"Rei is on her way." Makoto announced in a relieved tone. "You are right, that does not tell us where she is."

Makoto sighed. Sure, the Usagi she first met may have quit, but the person she was now, was more focused. She took a bite out of her salad. She hoped that Rei would get here quickly.

"What is she thinking?" Makoto asked mostly to herself.

Zena looked up at Celeste and smiled, it was a weak smile, but it was still a smile. She spoke softly as she stood to walk over and find some other clothes to wear. “You are right, the council did come down hard on us, I don’t get their methods, but I think we can make the mission work with Felix’s plan, and maybe even please the council. If I can just get Usagi over for a girls night then maybe we can get somewhere with her.”


Zena slipped on some pajama bottoms and a long sleeve shirt as she walked over back to her bed to sit beside Celeste. “Hey Celeste, what do you say you and I have a little girls day out, we can check out the scenery and maybe discuss some mission stuff, I want to hear what you have to say on how to go about Usagi, just you and me, I know you have good ideas and no one has let you share, but I want to hear what you think we should do, but first I want to get some sleep, I am exhausted from the nights events.”
Zena said as she went and laid under the covers of her bed.


 

Usagi had been passing the time, watching some game show where people were trying to win cars, or furniture, or trips to other places. It wasn’t too interesting to Usagi, but then she flipped through the channels and found some cartoons and she decided to watch them. She was at the apartment alone after all and no one would judge her. She was watching one cartoon with a boy who had long skinny head, who a girl named Helga called football head. The show was quite interesting, but Usagi was jolted out of her own world when she heard a door slam, she turned around but saw no one, so she go up and walked down the hall, and called out, “hello, Mamo-chan- is that you?”

"I'm looking forward to her being here so I can ask her certain questions," Ami stated slightly optimistically in response to Makoto confirming that Rei was coming.  "And if I'm reading you correctly, you're in the same boat."

At this point, the waiter came over with the sandwich Ami had ordered.  Upon him putting it down in front of her, Ami thanked him politely.  Then she took her first bite of it, followed by going back to her studies that she had brought with her.  Ami continued studying, with intermittent breaks for taking another bite of her sandwich, until Rei arrived.

Rei came in the front door of the Crown café several minutes after Ami had gotten her sandwich from the waiter.  Rei made her way to the corner table where her and the other four senshi girls used to meet sometimes.  Seeing Makoto and Ami there, like she expected, Rei greeted them warmly "Konban-wa, Ami-chan, Mako-chan," making a slight bow to each of the two in turn.  "How are you?"

"Good, yet also not so good," Ami summarized matter-of-factly.  "Let me explain.  I'm doing good in my schoolwork, and in pursuit of becoming a doctor when I finish school.  But I now fear that I neglected my friendships too much in the process, especially of Usagi-chan."

"Why do you suspect that?" Rei asked, puzzled.

"Do you remember at that party all five of us attended a few months ago, do you remember Usagi-chan told us at that party that she had gotten a part-time job here?"  Upon seeing Rei nod affirmatively in response, Ami continued on matter-of-factly "I heard that she quit this job all of a sudden a little while ago."

Rei was shocked to hear that news.  Because the last that Rei had experience with her, Usagi had looked to be maintaining well her never-give-up attitude.  It was one of the primary reasons she had become best friends with Usagi, despite their many arguments.

"Sure." Celeste smiled. "I will let you get some rest now." Celeste walked out of the room feeling a bit better about the situation.

Usagi smiled at Felix, it was actually her first time to talk to him since she met him. “Its alright, I hope your work is going okay.” When he asked about Mamoru Usagi nodded, “yes, Mamo-chan left for school not too long ago, I had thought at first maybe he forgot something.”

Usagi normally could talk to people she didn’t know well for a long time, but she didn’t know what to say. “If you want, you can sit with me while I watch some TV. I am trying to find something funny, but its so hard since I don’t really know what is good here in America.” Usagi hoped Felix would take her up on the offer, otherwise she was going to have a very boring day.

Just then there was a knock on the door, then someone walking into the apartment.

