Selene was already up, brushing out her long hair as she looked at herself in the mirror. She was dressed in a flowing, long-sleeved, button-up black shirt, slightly unbuttoned to reveal a tighter purple shirt underneath, dark purple leggings and black loafers over white socks.
�What, mom?� she called down out her bedroom door.
�Please come downstairs, there�s someone I�d like you to meet!�
Selene sighed, setting the brush down as she left the room. Cyprus gave a caw and soared after her, but she stopped halfway down the hall and turned to him. �I don�t think that�s a good idea, Cyprus, you know how mom feels about you.�
�I see no harm in coming along.� the raven sniffed, landing on her shoulder.
�Well, I do.�
Selene looked up and her face spread into a grin. Cassie was coming towards them, a stack of manga books in one arm. Her golden-blonde hair was hanging loose, as always, and she was dressed in a white shirt, with a yellow sweatshirt around her waist and blue jeans. There was a feather duster in her right hand, she�d been doing her chores.
�Miss Celesta doesn�t approve of you and you know it.� she chastised, taking Cyprus herself. She
sneared the proper �title� for Selene�s mom rather savagely as she turned to Selene. �She�s got some girl she wants you to meet, and you know she�ll want a good impression.�
�Yup.� Selene sighed, rubbing Cyprus on the head. �So you�re sittin� this one out, pal.�
�Fine then.� Cyprus muttered, annoyed. �But you know what they say�A bird at the side is worth two in the soup.�
Selene and Cassie stared at the bird in surprise. �Um�say what?� Cassie asked.
�Hm?� Cyprus shook his head. �I�m sorry, did you say something?�
�No, you did.� Selene sounded a little worried. �A bird at the�what?�
�I didn�t say anything of the sort.� Cyprus ruffled his feathers. �You two are acting so strangely today.�
With that he took to flight, soaring back into Selene�s room. The two girls blinked, looking at each other before Cassie asked it. �What�s wrong with him?�
�I dunno.� Selene shrugged. �He gets weird sometimes.�
�Selene!�
�Coming, mother!�
Selene hurried down the stairs, looking a bit sour as she usually was when her mother called her. Her mother was standing, wrapped in her favorite furs, as she talked to a tall man with dark bluish-black hair and deep blue eyes. He was dressed in a dark blue three-piece suit, and the smile that wreathed his face was very warm and friendly.
Celesta turned at her daughter�s near-to-silent entrance, shooting her a �behave yourself or you�re be grounded for a month� mother-type glare. Then she smiled, pulling the black-and-purple haired girl in by the wrist.
�Selene, dear, there you are!� she sighed, pulling her around to face the man. �Selene, this is Miroku Aregeto. He�s the new anthropology professor at the university, and an old�school friend of mine. Miroku, this is my daughter, Selene.�
�Pleasure to meet you.� Aregeto smiled, shaking Selene�s hand. The girl gave a slight �humph� and a short nod, eyes glaring not to try anything.
�And this�� Celesta reached behind Miroku to pull someone around to Selene�s level. �Is his daughter, Kristina.�
Selene turned to the other girl, taking in the details quickly. She looked to be about the same age, but was about a head shorter than Selene herself. Her hair was a pale aqua color, pulled into two not-quite-shoulder-length pigtails of the sides of her head. Her eyes were a deep blue, and her skin was nearly as pale as Selene�s own. She was dressed in a sky blue sweater, long-sleeved and very humble-looking, over white leggings and plain white shoes. She clutched a small and well-worn red book tightly to her chest.
Kristina shifted her weight from one foot to the other, eyes downcast. Miroku gave her a gentle, encouraging tap on the shoulder, then she extended her hand to Selene. �Pleased�to meet you.� she whispered, in a voice that sounds like water rushing through a riverbed.
Selene shook the hand, slightly surprised when the other girl barely gripped in the shake. Then Miroku and Celesta took a step back, the woman�s arm slipping into the man�s.
