Becky hummed to herself as she straightened out the living room. Being the daugter of two secret agents wasn't always so great, especially when they worked for different agencies. Not only were they gone most of the time, but there was the strong possibility that someday one of them wouldn't make it back. Then of course there was that whole brainwashing thing. That was really not well done of them, but at least it had prepared her for her new life. Having both of her parents stationed in Japan was a dream come true for Becky. They played Anime on T.V., and not badly dubbed and cut, either! She was right at the source for the newest and BEST new shows. Also, it was infinitely easier to get her hands on the latest cute merchandise from her favorite shows, as the gaudy displays in her room attested to. And ever since she'd moved here, her life was like an anime character's! She found out she was a super-secret agent magical girl reincarnated from thousands of years ago, and had a truly nifty sword to help out with the coming apocolypse! Truly, Becky was in Otaku Heaven. Of course it had it's down side. Both of her alter egos came with distinct and quite separate personalities of their own, personalities that used to fight constantly, giving her the worst headaches imaginable. But BA-3 could play the bass, and so she had finally gotten to join the Do-Gooders. And with all the stuff happening to THAT band, well, it was all her favorite shows rolled together in to one action packed sequence after another. Who wouldn't like that? What with school, the band, and various side trips to alternate dimensions, Becky hadn't actually been able to watch much anime recently. So, she settled down to clean her guns and watch a few hours of friday night anime. BA-3 was happy about the guns, but thought the anime was unamerican. Sailor Rapture chipped in that she thought both were frivolous. Their muttering in her background thoughts got louder and louder, until finally Becky lost her patience. "Look, you two, if you don't shut up and let me watch this episode of Slayers, I'm going to have you both hypnotically removed!" Unfortunately, by the time that Otaku reestablished her dominance, the show was over. Mentally cursing herself three kinds of fools, she trudged up to her room. She was instantly soothed by the multitude of Anime posters on the walls, the cute plush Pikachu on her bed and the familiar sight of her shelves and shelves of anime and manga. It had been a rough and rather confusing night, and she was looking for some relaxation. The most strenuous thing she had planned was a stack of Sailor V manga. She was delighted to find a package had been delivered for her. When she had lived back in the states, a package could only have meant a newly subbed batch of anime, and she would have descended upon it like a rabid wolf. Now they meant another care package of goodies from her Aunt Mina, full of the latest U.S. junk. Becky quickly skimmed the note and then tore into the box. Amidst the treasure trove there was a stack of CD's, all by the same artist. Several of them were from her own collection, but the newest one had just come out that week. She started jumping around her room, yelling, "Whoop, there it is! Er, I mean sugoi! Wai! Wai!" As she played through them, a smile lit her face, replaced by a thoughtful look that segued into a gleeful grin as she anounced, "What a PERFECT IDEA, Becky!" "Why thank you, Becky, even if I do say it myself." -------------------------------------- Do-Gooders (The Proactive Teen Superhero Team With No X Anywhere In Their Title) Episode Thirty-Five Siblings! Seeing Double, er Triple, or Whatever! Created by Stefan Gagne This part by Kimberli McClanahan Hosted at Improfanfic -------------------------------------- Keiko sighed dejectedly as she flipped through the pages of her Book of Penultimate Evil. It had been a sucky day. Aki hadn't actually *thrown* her out of the house, but it had been damn close. It was true that Keiko wasn't used to having friends, but she was pretty sure that she hadn't committed some major faux pas with Aki. Yet their friendship seemed to be crumbling right before her eyes. As for Matsuro, well, of course he needed space. His whole Destiny thing was a lot to handle, even if he didn't know the whole thing yet. She certainly wouldn't want to crowd him *too* much. But she felt he was pushing her away. He seemed distracted and perhaps even....guilty? Come to think of it, Aki looked much the same, and they had been eyeing each other pretty strangely at lunch. Perhaps.... 'NO!' Keiko knocked herself upside the head, somehow managing to look unbearably cool while doing it. 