Melrose walked through the door, “Felix, are you in here?” she called out a hint of annoyance in her voice. She saw Felix and Usagi talking and walked over to Felix and whispered in his ear, “can I borrow her for awhile, like say 2-3 hours, I want to see if I can get any information out of her.”


Usagi smiled at Melrose and greeted her with a kind warm smile. “Melrose you decided to stop by, maybe today won’t be so boring at all Usagi said as she pulled  Melrose’s wrist and walked back toward the living room telling Felix he could still join them if he wanted.

and Rei Hino


Rei saw the point in what Makoto said, so Rei nodded in agreement with the brunette.  "I am baffled also," she pointed out.  Then the raven-haired miko proposed "Let me see what I can sense from her aura."

Rei closed her eyes for a little while to focus on sensing Usagi's aura.  But try as she might, the priestess-in-training could not sense it, even though Usagi was normally close enough for her to sense something.  Rei was puzzled by her inability to sense Usagi's aura at all this time.  But she could not afford to think about this for long, as Makoto and Ami were waiting for her information.

Finally, Rei opened her eyes again and reported to the other two in a puzzled tone "I cannot sense her aura.  I don't know why.  Would you two like to come over to my place tomorrow afternoon, and I can do a more-thorough fire-reading on Usagi-chan?"

"I can make it right after Juuban High School gets out, at 3:30," Ami suggested.  Then she turned to Makoto and asked "How does that sound to you?"

Makoto tried not to let her growing concerns overcome her. If Rei could not sense Usagi then something must be truly wrong.

"Yes. I can there at 3:30 sharp." Makoto agreed.

Together, she hoped they could solve this mystery.

Gustav was sitting in the safe house drinking some brandy when he picked up on something. He could hear Melrose, he wasn't sure how but he could hear her and she was talking to Usagi, then to Felix. Gustav smiled and listened to the conversation. It seemed Melrose had taken some initiative and was going to do something to help them get closer to defeating those of the Moon Kingdom.

Gustav pulled out his phone and text Melrose, I'm not sure how I know you are with Usagi, but dont back down now, do not leave until you get something we can use to harm her, I am working on a plan attack tonight, just to play with her a bit, nothing too brutal, I dont need Felix up my butt again, so lets just keep this between you and me okay, I'm at the safehouse on Jackson and Broadway apartment 278, come find me when you leave there.


Gustav closed his phone and went back to thinking about just how he would toy with Usagi's emotions and psyche tonight, he definitely wanted to shake her up and he was hoping Melrose would be able to give him something useful.

mercuryfan wrote:

Sailor Saturn wrote:

[...]As (Makoto) passed by Fruits Parlor Crown and went in. It has been ages since she had been there. She sat down at a table and looked over the menu. She pulled out her phone and sent out a group text to the girls.

"I am at Fruits Parlor is anyone would care to join me."

Makoto was about to put her phone away before she sent one more message.

"Has anyone heard from Usagi."

The last time that she had seen Usagi was at the hospital. She figured Usagi would be upset with the way things went but it was not like her to not be in contact for this long. Makoto brought her attention back to the menu and waited to see if the others had heard anything.

[...]

--------------------

Meanwhile, Minako had been in a recording studio practicing some new songs that she and her manager wanted to record.  Thus, her cell phone was also in silent mode.  But since it was on Minako's hip, she felt it vibrate - twice - as it received Makoto's two text messages.  However, she wasn't going to let anything get in the way of her chance to realize her dream and become an idol.  Since she figured the two messages were both from Usagi, she didn't even bother to check her cell phone until her time in the studio with her manager was all over for the night - about 20 minutes after Makoto had sent them

Finally, Minako's time at the recording studio finished.  She was glad she was on her way to becoming a singing idol and thus realizing her dream.

As Minako walked through the crisp evening air toward her home, her mind started to wander.  She wondered which of her other friends from her time as a senshi had realized their dream or were well on their way to it.  Which reminded her that she had gotten some text messages while she was in the recording studio.  Since she now had a good opportunity to check them, she pulled out her cell phone and did so.

Minako stopped walking when she noticed two of the text messages were from Makoto.  Minako couldn't help remembering what a good friend the brunette was.  'It would be nice to get back in touch with her,' Minako thought as she pulled up the first one in full.