�Selene, dear�� The mother cooed. �Will you please show Kristina around? Maybe you two can find something to play with. Miroku and I have some�business to attend to��
The door shut behind them. Selene sighed, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. �Parents.� she muttered under her breath, then turned to the other girl, eyeing her a bit nervously. �Well then�follow me.�
She crossed to the stairs, barely hearing the other girl slid into quiet step behind her. Jeez, she was shy. About half-way up the stairs she turned back, hair running down her shoulders. �So�whattya wanna see?� she asked. �Just the usual �lap of luxury� tour, or are you looking for something special?�
��Nothing, really.� came the near-silent voice again. Kristina was still staring at the ground. She clutched her book closer. ��But a�library would be nice��
Selene raised an eyebrow. Her mother had a library, sure, but it was filled with fashion magazines and clothing manuals. Judging by her plain outfit that looked rather like she bought it from a thrift store, she probably wouldn�t be too interested in that lot. But the only other books they had in the house was her personal library�
She sighed. Might as well try to be nice�at least she wasn�t a bratty little two year old like the last one�or that annoying little eight-year-old boy before her�It wasn�t her fault that her dad was dating Celesta�
�Come on.� she motioned for Kristina to follow her. A secret smile spread across Selene�s lips. �You may like this.�
Kristina�s eyes glowed when she saw Selene�s room. She said nothing, but drew in a near-silent gasp and almost dropped the book she was carrying. Selene almost smiled as she took a step forward, then to her knees dropped in front of a bookshelf and started studying the hundreds of titles.
Selene brushed her duel-colored bangs back, dropping onto her bed and opening the graphic novel Cassie was lending her. She hadn�t had much interest in manga before, but she was quite enjoying this one�
After a few moments she glanced over the top. Kristina had found a pleasant-looking book and was sitting on the ground, reading it as though it was the last thing left in the world.
The door opened. Selene glanced at it, seeing Cassie peak in curiously for a moment before a wild cry filled the room. Kristina looked up, then screamed and ducked, flinging her arms up to block the dark shape that lunged at her.
�Cyprus!� Selene shouted, diving for the bird. She caught him, getting scratched severely as he tried to pull out Kristina�s hair. Then he calmed, perching on Selene�s arm as she pulled him back to his usual perch by her bed.
Cassie rushed in to evaluate both the damage and the new girl. Kristina uncurled, looking at the bird in surprise. �What�what is that?� she gasped.
�Cyprus.� Cassie said shortly, pulling her to her feet. �Selene�s pet.�
�Pet�?� Kristina looked closely at the bird as he preened his ruffled feathers. Her eyes lit up. �Oh my��
�He�s usually not that irritable.� Selene sighed, setting Cyprus back on his perch.
�What a beautiful bird.� Kristina was suddenly next to her, reaching a timid hand to touch Cyprus�s feathers. Selene blinked. For someone so quiet, the girl was awfully fast.
Cyprus stiffened as Kristina stroked his feathers, then snapped at her fingers. Kristina pulled back, holding in a slight eek. �Cyprus�� Selene growled, closing the bird�s beak with her hand.
��What�d I do?� Kristina asked quietly. �I didn�t mean to offend him��
�He�s just a little�over protective.� Selene explained, using the first excuse that came to mind.
Telepathically, though, she was listening to Cyprus�s voice. �Her energy pattern is bizarre.� he muttered sorely. �I can�t identify it. But something about her makes me nervous��
�Like what?� Selene glanced at Cassie. She�d heard it too, but although Cyprus could read minds, neither of them knew what the other was thinking. �You don�t think� could she be with the enemy?!�
�It is a possibility�� the bird whispered.
