in the morning."
     "Which, if I recall, you said nothing about," Darian said cautiously.
     The vampire was at a loss for words.  Several thoughts ran through her
brain at once, ranging from letting them finish to fulfilling her promise to
simply killing them both.  She sighed heavily and settled on leaving them alive
but watched.
     "Oh, alright.  I'll let you live, Darian, but I won't be so forgiving next
time.  Anyway, now that you two are up, I was going to tell you that Leda has
breakfast ready."
     Darian breathed a sigh of relief.  His sigh was short-lived as Serena
suddenly bolted up into a sitting position, dragging the sheets with her and
giving him a minor friction burn.
     "Ooh, what's for breakfast?" the blonde drooled, her eyes shining.
     Ami laughed.  "Nothing fancy, I'm afraid.  Oatmeal, eggs, bacon, toast,
and various juices.  Oh, and hot chocolate for whomever wants it."
     Serena smiled and was about to jump out of bed when she remembered her
state of undress.  "Umm, Ami?  Would you mind if we had a chance to get dressed
first?" she asked, blushing furiously once again.
     "I'm not sure.  Can I trust you two alone for a few minutes?" she asked,
giving Darian a meaningful glare.
     Darian opened his mouth to reply but Serena cut him off.  "Oh, go away,
Ami.  Just because you couldn't cuddle up with Tolaris last night doesn't mean
you have to make sure no one else can.  We'll be out in a few minutes."
     Ami's blue eyes became impossibly wide as Serena's statement registered.
Darian noted that if she seemed surprised before, she seemed absolutely floored
now.  He watched in interest as several emotions passed before her eyes.  She
blinked as something clicked into place, then glared at them both.  With a
derisive snort, she spun on her heel and stalked out of the room, closing the
door behind her.
     "Somehow, I don't think that went over well," he said to Serena.
     Serena shrugged.  "Her problem," she said as she straightened her bra and
rehooked it.  She climbed out of bed and started to hunt for her nightgown.
     "It's going to be our problem if she really gets pissed off at us."
     "But she won't do anything," she replied.  "Remember, she doesn't have
much room to talk about dealing with one's boyfriend."
     Darian paused in mid-stretch.  "She doesn't?" he asked in amazement.
     Serena blinked and realized that no one had ever told Darian.  "Umm...."
     He laughed.  "Out with it, meatball head.  What's up between those two?
Aside from being in love, that is."
     She blushed.  "Well, let's just say that Ami and Tolaris know each other
quite well...."
     Darian chuckled to himself.  "I think I know what you mean.  I'll have to
admit that I thought Ami would be too young for that, but I think she's smart
enough to know what she's doing."
     Serena smiled and tossed Darian his shirt.  "So do we.  Now get dressed so
we can go eat breakfast.  I'm hungry."
     "You're always hungry."
     She shrugged as she put her nightgown on.  "Well, I'm a growing girl and I
need lots of food."
     Darian stood up and walked over to her, still holding his shirt in one
hand.  "And you're growing up quite nicely," he said as he kissed her.
     She blushed and ran her hand over his chest.  "You seem to be doing pretty
good yourself," she said with a soft smile.  She stood up on her tiptoes to
kiss his cheek.  "Let's go before Ami gets suspicious again."
     "Too late," said the vampire.
     Both Serena and Darian yelped in surprise as Ami suddenly became visible.
"How do you keep doing that?!" Serena yelled, clutching her chest and trying to
slow her breathing.  Darian was busy trying to keep breathing to worry about
slowing it down.
     Ami's expression grew thoughtful.  "All I'm doing is concentrating on not
being noticed."  She starting thinking, only half noticing Darian putting his
shirt on.  "Would you two mind if we did a few simple experiments?"
     Serena made a face.  "Sure, but make it quick.  I wanna eat."
     Ami laughed.  "Ok.  Just tell me when you can't see me anymore."  Darian
and Serena nodded.  After a few seconds, Ami suddenly vanished without warning.
     "Hey!" exclaimed Serena.  "I can't see you anymore!"
     "Same here," said Darian, a surprised look on his face.
     "But I haven't moved," said Ami's voice from apparently thin air.  "Now
tell me when you can see me."
     "Ok, you're visible," said Darian after a few seconds.
     "No, she's not," protested Serena.
     Darian blinked.  "You mean I can see her and you can't?"
     "No.... Oh, now I can see you, Ami."
     The now-visible vampire smiled.  "Ahh, so that's how it works.  It's not
making myself invisible, it's making the other person not see me."
     Serena blinked.  "What?"
     Ami smiled again.  "I think it's part of my hypnotic powers.  I'm making
you forget you see me, so I appear invisible to you.  But to everyone else I'm
still visible.  Very interesting...."
     She was interrupted by the sound of Serena's stomach growling loudly.  The
blonde blinked and blushed a medium shade of pink.  "Ummm, excuse me...."
     Ami and Darian laughed.  "Come on, meatball head, let's get breakfast
before your stomach starts an earthquake," Darian said.
     Serena pouted.  "I'm not that bad."  She paused as her stomach rumbled to
itself again.  "Well...."