After reading both text messages from Makoto, Minako hit the button on her cell phone to reply to the sender.  Hoping she hadn't missed the brunette completely, Minako typed in the following reply.

Are you still at the cafe?  If so, I am now available to meet.  And no, I haven't heard from Usagi recently.

Then Minako hit the button to send that message to Makoto.

--------------------

Meanwhile, at the cafe, Ami told the other two in a relieved tone "Then it sounds like we have a meeting."

But after that, Ami started to get worried about Usagi.  What could be wrong with her if Rei could not even sense her aura?  Not knowing was the worst; which was why Ami couldn't wait for that meeting at Rei's shrine tomorrow afternoon.  Ami hoped that Rei's planned fire-reading would at least provide some closure for her.  About the only other thing Ami could think of to say was "I hope she's alright.  I hate to think of what could've happened to her," in a glum tone.

Time Jump to the next afternoon



Rei had been nervous the entire day. In fact she had lost sleep the night before. She tried calling Usagi's cell but she got a disconnect. it made Rei feel uneasy. At first Rei assumed Usagi got bored and that was why she quit her job. It was like Usagi to quit things she didn't like, but this situation, something just seemed way off. 

Rei was relieved when 330 came and she and the others were all gathered at the temple. Rei didnt waste any time and she got right to her flame reading. After a few moments she saw something that made her let out a gasp. All she saw was a plane, but still it made Rei feel uneasy. Was Usagi safe, was she in danger, Rei had never been this in the dark with Usagi's whereabouts and safety and that was what scared her the most. 

She turned to the others with a solemn face, she asked, "does an airplane mean anything to any of you? Did Usagi say anything about going on a trip?" Rei asked hoping they could get to the bottom of Usagi's apparent disappearance.

"I just missed him then." Felix smiled. "I hope you are enjoying your stay here."

Felix was grateful for this opportunity. It had been increasingly difficult to separate her from Mamoru. He was about to settle in and talk to her when Melrose marched in. Startled, he recovered and smiled politely.

"Hello Melrose."

Felix was semi surprised to see that Melrose came alone. Though he would have preferred that Zena handled this but given her current condition. Felix did not think it would be wise. He nodded to Melrose and quietly mouthed the words "Go ahead"



Melrose

Melrose heard her phone buzz and she took out her phone. She smiled as she saw that it was from Gustav

"Finally, someone recognizes my hard work around here." She muttered as she sent a reply to Gustav.

Good guess. I can stop by when I leave here I am going to take Usagi out and try to leave Felix out of it. Felix doesn't need to know of course. I won't tell him, he would probably lecture me anyway.

Usagi was happy to see someone different, she had made an instant connection with Melrose. It was typical for Usagi to make friends quickly. She thought back for a moment  to her former friends. She wondered if they even realized she was gone. Did they care if she was gone?

Usagi pushed those thoughts away before she plopped down on the couch across from Melrose. "I am so glad you stopped by Melrose, though I was wondering, are Zena and Celeste sick, I know you three are good friends, when you see them tell them hi for me." She said with a smile. 

Usagi looked out the window, noticing the storm appeared to be calming down. "Hey Melrose," she said in a chipper tone, "what should we do today, I don't really know of things to do around here, are there any arcades, or games we could play, I just love games, and sweets." She said with a laughter at the end of her voice.

and Minako Aino

Ami had anticipated this 3:30 meeting pretty much ever since she had left the café the previous evening.  Yes, she was great at focusing on her studies, and she had successfully done so during the intervening time as much as she had needed to.  But whenever she hadn't needed to focus on her studies in that intervening time, Ami had found her mind couldn't help wandering to this meeting at Rei's place.  During these times, Ami had looked forward, with an anticipation that was more eager than anxious, to finally getting to the bottom of this mystery surrounding Usagi.

Now that she was here at Rei's shrine, Ami noticed she was looking forward to Rei revealing the key to solving this mystery with an optimism that was slowly growing.  Then the bombshell hit her when Rei finally revealed this 'key'  - to just being an airplane???  She was so stunned that she just sat there silently for the first couple seconds, while the others there got in their responses.