�But she�s so quiet, Cyprus�� Selene thought. �Are�Are you sure?�
�No.� the bird admitted. �But it is a possibility�so we need to keep an eye on this girl��
~ * ~ * ~
A young woman strutted through the fine business district of the city. Her hair was long and golden blonde, pulled back in a bun from which a long ponytail swung to her waist. She was dressed impeccably, in a dark gray suit with a short skirt, white shirt, gray jacket, navy blue tie, and dark blue shoes. Solid black sunglasses covered her eyes, there were beaded bracelets on her wrists, and over-all she looked about 25.
Andromeda smiled to herself. The spell she had on now was extremely misleading and quite easy to cast. Usually she�d be a little annoyed at being taken for 8 years older than she actually was, but this was good enough for now.
She adjusted the bracelet on her right wrist. Identical to the one on her left, it was made out of large beads, alternating between silver and black, and fit her perfectly, but she still liked making sure it was there. She happily ran her finger over the large, star-shaped black bead in the very middle.
�Now.� she muttered to herself, pushing her sunglasses up her nose. �There must be some sort of gathering around here�Hm? What�s this?�
She stopped in front of a large hotel. There were people rushing around everywhere, getting everything ready and preparing a huge room that looked to be decorated for some huge dance. The a banner out front announced that it was for the arrival of some big modeling agency that was making their location in this city.
Andromeda smiled. �Perfect.� she laughed, and set about finding a way to sneak inside.
~ * ~ * ~
�Thanks for coming along, Cass�.� Selene sighed, reaching under her hair to attached the gold necklace. She brushed the two-toned locks back, eyeing her reflection grumpily. �I know you hate dressing up.�
�I don�t mind.� Cassie straightened out of her pale orange skirt, then brushed a bit of lint off the yellow sweater. �I�ve never been to any kind of dance like this�Hold still, please.�
Selene held her breath a moment as Cassie tied the large, white sash around her waist into a bow. At least the dress was a nice color this time, a dark purple that was almost black, but she still had to wear those god-awful gloves, sash and tight white shoes. Cassie�s outfit was more casual, but not anywhere near as �in-vogue�.
�Trust me, it�s no fun.� Selene sniffed, taking the hat off, patting down her hair, then putting it back on. �Mom�s friends always get me in talking to those catty, annoying girls, or try set me up with stuffy sons. It�s annoying.�
�There�s something more, too.� Cyprus flew in the window, landing on Selene�s shoulder. �That girl is coming, isn�t she?�
��Kristy?� Selene muttered quietly. She�d seen the girl once more since their first meeting, over dinner and a movie, and in truth she liked her quite a bit. When she opened up a bit, she was quite interesting, and found that they had many of the same likes and dislikes.
Cassie turned on her, eyes narrowing dangerously. ��Kristy�?� she asked, slurring the word into a disgusted noise. �Since when has she been �Kristy�?�
Selene didn�t answer, so Cassie continued, glare narrowing. �I thought, as a rule, you hated your mother�s boyfriends, and their kids!�
�I can make an exception if I want to!� Selene snapped. She toyed with the gold necklace her mother was making her wear.
�She could be working with the Enemy!� Cassie exclaimed. �It sure seams like it to me! I mean, how do we know this �Miroku� guy isn�t just one of those monsters in disguise, and she�s the one controlling him!�
�For your information, my mother showed me Aregeto�s picture in her high school year book, and he was her boyfriend senior year.� Selene muttered coldly.
�It could be a double, a doppelganger!� Cassie insisted, muttering out excuses.
�Girls, girls, stop it!� Cyprus cawed in his bird voice, and the two scouts fell silent. �This girl may very well be a threat, but there is no reason to fight amongst ourselves over it! We just have to remember to be very careful��
�Selene, dear!� Celesta called. �It�s time to go!�
Selene and Cassie locked eyes a moment, sighed in unison, and crossed into the hall and out of the house.
