The Celestial Warrior

Part Six: The Relationship Grows Stronger. A Romantic Interlude.


\"Well, what they say is true,\" he snickered, \"they really do
return to the scene of their crime.\"

Raven shook her head. \"You rent-a-cop! Where were your lazy
asses when this place was shot up? Too busy getting free burgers in
the food court? If you had any brains, you\'d realize that I\'m the
keyholder of this restaurant and very good friends to the owners.\"

\"Ah, motive!\" he yelled. \"Wanted money off your friends,
rigged this whole thing up so that it would appear to be an outside
case.\"

\"Look, buddy. Watching crime shows in your spare time does
not make you a detective,\" she said in a sarcastic tone.

\"Oh? Then what are you doing here? The owners have already
decided to have the place closed down. They took all the money out of
the till. What possible reason could you have being here, after mall
hours?\"

Knowing she wouldn\'t have an easy time with them, she decided
to lay it on the line. \"You wouldn\'t believe that I\'m really a
goddess, and was sent here to investigate a dimensional vortex that
opens up to a netherworld, and it\'s right behind that bar over there.
\'Cause that\'s the truth, your honor.\"

Both of them started to laugh. \"And how many of those
dandelions did you smoke?\"

\"You don\'t want to believe me? Let me prove it to you.\"

The mall guards shrugged, figuring that she would prove
herself as crazy as her claim. So the one holding her wrists back let
go and stood away. Giving them both a nasty glance, she found another
pen. She held it up in front of them like a magician\'s prop, then
tossed it where the gate was. As true to her words, the pen vanished
before it ever hit the wall.

They stood with their mouths open. Raven stood with her hands
on her hips, waiting for their comment. The smart mouthed one
recovered quickly. \"That\'s a parlor trick if I ever saw one. There\'s
no hole here.\" He pushed her aside, got down on his knees and started
to feel around the area the pen disappeared.

She started to snicker. \"I wouldn\'t do that if I were you,\"
she warned with her hand over her mouth.

\"Oh? Maybe I\'ll find your little parlor trick.\" His hand
found the hole and disappeared through it. \"Ah, found it.\" He found
the pen on the other side and tried to pull it back, but his hand was
stuck. \"What the . . . I can\'t get it out!\"

His partner went over to help. \"And the answer to the other
part . . . \" They turned around and were shocked yet again.

She stood before them, but not in the black turtleneck and
jeans. She wore robes of an off white color, her skin lightly tanned.
Her face painted as an Egyptian queen, the black hair layered in thin
braids. A large jeweled collar adorned her neck, and on top of her
head was a tiara with curved horns and a disk in the center of them,
resting on a golden hawk with the wings framing her face.

She smiled. \"I\'m glad I haven\'t lost my touch with male
mortals.\"

The one guard brought his courage together and tried to swing
a punch at her. She merely stood aside, then backhanded him with her
jeweled knuckles. He stumbled back, clutching his ripped cheek.

\"Fool. Think you can best me? I\'m one of the goddesses that
made you. Don\'t even think oalleallenging me.\"

He still pressed on his attack. He pd upd up a glass bottle
and flung it at her. She raised her hand, causing it to stop a foot
away from her, then to shoot back at him. Not thinking, he didn\'t
move in time and it smashed on his head, knocking him out.

The one with his hand still stuck watched the whole scene, and
started to whimper. \"Please get my hand out of here. I\'ll do
anything you say.\"

She thought for a moment. \"No. You must learn some humility
before you can be sent free. You can try and attest to my appearance
here, but I doubt anyone will believe you, as much as you doubted me.
As you said, \'what dandelions were you smoking.\' Farewell.\" She
turned her back to him, and as she slowly walked out the door, she
returned to her former self, as Raven.

Once she cleared his viewing range, she dashed out of the mall
and made a mad run for her car. Jumping in and locking herself into
in, she peeled out of the parking lot and rushed for the highway. As
soon as she was clear, the adrenaline started to slow down. She
couldn\'t believe the stunt she pulled in front of them. Revealing her
secret could cost her her life, but she would just reincarnate again.
But do you want to go through another incarnation, she asked herself.
No, I wish the monotony would end. Every time evil pops up like this,
Celestia appears again, and I hav liv live with this responsibility.
I\'m tired of this.