'Aki swore I she didn't want him! They would never betray me like that!' She paused on a particular page. 'Of course, Matsuro HAS never declared undying love for me or anything like that...' She briefly studied the Inflict Undying Love spell, shook her head. 'Nahh...' Night was the best time for Keiko. Most of the really wicked cool spells should be cast at midnight, and some of the best needed the light of the full moon or two picos of starlight or something. Of course, she'd already been through most of the book, but tonight she was looking for something specific. She'd found a whole bunch of little ofuda strips on the ground, each with an identical magic symbol. The symbol tickled the back of her mind somehow, but she couldn't quite place it. Leafing through the book reminded her of all the things she still needed. There were quite a few spell components she didn't have, and you never know when a pint of vampire blood would come in handy. Or a pint of Darkverse blood, when you get right down to it she was running low. And oh, for a dragon scale or three! All of the really cool enchanted armor and such needed dragon parts. She'd been thinking of adding a little flash to her outfit for the music festival, and Matsuro's birthday was coming up. She had been modifying a spell for a while now to make him a new school uniform, one that would not only protect him from all that nasty cutting and impaling damage, but also launder itself and 'Look Really Cool All the Time.' Not that he needed any help in *that* department. The way things were going she wondered if her 'Win Friends and Influence People' spell might be wearing off. Maybe it was time to bolster that spell. What were the ingredients for that again? At least HER 'Look Really Cool All the Time' spell was still going strong. The only way to cancel THAT spell was to do an infomercial for a Psychic Friends Network. Keiko really wasn't a morning person, considering how late she stayed up working on spells most nights. Still, she pulled herself out of bed and into her specially modified fuku for school. It was saturday, so school was out early. If she was lucky she could maybe convince Matsuro to come out on a date with her afterwards. The school halls were pretty typical for a saturday morning, and she found Matsuro staring into nothing with intense concentration. "Ne, Matsuro." She smile and glomped on to his arm for a moment before resuming a more decorus distance. "Wanna go for a soda after school?" Matsuro drew his attention away from nothing for a moment to glance at her. "Hm? Not now, Keiko, okay?" He refocused his eyes on the disturbing lack of apocalyptic visions around him. He'd had dreamless sleep for the first time in his life last night, and it wasn't very restful. Made him downright paranoid, in fact. Keiko's smile died a slow death. She felt her heart crack just a tiny bit as Matsuro went back to ignoring her. "Oh, um, okay..." she murmered, backing up a few steps before she turned to go, not quite running. Matsuro was a guy of few words, it was true, but he had never quite so pointedly given her the brush off. Not since he'd actually noticed the 'new her' at least. If the shadows in Keiko's homeroom were darker than usual, no one seemed to notice. Lunchtime, even on half day Saturdays like this one, usually saw the band and assorted friends gathered in the courtyard of the school. Becky bounced around impatiently and waited for the rest of the gang. Tejina and Ayame were there, and Matsuro was staring off into the distance as per usual, but there was no sign of Hanaki or Kireiko either. Aki and Keiko both seemed to be keeping thier distance, from the group and from each other. That was unusual enough to be remarked upon, for that put Keiko at least ten feet away from Matsuro. Becky had an idea she wanted to share with the band, and she really couldn't wait for rehearsal tonight! "Gosh, is Kireiko ALWAYS this late? I wanna talk about our playlist for the festival tomorrow!" Matsuro looked up. "He's sick today. I'm taking his assignments over after school." "Sick?? Oh NO! Will he be able to play tomorrow? Er, I mean, I hope it's nothing serious!" "He'll be fine. I think he was just 'sick' of school, y'know?" Matsuro went back to staring at nothing. Being Matusro, it was hard to tell from the outside that he was more out of it than usual. His night of dreamless sleep had given him no rest, and this morning's continued absence of visions was making him nervous. All night he had been waiting subconciously for some wreched nightmare like usual, and it hadn't happened. It was disturbing, to say the least, this abrupt cessation of his hallucinatory visions. He was vaguely aware of something....missing. His arm