~ * ~ * ~
Why did people come to these parties? This was by far the most boring thing Cassie had ever done. Even when Selene was up to talking to her, that girl Kristina was around, so they couldn�t talk about any of the important stuff. That little girl was so clingy�
Cassie sipped some of the dark purple, fake-grape flavored punch disdainfully, looking around at the partygoers. Selene was by the wall, talking with Kristina and trying to avoid the other guests. Every now and then the two Senshi would meet eyes, exchange a slight sight-argument, and go back to what they had been previously doing. Cyprus was flying around outside, she�d seen him resting in the tree outside the window.
The rest of the party was pretty dull, adults and teenagers dressed in stuffy clothes and just generally being stuck-up. The place was decorated in blues and whites, with a large, pale ice sculpture in the very middle, shaped like a supposedly attractive woman, wearing what was supposed to be the dress of the year. Cassie couldn�t tell which side of the woman�s head was her face.
She stopped in mid-gulp, nearly spitting out the punch as a sudden jolt of ice-cold energy ran through her. Selene abruptly stiffened as well, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up for a split instant.
Cassie started to cross to her partner, glancing this way and that for some sign of where the energy was coming from. Kristina shivered, rubbing the arms you could see under her short, sky-blue sleeves. �Is it just me, or did it get colder in here?� she asked, the slightest shiver in her voice.
�It�s probably nothing�� Selene lied, poker-faced, as she locked eyes with Cassie. �Listen, Kristy�I�ve gotta go for a second�I�ll be right back��
Kristy opened her mouth to ask where she was going, but the two Senshi had already hurried in the direction of the hotel door.
The two slid to a stop outside, under a hanging light. �You felt that, didn�t you?� Cassie gasped, putting a hand to her heart.
�No kidding�� Selene glanced around. �There�s definitely something here, and it�s not friendly.�
Cyprus flew down and landed on Selene�s shoulder. �Be alert, girls.� he whispered to them mentally.
�Look around for any sort of clue, and BE CAREFUL. Remember what happened last time�anything can happen.�
Selene glanced at Cassie and nodded, taking the route down by the main hall while the blonde crossed some of the less-noticeable places.
As Selene passed in front of the main ballroom, the door opened quite suddenly and a very soft moan was heard. She looked back to see a rather disoriented young girl with two pale blue pigtails stumble out, face flushed, hugging herself and shivering despondently.
�Kristy?!� Selene gasped, hurrying to her.
�Selene, what are you doing?! Get back here!� Cyprus exclaimed, hovering in mid-air, but his pupil took no heed.
�Oh�Selene?� Kristy asked weakly, looking up. She looked like she was trying to shrivel away, dry up, anything to get away from whatever was ailing her. �I feel�so cold�It�s freezing in there, Selene�I can�t take it��
She let out a soft moan and fell forward, partially from a near-faint and partially from tripping over her own high heels. A small squeak escaped Selene�s lips as she caught her smaller friend by the arms.
Selene shivered when Kristy�s forehead hit the part of her neck the dress left bare. �She�s so cold�� she gulped. She had not felt like that before.
Cassie ran up as she set Kristy down by the opposite wall, propping the small girl up. �The tempter�s dropping like crazy in there!� the blonde gasped. �It�s almost thirty degrees and�What the heck happened to her?�
�I don�t know.� Selene muttered, still kneeling. �But look��
Cassie looked up and her eyes widened. Ice was slowly snaking its way out of the crack under the door, petrifying the carpet and freezing the door shut. The two large, wooden double-doors looked almost blue with their frost.
Selene stood and locked eyes with her friend. The two nodded in agreement, thumbs brushing against the silver rings before they threw their hands in the air.
�Gemini Star Power!�
�Libra Star Power!�
A few flashes of light and quick henshin sequences later, the two fully-transformed Zodiac Senshi stood battle-ready. Libra pulled at the chain of her Scales, adjusting them so they were easy to carry, and glanced at the doors. �Care to do the honors?�
�With pleasure.�
Swish. A quick down-slash of a rather sharp scythe and the two doors came loose. Both girl contributed to the kick that sent them crashing opened, then shivered and pulled back a bit from the sight inside.