		*		*		*		*

     Half an hour later, everyone except Mina were in the cabin's small dining
room talking about the Sailor Scout's venture into the Negaverse to do battle
with Queen Beryl.  Serena was doing most of the talking with Rei and Ami adding
or correcting the details as needed.  Leda was uncharacteristically silent and
appeared to be content to listen.
     "...And then all of a sudden we found ourselves in the middle of an arctic
wasteland," Serena was saying between mouthfuls of oatmeal.
     "We think it was somewhere in Greenland," Ami said.
     Tolaris smiled and sipped his hot chocolate.  Cocoa was a new experience
to him and he found the taste to be quite pleasing.  "They call a barren ice
plain Greenland?" the Dragoon asked.
     Serena shrugged.  "Hey, blame the Vikings.  They named it, not us."
     Tolaris dismissed the matter.   "Anyway.  I take it Queen Beryl had a warm
welcome waiting for you girls?"
     Rei snorted.  "We wish.  They called themselves the Gloom 'N Doom Girls."
     Tolaris choked and spewed hot chocolate, somehow managing to miss hitting
Leda sitting across from him.  He gratefully accepted a napkin from Ami and
wiped up most of the mess, still coughing.  "She sent the Girls?" he said when
he could breathe properly.
     "Ohh, yes," said Serena with a sour look on her face.  "And trust us, the
five of them showed the five of us just how they got their name."
     Tolaris blinked.  "All five of them at once?  Just how did you manage to
survive?"
     Ami smiled softly.  "Actually, only Serena survived.  The rest of us were
killed in various gruesome ways."
     Both Tolaris and Darian looked severely shaken.  "You were killed?" Darian
asked Rei.  "But.... how is it that you're alive now?"
     Rei shrugged.  "We're still working on that.  The best we can come up with
is that the Imperium Silver Crystal resurrected us."
     "What happened?" Tolaris asked, still rattled.
     Serena took a large swallow of her hot chocolate and took a deep breath.
"Well, first they introduced themselves, then promptly burrowed under the ice.
Next thing we know, four of them have Jupiter wrapped up in some sort of vine
type attack."
     Leda shuddered at the memory.  "You have no idea how badly those things
hurt."
     "Anyway," continued Serena, "She got pissed off and summoned her Jupiter
Thunder.  But because they were all connected by the vines, they all got
electrocuted.  It fried one of the Girls but also turned Jupiter into a Crispy
Scout."
     Tolaris and Darian both looked at Leda.  The brunette merely smiled back
at them.  "Stupid move on my part and I paid for it.  I don't remember much
after that until I heard Serena's voice calling me back somehow."
     Darian cringed.  "Ouch.  So what happened next?"
     Ami coughed.  "What happened next was a pillar of ice appeared beneath my
feet.  Before I could blink, I was thirty feet off the ground and had two of
those Gloom Girls in my face.  I'm trying to forget what happened next."
     "You were pushed off, but you grabbed one of the Girls as you fell." Rei
said with a shudder.  "I don't think I'll ever forget the sound of your neck
snapping like a twig as you landed wrong."
     Tolaris blinked.  "Did you get her?" he asked.
     Ami smiled weakly.  "I did my best to use her as a cushion.  Obviously it
didn't work too well."
     "And it wasn't pretty, either," Serena said with disgust.  "I watched you
both go squish and lost my breakfast."
     Darian looked at his half-eaten bowl of oatmeal and made a face.  "Thanks
for sharing that with us, meatball head."  Serena stuck her tongue out at him
and he laughed.  "Maybe later," he said with an evil grin.
     Serena blinked and put her tongue back in her mouth.  "Okay...." she said
slowly, trying to figure out what he was talking about.  Her train of thought
was interrupted by Mina walking into the room.
     Everyone turned to look at her and jaws dropped.  She looked like she had
spent the night sleeping in a hurricane.  Her long blonde hair, usually seeming
to gracefully flow down her back, was a mass of snarls and tangles.  Her robe
was rumpled and even her slippers looked bent out of shape.  Her blue eyes were
dull and bloodshot, glaring at whatever happened to move.
     "Ami, could I have a word with you, please?" she said in a silken voice
that seemed totally out of place for her current condition.
     Ami felt a subtle chill creep down her spine as she stood up and walked
over to where Mina was standing.  "Umm, you feeling okay?" she asked.
     Mina grabbed Ami and pushed her against the wall.  Her hand twitched, and 
a long, slender stiletto slid out of her robe and into her palm.  With a snarl,
she jerked the blade forward, embedding the tip in Ami's chest.
     Ami gasped sharply and immediately became vampiric.  There was a brief
scramble as everyone jumped up from the table.  Tolaris was about ready to dash
forward when Darian blocked his way with an arm.
     "Let them be for a second," Darian said in a low voice.  The Dragoon shot
him a sharp look but stayed in place.
     "Listen carefully, vampire, because I'm only going to say this once," Mina
hissed.  "You put me through Hell last night and I'm not going to let you do it
again.  If you EVER use your powers against me or anyone else with malicious
intent again, I swear by Venus I'll skewer your heart like a steak kabob and
we'll see if the stake-through-the-heart routine works for Negaverse vampires.
I'm not the vampire hunter my great-grandmother was, but that could change very
easily.  Understand?"
     Ami blinked away the tears of pain and looked into Mina's eyes.  What she
saw was more than enough to convince her that Mina would do exactly as she said
she would do.  "I understand, Mina," she said.  She could feel the blood seep
out of the wound and soak her bra.
     Mina seemed satisfied and withdrew the blade, ignoring the blood coating
the stainless steel tip.  She turned and started walking towards the table,
carefully putting the stiletto back in the special sheath on her arm.
     She felt a hand grab her wrist with the strength of steel.  Mina was about
to turn around when she felt Ami's other hand holding her shoulder, keeping her
immobile.  It suddenly occurred to Mina that perhaps she misjudged Ami's
character by turning her back on her.  She felt Ami's lips brush her ear as the
vampire spoke.
     "While we're on the subject of my demise, let me make it understood that
should you feel it necessary to kill me, you will only get once chance.  If I
happen to live after your attempt, I will personally send you to your grave."
     Mina smiled.  "Of course.  That's one of the drawbacks to trying to kill a
vampire.  If you behave, I won't have any reason to kill you and you won't need
to try to kill me."  She heard a frantic commotion at the table but she ignored
it to concentrate on her current situation.
     Ami laughed quietly.  "So I take it we understand each other?"
     Mina was about to reply when Ami suddenly made a high-pitched noise and 
stumbled back.  She turned around to see what was wrong with Ami when she heard
Rei's voice from across the room.
     "Mina, get back!"
     The blonde looked at Rei and blinked in surprise.  Rei was standing up
from the table with one of her spiritual wards in her hand.  "Mina, back away
from her while this thing still works."
     "Rei, what have you done?" Tolaris growled.
     "I'm using a specially crafted vampire charm.  It should paralyze her for
a few minutes," was the response.
     Ami closed her eyes and shuddered in pain.  "Rei.... Please.... turn....
it.... off...." she said between clenched fangs.
     "So you can go after Mina again?  Yeah, right."
     Mina glared at the spiritual neophyte.  "Rei."
     Rei blinked.  "You've got to be kidding."
     "You're hurting her, Rei.  Turn it off."
     "But she was going to hurt you...!"
     "I'm going to hurt you if you don't turn it off now!" Mina snapped.
     Rei muttered something acidic and deactivated the ward.  Immediately Ami
slumped to the ground, whimpering softly.  Tolaris ran across to her side and
was going to kneel down when Mina stopped him.
     "Stay back until she's fully aware of her surroundings.  We don't need her
attacking you in search of blood and throwing up again when she gets poisoned."
Mina said softly.
     "Will someone explain to me what's going on?" Serena said, highly upset at
the recent turn of events.
     "In just a bit," Mina said,  She cautiously bent over Ami, making sure she
would have ample warning if the vampire made any sudden moves.  "Ami, speak to
me.  Are you alright?"
     Ami whimpered again and opened her eyes.  "Head.... hurts...." she said
weakly.  She blinked several times and managed to focus her gaze on Mina.  She
coughed twice before she could speak again.  "What.... What did you do?"
     "Talk to Rei.  She used one of her wards on you," Mina said flatly.
     "Ami, are you okay?" Tolaris said, kneeling down and stroking her gently.
     "I will be as soon as my blood stops burning," Ami said with a weak smile.
     Mina left Tolaris alone to comfort Ami and walked over to the table.  She
sat down and grabbed the unused plate that had been left for her.  "Do we have
any coffee?" she asked.
     Everyone just stared at her calmness.  She blinked and ran her fingers
through her hair.  "I know I look like Hell, but you don't have to stare," she
said pointedly.
     "Mina, what is going on?" Darian said slowly.
     Mina shrugged.  "Not much.  Ami's been getting an attitude as of late and
I just straightened it out.  I don't think anyone will have to worry about her
doing stuff like she did last night anymore.  Could someone pass me the toast?"
     Serena slid the plate across the table.  "But what was that talk about
killing each other?  And what about that knife you're wearing?" she said.
     Mina smiled.  "What, this?"  She flicked her wrist and the stiletto slid
into her palm.  She picked up a napkin and wiped the blood off the tip before
flipping the weapon into the air.  She caught it by the blade and offered it
hilt-first to Serena.  "This is something my grandmother gave to me when I was
a child."
     Rei blinked.  "Your grandmother gave you a blade when you were a child?!"
she said incrediously.  "That's unbelievable!"
     "About as unbelievable as giving a four-year-old her first fire meditation
lesson," Mina replied.  "I didn't get that until I was seven, and I had to
swear on my honor that I would only use it against vampires."
     Ami and Tolaris sat down next to her, both giving her stunned looks.  Rei
glared at Ami and casually let her hand stray to the dormant vampire ward on
the table.  Serena looked up at Ami in shock as she passed the stiletto over to
Leda.
     "Mina?" Ami said softly.  "How long have you been carrying that blade with
you?"
     "I've always kept it in my dresser drawer, and if I go anywhere for any
great length of time, I bring it with me.  I've only started actually wearing
it since that one battle where you eviscerated that Negaverse warrior.  It was
three weeks after you became vampiric, remember?"
     Ami nodded sullenly.  "I remember.  Why did you start wearing it then?"
     Mina put down her toast and looked Ami straight in the eye.  "Because I
realized at that point that you could go off at any time without any control
over your actions.... or who your targets were.  You are a dear friend to me,
Ami, but I cannot allow you to hurt anyone if you lose control of yourself."
     Ami seemed to wither in her chair and she blinked back tears.  "Mina....
That hurts more than any dagger you could have stabbed me with...." she said.
     Mina reached out and accepted the stiletto from Leda.  Putting it back in
her arm sheath, she gave Ami an apologetic look.  "I'm sorry, Ami, but that's
the way it has to be.  We understand each other, right?"
     Tolaris put his arm around Ami's shoulders and comforted her.  The vampire
nodded slowly to Mina.  "Yes, we do.  Rei.... I take it you feel the same way
about me?"
     All eyes focused on Rei and she blinked.  "What do you mean?"
     Ami gestured to the ward on the table.  "That's no ordinary ward you're
holding.  You said it was made specifically against vampires.  How long have
you had it?"
     "Since you became a vampire.  Of all of the wards I routinely carry, only
three aren't defensive in nature.  This is one," she said, tapping the ward.
"The other two are designed to paralyze evil long enough to destroy it, and
I've made quite sure that all three will work on you."
     Leda shot Rei a glare that could have melted steel.  "I don't believe you
just said that," she said coldly.
     Ami looked at Rei with intense sadness in her eyes.  "Do you fear me that
much, Rei?"
     "I'm making sure I won't get attacked if you get too hungry."
     Ami sighed and stood up.  "With the single exception of the first time I
bit Leda, I have never drained a person who didn't volunteer.  Leda, do you
disagree with that?"
     Leda shook her head.  "Nope.  I wanted it each time, and I don't count
that first morning, either."
     "Mina, what about you?"
     "Same story.  Last night was questionable, but I did agree to volunteer to
be a guinea pig.  All the other times I volunteered for, just like you said."
     Ami nodded her head.  "Sorry about last night.  Serena, what about you?  I
only drained you once, and that was out of necessity, but you volunteered for
it, correct?"
     Serena nodded and Ami continued.  "Did you feel like you had to volunteer
for it or be attacked?"
     "No.  In fact, you were trying to get rid of me before you lost control."
     Ami nodded again and faced Rei.  "Rei, if you still feel that you can't
trust me not to drain you if you don't want me to, then take Mina's blade and
kill me now."
     No one moved for a few seconds.  Mina finally nodded her head once and
removed her stiletto from her arm sheath.  She flipped it over and offered the
hilt to Rei.  Leda jumped up from her chair but Ami shot her a look and she
quietly sat back down.
     Rei's gaze alternated between Ami and the stiletto.  She extended a hand
to touch the weapon but stopped when she couldn't stop her hand from shaking.
"Ami.... Why?" she whispered.
     "I would rather die than to have my best friends fear me, Rei.  It took me
several months to come to terms with what I've become.  I am a vampire.  Part
of my spirit is tainted with evil now, and I hold no hopes of ever getting rid
of it.  I need human blood to survive but I will only drain volunteers.  If you
can't find it within yourself to accept me for what I have become, so be it."
     "Ami...." Rei said softly.
     "But I beg you, all of you, don't fear me.  It would be more humane for
you to kill me now than for me to continue to live knowing that my friends are
afraid of me.  That is a pain more intense than any blade wound you could give
me.  Take the blade, Rei."
     The priestess shook her head.  "I.... I couldn't...."
     Ami looked around the table.  "Leda.... Serena.... Mina.... Darian.... Any
of you?"  No one moved towards the blade and Mina finally put it back in her
arm sheath.  Ami bowed her head and sat back down.  "Then we shall not speak of
this again," she said, then closed her eyes and leaned against Tolaris.
     Silence descended upon the room like a heavy cloak.  No one moved or made
any sound for several minutes.  Serena's stomach growled softly and she made a
face.  "Sorry," she said as she reached for her half-eaten bowl of oatmeal.
     Mina smiled.  "Good idea.  Leda, do you still have any left?"
     Leda nodded and got up.  "Sure.  Still want that coffee?"
     "Oh, yes.... Just bring the whole pot over here."
     Ami managed a smile.  "Was it really that bad?"
     Mina nodded.  "Not a pleasant experience.  Ranks up there with getting
killed in the Negaverse."
     Tolaris smiled.  "You know, you guys never finished telling me what went
on after Ami was killed."
     Serena made a face.  "Things went down hill from there...."