was cold. Then he realized that that was because Keiko wasn't hanging off of it. Brow wrinkled he looked around for her. She was standing a ways away with a group of girls he guessed would those new students. Oh, well that was okay then. "Well then, is Hanaki ever going to get here?" "She skipped. Said something about a sale at the mall. Wouldn't let me go, though. Insisted that I desperately NEED all help I can get with school. I would have skipped for a good sale... Hey, wanna go with me after school?" "Sure." Becky thought about it for a moment. "Hey wait, Hanaki and Kireiko both skipped school today?" Tejina turned to look at her, realization dawning. "Oh! What do you want to bet they're not together right now!" "I wouldn't take that bet. You don't suppose they're..." Becky giggled. Matsuro tuned them out and went back to contemplating his predicament. The fact that Villyn was his father was pretty disturbing, what with the fact that the guy was a maniac and all. A sister, now, that was different. Having a sister was great! The only problem was she was Aki, that girl he was supposed to marry for his destiny. Now THAT was kinda messed up. Not that he was actually going to marry her, I mean she seemed as uninterested in that as he was. Plus, there was Keiko.... Anyway, he could probably have happily ingnored it in favor of this whole 'break the world's shell' thing, but he was pretty sure that Aki knew something. She'd been giving him slightly hunted looks for the last few days. Matsuro heaved a sigh and pulled himself to his feet. They should probably talk about it. Aki had been trying to avoid Matsuro ever since yesterday when she'd found out they were long lost twins. Like her life wasn't crazy enough, with her dad trying to take over the world, all the minions underfoot, that stupid Sailor Joy thing and now THIS! It was almost too much for one normal well adjusted teen to take. But she was actually pretty well adjusted, and so she had sort of come to terms with this latest insanity. After all, for all these years she had lived with her dad, secure in the knowledge that he loved her, even if he was dissapointed that she wasn't 'evil' like him. But Matsuro, he'd lived alone since his... er, their mom had died. That was almost 6 years ago! Come to think of it, he DID always wear his school uniform. Just how much money did mom leave him? Not enough, obviously. And meanwhile, her dad had known, KNOWN that his son was living right here in Tokyo, destitute! Oh, there was going to be a lot to discuss in group tonight! Aki envisioned a chibi Matsuro, dressed in rags and trembling from the cold, holding out a little cup and saying 'Please sir, can I have some more?' in a really bad accent. "Yo." Aki's little vision dissipated when the real Matsuro approached her. He didn't really look little, or cold, or hungry, either. He just looked bishonen. "You know, don't you." It was a statement more than a question. He glanced around. "We need to talk." He jerked his thumb towards the equipment shed. Aki nodded and quietly preceded him there. Better to keep this private for now. Keiko tried to look interested in the three fawning new students. The blonde girl, Mariko, had followed her from class, gushing about how cool and great she was. That 'Win Friends and Influence People' spell seemed to be working just fine on *these* three, but her own friends didn't seem to even notice her. She gazed longingly over where Becky, Ayame and Tej sat talking. Or where Becky and Tej tried to keep Ayame from talking, rather. While Keiko's attention was diverted Yaki and Yumeko exchanged a look. Mariko played the vapid innocent very well, but it was almost unbearably funny for anyone who actually knew her to watch. They valiantly tried to stiffle their giggles. Mariko shot them a look of pure malice before resuming her wide-eyed expression of adoration. Yaki followed Keiko's gaze to the group under the tree, but panned back when she saw something that interested her more. "Oh look, it's Matsuro-kun. He's in my class. Oh, he has a girlfriend?" Her brief spark if interest faded and her usual despair kicked back in, practically radiating from her. Keiko's head whipped around to see Matsuro and Aki standing much too close together, talking intensely. Matsuro looked around and stepped back, jerking his thumb to the side. It was a gesture Keiko knew intimately, a gesture that meant, 'Let's go make out in the equipment shed.' A gesture she thought he'd only used with her! She felt the crack in her heart widen as she watched them sneak off together. "I hate how guys like that are, don't you?" Yumeko tossed her head, her bright pink hair ruffling in the breeze. She looked