The entire ballroom was covered from drapes to drawers in ice. The floor was frosting over, the walls were blue, the windows were almost completely blacked. People lay, frozen, on the ground, unable to move or cry out or anything to get away from the creature drawing away their spiritual energy.
To the scout�s surprise, however, the creature causing the freezing and the one drawing away the energy were not the same person.
The one icing the whole place over was the ice sculpture from before, apparently having just snapped to life, but with glowing blue eyes on one side of its head, mouth cracked open in a toothy smile. She was blasting ice from her finger-tips in all directions, freezing everything that moved and most of what didn�t.
But the one drawing in energy was a young woman, maybe 17 years old. Her hair was golden blonde, pulled off to one side in a long, high ponytail. Her eyes were a dark, almost creepy blue with an interesting sparkle in them. She was dressed in a long-sleeved, nearly see-through yellow shirt, under a tight black, no-sleeved dress that ended at her knees, ankle-high black boots and two black and silver, beaded bracelets. She was drawing the energy into a large, black orb about the size of a soccer ball, hovering above her right hand and sucking the energy into it like a vortex.
�Perfect�Perfect!� she crowed, swirling more energy in with her hand. �Just a bit more! The Master will be so pleased!�
She suddenly noticed that the door was opened and looked up. Then a look somewhere between a grin and a frown crossed her face. �Oh�looks who�s here.�
The ice-thing turned back, glancing at the two girls wearily. �Boss, who�s that?�
Libra, always ready for a challenge and already pumped up to fight, took that as an opportunity to introduce themselves�
�The Balance between good and evil has been disturbed! I, Sailor Libra, Zodiac Scout of the eternal balance, am here to tip back the scales!�
�Even the moon has a dark side. And that is I, Sailor Gemini, Zodiac Scout of Death, here to lead you to the grave.� muttered the other scout quietly, not immensely fond of screaming her battle charge.
The woman�s grin-sneer grew larger. She pushed the ball behind her back, the dark object still hovering three feet off the ground, and jumped down from the iced-over table she�d been standing on.
However, as soon as she hit the ice, her feet went flying out from under her and she landed flat on her rear with a shout of �Ow! That hurt!�
Gemini and Libra blinked, then glanced at each other, both profoundly confused as their enemy pulled herself to her feet.
�Excuse me.� the woman brushed the long, golden ponytail back over her shoulder. �I haven�t introduced myself yet, have I? I am Andromeda, Mistress of the Dark Arts. And I'm afraid you, little Zodiacs, will be no match for my great power!�
�Is that so?� Libra let out a low sound, like an angry cat.
Andromeda gave the smaller girl another smirk, and very suddenly sharp points of ice came flying at the two Senshi. Gemini kicked off the wall and pushed Libra out of the way, the two of them sliding until they reached the opposite wall with a �bump�.
Libra sat up. Gemini was shivering, rubbing her arms against the cold. She had to agree�the short skirt and almost no sleeves look did NOT hold up very well in this �weather��
�Y-You wanna d-do something� �bout the t-temperature, Libra?� Gemini shivered out.
�Ye-yeah�� Libra gulped, pulling her scales up so she could see them. �B-Balancing��
An icicle shot from the ice demon�s hand, catching in one of Libra�s chain links and yanking the scales from her hands. It pinned the scales to the wall, then exploded into a blob of ice, trapping Libra�s weapon in its grasp.
�Uh oh�� Libra gulped, running to the wall and grabbing the chain that wasn�t frozen. She put one foot on the wall to brace herself and pulled, but it held tights. �Damn it��
�Just hang on!� Gemini lifted her scythe, about to bring it down on the ice, when the ice demon grabbed it by the top of the staff in both hands, pulling it back. Gemini was pulled off-balance, thrown back against the floor and sliding into the wall.