But I can\'t give up on Serenity. Or Motoki. I\'m going to
have to take some time for myself tonight to think this out.

She steered her car for the nearest motel that she used to
frequent. Lonely nights spent with some of the visiting dancers in
her troop made her feel a little cheep, but it was something to do
with the raging need within her. Otherwise, all she\'d do is turn on
one of the movies on cable and fantasize. She shook out those
conquests of her youth and pulintointo the driveway.

Pulling out her spare dufflebag, filled with clothes and other
things for such emergencies, she walked in an requested her usual
room. Entering her room, she quickly locked the door and took out
some candles that she had on the side. Clearing off a table, she lit
the candles and set them at the far corners. Raven kneeled before the
flickering light and tried to open her mind.

Now then, she thought to herself, what is it that I must do
next? I\'ve found the entrance, just like my Sister told me to. It\'s
not completely open yet, but it will be in a few days. What do we do
in the meantime? Keep our ears open for the next demon attack? I\'m
not the type to sit and wait, and I refuse to. There must be a way
now to go in and find them. Stop Dwersis once and for all.

No. Patience is the answer here. Eventually, Dwersis\'
patience will end and she\'ll start luring us in again. Can\'t let her
get the best of us.

Then a horrid thought entered her head. A vision of Dwersis
grabbing Sailor Moon by her hair and dragging her into the vortex,
never to be reached again. Then she saw her grabbing Tuxedo Mask and
crushing the air out of him. The dark tendrils of her hair reached
out for her and couldn\'t fight them off. She shook herself out of the
vision, clasping her head in her hands. \"I can\'t allow that to
happen. There cannot be any harm brought to them.\"

Raven licked her fingers and doused the flames. \"I vow on my
Sword that their lives will not be harmed. I have vowed to you long
ago, Sister, on your dead body, that I would protect your daughter\'s
life, even if it was the cost of my own. I knew you couldn\'t trust
the Outer Senshi, leaving their posts like they did, and the Inner
Senshi were too wto fto fully cover her. I have their powers
combinand and she will be safe in my care. Even now.\"

After composing her thoughts after a few more hours, she was
going to leave her room to head home. But then a thought struck her.
\"Maybe I should remain here. They were hinting around about doing
something tonight that would require privacy. I think I should give
them that opportunity.\" So, instead of packing up, she got ready for
bed.

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

\"Mamo-chan,\" she whispered into his shoulder as he carried
her, \"I\'m a little scared. You know I haven\'t done this before.\"

He nudged the bedroom door open with his foot and gently laid
her down in the blankets. \"This is up to you if you want to go
through with this. It\'s the first time for both of us.\"

\"It is?\" she said, stifling a yawn. A momentary concern went
through his mind that maybe the bed wasn\'t a good idea. But she was
know for sleeping anywhere, maybe this wouldn\'t make much difference.

She blinked sleepily but managed to snap herself out of it.
\"I thought that maybe you and Rei . . . you know . . . when you were
dating her.\"

He smiled as he looked away. Somehow he had a feeling that
that subject would soon turn up. \"Look, I know what that looked like
to you, but it wasn\'t what I\'d call a date, and I never allowed
anything to happen. Sure, she hinted and flirted, but I refused to
pick up her ideas. I hate to say what Rei was, but she was someone I
could pass the time with. I never really thought of her more than a
friend. I know she was serious, but I wasn\'t. I feel rather bad
about what I did to her, but I can\'t go back and correct those times.\"
He took her hand, \"I say to you honestly, I never had a relationship
with Rei. I was saving myself for you.