relaxed, confident, but you could actually feel her hatred in the air they breathed. "They never seem to care about the 'little people.' They think that just because they're good looking they don't have to make an effort. They hurt so many people without even caring." Mariko reprimanded her. "Now now, Yumeko, you don't know this boy well enough to make these judgements." Mariko smiled a sly little smile as Yaki and Yumeko stepped up, flanking Keiko, gleefully observeing Keiko's distress. The plan was working even more perfectly than she could have hoped! What luck that Darkness was already estranged from those others. If she was the type she would have let loose with a full-fledged villain's laugh, but as it was she just smiled an evil smile. Keiko's fists were clenched so tight her nails drew blood from her palms. Alternating waves of Hatred and Despair flooded over her, as she watched her best friend and her boyfriend sneak off together. Aki and Matsuro stood in the equipment shed, avoiding each other's eyes with firm intensity. However, Aki was not the champion of staring at nothing that Matsuro was, and she broke down after only a few moments. "Look, my dad told me something pretty wierd the other day, I mean *really* wierd, and I think you should know that we're twins." She blurted it out as bravely as she could. Matsuro looked at his mother, who was clipping coupons at an empherial desk in the corner and pretending not to eavesdrop. "Yes," he nodded, "Mom told me." "You KNOW?!?! Mom told you all that time ago, and you never came to us? I didn't even know I HAD a brother!" Exasperated, Aki threw her hands into the air. "I've been going out of my mind these last few days. All this time they separated us, and you *knew*?" "No, I mean she told me a couple of days ago. We're really twins? I thought maybe we were half-siblings..." His voice trailed off at Aki's incredulous stare. "What?" "Nothing," she murmered, turning to follow his line of vision. There was a kind of shimmer there... "You can really still talk to her?" "Yeah, she's a pain in the butt." He flinched as the walls started dripping raspberry jam. A small chorus of chipmunks started crooning a ditty about a whole lot of trouble. "Sorry, mom..." He was comforted and strangely relieved to once again be plagued by hallucinatory visions. "*Nothing* could be worse than Dad." Aki rolled her eyes. "Yeah," Matsuro agreed, thinking of the armored lunatic Villyn. Matsuro really hadn't spent any time with Villyn, but he did know the guy liked to crash gigs. And wasn't he trying to take over the world or something? "Listen, Matsuro. This whole thing is pretty confusing, and we need to get back to class. Would you come to group with me tonight?" "Group?" It was a scene straight out of any shojo anime, the young girl skipping down the path in the park, licking an ice cream cone while her indulgent boyfriend smiled and tried to get a peek up her skirts. For some reason Hanaki was wearing her school uniform, even though they'd both contrived to skip school today. In the bushes there was a fierce argument in session. "I'm telling you, that's him!" Jinko pointed to the figure in the few fuzzy photographs their client had provided. "I don't think so," Junko brushed a strand of her hair back. "He looks too short. And where are the tentacles, I ask you?" The lovely twin devil hunters had been contracted to subdue and capture one Oni, going about in the guise of a teenage rocker. He called himself Kireiko, and their client assured them he was a bad one. Or was that a Wild One? Anyway, they needed him alive and well within 10 days to get paid. Arguing all the way they followed the couple's routine date through the park and the mall, trying to be inconspicuous in their blinding red and white miko outfits. Tejina ran to the school gates, looking around frantically. She'd changed into her regular clothes in the locker room, and hence she was a bit late to meet up with Becky. They were supposed to meet for mall trolling and general shopping havoc, but she couldn't stand to be in that school fuku another minute! She stood panting at the gate and looked around. Becky came running up from behind her, blurting apologies for being late and thanking Tej for waiting. Tej smiled and made an effort to breathe normally, graciously allowing Becky to believe she had been on time. There was indeed a sale at the mall, and Tejina took every advantage of it. Soon there were so many packages between the two that browsing was difficult. They settled in happily at a cafe for a snack. Becky was gleefully counting her new merchandise when she felt a prickle up the back of her neck. Agent BA-3 rose to the surface for a little