Finally, the normally sharp-minded girl with dark blue hair got her head wrapped around the whole picture as it was before her.  "A plane???" were the first couple words Ami finally got out of her mouth in an extremely stunned tone.  Only after she had gotten that out did she figure out the most appropriate response was to try to think of any reason Usagi might want to fly out of the Tokyo area.  So Ami was silent for a couple more seconds, as she tried to rack her brain for anyone Usagi might know that was flying distance outside of Tokyo, or anywhere Usagi had expressed a desire in visiting at such a distance.  But Ami again drew a blank from this - which stunned the blue-haired girl even more, if that was possible.  This was partially because she wasn't used to being taken so aback by everything.

"N-n-no, I ... I can't think of any reason that Usagi-chan would go on an airplane trip," Ami eventually got out.  Then she did something very uncharacteristic for her - she asked the others for advice "S-so wh-what do you think we should do about this?"

--------------------

When Rei stated she had seen a plane in her fire-reading, Minako was also surprised.  But as one who was used to being surprised by academic matters, Minako was able to respond before Ami. "No, I can't think of any reason she would go on a plane trip," Minako said - more easily than the result Ami would get out later.  Then, used to her being able to figure out all matters of the brain, Minako turned to the blue-haired girl.  It surprised Minako to see Ami so deep in thought.  "Ami-chan?" the blonde girl asked - but Ami was too deep in thought to even consciously hear that.

Makoto listened as the others tried to make sense of what was going on. She had become unnerved with the thought of an airplane.

"Should be stop by her house?" Makoto suggested.

She was hoping that Usagi's parents would be home. She was not sure what, if anything Usagi had told her parents about what had happened. Makoto was hoping that they would be able to tell them where they could find her. This rift between them had grown too large and she wanted to make things right before it was too late. It would was not supposed to be this way. Usagi was the center of their group and her not being there as not right.

and Minako Aino

When Makoto proposed going to Usagi's house, Ami realized that it was probably their best option at this point.  She tried to think of other options they could pursue at this point, but the only other one she could think of was calling Mamoru, Usagi's long-time boyfriend (and apparently future fiancé).  And pursuing that option would require calculating (and respecting) the difference in time zones; plus, hadn't Usagi said something at the party they had all attended about Mamoru being busy over there?

So Ami responded to Makoto by stating matter-of-factly "I think we should stop by there, because it does seem to be our best chance at getting a good clue for where Usagi-chan is."

Minako could see no reason to doubt those two, so she then asked "Okay by me.  Rei-chan, do you have any dissenting view?"

Melrose

"Anything you would like to do!" Melrose smiled. "There is so much in Boston to see and do that we can go almost anywhere. There are plenty of places to eat and shop. I know of this great confectionery shop. It has different types of candy, ice cream and desserts! It is right next to this really cool arcade."

Melrose smiled. She had done her research in what Usagi's interests were. She had hoped that that sweets and video games would be enough to make her open up to he. Any information that she could get would work to hers and Gustav's advantage.

Usagi's eyes widened in excitement. Melrose liked video games and sweets too, this was amazing. Usagi had been wanting to play video games and eat sweets with someone for a long time. She smiled at Melrose as she spoke, "you mean, you like sweets and video games too. That is so awesome, I don't remember the last time I went to an arcade with anyone and ate sweets." She said as a sudden memory of her life with her former friends came to the forefront of her mind, causing her smile to falter for a second before she pushed the thought away and smiled once more.

"Hey it looks like the storm is clearing up too, ooh can we go now?" Usagi asked with excitement in her voice as she threw her arms around Melrose in a hug. It was the first time Usagi had felt excited about anything since before she was attacked.



Zena woke up from her slumber feeling even worse than she did before. She felt deprived of energy and like she had been run over by a semi-truck. She slowly got up and made her way to the bathroom where she showered, the hot water feeling excellent on her skin. After her shower, she got dressed, but every movement felt like a chore, was it normal to feel this exhausted, what was she to do to regain her energy, this was not something she ever remembered experiencing. 