\"I was pretty much a loner. I didn\'t want to get close to
anyone, because I did fear to be close to anyone. Losing my parents,
losing other friends of mine, I didn\'t want to take the chance.
Besides, a good worker kept to himself and didn\'t want to get
involved. Then I met you, as you stumbled into my life. There was
something different about you, yet I couldn\'t tell what it was. I had
no memory of my appearing to you as Tuxedo Kamen, or even seeing you
as Sailor Moon. Until we wfighfighting over the rainbow crystals.
That\'s the only time I ever got the hint that we were meant to be
together, that you were something special to me.

\"Now, we\'re away from Japan, and in the country where we could
do pretty much whatever we wanted to. In a way, I want to show you
how much you mean to me, but I don\'t have to prove it this way. We
constantly save each other during battles, we\'re there for each other
when one needs help. I leave this up to you, if you\'re ready. If
not, there will be another time. I don\'t want to force you into
anything.\"

She smiled sweetly. \"I know you wouldn\'t force me to do
anything I didn\'t want to. Even though you did act terribly at me
those first few times, there was something about you that drew me to
you.\" She reached up and placed a hand on his cheek. \"Mamo-chan, I
love you more than I could ever say. If I had to give up my life for
you, I would do it without hesitation.\"

\"My life would be hell if you did that,\" he whispered back.

\"Then we should go together, then,\" she said with a giggle.
That brought out a grin on him. \"I\'ve been so curious, yet never
acted upon them, not in this area, anyway. Maybe we should take
advantage of this situation, ne?\" He nodded in agreement and leaned
over to kiss her. She could imagine that this position looked like
out of her favorite story, \"Snow White\". Waiting to be waken up by
her prince\'s kiss.

A story come true, she thought blissfully to herself.

While they kissed gently, she thought back to all the names
they hurled at each other on the Tokyo streets, the faces she made at
the rude man. But even though Usagi tried to hate him, something
wouldn\'t let her. Something always nagging her not to turn her head
from him. Always as she stormed off in a fit, she took a small glance
at him over her shoulder, fast enough that he wouldn\'t catch it.
Guess there was something special to him after all, she would think
sometimes. But never thought it out that the same man she lusted for
in the tuxedo and cape was the same guy she just called \"baka.\" So
much can change in a few moments, she thought to herself.

She was snapped out of her thought by the sudden urgency in
Mamoru\'s lips. She recalled him doing that a couple of times before,
but nothing like this. It made her mouth warm, made her heart beat
faster. She was starting to marvel at the reactions she was feeling,
until a dull ache began in her stomach and travel downward. Odd, I
ate before, she thought, and lots of it. Oh, don\'t tell me I\'ve got a
stomach-ache! Then she thought about it again, and realized that her
tummy pains never felt like this. It felt more like the build up of
power before she attacks or during her transformation, yet different.
Whatever it was, it made her feel wonderful.

Is he feeling the same thing, she wondered.

She figured, apparently so, for now he got up off his knees
and climbed into the bed. He placed his knees on either side of her
hips, balancing himself so as not to crush her legs. He gently took
the sides of her shirt and was going to pull it over her head. She
was surprised that he was going to undress her, thinking that she
would do that herself. Usagi archp a p a little and held her arms
over her head so it would be easier to yank it up. He tugged upwards
little by little, making sure that he wasn\'t pulling her hair. After
removing it, he held it in his fingers and let it drop to the floor in
a pile.

Mamoru gazed down at the simple, yet small, white bra she had
on. She was still petite in some areas, but there was plenty of time
before she had to worry that she wasn\'t going to fill out. She was
already looking more and more like a woman, and he could almost
imagine what she\'d look like at his age. Stunning was the only word
he could put on it. Even though it wasn\'t cold in the room, her
nipples were starting to poke up. As if they were staring at me, he
joked to himself. He reached out with his fingertips and brushed them
down her bare arms, watching the goosebumps rise on her skin. She
merely closed her eyes and smiled dreamily, a small hum of pleasure
escaping here and there.

To compensate for her nakedness, he took her hands and laid
them on his shirt, trying to urge her into unbuttoning it. She was
baffled at first, then nervously tried to get them through the holes.
Her fingers slipped time and time again, her getting more frustrated
at her lack of ability. Once he noticed she got too angry, he laid
his hands on hers again and calmed the shaking in them. She looked
into his eyes and saw the gentle patience and love shining through
them. Once she was able to seep in enough of his gaze, she tried
again and had a better time at it.