quick surveillance. "Hey Tej," she smiled. "That guy over there is checking you out!" "Guy? What guy?" Tejina started to peer around. "Hsst! Don't look! There, in the corner. The dark grey coat." "Is he cute?" "Yeah." "Good." Tejina discretely checked him out from underneath her lashes. He looked like he was a bit older, very reserved, and she sighed to herself. Very yummy, a bishonen with dark red hair and delicate bone structure. High school boys were just that, and she had never had the chance to date a college guy. Come to think of it, she'd never really had a chance to date at all. She'd been spending most of her evenings and weekends with Matsuro and Kireiko since they'd started up their first band four years ago. What had they called themselves back then? Monkey's Uncle or something. The guys were her best buds, but she'd never really felt romantically towards either of them. In light of the fact that they'd both gotten over her, that was a good thing. They were gathering up their mountain of packages to go when the guy approached them. Tejina kept her cool, but he just walked by her, so closely that the edge of his coat brushed along her. She shivered. Dissapointed, the two girls started for home, Becky teaching Tej the proper lyrics for the new song she wanted them to cover. Every once in a while they would stop and put up some sort of a flyer. Daichi carefully studied the two girls as they walked along. Neither of them was the One, but they were both closely linked to the end of the world. He was supposed to anonymously keep an eye on the blue haired one, and take her out if possible. However, the gaijin with her was a Wildcard, and he wasn't sure he would decisively win against them both. The lovely Tejina was definately a Harbringer, although an unawakened one. She hadn't even found her sword yet! Killing her before the final battle would be the best way for the Seals to gain an advantage, but he couldn't bring himself to carry out that task just yet. Romance between the Seals and the Harbringers was strictly forbidden. Yet Daichi had felt a spark when his gaze connected with the blue haired Harbringer's. He was drawn inexorably to her. Daichi resolved to try to capture her and keep her alive to explore these disturbing new feelings. How to get to her, though? He took down one of their little flyers, which boldly read -Do- Gooders! Live at the Tokyo Music Festival. Who will attack them next?- "Hey, Tej, there's that guy again. I think he likes you." Becky watched in amusement as Tejina blushed. Actually it was kinda sweet, in a psycho stalker kind of way, and he was definitly good looking. The two girls parted ways soon after, but of course Becky would go to Tej's house for rehearsal in a few hours. When she got home, though, Tejina did a quick inventory of her bags and came up one short. Her school uniform was missing. Daichi continued to study the flyer as he gloated over the fuku he had aquired. The wind ruffled his hair and played with the hem of his long coat. Who would attack them next? He knew the answer to that question. Villyn grumbled to himself as he sat in the little chair. His lovely daugter Aki was pointedly ignoring him, which was nothing new. Her brother, doing the same, was new. His long lost son really didn't seem interested in talking to him at all. Villyn shrugged and tuned out the gasps and murmers or the rest of the group. He was working on his latest plan to take over the world. Tomorrow was the Tokyo Tower Music Festival, and it would be the perfect opportunity to unveil his country music! No one would be able to resist country music! Not to mention those annoying Do-Gooders would be there, and if it didn't work he could always blame them. The other members of the group were sitting in stunned shock as Aki talked and talked and...talked, spilling the whole story of separated at birth, taking over the world, ruining prom, all of it. Well okay, she left out the whole reincarnation thing, and also the marrying Matsuro part. That was too gruesome to even say aloud. Villyn stiffened visibly when she mentioned Charity. She left out the whole Queen of the Darkverse part, but hearing Aki's version of their breakup started Villyn thinking about her all over again. He tried hard to focus himself on his evil plan once more. He had been too late to audition for the festival, but he figured he would just crash it, anyway. When she was done spilling her story Aki felt infinitely better. This was there first session since their old group had broken up, and there was a lot to catch up on. Matsuro didn't really feel better. His life was enough of a zoo already, and this group thing was pretty uncomfortable. Acknowledgeing