�Oh, man�� she groaned. �This is not good.�
~ * ~ * ~
Outside the door, Cyprus hopped along the ground to the near-unconscious girl by the wall. Kristy groaned a low groan, moving just a bit to try and warm up. �Cold�it�s just so cold�� she whispered weakly.
Cyprus squinted up, trying to identify the strange rush of energy filling the girl. He cawed in surprised realization, fluttered a few inches up and landed on her shoulder.
The dream-world Kristy lay on her stomach in the middle of a dry floor. She was shivering helplessly, scared, not willing to move for fear of hurting herself. Suddenly, she found herself face-down in the middle of a pool of water�no, rather, a shallow river.
She blinked, feeling the warm water rush around her. She pushed up by the arms to find herself face-to-face with a raven larger than she was.
�Don�t be afraid.� he whispered to her. �I won�t hurt you.�
Kristy gulped, staring at him in surprise. �Who�who are you?�
�Don�t you know?�
��Cyprus�� she whispered, looking down at the ground. �You�re Cyprus, aren�t you?�
The bird nodded, reaching into his right wing with his beak. �I have something for you.� he seamed to smile. �Hold out your hands.�
Kristy obeyed, and the bird dropped something in her hands. A silver ring, a blue gem shaped into a pair of wavy lines, the symbol of Aquarius. She examined it a moment, then slipped it onto her finger�
She sat up suddenly, blue eyes flying open. Cyprus cawed and took flight above her, and she shivered against the cold wind blowing from the open ballroom door. She looked down at her right hand and found the ring from her dream, waiting for her.
Hesitantly, then with a bit more confidence, she lifted her hand into the air and let her voice
call�
�Aquarius�Star�Power!�
The bright blue symbol illuminated behind her on a black background. Kristy body and hair were covered by a glowing blue light. Dark blue ribbons wrapped around her body, flashing into a black bodice, blue skirt dotted with black stars, matching sailor collar, and two large blue bows with black stars in the center. She brought her hands together, lifting them up in front of her, then held them above her head. Ribbons ran up her hands and flashed into black gloves, ending in blue rings. She lifted herself up to her toes as ribbons ran down her legs from the skirt, flashing into simple black loafers with knee-high blue stockings. With a glow, a silver tiara appeared under her bangs, a blue gem right in the middle.
Shining into existence was a large book, almost too big for her to hold, lined with silver and with a silver symbol of Aquarius in the middle. She grabbed it, pulling it to her chest as she smiled modestly at the end of her transformation.
Cyprus let out a caw, diving through the door. �Follow me!� Aquarius quickly obliged, not knowing what else to do, sliding through the ice of the door.
Libra was still attempting to wrench her scales free from the iced-over wall. Andromeda was laughing heartily as she watched Selene attempt to stand and defend herself on the ice.
The book in Aquarius�s hands suddenly fluttered to life, flying open. The pages rustled open in the wind, displaying a new page. ��An ice apparition?� she read out loud, scanning the pages. She understood the stats immediately, and something inside told her what to do�
She held the open book out in front of her, closing her eyes. Salty-smelling sea winds rustled the pages, blowing them so fast it was hard to see. Aquarius�s eyes flew open.
�Winds of Knowledge!�
The ice-apparition turned, just in time to see the hurricane-like blast of wind as it lifted it up into the air. It was flung across the hall to crash into the wall, crumpling to the ground.
�What?!� Andromeda snapped her head around, looking outraged. �Who the hell are you?!�
�Um�well�� Aquarius faltered a moment, then the idea sprung into her head and she went with it. �The pages of the book of knowledge show truth. I, Sailor Aquarius, Zodiac Scout of Wisdom, will use it to defeat you�
Libra stopped pulling, turning to stare in surprise. �Aquarius?!�
Gemini stared as Cyprus landed on the chandelier above her, cawing. Then she understood and a smile wreathed her face. �Kristy!�
�Another one?!� Andromeda growled. The ice creature pulled itself up, leaning on the wall. �Get them, you idiot! Get them!!�
Aquarius dodged a wave of ice crystals, sliding to a stop next to Gemini. The pages of her book were now open to the ice apparition�s stats, its strengths and weaknesses. She glanced at Gemini from under her bangs. �I�m guessing you�re Selene, right? Any plans?�
�Yeah�� Gemini nodded. �Think you can keep it busy for a while?�
�Sure.� Aquarius opened the book in front of her again, �Just take what you need. Winds of Knowledge!!�
The ice monster tried to defend against the winds, pushing through them with brutal force. Aquarius focused her energy, struggling to keep the gale up the best she could, lifting the creature into the air.