Usagi tugged at the tails of his shirt with a bit of urgency
and flung it back over his shoulders. There was that smooth yet
defined chest that had seemed to bury itself into her mind ever since
she first saw it. Cautiously, she brushed her fingers over it,
lowering them down to his stomach, then up again. She looked back to
his face for approval, and saw that his eyes were shut, his head
leaning slightly away from her. She figured she was doing the right
thing and started again. This time, he was the one that made a small
noise of pleasure. She was startled, but then she decided that she
liked to hear him do that. Every now and then he\'d make the same
noise when they kissed, almost like a purr. And that always made her
feel warm inside. Like she was doing something to make him sound
other worldly. She liked doing that, and she was going to do more of
it.

Usagi turned her attention elsewhere on his body. Her eyes
strayed down to his pants, and noticed that there was a noticeable
lump in his lap. Her mind quickly turned back to the time where she
saw the photo of him advertising underwear, and made her blush. Now
she started to realize what was poking her those other times before.
She wanted to slap her forehead for her stupidity, but thought
differently about it. She started to reach for his pants, but he
pulled her hands away. \"No. Not yet,\" he said in a hoarse whisper.
\"I don\'t want you doing everything. This is your night.\"

\"Wrong. This is both our first time, so it\'s our night, ne?\"
she whispered with a lilt in her voice.

Mamoru looked down at her with those soft eyes again. She
could feel herself melt right before him like butter on a hot street.
So many things went through her mind of what she wanted to do with
him. She wanted to kiss him on his eyelids, the closest she\'d get to
those beautiful eyes, run her fingers through his mop of bangs that
continuously flopped into his eyes, find out the secret of what was
going to happen next. But then she took a calming breath and waited
for his next move.

She finally saw his hands move for her bra. Suddenly getting
nervous, embarrassed that she wasn\'t a womanly built like her other
friends. She never liked the way she was developing in certain areas,
and now he\'s going to see that. At least when she turned into a
Senshi, she was more womanly. Usagi thought he wouldn\'t like what
little she had. He slipped the straps off of her shoulders and
slipped his hands beneath her back. After a bit of time, he got it to
unsnap and slowly lifted it up. She squeezed her eyes shut, not
wanting to see that disappointed look.

Instead, she heard a sigh. Peeking one eye open, she saw that
disappointment was the farthest thing on his mind. His look was
softer than it was before. Is that what passion looks like, she
thought to herself. He dropped the piece of cloth where both their
shirts lay and then placed his hands lightly on her breasts. His
hands, they\'re so warm, she thought. She closed her eyes and enjoyed
the play of his palms and fingers on her skin.

He was starting to lose his control, but he held onto it with
all his strength. Mamoru spent a lot of time reigning in his passions
for her many times, and he wasn\'t going to rush through this now. He
wanted this to be memorable for both of them, not a quick roll with
her. As he gently massaged her chest under his large hands, he looked
to her face and saw a small smile on her lips. He was pleased over
that. Seeing that his love was happy made him happy.

He then rolled off to her side and reached over for her. She
willingly turned to her side and reached out to kiss him again. He
placed his arm beneath her head for a pillow, and wrapped his arms
around her so that she couldn\'t move away. Their bare skin touched
each other, and they could feel the heat rising from each other. He
reached underneath her skirt to take off the nylons she was wearing.
Pulling them off carefully so not to ruin them, they landed in the
pile of clothes on the floor.

He touched her legs, slowly running his hand up till he
reached her hip. They\'re so soft, he thought, softer than I thought
they would be. She must have liked what he was doing, because she was
starting to purr, even with their lips pressed together. He continued
to massage her legs, gently pressing her back into the bed so that he
could reach both of them better. He started to brush his fingers on
the insides of her thighs, noticing that her skin was hotter here than
on the rest of her body. To his surprise, Usagi opened them a little
more. She obviously likes this, he chuckled to himself.