Villyn as his father was not actually something he had planned to do, but Aki had asked so nicely, and it's not like he was doing anything else tonight. Wait a minute. Wasn't there a gig tomorrow? Wasn't there a big really important last rehearsal tonight? He smacked himself upside the head with an audibly hollow thump. Matsuro started looking for a gracious way out of this torturous group therapy. Then he realized that he had never bothered to be gracious before, so why start now? Standing, he interrupted some girl, trying to find something wrong with a family situation that really looked very good in comparison to Aki's. "Gotta go, sis. Rehearsal." And he walked out. Villyn noticed and protested. "Heya, if'n he gets to leave, I'm a leavin' too!" His armor made clanking sounds as he shuffled to the door. Aki frowned and followed. Where had her father picked up that atrocious accent? Master Chiang sipped thoughtfully at his tea, eyeing the sight before him. The squirrel sat in the middle of the table, trying to explain through a mouthful of cashews. "See, so I was searching for my Sailor, and she's HERE, I KNOW it, and then boom, all of a sudden, oh, thanks, don't mind if I do." He stuffed a few more nuts into his already bulging cheeks. "The Sailor part is gone away and I'm looking at the Queen! Only it's not the queen, you know? So we, that is, she thought that maybe you'd know what was going on." Yukiko nodded from the other side of the table. "That's right. I have the knowledge that I am Queen Amore of the Crystal Kingdom of Delight, but it feels wierd, somehow. It's not right. I mean really. Besides, I was supposed to be a sailor and have a cute kamen who throws dandylions, right?" She frowned. "Or something like that, anyway. So can you help me?" Master Chiang nodded thoughtfully and finished his tea. Keiko trudged wearily up the walk to Tejina's house. The day had sucked majorly, but at least she'd managed to ditch those three exchange students. And people thought SHE was creepy! She had spent some time alone with her thoughts (and her book of magic) this afternoon, and come to terms with the possibility that Aki and Matsuro might choose to be together. After all, she had heard Matsuro's destiny, and SHE certainly wasn't a big part of it. She had tried to hate them, but the little flares of hate died sooner than they were born, and all she was left with was despair. Still, Aki was her best buddy, and if she had to lose, it was better than losing to a stranger. She'd better be good to Matsuro, though, or Keiko wouldn't forgive her! Things could never be the same again. Keiko thought that perhaps it was time to ease herself away from the Do-Gooders. Sure, the music was great, and everyone was really nice to her, but it would be too painful to stick around and watch Aki and Matsuro trying to spare her feelings by sneaking around and lying to her. Tomorrow, after the Festival, she set out for the Darkverse. It's not like anyone would miss her around here. Her advisor Yoru had agreed that, as Sailor Darkness, she should probably get to know her ancestral home and history. And maybe a little Darkverse magic? She and Queen Charity had gotten along pretty well before, and their broken hearts would give them something in common. (aside from their leather outfits) But tomorrow was the biggest gig the band had ever had, and they would need her support for just a while more. So even though she was exhausted, starving and grumpy besides, there she was. Perhaps she'd be a bit late though, she thought as she noticed the three figures jostling around the tiny basement window. Well, actually one figure was jostling and the other two were sitting back and watching it squirm. Keiko approached them cautiously, silently drawing her cleaver. "Shhh! Do you want them to hear you?" Kohii scolded her two silent companions, trying desperately to see through the grimy little window. Scotch shrugged, and Mermaid continued to play with her hair, but Kohii was too busy peeping to notice. Kohii continued prattling like the airhead she was. "I wish I could hear their conversation better. I mean, the music is loud enough, but ours is better, don't you think? I mean, I'm a much better soon-to-be pop idol than *their* singer. But the drummer is cute, what's his name? Matsuro, isn't it?" She heaved a sigh. "Bite me off a piece of that! When I'm a world famous idol star, he can be my towel boy." "I don't know, Kohii," Mermaid started to munch on the end of one ragged pink pigtail. "I think he's dating Aki. Look at how close they're sitting." Keiko fought down the fine tremmors of rage that shook her, listening closely. "What!? How can you see?" Kohii took a risk in trying