		*		*		*		*

     Ami looked up from her work as Leda set a cup of hot tea in front of her.
The brunette smiled and gestured to the disassembled remains of Ami's computer
and communicator.  "Think you can fix it?"
     Ami sighed and looked down at her work.  "I think so.  I somehow managed
to crack three logic chips and a memory module when I dropped it.  The sensor
suite is fine but it needs those chips in order to properly analyze the data.
In simple computer talk, my system bus has a flat."
     Leda merely shrugged.  "Whatever that meant, it sounds bad.  Why did you
take apart your communicator as well?"
     "I'm going to use the chips from the communicator to replace the broken
chips on the daughterboard."
     Leda blinked.  "Don't you mean the motherboard?"
     Ami smiled.  "No, this is the daughterboard," she said, gesturing at the
silicon wafer with the cracked chips.  "That one over there, the one with all
of the RAM chips, that's the motherboard.  It didn't get touched so I don't
need to mess with it."
     "Okay...." Leda said slowly.  She pointed to a computer board that Ami was
in the process of building.  "Then what's that?"
     "That is going to be a transmission node I'm going to put into my computer
so we can access it through our communicators.  I can't connect the sensors to
it yet but all of the calculation power should be available."
     Leda nodded her head in understanding.  "So if I have a tough math problem
I needed solves, I can just dial up your computer and use it?"
     The vampire smiled.  "Exactly.  I'm still working on it, but give me three
days and it should work.  Of course, I'm going to need a new communicator since
I've virtually torn everything out of it, but I think Luna can build a new one
for me."
     Leda laughed.  "But she won't like it.  You remember when Serena stepped
on her communicator last month?  Luna didn't shut up for a week about having to
replace it."  She paused as a thought occurred to her.  "Just how exactly does
she replace it, anyway?"
     Ami shrugged as she picked up a micro-screwdriver.  "I don't know, really.
I think it has to do with Lunar Magic.  You know, the same thing that allows
Serena to keep the Crescent Moon Wand in easy reach even when she's not wearing
anything?"
     Leda smiled and plucked the 'driver out of Ami's hand.  "Speaking of not
wearing anything, everyone's getting cabin fever and they want to go sit in the
thermal pools again.  You want to come?"
     Ami looked at her work and sighed.  "Sure, but what do you plan to do with
Tolaris and Darian?  Tolaris doesn't have a suit and I don't think Darian does,
either."
     Leda shrugged.  "Tolaris gave me some cryptic answer and told me that all
would be taken care of.  Said something about mist dragons and crystals."
     Ami thought about what he could have meant, but nothing occurred to her.
She shrugged and stood up.  "Well, whatever he means, I trust him to know what
he's doing."
     "Or so we hope," Leda added as she left the room, followed by Ami.  The
two girls made their way over to the living room and started to put on their
winter coats and boots.  Rei and Mina had already dressed while Darian had gone
out to his jeep to retrieve his jacket.
     Serena walked into the room carrying several large towels.  "Here, we'll
need these when we're done," she said as she handed everyone a towel.  When she
was finished with her task she started to get dressed as well.  "I hope someone
remembers where that pool was because I don't," she said.
     Mina smiled.  "Don't worry, I know where it is."
     Tolaris walked into the room and smiled at everyone.  "You won't need to
wear those heavy jackets on the way down there, you know."
     Rei snorted.  "It's ten degrees below freezing out there!."
     Tolaris shrugged.  "Suit yourself, but you're going to be awfully warm in
that thing."
     Ami and Mina exchanged glances.  Mina nodded and both of them removed the
heavy coats they wore.  Leda did so as well after a few seconds hesitation and
Serena followed suit with a very confused expression on her face.  Rei looked
at everyone as if they had gone mad but sighed to herself and removed her coat
as well.
     "One final thing before we go.  We'll have to walk together in a small
group or I won't be able to keep everyone inside the heat shield," the Dragoon
said as he walked towards the door.
     "Heat shield?" Serena asked.
     Tolaris smiled.  "Did you forget that I can control the weather?  I intend
to keep a pocket of warm air around us so we don't freeze as we walk.  The only
problem is that keeping a pocket of air at a comfortable temperature while the
air around is deathly cold is rather difficult so I can't create a very large
pocket."
     Ami nodded in understanding but everyone else seemed lost.  "Wait just a
minute," Leda said slowly.  "You can control the weather?"
     The Dragoon gave Ami a bemused look.  "Didn't you ever tell them anything
about me?"  Ami shrugged helplessly and Tolaris grinned.  "I suppose you never
told them how old I was, either."
     "I told everyone except Rei.  She was in the bathroom at the time and I
guess it never occurred to me to tell her," Ami said with a faint blush.
     Rei blinked.  "Umm.... Do I want to ask how old you are?"
     Tolaris smiled.  "Seven hundred and twenty-four."
     The priestess sat down hard on the couch with a stunned look on her face.
"That.... That's old...." she said in a dazed tone.  She looked up at Ami with
a curious look.  "And you're only what, fifteen?"
     Ami blushed.  "Yes.  I know there's a bit of an age difference, but it
really doesn't matter."
     Rei's jaw cracked open.  "A BIT of an age difference?  Ami, we are talking
about seven centuries!"
     Ami shrugged.  "Your point?"
     Rei blinked and calmed down.  "Well.... It's just that.... Ummm..... Oh,
never mind."  She stood up and looked at Tolaris in a new light.  "You said you
could control the weather?  How is this possible?"
     "The denizens of the Negaverse are all born with various powers.  My major
one just happens to be manipulating the weather."  He concentrated and a tiny
whirlwind sprung up in the cabin's living room.  It whirled around madly for a
few seconds before vanishing into nothingness, being replaced with a miniature
raincloud.
     The cloud floated over Ami's head and started to rain.  The vampire glared
at Tolaris but stayed in place, slowly getting drenched.  Tolaris smiled and
the cloud puffed away into air.  A blisteringly hot wind swept across the room,
drying Ami and the carpet in seconds.  The wind died down and was replaced with
a gentle spring breeze that teased Ami's hair back into place.
     "If I didn't love you, dear, I would hurt you," Ami said with amusement.
     "Too bad you love me," Tolaris said as he walked over to Ami and kissed
her cheek.
     Mina suddenly burst into a fit of laughter.  Everyone shot her a strange
look but she waved them away and did her best to get her mirth under control.
"I.... I understand it now...."  She wiped away a tear of laughter and took a
deep breath.  "I understand now why we've been getting freak thunderstorms on
the night of a new moon for the past four months."
     Tolaris and Ami exchanged looks.  "Ummm.... and why is that, Mina?" Ami
said nervously.
     "You've been making him lose control of his powers, haven't you?" Mina
giggled.  She burst into laughter again as Ami blushed a bright shade of red
and Tolaris developed a fit of coughing.  Leda and Rei smiled knowingly while
Serena seemed lost.
     "How do you manage to do that, Ami?" she asked innocently.
     "It's a complicated process," Mina said between giggles.  "We can talk
again tonight, if you want."
     Serena shrugged.  "Sure.  Can we go to the pools now?  Rei looks like she
could use a bath and I know I need a good soak."  Not surprisingly, an argument
shortly arose between Serena and Rei about hygiene.  The argument came to an
abrupt end when the sound of a thunderbolt cracked through the room.
     "Are you ladies finished?" Tolaris said mildly.
     Serena nodded and peeled herself off the floor where she had reflexively
thrown herself.  Rei cautiously poked her head up behind the chair and also
nodded.
     "Good.  Then gather around so we can go.  Has anyone seen Darian lately?"
     "Right here," said Darian as he walked into the room with his jacket slung
over his shoulder.  "I really have to say that's the fastest I've seen anyone
get those two to shut up.  Think you can teach the rest of us?"
     "I'm afraid not.  Everyone ready?"
     There were nods all around as they gathered together in a small group with
Tolaris at the center.  The Dragoon concentrated and the air around them grew
slightly warmer.  "Now remember, stay close or you'll fall outside the pocket
and be exposed to the cold.  Let's go," he said and led them out the door.
     Together they slowly moved towards the thermal pool Ami had pointed out
yesterday.  They had to move slowly because Rei was still having problems with
her ankle, a fact that didn't escape either Tolaris or Darian.
     "Rei, what exactly did you do to your ankle?" Darian asked as they walked.
     "It got injured in a practice fight with Chad a couple of days ago."
     Darian blinked.  "Is that what also how you got that cut on your face?"
     Rei almost stumbled but Ami caught her arm and helped her to her feet.
"Yeah, it is.  We kind of tore each other up that night," she said with a dark
blush.
     Tolaris gave her a curious look.  "Tell me something, Rei.  Do you always
use metallic weapons in practice combat?"
     Rei's gaze dropped to the trail.  "No, it was a special occasion," she
said softly.
     The Dragoon was about to inquire what the occasion was when he looked up
and caught the look in Mina's eyes.  He didn't fully understand what she meant
but he knew enough not to ask.  "You really should be more careful next time,"
was all he said.
     Rei relaxed slightly and smiled.  "Oh, believe me, I intend to."
     "We're here," Mina announced as the entered the clearing.  Ahead of them
they could see the thermal pool and the wisps of steam coming off of the pool's
surface.
     Tolaris nodded.  "Good.  Now everyone stand back for a bit while I melt
the snow around the edges.  The air pocket might get a bit colder since I'm
splitting my attention span but it shouldn't get too bad."  He closed his eyes
and concentrated carefully.
     A cloud of blistering desert winds swept across the surface of the pool,
melting the surrounding snow and sending huge clouds of steam billowing into
the frigid air.  The winds died down, leaving the area dry and snow-free.
     "Okay, now here's where we have to move fast.  I want everyone to spread
out around the pool's perimeter.  Stand at the edge and remove as much clothing
as your modesty permits.  As soon as everyone is ready I'll summon a fog cloud
so you can finish undressing and get into the pool.  Once you're in, keep only
your head above the waterline while I dissipate the fog.  This will let you
move around to where you want to be before I create another fog bank and change
the density of the fog to dampen sound waves for private conversations.  Does
everybody understand all of this?"
     Mina coughed and raised her hand.  "Wouldn't it be easier to have all the
girls at one end and you and Darian at the other?  You could just create a fog
partition across the pool until we're all set and in the water.  Once we're in,
we can go with the moving around part and subsequent fog bank."
     Tolaris smiled at Mina.  "Excellent idea, Mina.  Any objections?"  No one
spoke up and the Dragoon nodded.  "Okay, then move out."
     Tolaris dropped the heat shield and they all ran, Tolaris and Darian to
one side of the pool while the girls dashed towards the other.  A thick wall of
fog sprang up in the middle of the pool, dividing the pool in half and totally
obscuring vision between the two parties.
     The two guys reached the edge of the water and started to peel down.  They
could hear several loud complaints about cold temperatures and bare skin coming
from across the partition.  Darian chuckled as he removed his shirt.  "If you
girls would pay more attention to stripping than complaining about the cold,
you'd probably already be in there by now," he called out.
     The sound of a loud splash echoed across the clearing.  "That's funny,"
said Leda, "I don't hear you in here already."
     "That's because the rest of us believe in wearing underwear," Mina said.
     Darian and Tolaris exchanged glances as the sound of splashing water was
heard, followed by Mina's voice complaining about getting wet.  Darian shrugged
as he slipped out of his boxer shorts and slid into the water.  "I hope this
fog idea of yours works," he said quietly.
     Tolaris chuckled as he stepped out of his uniform trousers.  "I don't see
why it wouldn't.  And besides, I thought most men your age would enjoy seeing
five naked young women in a hot pool.  Not that I think you will, but just in
case...."
     Leda screeched from behind the fog wall.  "I thought this was a trap!" she
said and made a splashing sound.  Tolaris blinked as an impressive amount of
water flew past the barrier and across the pool.  It fell far short of hitting
either of them, but it was still amazing that she could have splashed it that
far.
     "Come now, Miss Jupiter, try to keep in mind that I'm almost fifty times
your age and there is absolutely nothing you've got that I haven't seen and
more," he said as he finished stripping and entered the water.  He smiled in
pleasure as the warm waters surrounded him, a welcome sensation after being
exposed to the bitter cold.
     Tolaris swore he could hear the silent sound of a pair of eyes blinking in
surprise.  "And more?" Leda echoed from across the pool.
     "There are a few speices of humanoids in the Negaverse that are, shall we
say, built differently than most," he said with a smile.
     "Uh huh.... Dear, do I even want to ask?" Ami said.  Her words were soon
followed by a pair of splashes.
     "One of my lieutenants is an avian, which is half denizen and half owl, I
think.  She happened to walk into my quarters as I was experimenting with tiny
tornadoes.  Problem was that she was in the middle of her molting cycle when
she got caught in a whirlwind," he explained.
     "So what happened?" Mina asked.
     Tolaris blushed a dark gray at the memory.  "What happened was that all of
her feathers got blown out into the corridor.  She spent the next five weeks on
vacation in her quarters until her feathers grew back enough to cover her.  If
I remember right, it was another two months before she was able to fly again."
     "That must have been interesting," commented Leda.
     "Only if you like gray skin and scales," Tolaris said simply.
     There was the sound of two more splashes and Mina called out to Tolaris.
"Okay, we're all in here."
     "Great.  Now everyone keep your necks below water because I'm dropping the
partition."  There was a chorus of acknowledgements and Tolaris let the wall of
fog fall apart.  The mist quickly dissipated and everyone spread out.
     Darian stayed where he was while Tolaris slowly swam farther out, staying
close to the edge of the pool.  Ami changed her course to intercept Tolaris
while Rei, Leda, and Mina clustered together near the far edge of the pool.
Serena swam to the center of the pool and seemed content to stay there, away
from everyone else.
     "Okay, everyone where they want to be?"  Everyone nodded their heads and
Tolaris continued.  "Good.  I'm going to warn you ahead of time.  This fog bank
will probably be the thickest one you've ever been in.  Your range of vision
will most likely only be three or four inches beyond your nose, so be careful.
I'm also going to change the fog's density to dampen sound waves, so you'll
need to stay close to hear one another.  Sound off so I know you're ready."
     "Check," said Darian.
     "Got it," said Mina.
     "Ready when you are," Leda called out.
     "Ditto," said Serena.
     "Let's go!" Rei replied.
     "I'm ready," Ami said with a soft smile at Tolaris.
     The Dragoon chuckled.  "Then as the mists rise, all shall be concealed."
In eerie silence, the pool was instantly enveloped by a thick fog, completely
obscuring vision and muffling most of the sounds.