She pulled out her phone and called Felix, hoping he would answer, and that he would hear her out. The phone went to voicemail, so she left him a message, her voice dreary, showing her exhaustion.

"Felix, its Zena, I was wondering if we would be able to meet up later, I don't know what's going on with me, I am a bit scared, I was hoping you could help me figure out what is going on, I understand if you don't want to see me after last night's events, but I just don't know who else to ask, I can't ask anyone on the council that will be the end of me... I---" she wasn't able to finish her sentence because she dropped to the floor, her body shaking as she tried to catch her breath, all the while the phone was still on the hook, as Zena managed to utter, "help me" before she passed out.

Cyril was able to see everything that was going on with Zena, not only Zena but all of them who were on the earth. He was concerned for Zena though and knew she was in a dangerous situation, she had discovered some of her true powers and had exasperated much of her energy with her connection to the earth. Cyril planned to keep this from the council. He was thinking of Felix and how hard he had been working on his plan. For a moment Cyril was just a humanoid, someone who had been friends with Felix or rather Corvus back when Relana was thriving and seeing the state Zena was in, reminded him of his past life, a painful time that not even Felix knew about. 

Cyril found a secure place where he could communicate with Felix and no one could hear the call or prove it happened. What he was doing would cost him his life, even as the head of the council, there was still a higher power that he answered to.

Cyril dialed Felix and waited for him to answer, when Felix answered- Cyril greeted his long time friend, "Felix, I don't have much time so I will make this as brief as I can, but I need you to keep me in the loop through this," without giving Felix a chance to respond Cyril continued.

"I am calling about Zena, I know what's been going on and I will let her explain but you need to go to her right now, she has exhausted her power and her energy is depleting more and more each minute. I know you know what can happen when we get too low on energy and it is even more so true now that she has been immersed in human society, if she doesn't get energy she will lose all memories of Relana and will be an ordinary human and useless to us, so you have to go to her now before it is too late, but be warned, she will need slow exposure to consuming energy- if she tries to take too much at once, she will expose herself, just think back to your first days in the human world and the first time you depleted your energy, it happens, but now it is your turn to help her through this. I don't care what matters you take, but she needs to get her energy levels up to stable if she wants to continue with her mission."

Cyril paused before adding, "I have never told anyone this, but I will share this with you and you can use it to your advantage if you choose- when we were on Relana, I married a beautiful woman Elyssia- she was my whole world and we were thinking of starting a family, but then the moon kingdom sent their first wave of attacks, Elyssia was it hard, she was on the verge of being sent to Earth to be reborn and have a new life, but I couldn't bear to let her go. I took her in my arms and held her against me,against my chest, yes I know that sounds lame, but I am telling you, I shared my energy with her, just enough to make her lucid and then I helped her find an energy source, but unfortunately it was all wasted because the moon kingdom came back, and she had just gotten her energy and was ready to battle, but she fell with many of the others. I was in a dark place for a long time after that, which is why you have to get Zena back, she is essential to the mission and our revenge on those of the white moon."

".......plus with her oh so obvious feelings for you she would probably love it if you held her so, but hey that's your choice, I was just sharing what helps, oh and just keep an eye on her at first, when she starts to become more aware of what is going on, she will be a bit out of it, she may exhibit behaviors you would see in drunks or she may go from one emotion to another without any notice, just be patient with her as she comes back to normal, and if she says anything distasteful, try not to hold it against her, she likely won't remember anything once she comes back to normal, its a bad side effect, but just keep an eye on her and let her explain what happened, she will want to tell you, when she's ready. I will do my best to keep this from the rest of the council for as long as I can because you are my friend and I value our friendship, so go do what you need to do to get her back."

"Oh and don't worry about the others, I have my ways of keeping on them," Cyril said with a chuckle, "Melrose is doing nicely in Zena's place today." He finished giving Felix a moment to add anything before he hung up his call.

*****************


Gustav paced the safehouse he was at. He was trying to think of a way to make an attack on Usagi, but to do it in a way that didn't jeopardize the mission. He had begun to realize that was some truth to the words Felix spoke. Just then, he got an idea, "I can haunt her in her dreams, I will target what is most important to her, which is apparent her boyfriend and battle ally. Tonight I will make my attack, I just have to find a way to make my attack, prepare yourself Usagi, I am going to make you think your nightmare is a reality," Gustav said as he laughed evily as he went to rest and plan his sneak attack for later that night.