to rub some of the grime from the window. Scotch hissed and smacked at her hand. Mermaid rolled her eyes. "I'm using my infared, duh. What kind of egg were you hatched from, a dodo?" "No, It was a dragon egg, same as you, Mermaid. But you know that already, we were in the same hatching group. Why would you ask something like that?" Mermaid and Scotch shared a look of exasperation. "Look, just get back to the spying, already." Keiko listened with interest to Kohii's affermation that she was a dragon. Now, on a better day, Keiko might have just scared them off or threatened them horribly, with maybe a tiny blast of dark power to keep them humble. However, it wasn't a better day, it was one of the worst days of her life. The fact that these three were supposedly dragons was just an extra bonus. Keiko calmly pulled heavy duty plastic trash bags and plastic sheets out of the small pocket dimension she kept them in. Wouldn't want to leave a mess! She then efficiently and with a minimum of fuss rid the three dragon children of any semblance of life. (and the plot of three extra characters, and the music festival of an act, and herself of a need to maul something) The new song was really kickin', what with the little 'improvements' they had made to the score. Becky insisted that the lyrics were just PERFECT for Tejina and Hanaki, and if Ayame wanted to join in that was even better! It was sounding pretty together now, almost good enough to actually perform. They were still working out the little details, though. The group broke from their discussion huddle, the band to play, and Aki to watch. Idly she looked around for Keiko. It wasn't like her to miss practice. They usually sat together and critiqued. Tejina sang from the heart. "I think I'm a clone now," For this number only, Ayame was joining Tej and Han up on 'stage.' singing backup. Of course it wasn't a real stage, but it was what approximated a stage here in Tejina's basement. They picked up their cue for the harmony. "There always seems to be two of me around." Kireiko had inserted a seven minute guitar solo, so no one heard the muffled scream and a few muted thumps and schwings coming through the tiny window. He was about halfway through when the squirrel stepped out of a hole in time/space. Concentrating on his music, he didn't notice the squirrel, or the old man who followed. He did notice, however, when Tejina screamed and pointed at the girl who was next through the portal. "Just how many of me ARE there?" Tejina cried into her microphone. She stomped in frustration. Hanaki peeked out at her from where she had hidden behind Kireiko. "Oh, um, didn't I tell you?" A vein popped out on Tejina's forehead. "No," she snarled, "you didn't." "That's Yukiko. She lives with Dad." Hanaki shifted just a little further behind Kireiko, who was watching the scene with interest. "OUR Dad?" Tej advanced on her trembling twin with jerky steps. "You should TELL me these things, Han!" Master Chiang smiled the enigmatic smile that most students want to wipe off their teacher's faces. This reaction was not unexpected. "Greetings, Princess. Err...that is, Princesses. We have a bit of business to take care of. Ayame, my dear, I heard you had amnesia." "Grandpa Chiang! You came to visit me!" The two sisters turned to watch as Ayame bounded up to hug the old mystic. "My heart is filled to overflowing that you, such an important and powerful man, took time out to come see me and my sisters. Oh, Grandpa, that's so incredibly sweet of you, it's been such a long time and I can't wait to tell you everything that's happened. Well, except the stuff I don't remember. Me and Han have been staying here with my long lost sister Tej! She has a little brother who's always coming into her room without knocking and pulling on my pigtails and peeping in the shower! And her parents are lawyers! They're really smart and nice with LOTS of money. We went shopping and I got the BEST earrings. Anyway..." Master Chiang desperatly broke in to the tiny pause in her exposition. "That's nice dear. You can tell 'Grandpa,'" he tinysweated, "all about it. But first, there's someone I want you to meet." Becky shrugged and put her gun away, going back to fiddle with her bass. The BA-3 part of her personallity had to be somewhere near the surface for her to play with any semblance of skill or musicality. BA-3 was also the part of her that thought it was absolutely hilarious to have the Do-Gooders perform this particular american song. The more Tejina look-alikes, the better! Master Chiang led her over to where Yukiko stood. She was still marvelling over the instantaneous transportation, provided by a squirrel of all things. "Ayame, this is