Mamoru pulled his lips away from hers, to her disappointment.
He proceeded to kiss around her jaw, down to her neck, and then lower
to her breasts. She moaned in surprise as he kissed around and
between them, cupping them in his hands and drawing circles around
them with his tongue. She had to look down and see him doing this
just to make sure thhe whe wasn\'t just imagining this. Once her eyes
verified his actions, she flopped her head back and started to moan
again. She could feel her nipples tightening with his actions, a new
experience since she usually ignores that reaction when she\'s in the
cold. Then came a totally new feeling. He kissed the very point of
one of her breasts, and theartearted to suck gently on them. She
almost cried out from it, catching her totally off guard. Her hands
shot up and started to cradle his head closer to her chest. He went a
little faster, rubbing his tongue on it, and then she made a loud
yelp. He switched to the other breast, doing the same thing, and
watching her reactions.

She was surprised, yet feeling something akin to electric go
through her body as he played and teased with every nerve. She
started to wonder if she did the same thing to him, would he react the
same way. She got a wicked picture in her head, and decided to act on
it. She pushed his shoulders into the bed and straddled him the same
way. As she sat up, she took out the clips holding her hair in place
and shook out her blonde hair. It fell like a golden river down her
back and shoulders, and he was blinded by her sight. He never saw her
as beautiful as this, and could only compare it when she reverted back
to being the Princess. He reached up and touched the golden strands,
brushing his long fingers through it. She leaned over him, low enough
that her breasts just touched his chest and kissed him on the
forehead. He moaned and pressed her closer to his body, running his
fingers down her back.

But she wasn\'t going to let him keep her there. She started
to nibble on his ear, and felt him arch into her. Then kissed her way
to his neck, and heard him start to hum in his throat. Dragging her
tongue down to his chest, she started to lick his nipples. He moaned
loudly, maybe even louder than she did before. He pulled her back up
to his face and started to kiss her hard, even darting his tongue into
her mouth. She was a little startled at first, then played along with
him, trying to match his passion but not sure if she was succeeding.

They rolled over again with her beneath him. She could feel
that lump she felt before between his legs, only this time it felt
bigger and harder. She had some idea of what happehen hen people make
love, but she wasn\'t sure how it goes. She heard something about \"him
entering her\", but what did that mean? Is it what he just did with
his tongue, or was it . . . .

He parted away from her for a moment, and looked at her if it
was all right for him to continue. She nodded. He reached for her
skirt and unfastened it from haistaist. Slipping it off, he smiled
when he saw the light pink underwear underneath it. He looked at her
again as he reached for the edge of the panties. She got shy again,
but nodded her head again. She arched her back again, and he slipped
them off slowly.

Usagi started to blush furiously. She never was naked before
anyone, she even hid when she changed into her gym uniform at school.
She was going to place her hands over herself, but she stopped when
she saw that appreciative stare again. His eyes took in everything
about her, and somehow that made her feel warmer than his touches did.
He took her hands and laid them on his belt, allowing her to do the
same. Feeling her fingers go numb again, she took her hands off and
shook her head.

\"You want me to?\" he asked quietly. She nodded her head, not
trusting her voice. He proceeded to undo his belt and his pants and
slowly took them off. Her eyes went immediately went to his waist,
and that picture of him in the ad went forward in her mind.

At least he\'s not as embarrassed over this time, she thought.

She also noticed that his underwear was a little stretched.
With her curiosity overcoming her awkwardness, she reached out for the
waistband and tried to pull them down. Down wasn\'t working, so she
pulled them outward then down. He sighed as his erection was freed
from his confines.

She stared in surprise over this. She never figured out that
a penis could stand on its own. Even more curious, she touched it
with a finger, then the rest of her hand. She heard him let out a
breath as she brushed it with her hand. Running a finger along the
bottom of it, he squeezed his eyes shut and nearly fell to his elbows.
Then it must have something to do with this, she decided. But where
does this go?