"I am calling her house again." Makoto announced as she waited for Rei.

She had not called in awhile and hoped that at least her parents would be home by now. She scrolled through her phone until she found Usagi's home number. As the phone rang, Makoto wished that she had Usagi's parents' cell phone numbers as well. Makoto frowned as the phone kept ringing. She hung up the phone and stood up. They have waited long enough.

"We need to go over to her parents house. Something is wrong. No one is answering."

Usagi's entire face lit up when Melrose mentioned she wanted to get a manga. "Oooh you like manga too, do you think I could borrow it when you finish it, I just love manga too. I may pick up a new manga, but I am not sure what to get, can you reccomend anything, is there a good selection here in the states, oh can I buy them in Japanese, I am still working on reading in English." She said her voice carrying excitement as they headed out the door.

As they walked, Usagi couldn't help but smile. The weather had cleared up, she would get to spend time with Mamo-chan later and she had made a friend in the process. "Hey are Celeste and Zena coming too or are they doing something today?" Usagi asked wondering if the two other girls would be joining them. She was curious about Felix, but didn't want to pry.

"Felix seems like a nice guy too, he was kind and emailed Mamo-chan saying he would be his roommate, it came at just the right time, I was worried Mamo-chan wouldn't get to come over here like he hoped and study at Harvard, have you guys all been friends for a long time?" She asked out of pure curiousity. It was the first time Usagi had socialized with anyone in a long time.

*************
Rei nodded at Makoto's words. "I agree we need to find her, something could have happened to her, but maybe her parents are home and just didn't hear the phone," Rei said trying to hold onto hope, but the fact that she couldn't get a feeling on Usagi's state of being made her worry, what would have happened to Usagi that she would just disappear without any say?

*************************


Zena was in a dream like trance and it didn't even phase her Felix carried her. She was slipping more and more, her appearance beginning to change to its true form, not that of her form as Athena, but that of her true form that had been locked away for many years. While her skin still remained a light shade of green, markings appeared on her face and her hair was slowly changing in streaks from black to a very light blue. Her breathing became more shallow. In her subconscious, she was dreaming of happy times with Felix, Celeste, Melrose and Gustav were there as well and they were all happy on Relana.

Zena's subconscious had taken over as Felix carried her to the office and she was muttering in her  native tongue she spoke on Relana, " nangtayungan putri" (protect the princess) as her body curved up before she fell backwards against the couch.

At some point, Zena gained consciousness and sat up grabbing her head which was throbbing in pain. She looked around and felt panic wash over her as she took in her surroundings, she had no idea where she was. She tried to stand, but she felt as if she had been weighted to the floor, as she trudged to a mirror to get a look at herself. When she looked in the mirror she didn't recognize herself. 

Zena touched her hands to her face to make sure the person in the mirror was indeed herself. She turned to try and run out of where she was, but because her energy was so low and because of the state of shock she was in, she didnt get far until she fell down, losing consciousness. When she hit the floor, half her hair turned white and part of her clothes changed to her royal wear.

Sailor Jupiter wrote:

[...]

*************
Rei nodded at Makoto's words. "I agree we need to find her, something could have happened to her, but maybe her parents are home and just didn't hear the phone," Rei said trying to hold onto hope, but the fact that she couldn't get a feeling on Usagi's state of being made her worry, what would have happened to Usagi that she would just disappear without any say?

*************************
[...]

When Makoto stood up and declared that they needed to go to Usagi's parents' house, Ami said "Agreed," and also stood up.  The blue-haired girl started to walk to the exit of the room.  But upon turning around and seeing that Rei was still sitting down, Ami asked "Are you coming along, Rei-chan?  Or are you staying behind?"

Melrose:

Melrose twitched a little as Usagi kept talking. Melrose struggled but kept the smile on her face.

"How can she possibly talk this much?" Melrose thought.