Yukiko. She's Queen Amore, you know." The old man watched them expectantly. He had expected that just putting the two of them together would fix the problem, but they just stared at each other, puzzled. He sighed and left them to get to know each other. Destiny and Karma sometimes needed a little push. He went to consult with the squirrel. "Do you think it will work, Master Chiang?" "Of course, Esu." Master Chiang was sitting calmly once more, sipping a cup of tea while he prepared himself for the ritual. Where did he get that from? And did he bring anymore cashews with it? "No, I did not, Esu." Oh, did I say that out loud? "No, you did not, Esu." Oh. "Master Chiang," Hanaki said hesitantly, "If mom goes back to being the Queen, will that make Yukiko Sailor Expostition?" "Sailor Who?" "Sailor Exposition. You know, with the Incredibly Long Sentence of Sleep Inducement and all that." "There was no Sailor Exposition in the Crystal Kingdom of Delight. But dear Ayame has always had certain talents in that area. I wouldn't be surprised to find that that particular attack will still work." "It's true, she didn't even have to transform to put us to sleep..." Hanaki studdied her mother and another one of her many long lost sisters. Tejina wasn't taking this so well. Hanaki decided once again not to tell her about the others. Tejina sat on the floor, knees drawn up and head down. You could hear her muttering to herself occasionally, but it was pretty hard to make out the words. It might have been something like, "Another one, oh gods, why do you hate me so much." Or something to that effect. Aki knew exactly how she felt. She wanted to go comfort Tej with her own tale of woe, but Matsuro had made her promise not to tell the gang yet. That didn't mean that HE couldn't tell, though. Aki jerked her head towards Tejina. Matsuro shook his head infintesimally in the negative. This newfound twinspeak went on for a few moments, becoming more pronounced, until Becky noticed. Aki jerked her head violently to the side. "Hey, Aki, I never knew you had a twitch." "I don't." Aki gritted out, glaring at her brother. Matsuro's eyes shifted to the stairs, sensing his salvation. Keiko entered the room. "Hi!" she practically sang out. That little business had cheered her up immensly, and she now had just piles and piles of lovely spell components. The members of Dragon Childe had reverted to their true forms in death, which was great for her spells, but made them too bulky and heavy to haul home alone. Keiko felt her smile dim a watt or two when she saw Aki and Matsuro together, but she fought it off. She had much to do tonight, and she needed to get started. "Can someone help me with these bags?" Matsuro nodded and Kireiko showed off his muscles. Master Chiang looked from Keiko, to the heavy duty plastic bags, and back again, paling slightly. He turned his back and went over to the mixed up mother and daughter. "Now Ayame, I know you're missing some memories. I'm here to help with that. If you could just stand here, dear." She inhaled, opening her mouth to speak. "Quietly." Yukiko studied the girl before her. This would be the person who had gotten her Sailor Powers? They could be twins, except that Yukiko would never consider dying her hair green. It was eye- catching enough being a natural blonde in Japan. (She would never admit it out loud, but she did use a rinse to get that lemony yellow color.) She nodded to Master Chiang. The Queen Amore inside of her was clamoring in recognition of this girl. Master Chiang stood with the two girls facing each other in front of him. He put a hand on each of their heads and chanted a few words that might have been magic, if he hadn't made them up on the spot for appearance's sake. With his little smile firmly in place he shoved, knocking their heads firmly together. WAS I LISTENING TO WAY TO MUCH WIERD AL THIS WEEK? WILL KEIKO REALLY MOVE TO THE DARKVERSE? WILL YUKIKO AND AYAME BE CURED? IS THERE REALLY A DANDYLION THROWING KAMEN WAITING OUT THERE FOR YUKIKO? WILL DAICHI CRASH THE GIG, OR WILL THE DRAGONS GET THERE FIRST? WHICH DRAGONS ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? WILL VILLYN DESTROY THE WORLD WITH HIS COUNTRY MUSIC? WILL VILLYN EMBARASS AKI TO DEATH WITH HIS COUNTRY MUSIC? WILL THE DO-GOODERS GET A RECORD CONTRACT BEFORE THE COMING APOCOLYPSE? WHEN *IS* THE COMING APOCOLYPSE? WILL THE DEVIL HUNTING TWINS CAPTURE KIREIKO IN TIME FOR THE MOVIE FILMING? WILL THEY REALIZE WHO HIRED THEM AND CLEAN OUT THE CULT INSTEAD? WILL THIS AUTHOR GET MOBBED FOR KILLING THREE CHARACTERS ONLY TO INTRODUCE THREE MORE? WILL I EVER GET THIS FORMATTED PROPERLY? don't ask me, ask Steven Scougall, who gets to sort this out.