		*		*		*		*

     Leda blinked in surprise as the fog swirled around her.  She held her hand
up to her face and all she could see was a dark blur in the mist.  Boy, Tolaris
wasn't kidding around, she thought.  Something brushed her arm and she felt
someone grab her wrist.
     "Leda, that you?" came Mina's voice, sounding somewhat distant in the fog.
     "Yeah," Leda replied.  "Geez, girl, I can barely hear you in this soup and
you're not two feet away from me."
     "Same here."  Mina paused for a moment to gather her thoughts and choose
her words.  "Umm, Leda?  Can I ask you a personal question?"
     Leda frowned to herself, a sense of unease creeping down her spine.  She
usually didn't mind answering most personal questions, but she had a feeling
that she would not like this one.  "I guess, but I'm not going to guarantee an
answer."
     "Fair enough.  You've haven't been yourself recently, and I think it all
started when Ami called you 'Thunderheart' last night."
     Leda sighed and closed her eyes.  "Mina, please don't mention that again."
     "I didn't mean to offend you or anything, but I was just curious...."
     Leda waved her hand in the air, forgetting that Mina couldn't see the
gesture.  "No, you didn't offend me.  It's just that.... well...."
     Mina gently squeezed Leda's wrist.  "If you don't want to talk about it,
that's okay."
     "No, I guess I need to get all this weight off my chest."  She took a deep 
breath and gathered her courage to face the memories.  "Thunderheart was the
nickname Jenni called me when we were.... well, lovers, to be precise.  She
said my passionate love reminded her of a summer storm.  Hence the name.  The
six months we spent together were probably the best times of my life so far."
     "And then she died."
     "Yes.  The memories have been too painful for me to dwell on them and to
really come to terms with her loss.  Ami must have somehow gotten the name from
my thoughts when she drained me last night."
     Mina was silent for a few minutes.  "Leda, is it because you don't feel
that you're over Jenni's death that you don't want to make love to me?"
     "No, it's not that.... It's just.... well.... I don't know what it is."
     Mina slid her arms around Leda's waist and drew her close.  Leda was taken
aback by the move but quickly recovered her wits.  "Mina, what do you think
you're doing?" she demanded.  "Let me g...!"  She was suddenly cut off as Mina
tilted her head up and kissed her.
     "Leda," the blonde said after Leda fell silent, "Just hold me for awhile."
She laid her head in the crook of Leda's shoulder, her body starting to tremble
slightly.  "Do you know what Ami did to me last night?"
     "Not exactly," Leda said slowly, unsure of how to handle the situation.
She opted for remaining motionless and listening to what Mina had to say.  She
did her best to ignore her body's reactions as Mina's nude form rubbed against
her own.
     "It was an experiment.  She would drain my blood and put it back, trying
to see if it would work.  It worked all too well, and you know how I respond to
being bitten.  We learned that the flow of blood is what causes the reaction,
and every time she changed the flow's direction I became more stimulated."
     A chill ran down Leda's spine as realization sank in as to what Mina went
through last night.  "Great Zeus, no wonder you wanted to kill her.... And she
didn't finish the job?"  She trembled slightly as Mina's lips started to roam
over her neck.
     "No, she didn't.  She said it was vengence for throwing her in the shower.
To make matters worse, she told me that she would seriously injure me if I made
any attempt to get your help."  Mina stretched up and ran her tongue around the
edge of Leda's ear, elicting a soft moan from the brunette.  "And it's your
help that I want now," she whispered in her ear.
     Leda shivered lightly as her nipples tightened with desire.  "What do you
want from me?" she said, trying not to let her voice betray her.  She whimpered
as Mina reached out and caressed her breasts.  The blonde then took her hand
and placed in on her own breasts.
     "Finish the job Ami started last night...." she said, her voice barely a
whisper in Leda's ear.  "And start something I've wanted for three months...."
     "No," Leda whispered.  "Not here, Mina, not now...."
     Mina gently squeezed Leda's aching nipple.  "Then will you at least help
finish what Ami started?" she asked softly.
     "Yes...." Leda said as she bent down and kissed her....