"Yes of course!" Melrose began. "The store is huge and they get manga from Japan too. Some are in English and some are in Japanese. Celeste and Zena are sick."

Melrose figured that Usagi was going to ask about the other two and had prepared for that.

"They had ran out, when it started to rain. They both got the flu and are very contagious. They have all the medicine, soup and tea that they need they just need some rest"

Melrose was pleased with herself. She knew that she came up with a plausible explanation that would deter Usagi from wanting to check on them.

"Yes, Felix is a great guy. He does enjoy having Mamoru around."

Melrose was worried that if she said too much about Felix her true feelings would come out.

Usagi frowned for a second, but was smiling soon after. "Well I hope they feel better," she said as she continued to walk with Melrose. She stared at the sky for a moment, lost inthought, she wondered if anyone had noticed she was gone yet, and if they cared she was gone. She pushed the thought away, it's their own fault for not coming to help me, she thought with a hint of anger as she pushed the negative thoughts aside.

"So, what kind of manga do you like to read Melrose?" Usagi asked before adding, "I love shoujo manga, especially romances, I just love happy endings." She said with a big smile on her face.
********

Zena felt her consciousness calling to her, she felt light, like she was floating. She slowly opened her eyes to the sound of her own name being called. She looked around and didn't recognize where she was. She saw Felix, and he looked quite worried. Zena reached toward him, to place her hand on his, but she felt as if she were spinning. She slowly tried to sit up as she spoke, her words a slurred mix between the dialect of Relana and the English she picked up since being on earth. "aya naon?" (what happened) she asked her voice low, "where am I?" "naha kuring kasampak kawas ieu" (why do I look like this?) she asked as she grabbed a strand of her light colored hair. 

Zena felt exhausted from holding herself up and to help ease her exhaustion she leaned her head against Felix's shoulder. "why do I ngarasa cara ieu (feel this way)?"she asked as she placed a hand on her forehead which strangely was clammy yet cold. Zena could also feel the sweat beading on her body, but unlike most humans, as Zena is a humanoid, she was shivering because she was hot and cold at the same time. Her mind was filled with great panic as she began to violently cough. She looked up at Felix through glassy eyes, her eyes pleading for him to provide some answers.

Melrose:

Melrose was a little concerned at first when she saw Usagi's expression. She did not want Usagi to try to call them. Melrose breathed a sigh of relief when Usagi smiled again.

"I hope so too! I know they don't like being sick but they don't want anyone else to get the flu either." Melrose said as sadly as she could. "They do want to see you again when they are feeling better."

"Romance manga? She and Celeste are just alike" Melrose thought to herself.

"I do love those romance mangas! It makes me think about my wedding day in the future! I already know what dress I want to wear. Do you want to see it?"

Usagi's eyes widened with excitement, "oh my gosh yes, that's so cool that you already know. I just love wedding dresses and hope I can wear one, one day." She said with a smile as her cheeks turned a light shade of pink.

She waited with anticipation for Melrose to show her the picture as she thought about the day she would wear a wedding dress and marry Mamo-chan.

********


Zena looked up at Felix, her eyes big with worry and a hint of fear. She was trying to process the information he had just given her. She needed energy and she could get it from this man from her fingertips, what was this ability and why had she just now finding out about it.

She took a deep breath as she placed both hands on the engineer's arms and concentrated on his energy. She slowly started to feel his energy being absorbed through her fingertips. She looked up at Felix and gave a small smile, the way a small child does after they have just accomplished a small task.

She began to concentrate more and more, closing her eyes as she allowed the energy to be absorbed into her body. She felt some strength returning to her, she started to become greedy, taking more and more and more, it wasn't until she heard a thud on the ground that she realized the engineer had passed out.

Her eyes shot open as she looked at the engineer and then to Felix, 

"Is he dead?" She asked, half feeling guilty, and half wondering where she could get more of this energy. She liked the feeling it gave her, she felt well enough to stand  and could walk for a bit, but then got wobbly as the room began to spin. She slid down the wall as she placed her head in her hand.

"I have to get more," she said, her voice taking a slight ominous tone, her true form craving for the energy it so needed so she could carry on in daily life and continue to carry out the mission she had been given.