He leaned over and pressed his face to hers. \"Be careful how
you play with that,\" he whispered. \"Too much and I will lose
control.\"

\"What do you mean?\" she asked.

\"The only way I can describe it is like this.\" He took his
hand, and with his fingers he brushed them against her crotch. She
gasped in surprise, feeling a whole new sensation shoot through her.

She giggled once she recovered. \"Do it again.\" He did, only
making one finger slip between her lips and brush against her most
sensitive spot. She arched into his hand, letting out a yelp that
startled herself. \"I never felt that before.\"

\"I didn\'t think you did,\" he said with a smile. \"But it feels
something like that.\"

\"I never thought it would feel something like this,\" Usagi
added.

He shook his head. \"This is just a start. I want to show you
what it feels like completely. Will you let me?\"

She nodded. \"What do you want me to do?\"

\"Here.\" Mamoru picked up each leg, positioning them away and
bent so that her feet lay flat on the bed. He kneeled between her
legs, gazing down at her lightly haired mound. There was a little
moisture there, so he knew her body was ready. Just as long as her
mind was ready. \"I want you to know what will happen. There will be
some pain, but I want you to be ready for it.\"

\"Pain?\" she asked.

\"Are you ready?\" he asked, worrying that she\'ll be frightened.

She took a deep breath and then nodded. He positioned himself
before her and leaned over again. She closed her eyes, feeling him
just outside of her sex. Then he moved closer to her, felt him
pushing into her with his maleness. She started to sigh as she could
feel him enter her slowly, a tingle spreading over her. She clutched
her hands onto his shoulders and let out a long moan. He followed her
in her moaning, now starting to realize what he was holding back on
himself.

He stopped when he felt the slight restriction around her opening.
\"I\'m sorry,\" he whispered, then pushed in with full force. She let
out a small scream, started to whimper, and then calmed down. He held
himself still until he was sure the pain was gone. The heat within
her was beyond his imagining. He could feel the walls beating along
with her heartbeat, and now he felt truly one with her.

She opened her eyes, staring into his. He shuddered when he
saw the uninhibited passion in her eyes, and kissed her trembling
lips. She latched onto him with all her strength, trying to breathe
hard through her nose. He then started to move within her. She moved
her head away and gasped in surprise and pleasure.

She couldn\'t believe this was happening to her. She had so many
dreams of Tuxedo Kamen rescuing her, then making love to her
afterwards, but this was nothing compared to the real thing. The
feeling of him slipping in and out of her body drove her mad.
Unconsciously, her hips started to match his moves, making him deeply
fill her and almost completely leave her body. She listened to his
small moans and grunts as he strained to keep himself under control.
She couldn\'t help but be vocal over her pleasure.

Mamoru couldn\'t hold onto his control anymore. He started to pump her
faster and faster, just couldn\'t stop moving. She was too beautiful,
too sexy for him to continue with calmness. He slipped his arms
beneath her and held onto her for dear life. He never thought he
would feel this helpless as he did now. There was no way that he
could continue his loner life now. His thoughts went blank as Usagi\'s
moans got louder and her fingers started to dig into his back. He
could feel her body starting to tense up as he buried himself deeper
and faster into her. Her voice got higher, and he knew that she
wasn\'t that far off from experiencing her first orgasm.

Usagi\'s mind was a blank as that wonderful feeling started to build
and threatened to take over her. She almost felt the colors that were
rolling through her head with each changing sensation. She clasped
tighter to his body, yelling as she felt it building in one final
climax. She screamed out his name as she climaxed, her muscles
clenching violently and squeezing him. She panicked for a moment,
fearing that her heart was going to give out. But it started to
recede and she could feel her body relaxing again.

That was enough for him to be pushed over the edge. He quickly pulled
out of her and continued to stroke himself. A few seconds later, he
gave out a yell and he shot out his seed onto her stomach. He let go
of himself and gently collapsed on top of her.

She held him closely to herself, stroking his wet hair. They both
waited till their breathing calmed down before they spoke. She nearly
fell asleep until he muttered something. \"Nani?\"

\"I said, I never felt anything like that before,\" he whispered, his
voice broken.