		*		*		*		*

     Darian was amazed at how thick the fog was.  He looked closely at it and
noticed subtle air currents creating eddies and swirls in the mist.  He passed
his hand in front of his nose and watched as the mist seemed to swirl around an
insubstantial shadow.  When Tolaris says he's going to make a dense fog bank,
he thought, he doesn't mess around.  He sighed and stretched out, content to
float aimlessly for the time being.
     His relaxation was short lived as he felt something brush the bottom of
his foot, followed by the distant sound of a familiar voice.  "Darian, is that
you?"
     Darian quickly righted himself and sank down in the water.  "Yes, Serena,
it is."  He felt her touch his arm and he peered into the mist, trying to see
her.  He was barely able to make her out, a patch of shadow a shade darker than
the surrounding fog.
     "Do you mind if I stay here with you for awhile?" she asked hesitantly.
She used his arm as a guide and worked her way around until she was behind him.
"I just want to be with you for a bit."
     Darian shrugged.  "Sure, if you want to."
     "Thanks," she said and embraced him, pressing her body against his back.
"I just.... don't want to be alone in this fog."
     "I can't imagine why.  I'm not sure I can see the tip of my nose and I can
barely hear you, and you're right behind me."
     Serena made a soft noise and nuzzled his ear.  "Does this help?" she said
as she kissed the edge of his ear.
     "Yes and no," he replied, suddenly grateful for the fact that Serena was
behind him.  The sensation of her nuzzling his ear was starting to arouse him
and he was acutely aware of the feeling of her bare breasts pressing into his
back.  Thank goodness for the fog, he thought.  Otherwise this would be highly
embarrassing to explain.
     "Yes and no?  What's that supposed to mean?" she breathed into his ear.
     "Well, yes since I can hear you a lot better, but no because you're making
me nuts with your breathing in my ear."
     Serena made a plaintive noise.  "Sorry.  I just remember reading that some
guys liked that sort of thing."
     "It's not that I don't like it, it's that I like it too much.  Know what I
mean?" he said, hoping she would understand so he wouldn't have to explain it
further.
     He felt Serena shrug.  "No," she said honestly.
     Darian thought of several ways he could explain it to her.  He sighed and
finally settled on being blunt.  "It's turning me on, meatball head," he said.
He immediately realized that being blunt was a mistake when he felt her hands
stroke his chest and she giggled softly in his ear.
     "And this is a problem?" she whispered as she ran her tongue around the
inside edge of his ear.  His confession of his reaction to her attentions was
making her aroused and she could feel her nipples harden like rocks.  If he
wants me as much as I want him.... she thought, but left the idea unfinished.
     "Serena, stop that unless you want to get raped," he said hoarsely.
     She froze, trying to fathom his intentions.  "You wouldn't," she said.
     Darian sighed.  "You're right, I wouldn't, but do you get the picture?"
     She laid her head against his neck.  "Darian, I'm sorry...." she said as
she started to tremble.  "Please don't be mad at me...."
     "I'm not mad at you or anything, Serena.  It's just that this isn't the
time or the place for us to start anything."  He twisted around in her embrace
to hold her, all thoughts of his arousal gone.  He looked at her through the
fog but could only see the vaguest of shadowy outlines.
     "I love you, Serena, and I don't want to rush into anything or do anything
that might hurt you."  He bent his head down and gave her a reassuring kiss.
     She moaned quietly as she kissed him back.  "I love you too, Darian."  She
sighed in contentment and rested her head on his chest, her state of arousal
also forgotten.  She let her mind dwell on the warmth she was feeling inside as
a result of his embrace.
     A thought occurred to her and she decided to give it a try.  "Darian?" she
said softly.
     "Yes, Serena?" he said.  She still had her head on his chest and she could
hear his voice rumble inside his chest cavity.
     "You said last night that we should talk things over before we make love
to each other, right?"
     Darian nodded.  "Yes, I did.  We need to make sure we both understand each
other and everything else before we start."
     "Would now be a good time to talk?" she said, listening to the beating of
his heart.  It was a slow and steady rhythm that was somehow comforting to her.
     He reached up and stroked her hair.  "I don't see why not, seeing how we
won't really have to worry about being overheard or anything."
     Serena laughed quietly.  "So where should be begin?"
     "How about we start off with your expectations of this?" he suggested.
     "I think I can handle that...." she said, and they began to talk....

		*		*		*		*

     Tolaris smiled to himself as the fog surrounded him.  It feels nice to be
able to do something right every now and then, he thought, considering I've
been out of practice for almost nine months now.  He sank deeper into the pool
and sighed contentedly, feeling his aching muscles start to unwind.
     "Tolaris, you weren't kidding about the fog," said a distant voice.
     The Dragoon laughed.  "Do I ever joke about the weather, my love?"
     A hand touched his and Tolaris didn't have time to react before he found
himself in a compromising embrace with Ami.  He was about to say something when
she tilted her head up and kissed him thoroughly.
     "Mmmm, Ami?" he said when he could breathe again.
     "Yes?"
     "I think you put way too much cinnamon in your oatmeal this morning."
     She buried her head in his shoulder and he could feel the heat from her
face as she blushed.  He chuckled softly and started to stroke her head.
     "Sorry," she said after a few seconds had passed.
     Tolaris shrugged.  "Just remember that we have extremely little in the way
of spices in the Negaverse.  That's why I had that severe indigestion when we
went to that Chinese place when we fell in love."
     "Yes, I remember."  She looked up at him but could only see a dark shadow.
"Are you feeling any better this morning?"
     "Very much, now that I'm no longer Queen Beryl's idea of a lawn ornament."
     "Speaking of which, do you have any idea how you got free?"
     Tolaris grunted.  "No, but I intend to find out.  I need to find a way to
return to the Negaverse to get several things, and I think I just might know
how."
     Ami suddenly sat up in his lap.  "You're going back?"
     "It would only be a quick in-and-out trip, just long enough for me to grab
what I need and come back.  I don't have any intention of staying there, Ami,
so you can calm down," he said, giving her a reassuring kiss.
     She sighed and relaxed in his arms.  "When will you go?"
     "I'm not sure.  I'll need to check out General Nephlyte's cathedral to see
what I can find first."
     Ami quickly sat up again, accidentally jabbing him in the ribs with her
elbow.  "Sorry," she apologized as he grunted.  "But you know where Nephlyte's
base is?"
     "Of course, love.  I helped pick out the site for it.  Remember when we
first met how I was looking for a site for a cathedral?"
     Ami sighed and slapped her head.  "Why didn't I see this before?  Do you
have any idea how long we've been looking for that?"
     Tolaris shrugged to himself and tried to soothe Ami.  "It's in the past,
dear, so you can relax."
     "Not yet.  I'm coming with you when you go," she said firmly.
     Tolaris supressed a laugh.  "I don't think so, love.  You'll stick out
like a vep'tera in the middle of a nest of weavers."
     "A what in a what?"
     "A six-foot bird in a nest of oversized crystal spiders."
     "Oh, ick.... Anyway, I'm not letting you go alone.  Unless I misunderstood
the situation, you were branded a traitor and several people wanted your blood
splattered on a wall."
     This time the Dragoon did laugh.  "Perhaps, but that pales in comparison
to the things they would do to a Sailor Scout.  I know the danger, Ami, but I'm
willing to take the risk.  You, on the other hand, really don't know what you'd
be up against, and I can't allow you to go with me."
     "Want to try and stop me?" she challenged.
     "Must we have a repeat of our last fight?" he said softly.
     "I'm different now, Tolaris.  I'm stronger, faster, and more powerful."
     "But can you control it?"
     Ami reacted as if he had slapped her.  "Dear," she said, her eyes filling
with tears, "That was cruel."
     "Ami, I'm sorry, but that fact has to be faced."  He bent his head down
and tenderly kissed her.  "Can you be sure you'll keep control of your vampiric
nature in there?  And what if we're captured?  I might be tortured before they
kill me, but do you know what they'll do to you?"
     "Tolaris...."
     "The last I heard was when it was just you and Sailor Moon.  The plan in
the event of your capture was to turn Sailor Moon over to Beryl for questioning
and to turn you over to the Psi-Corp.  Their telepaths would sift through your
mind for any and all information they could get, destroying your mind in the
process.  You would be then given to a cadre of elite soldiers as a toy for
their amusement."
     Ami started to tremble but Tolaris continued.  "The projection was that
they would rape you for a week before they would get bored and kill you.  Of
course, that was before Queen Beryl and a significant portion of the Negaverse
military was obliterated by you and the other Sailor Scouts.  Can you imagine
what they would plan to do to you now?  Or when they discover that you're a
vampire?"
     Ami burst into tears.  "I don't care!  I love you and I want to be with
you if you're in danger of getting killed!"  She buried her head in the crook
of his shoulder and cried.
     Tolaris spent the next several minutes comforting and soothing her.  Her
tears eventually dried up and she stopped sobbing, but she was still upset at
the thought of Tolaris returning alone to the Negaverse.
     "Tolaris, can you at least think about it for awhile?  Please?" she asked
softly, still trembling lightly.
     The Dragoon sighed quietly and kissed her rim of her ear.  "I'll consider
it, my love, but I can't promise you anything," he whispered in her ear as he
continued to kiss her softly.
     She sighed and melted into his arms, satisfied for the moment.  Her sighs
soon turned to soft moans of passion as Tolaris's continued attentions started
to arouse her.
     "I take it you're feeling better?" she said as she began to kiss him back.
     Tolaris laughed softly.  "Some, my love, but I suspect that it's your
prescence that's doing it."
     She made a soft purring sound and moved seductively against him, making
sure her nude body rubbed his in the right places.  "And just how much better
are you feeling?" she whispered in his ear.
     "Probably not enough for what you have in mind, dear.  I'm afraid we'll
have to stick to cuddling for the time being."
     "Mmmm, are you sure about that?" she said as rubbed her abdomen against
his in such a way as to leave no doubt of her intentions.
     Tolaris sighed quietly.  "I love you dearly, but try to remember that fog
like this rarely exists in nature and simply can't occur in this weather."
     "So?" she said, kissing the edge of his jaw.
     "So I need to keep a certain level of concentration to maintain the fog."
     "You keep saying that.  Your point?" she said as she let her hands roam
across his chest.
     "So kindly get out of my lap, please."
     Ami kissed the tip of his nose before she started to move.  She made quite
sure that her body kept in contact with most of his as she slid across the
length of his body with deliberate slowness.
     Tolaris could feel the density of the fog start to change and he quickly
focused on the weather.  "Ami...." he said in a warning tone.
     She brushed her lips across his ear as she finished her movements.  "I'm
out," she said innocently.  She was surprised when he suddenly reached out and
grabbed her.  He twisted her around so that her back was to him and pulled her
in close.
     "So you want to play games, do you?" he whispered in her ear in a tone Ami
wasn't quite sure she liked.  He reached around her and began to massage her
breasts, elicting a soft moan from her.  He sank down in the water, drawing her
down with him until the water was just below her chin.
     "I've got a game for you, my dear.  It's called Tolerance," he said as he
ran his tongue along the inside edge of her ear.  His hands continued to knead
and tease her breasts, gently twisting and tugging on her nipples.  He moved a
hand down between her legs and gently caressed her sheath, causing her to
whimper with passion and anticipation.
     "The rules are simple: I'll tease you and you try to stop from orgasming."
His finger dipped into her and she moaned loudly, pressing herself against him.
She body suddenly spasmed as the muscles in her abdomen were shocked by a weak
electrical current.  The sensation of being electrocuted from within instantly
brought her to orgasm and she cried out with pleasure.
     She became aware of her surroundings again after a few seconds, letting
her body lean against Tolaris as she recovered.  "What.... What did you do?"
she said slowly.  She blinked in surprise as she realized that the surrounding
fog was glowing a soft shade of blue, a result of the sigil glowing on her
forehead.
     "Oh, did I ever mention that I can create lightning bolts with varying
intensities?  I can range it from as weak as a static electricity shock, such 
as the one you felt, to a bolt strong enough to light up this city for a year."
He kissed her ear as he slowly moved his finger inside of her.  "By the way,
the game ends when you can withstand three shocks in a row without orgasming,
or when you've convinced me that you can't take any more pleasure."
     Ami's eyes widened as his words sank in.  Her response was instantly
forgotten as she was electrocuted again, bringing her to orgasm once more.  She
cried out with passion and pleasure as her body first tensed, then relaxed.
     "Dear...." she said breathlessly when she was able to speak again, "You
are evil.... You can't let me make love to you but you can do this to me?"
     "Of course.  It's easier to concentrate on fog and lightning than it is to
concentrate on fog when I'm making love to you.  Granted I can't create very
strong lightning pulses and keep the fog around at the same time, but I don't
need lots of lightning for this."  He paused and nuzzled her ear.  "You are
enjoying this, right?" he asked hesitantly.
     Ami moaned quietly.  "Tolaris, if you truly love me, don't stop...."
     "I thought you would like this game," he whispered in her ear as he kissed
the back of her neck.  He then caressed her breasts as he electrocuted Ami once
more....