Gemini lifted her Scythe above her head. �Gemini Twins!�
A second Sailor Gemini leapt out from the first, jumping over Aquarius and bringing her scythe down through the winds. The ice apparition blocked instantly, a curved shield of ice shattering under the blade.
The first Gemini ran/slid across the ice to Libra. �Stand back.� she warned, lifting her scythe up. �Shadow Scythe!�
The ice shattered just as the winds broke. The second Gemini grabbed Aquarius by the shoulders and pulled her out of the way, crashing into the first and re-joining. The ice monster turned to find three battle-ready Senshi, Libra lifting her scales in preparation.
�Hang on to your hat�� Gemini whispered to Aquarius as Libra began.
�Balancing Magic!�
Everything stopped in mid-air. The golden pieces appeared in Libra�s hand, dropping one-by-one into the scales as the heat started to go up and the ice began to turn to water. When the world reactivated, they were practically standing in puddles.
�Not again!!!!� Andromeda wailed as her ice creature futilely attempted to freeze the three fighters.
�Aquarius�� Gemini glanced over. �Care to show us what you can do?�
Aquarius looked uncertain, but nodded. She stepped forward and threw the Book into the air, with a flash it became a brilliant blue jug. She caught it by the handles, holding the top open to the sky as water began to pour in from nowhere. When it was full she pulled it down, the top pointing towards the ice creature. �Water Bearer Blast!!�
The water shot forward in a torrent wave. The monster screamed and tried to run, but was hit full-force and disappeared in a puff of steam.
Along with it went Andromeda�s ball of energy. The blonde-haired girl screamed in frustration, stomping her foot. �I�ll get you for this, you�you children!! I�ll get you!!�
And with that, she vanished into the darkness.
~ * ~ * ~
The three Senshi found themselves at a simple caf� after the whole ordeal was over. None of the other guests remembered anything that had happened, and were a bit surprised when they found the place soaking wet, so the big unveiling had to be canceled. Lounging around in blue jeans made all three of them feel much better.
�So�� Cassie muttered, sipping her soda carefully. �I guess�you�re one of us now, huh, Kris?�
��I suppose�� Kristy fingered the ring on her hand. �It seams�so strange, all this happening all of a sudden�Very odd��
�You�ll get used to it.� Selene tapped her fork on the edge of her dessert plate, on which a half-eaten chocolate cake was sitting. �Besides, it can�t be too much weirder once a few others show up�anything in the book-thingy yet?�
�Not much�� the Book of Knowledge was open on the table. Somehow it had retained its shape after Kristy had changed back. She was flipping openly through it, contemplating each page. �It�s strange�This book is so big�but the information just seams to come out of nowhere�And then it disappears again��
�Eh, we can worry about all that later.� Cassie slurped down the rest of her soda, setting the straw on the table. �Right now we�ve got bigger fish to fry�like �Miss� Celesta and Aregeto-san.�
Selene snapped her head around. �Whattya talkin� about?�
�You two weren�t paying attention, were you?� Cassie�s brown eyes narrowed. �Apparently they�re still pretty taken with each other. Aregeto proposed in front of everyone before that ice-thing showed up��
Selene�s mouth dropped open. Kristy�s eyes looked up from the Book, widening in surprise. Cassie just gave the two of them a knowing smirk. �Looks like you�re moving in, Kris��