		*		*		*		*

     Rei would never have admitted it to anyone, but she had gotten lost in the
fog ten seconds after it formed around her.  Okay, so I have no innate sense of
direction, she thought to herself.  I thought Leda and Mina were over here....
     She swam through the thermal pool, listening for any signs of life.  She
heard the soft sounds of conversation drifting through the mist and changed her
course to intercept.  She was ready to call out when she recognized the voices
and overheard part of what they were saying.
     "Thunderheart was the nickname Jenni called me when we were... well,
lovers, to be precise...." said Leda's faint voice through the fog.
     Rei became absolutely still as Leda's words registered.  She strained her
ears, trying to hear the rest of the converstaion to make sure she didn't
misunderstand the case.  The mental image of Leda and another woman together
simply didn't compute.  Not with the way she keeps going on about cute guys,
she thought.
     "Leda, is it because you don't feel that you're over Jenni's death that
you don't want to make love to me?" said Mina's voice.
     Rei was shocked beyond imagination.  Several puzzle pieces fell into place
and she nearly had a heart attack.  They really are, she thought.  The reason
they spend a lot of time together.... Why Leda wanted me to remove my suit....
The scene with the hair.... Mina's willingness to skinny-dip.... Leda's comment
about my breasts....
     The cuts between her breasts began to itch and she absently started to rub
them.  This.... this is going to take some getting used to, she thought as she
thought about Leda and Mina.  As she thought, she continued to gently rub the
healing cuts on her chest, producing a strange sensation throughout her body.
     She blinked as she realized that she was starting to become aroused.  I
don't get it, she thought, what exactly am I doing to make me feel this way?
A chill crept down her spine as she realized that she had been thinking of Leda
and Mina together.  No, it can't be that.... Could it?
     She was interrupted by the sound of a low moan cutting through the fog.
Okay, that's it, she thought as she swam away from her friends.  I may be just
a little curious, but I'm not THAT curious.  She paused as a thought occurred
to her.  Or am I?
     She stretched out on her back and floated in place for a few minutes while
she gave it some thought.  As her mind worked furiously on the subject, she let
her hand carefully trace along the path that Chad's dagger had made two nights
ago.
     A strange shiver ran though her body, disrupting her train of thought.
She blinked and sank back down in the water, unsure of what she had just felt.
I think I'll have to talk to Mina one of these days about this, she thought.  I
know she's been explaining a few things to Serena and I guess I need a few of
them explained to me.
     Her mind made up, she continued to lazily swim around the pool in search
of someone to talk to.  She blinked again and stopped as a second shiver ran
through her.  She looked around and was surprised to see a faintly glowing blue
light off in the distance.  Strange, she thought, what could be causing that
odd light?
     She started to swim toward the light, hoping she could figure out what it
was.  She stopped and stood still as she heard a pair of voices through the
mist.
     "Tolaris, if you truly love me, don't stop...."
     "I thought you would like this game...."
     Rei jumped as another tingle ran through her and Ami cried out.  She was
about to swim over to her aid when she remembered that Ami didn't want Tolaris
to stop doing whatever it was he was doing.
     What exactly IS he doing? Rei thought to herself as she listened to them
whisper quietly to each other.  She suppressed a moan as yet another tingle ran
through her, elicting another loud cry of passion from Ami.  Rei didn't know
what the Dragoon was doing, but she was quite sure it was having an effect on
her.
     She whimpered quietly as a fifth tingle ran through her body, causing her
already hardened nipples to ache for attention.  If I stick around here much
longer, she thought, I'll probably be driven insane by this.  She brushed her
nipples with her fingertips and was surprised at how good it felt.  She sighed
and found herself thinking of Chad, wishing he was here with her instead of on
his concert tour in southern Japan.
     "Dear," came Ami's voice through the fog, "How did you know I would like
being electrocuted like this?"
     "To be honest, Ami, I didn't," came Tolaris's voice.
     "What?  You're telling me that you just decided to run lightning bolts
through my body?"
     A soft laugh.  "It works, doesn't it?"   His words were shortly followed
by another pulse and a cry of pleasure.
     Rei started to panic.  She knew that electricity and water didn't mix very
well and really didn't want to stick around anymore.  Well, she thought as she
swam away from the glowing fog, I guess that solves two mysteries.  The tingle
is Tolaris and his lightning, and the blue glow is probably Ami's sigil glowing
again.
     She slowed down and wondered why their sigils glowed when they did.  She
knew that Mina's sigil would sometimes glow when Ami drank her blood, and she
remembered her own sigil lighting up for a brief period of time when she was
being quasi-raped by Chad.
     She frowned lightly as her train of thought switched back over to what
happened with Chad.  She knew that some people would say she was raped, but she
knew in her heart that she wouldn't have wanted it any other way.  She touched
the bruise on her cheek and decided that the bruises could have been skipped
without any real impact on her experience that night.
     Her thoughts were rudely interrupted as she swam head-first into the edge
of the thermal pool.  She grunted and sank down in the water, rubbing the sore
spot on her head.  Ow, that hurt! she thought and reached out, trying to find
the edge.  She found it and used it as a guide to work her way around the edge
of the pool.
     Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be one of those days? she
thought as she swam.  She was on the verge of answering herself when she heard
more familiar voices talking quietly ahead of her.  She smiled and slowly drew
near, wondering what Serena and Darian were talking about this time.
     The priestess blinked in surprise when she discovered that they were in
the middle of a very honest and open discussion about sex.  She blushed and was
about to leave when Serena asked a very intelligent question.  Rei blinked in
surprise when she realized that she didn't have a clue about the answer.  If I
stick around, she thought, I could probably learn a lot.
     She steeled herself and called out to them.  "Serena?  Darian?"
     The voices suddenly fell silent.  "Rei, that you?" Serena's voice said
from the mist.
     "Yeah, it's me.  Ummm, I know you two are in the middle of a sensitive
discussion, but would either of you two mind if I listened in for awhile?  I
think there's several things I could learn from your conversation.  I know this
is asking alot, but I'd like to know."
     Darian coughed lightly.  "I don't have any real objections, Rei, but I'm
curious.  Are you planning anything with Chad?"
     Rei was grateful for the fact that the fog hid the blush on her cheeks.
She expected Serena to open her mouth and say something about it, but was very
surprised when the blonde remained silent.  She sighed to herself and gathered
her courage together.
     "I.... It's a little late to plan anything now," she managed to say.
     "Darian," Serena said, "I think Rei needs to know some of the things you
told me as well.  I think there's a few things she can tell us as well, if she
feels like it."
     "I see...." he said slowly.  "Rei, if you don't mind my asking, I take it
that your experience was an unusual one?"
     Rei nodded unconsicously, forgetting that the gesture couldn't be seen.
"You could say that.... I'm not sure that you would want to hear about it."
     "Umm.... Is this something that I should hear about?' he asked cautiously.
     "Yes, it is," Serena said.  "Rei, if you can, please tell us.  I know it
is hard for you to do, but I think you're strong enough not to let it affect
your character."
     Serena's unexpected faith in Rei's character seemed to ease the heavy load
on her conscious.  "Thank you, Serena," she said.  "I think my mind is at ease
already."  She took a deep breath and started to tell her story again....

		*		*		*		*

     Everyone looked up as the fog thinned out enough for sound waves to travel
freely from point to point.  The mist was still thick enough to obscure vision,
but what was once indistinct shadows were now visible outlines.
     "If I can get everyone's attention for a bit," Tolaris's voice boomed out
across the thermal pool, "I just want to check up on everyone to see if you're
still alive.  Sound off, please."
     One by one they called out to Tolaris.  He chuckled to himself and started
talking again.  "Okay, it seems we're all doing just fine.  My best guess is
that we've been in here for roughly two hours or so and I think I'm starting to
get just a bit waterlogged.  I want to get a vote going to see if we should go
back or stay here for awhile longer.  There's seven of us here so the majority
rules.  Anyone have any problems with this idea?"
     No one did and the voting quickly took place.  They all agreed that they
were getting just a bit wrinkled and it was time to head back.
     "So how are we going to handle getting out?" Rei asked.
     "Well, my first suggestion is for a reversal of what we did going in.  The
only problem with that is we're wet and it's still freezing.  I could quickly
dry us off inside the heat shield, but it has a very small radius."
     "I've got an idea," Mina said.
     The Dragoon laughed.  "You got us in here, Mina, so you might as well get
us out."
     "Thanks," she said dryly.  "Go with the partition thing first.  You and
Darian climb out and into the heat shield.  Once you two are dressed and dry,
walk over to our side, keeping the partition between you and us.  You sit down
with your backs to the pool, drop the partition, and expand the heat shield as
wide as you can.  We then climb out, dry off inside the shield, and dress while
you two don't see a thing.  Everyone is out and modesty is preserved."
     Tolaris laughed.  "Mina, by the power vested in me being the commanding
officer of the elite military intelligence, I am hereby making you an honorary
Dragoon officer.  That is a brillant plan."
     "And they say blondes are dumb," she giggled.
     "But you're not a natural blonde, remember?" Leda said jokingly.
     "Shut up," Mina said, still using the same giggling tone.
     "Should I ask?" came Darian's voice from the far side of the pool.
     "No," chorused the five girls simultaneously.
     "Okay...." he replied slowly.
     Tolaris chuckled.  "We're going to ignore that one.  Anyway, everyone keep
yourselves below the waterline because I'm going to let the fog burn off.  If I
just dissipated it, we'd all get blinded by the sudden change in light.  The
fog should only take a minute or two to burn off, so sit tight and relax."
     Darian looked around as the mist slowly started to break apart.  He could
see the indistinct outlines of Serena and Rei slowly start to take form.  Rei
sank down into the water and started to swim back to the other side of the
thermal pool.
     "See you two in a bit," she called out as she left.
     Darian expected Serena to do the same and was surprised when she started
to draw closer to him.  The fog hadn't thinned enough to let Darian totally see
her but he could see enough of her outline to know that the waterline was only
up to her waist.
     "Uh, Serena, you might want to get back down in the water," he said in a
quiet tone as she reached out and hugged him.
     "Are you afraid of seeing me naked after all we talked about, Darian?" she
said softly, brushing her lips against his.
     "Far from it, my love, but if I can see you, so can everyone else."  He
figured from how fast she sank into the water that she hadn't considered that.
He smiled and kissed her forehead.  "Another time, perhaps."
     The fog lifted enough for him to see her smile.  "Another time."  She gave
him a quick hug before she swam off to the other side of the pool.  He watched
her go and noticed that the fog bank was now a slight haze that hid nothing.
     Tolaris and Ami were starting to swim away from each other and the other
girls were already waiting on the opposite side.  The Dragoon quickly reached
the edge of the pool and a thick wall of fog arose, dividing the pool in half
and again obscuring vision.
     Darian got out of the pool and immediately wished he hadn't.  "Whoa, it's
really cold out here!  How come it wasn't this cold with the fog around?"
     Tolaris shrugged and climbed out.  "I tried to keep the fog as warm as I
could, so I guess that had something to do with it.  Hold still," he said and a
surprisingly hot wind swept across the area.  The wind completely dried them
off within minutes and they hurriedly dressed.
     "How long does it take you guys to dry off and get dressed?" Leda called
out impatently from across the pool.
     "We're making sure we're dry so our underwear doesn't ride up our butts!"
Tolaris yelled back.  "And unlike you, we like wearing underwear for the simple
reason that it prevents us from getting caught in our zippers."
     His statement was greeted with gales of laughter.  "That sounds like the
voice of experience," Mina said, still laughing.
     "Let's see you live as long as I have and not wind up doing it one morning
when you're not fully awake."
     Leda chuckled.  "Another reason to enjoy being female."
     "Until you have to see a gynecologist," Tolaris said pointedly.  As he had
expected, the laughter came to an abrupt halt.  "See, we don't have to be put
through stuff like that, but I think it evens out.  Anyway, we're ready, so
stay low just in case."
     Tolaris slowly walked around the perimeter of the pool, moving the wall of
fog with him to keep it between him and the girls.  He finally came to an area
littered with piles of clothes.  "I'd say this is it, wouldn't you?" he said to
Darian as he sat down and faced away from the piles.
     "Yeah, I would think so."  He sat down on the cold ground, also facing
away from the thermal pool.  He closed his eyes and said, "Ready when you are."
     The Dragoon nodded and started studying the landscape.  "Okay, girls, go
for it," he said and concentrated.  Again the desert winds arose, whipping past
the two guys and burning off the fog partition in seconds.
     There was a series of splashes as the girls climbed out of the pool and 
started drying off in the heat shield.  "Oooh, this feels nice," Leda said with
a smile in her voice.  "Tolaris, are you going to make us use towels or will
this dry us off by itself?"
     "You should be able to let the wind do the work, but don't spend too much
time basking in it because it will dry your skin out.  This is a desert wind,
after all," he replied.
     "So, Rei," Mina said casually, "You learn anything from bouncing around
between groups?"
     The priestess suddenly burst into a fit of coughing while Darian was
suddenly grateful for the fact that none of them could see the expression on
his face.  "What.... What do you mean?" she said, still coughing.
     "Well, I know you listened in on Leda and myself for a time before you
went elsewhere.  You didn't come back so I figured you found something else to
do.  I could tell you when you arrived and when you left because of the waves
you made while swimming."
     Rei managed to stop coughing.  "Uhh.... Could we talk about this another
time?  We're not exactly in the best of sitations to discuss that."
     "Mina, do I want to bother asking what you did?" Ami asked.
     "Just getting Leda to finish what you started last night," Mina replied.
"Stop glaring at me like that, Leda.  You're the one who enjoys being blunt
about everything."
     "But not about my sex life!" was the tart reply.
     "Whoa!" Darian said as he nearly fell over in shock.  "Excuse me for
interruping here, but would you care to explain that to me?  It didn't sound
quite right...."
     Leda sighed heavily.  "I might as well get this over with.  I'm bisexual
and Mina's just unbelievably curious, and while we were in the pool I helped
her alleviate the suffering caused by Ami's deliberate supercharging of her
hormone levels."
     "What kind of suffering?" Serena asked quietly as she walked over and sat
down next to Darian, fully dressed.
     "The kind where you're all worked up and no one to help you calm down,"
Mina said with a glare at Ami.
     "I really didn't need to know this," Darian moaned.
     "Darian, does Leda's preference for a bedmate really change who she is
inside?" Tolaris said mildly, still studying the surrounding trees.
     "I.... I guess not," Darian said with a blush.
     "Then don't worry about it.  It's a personal thing and that's all it is."
     "You seem to be taking this quite well," Mina commented to Tolaris.
     The Dragoon shrugged.  "What can I say?  I've been seeing this sort of
thing for six centuries now and I'm used to it.  There's very little in the way
of sexual behavior that bothers me anymore.  Not that I'd do most of it, mind
you, but it doesn't mean a thing to me."
     "That's good," said Mina.  "By the way, we're all dressed except for Leda
here who's still playing in the wind."
     "Okay, okay," Leda grumbled, "I'll get dressed so we can go."
     "Don't get dressed on our account," Darian snickered.  His comment earned
him a slap on the head from Serena.  "Hey, it was just a joke, meatball head."
     "It wasn't very funny," she said darkly.
     "Only if you're a guy," Tolaris grinned.  He stopped grinning when Ami
walked over and also smacked him on the head.  "Calm down, love."
     "So, just out of curiosity," Mina said slowly, "When exactly are we going
into Negaverse?"
     "What?" he said, almost forgetting that he wasn't allowed to turn around.
"Ami, what did you tell them?"
     She bent down and kissed his ear.  "Just that you were planning on going
into the Negaverse soon and that I wanted to go with you."
     "Hey, if she's going in, she'll need some major backup," Leda said as she
finished tying her shoes.  "So if she goes, I go."
     "I'm curious to see what the Negaverse is like, since we didn't get the
best of glimpses last time.  Besides, I can't let those two have all of the
fun," added Mina.
     Rei smiled.  "And since we're a team, I'm going as well.  Someone's got to
keep those three out of trouble."
     Tolaris sighed and wondered where he went wrong.  "Serena, I haven't heard
anything from you about this.  You're their leader.  What do you think?"
     The blonde looked down at the ground.  "Well, it is risky and I'm still
not sure why we would be going, but Rei is right.  We're a team and we'll go
together."
     The Dragoon nodded.  "So be it, then."  He looked over at Darian and gave
him a weak grin.  "What about Tuxedo Mask?  You think you want to go with them
to keep them out of my hair?"
     Darian smiled back.  "Of course.  Someone needs to make sure they'll come
back in one piece."
     "Like we can't do that on our own," Serena pouted.
     "Weren't you just telling us this morning how the rest of the Sailor
Scouts were killed?" Tolaris said pointedly.  He was greeted with silence and
he nodded.  "Exactly.  I want all of you to please think this over.  All I'm
doing is a simple cargo run and you don't need to come with me."
     "But I do," Ami said softly.  "Tolaris, if you go alone and don't come
back, I'll drive myself deathly ill with worry and will eventually go in there
myself looking for you.  But if I'm with you, I'll know what happens."
     "And the rest of us would go with her if she goes," Leda said.  "I'm all
dressed now, so we can go back to the cabin so I can get lunch started."
     Tolaris stood up and stretched.  "Okay.  One quick question for you, Leda.
Why are you doing all of the cooking?"
     "Because I love cooking and want to be a chef in my own restaurant some
day," she said with a smile.
     Tolaris shrugged.  "Oh, okay.  Everyone ready?"  There were nods of assent
all around as they grouped together and started walking back to the cabin.
     Halfway though the trip, Ami started yawning.  "Oh, my," she said after
spending the last two minutes yawning, "I think I'm going to need a nap."
     Leda gave her a curious look.  "I see.... And what have you been doing
that's got you so exhausted?" she said with a grin.
     "Did the fog stay in place?" Tolaris asked her.
     "Yeah...."
     "Then it's not what you think.  Neither my concentration nor my attention
span can handle both."  He laid a hand on Ami's shoulder and squeezed.  "Come
on, dear, stay awake long enough for us to get back and I'll tuck you in."
     Ami smiled and leaned against him.  "Only if you come with me."
     "So much for this afternoon's sunny forecast," Mina quipped.
     Tolaris shot her a reproving look.  "Be nice, Mina.  I won't be staying
here much longer.  I need to get to the cathedral so I can start my work and I
was planning on asking Darian for a ride there."
     "No problem," said Darian.  "I just need to get my jeep out of this snow
before we can go anywhere."
     The Dragoon laughed.  "Easily taken care of.  It's days like this where I
truly appreciate being able to control the weather."  He looked up as the trail
ended ahead of them.  "Looks like we're here already."
     "Good," Serena said with a hand over her stomach.  "I'm starting to get
hungry again."  Her words were soon followed by the soft sounds of a growling
stomach.
     "Here we go again...." Darian sighed.

		*		*		*		*

     "Okay, here's the general plan," Tolaris told the group as they ate lunch.
"Come down to the cathedral either Friday night or Saturday morning, depending
on when you can.  We'll spend the entire day Saturday planning and practicing
our strategies.  We all get a good night's sleep on Saturday and on Sunday we
go in.  I'm already setting into motion a snow storm that will blanket the
entire city Sunday morning so you won't have to worry about missing school or
anything on Monday if we have to spend the night in the Negaverse.  Anyone have
any sort of problem or objections with this plan?"
     Ami suddenly blinked.  "Oh, I almost forgot we have school tomorrow!  I
need to study for my physics exam after I fix my computer, if I can.   Thanks
for reminding me, dear," she said as she leaned over and kissed his cheek.
     The Dragoon shrugged.  "It was unintentional, but you're welcome.  As I
was saying, does anyone have anything they'd like to say about this?"
     "Aside from I can be there Friday night, nothing," Leda said.
     "What about Luna and Artemis?" Mina asked.  "You know they're going to
have a serious fit about this."
     "Oops, I forgot about them," Serena said, her eyes wide.  "And I think
you're right about their reactions.  Man, Luna is going to kill me...."
     "Can't we just bring them along?" said Rei.
     Tolaris frowned.  "Can they fight well?"
     Leda snickered.  "Not as well as they'd like to think."
     "Then I'm afraid they'll have to remain behind.  I've never met Artemis,
but Luna doesn't strike me as the kind of cat that would be useful in combat."
     "Are we expecting a fight, then?" Darian asked as he sipped his coffee.
     "If we're taking seven people into the Negaverse in a group, we're bound
to run across a strike team or two.  My information is out-of-date, but even a
routine border patrol team would pose a serious threat to us.  As I said, I'll
need to update my information once I get to the cathedral."
     "Which we should get going," Darian said as he looked at his watch.  "I
have to go to work in a few hours and I want to go home and change first."
     The Dragoon nodded.  "I'm ready whenever you are."
     "You have to say good-bye to me first," Ami pouted.
     Darian chuckled.  "And how long will that take?"
     Ami shrugged.  "Ideally, forever, but we don't have that long so I'll just
have to keep it short."  She stood up and gave Tolaris a very passionate kiss.
     Leda smirked and went into the kitchen, taking several dirty dishes with
her.  Rei deemed it necessary to start sorting her ward collection while Mina
studied a chip in her nail.  Serena closed her eyes and leaned against Darian
who was busy draining his cup of coffee.
     Ami eventually let go of Tolaris and sat back down.  "Try not to work too
hard, dear," she said with a smile.
     Tolaris smiled back and stood up.  "Believe it or not, I try not to."  He
bent down and kissed her on the cheek before turning to Darian.  "Ready?"
     Darian nodded and stood up.  "Of course."  He turned to Serena and gave
her a quick hug.  "I'll call you sometime after school, Serena.  Thanks again
for lunch, Leda, and I'll see you all on Saturday."
     There was a round of good-byes as the two guys left.  After the door had
closed, Mina looked around the table.  "So, we've got nine hours until the bus
comes to take us back.  What should we do until then?"
     "I think sitting in the thermal pool is out," said Rei.  "I'm still just a
bit waterlogged from this morning.  Were we really in there for two hours?"
     Leda came back into the room with a fresh pot of coffee and sat down.  "I
looked at the clock and Tolaris wasn't kidding.  Time flies when you're having
fun."
     "Some more than others," Serena said, looking down at the remains of her
lunch.  She picked through a half-eaten sandwich in search of leftover bacon.
"Mina, I think we need to have another talk today about what went on."
     "No problem.  Judging from the look on your face, Rei, I take it you want
in on this one as well?" Mina said.
     The priestess nodded.  "Yeah, I guess so.  I already talked with Darian
and Serena about a few things, but there's a whole lot more that I need to have
explained to me."
     Ami blinked and yawned.  "You'll have to count me out for this one.  I'm
going to take a nap before I finish fixing my computer and start studying."
     Rei smiled.  "Is being electrocuted all that tiring?" she said and watched
as Ami blushed a dark shade of crimson.  Three sets of eyebrows arched at the
statement and Mina gave Ami a sly grin.
     "Anything you want to tell us?" the blonde said.
     "Only that I'd hate to be on the wrong end of a lightning bolt," Ami said
as she stood up, still blushing.  "Thanks for lunch, Leda.  I'll see you all
after I'm finished studying."  She waved and headed off to her room.
     "What about you, Leda?" Mina asked the brunette.  "You want to join this
little discussion?"
     Leda sighed and stood up.  "No thanks.  I've got to get these dishes taken
care of before I start dinner.  Anyone have any problems with eating garden
salads and chicken soup tonight?"
     "Can you throw in a cake for dessert?" Serena said, drooling slightly.
     Leda smiled.  "Of course.  What kind?"
     "Chocolate," chorused Mina, Rei, and Serena.
     The brunette laughed as she gathered the rest of the dishes together.  "I
think I can make a nice, fluffy chocolate cake for dessert," she said and went
off into the kitchen.
     "So," Mina said as she poured herself a fresh cup of coffee.  "Where do
you think we should begin?"
     "Start with your curiosity," Rei said, sipping her herbal tea.
     "That's easy enough," Mina said and started to speak....

		*		*		*		*


                                     EPILOGUE


     Tolaris looked up from his work as he caught motion out of the corner of
his eye.  "Hello there," he said to the black cat.  "You're Luna, right?"
     Luna nodded.  "So you do remember me, Commander Sterling.  Do you mind if
we had a talk for a bit?" she said as she slowly walked into the room.
     Tolaris got out of the chair and sat down on the floor.  "By all means,
please do.  I was wondering when you would get around to hunting me down.  I
take it you want to talk about our plan to enter the Negaverse?"
     She sat down across from him and sighed quietly.  "Actually, no.  I was
going to bring that point up tomorrow afternoon when everyone was here."
     "That would be a good time.  Where is everyone, by the way?"
     "Ami is in a computer class right now, Rei is busy with her work at the
temple, and Serena is busy doing detention for being late to class.  Again.
Artemis and Mina are out doing something and Leda should be getting here rather
shortly.  As for Darian, I think he's working late tonight so he's sleeping,
but I'm not sure."
     The Dragoon nodded.  "I was just curious.  What did you want to talk to me
about?"
     Luna stretched and settled down for a long talk.  "I just wanted to find
out what your intentions were with regard to Ami."  She looked up and gave him
a glare that was pure venom.  "That, and to hear your explanation as to why she
is no longer a virgin."
     Tolaris smiled.  "Luna, my intentions are simple:  I am going to love her
with all my heart, and when she's old enough, I'm going to ask her to marry
me.  I know she's only fifteen now and I'm seven hundred twenty-four, but love
goes along way.  Surely you can understand that."
     The cat nodded.  "Yes, I can.  Now about the other matter...."
     Tolaris held up his hands.  "I was under orders."
     Luna blinked in surprise.  "What?  And just whose orders were they?!" she
demanded.
     "The god Mercury's.  You can take it up with him, if you like."
     She gave him a very suspicious look.  "I see...." she said slowly.  "Can
you tell me exactly how you were ordered to?"
     Tolaris told her of how he had borrowed Ami's Mercury Wand and prayed for
divine intervention, and what occurred between him and the god.  When he was
finished, Luna reluctantly agreed that it indeed was Mercury.
     "I've heard of such divine communication before, back in the Moon Kingdom.
I've never actually seen it, but Queen Serenity said she had several times."
She sighed and felt older than usual.  "He could at least have warned me about
it before I chewed her out.  Poor thing."
     "To be honest, I don't think she knew about it either," Tolaris admitted.
     "So she thinks you seduced her?" Luna said with another glare.
     "Actually, she put quite an effort into seducing me...."
     The cat was silent for several seconds as her heart threatened to quit on
her.  "Oh sure, Queen Serenity, I'll keep the princess and her court out of
trouble," she said to no one in particular.  "I'm beginning to regret taking
this job."
     "That's what my mother said when I was growing up," Tolaris said with a
soft smile.  "They're older and more mature than you think, Luna.  Ami knew
what she was doing, probably more so than I did."
     Luna sighed.  "I figured as much, but it's hard not to react as a mother
would.  After all, I did promise their mothers I would watch over them as they
grew to maturity and beyond."  She sighed again and stood up, stretching as she
did so.
     "Commander, I believe you when you say you love Ami, but I just want it
made clear that if you hurt her in any way, shape, or form, I will personally
come after you with all of the rage only a mother could wield."
     Tolaris smiled.  "Luna, if I should hurt Ami, you will have to stand in
line as I belive I will be busy contending with four other Sailor Scouts and
quite possibly Tuxedo Mask first."
     Luna smiled at the image.  "Just so we understand each other, Commander."
     "That we do, Luna."  He blinked and yawned quietly.  "If you'll excuse me,
I think I'm ready to go to bed.  I haven't slept in two days because I've been
busy going through Nephlyte's computer database.  I think I've found what I was
looking for, and more."
     "Will everything be ready for tomorrow?" she asked.
     "Yes."  He yawned again and stood up.  "My apologies, Luna, but I'm really
getting tired.  When Leda gets here, tell her to just make herself at home but
don't touch either the astroglobe or anything that looks like a giant crystal."
     Luna nodded.  "What's the astroglobe?"
     "The star mosaic in the central hallway.  I think it's activated by a set
of controls on the wall, but I'm not sure."
     "I'll be sure to tell her.  Sleep well, Commander Sterling.... and thank
you for talking to me about Ami."
     Tolaris smiled.  "You're quite welcome, Luna.  Take care."
     The cat nodded her head once.  "See you tomorrow," she said and left.
     The Dragoon closed the door after her and quickly got ready for bed.  He
laid down on the soft bed, thinking about what tomorrow would bring and the
trials they would soon face the day after.
     I guess we'll just have to find out, he thought to himself as his body
fell asleep and he slid into a comfortless world of sleep and dreams.


				* THE END *