\"Me too,\" she said, licking her dried out lips.

\"You were beautiful. And you still are.\" He picked up his head and
lightly kissed her on her forehead.

She reached up and brushed his bangs away from his face. \"Thank you,
my love.\"

\"You know, after this, I coulder ber be apart from you again.\"

\"I know, because I couldn\'t part from you either.\" She started to
stretch and get the kinks out of her back. \"That felt so wonderful.
I want to try that again.\"

\"I think we have all night,\" he said with a mischievous grin, and
proceeded to kiss her again.

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

The next day, Raven woke up with a beam of sunlight on her
face. She rubbed her eyes and grabbed her eyeglasses. Rol ove over,
she looked at the nightstand clock and groaned at the time. \"Morning
is not my strongcoming,\" she muttered to herself. She grudgingly got
out of bed, got washed up and packed up to go home.

She drove back into the city and headed for her apartment.
Entering the elevator, she thought back to the time gate and how to
force it open. She also wondered if it was safe to come back,
especially if it was a busy night for the two.

Raven entered her apartment, and noticed everything was the
same as she left it. She went to her bedroom, and the bed was made.
\"Good, they stuck to my agreement,\" she said to herself. As she
passed her bathroom, she could hear the shower running and two voices
giggling in the pelting water. She smiled, glad that they were able
to show their feelings last night. In the meantime, she plopped into
her couch and flipped on the television.

When Usagi and Mamoru left the bathroom, the twelve o\'clock
news was on. Raven turned up the volume when she noticed that she
made the news.

\"What\'s going on? What happened last night?\" he asked. She
just shushed him and pointed to the screen.

\"Topping our news stories, a strange occurrence took place at
the local mall. A woman was found in the place of a restaurant that
was shot up by men. Two mall guards tried to apprehend her, but were
unsuccessful, saying that she trapped one in a wooden cabinet and
knocking the other out with a glass bottle. The police say the two
guards were in a state of shock, saying that this woman turned into an
Egyptian princess and used magical powers on them. The police don\'t
truly believe their claim, but will look into the cause of this break
in.\"

Raven broke out in laughter as the two sat on either side of
her. \"Nani?\" Usagi asked.

\"I told them they wouldn\'t believe them, but would they
listen? No!\" And resumed her laughter.

\"You risked a lot doing a stunt like that,\" Mamoru said in a
low tone. \"You still could\'ve been traced down. We could all be
caught.\"

\"You are a little too paranoid,\" she said, poking him in the
chest. \"I made sure that they weren\'t going to be believed.
Remember, I can control human nature.\" He sat there with his arms
crossed, looking at her incredulously.

\"What did you find?\" Usagi asked, ing ing onto her arm.

Raven turned to her. \"I found the gate. Things can go
through, but can\'t pull out of it. We\'d have to find another way to
get out of there. But it\'s where Serenity said it would be.\"

\"When can we go?\"

\"I think it would be safer if we waited one more day. I
don\'t know if it\'ll lead us to the right place right now.\" The little
girl looked at her in confusion. \"See, vortexes work rather funny.
If you use it too soon, you could end up in a different area than you
wanted to be. Too late, and you\'ll have a hard time manipulating it
for your uses. This one needs a little more time before we can use
it.\"

\"I don\'t want to leave them there. We go now!\" she yelled.

\"We can\'t, Little Sister. It\'s not time yet.\" She put her
hands on her shoulders to calm her down. \"We must have patience with
this. Otherwise, we\'ll be playing into Dwersis\' hands. We can\'t have
her win over us. Give it one more day, and we\'ll set things right
again.\"

Usagi didn\'t want to accept this, but she nodded her head in
acceptance. Raven took her into a big hug and held her tightly. She
could feel her start to shake in tears. She wished there was more shouldould do for the girl, but there was nothing else to do.

Raven looked to the ceiling. For all the pain you caused me
and my Sisters, sheughtught to herself, you will pay us back in death,
Dwersis.

To be continued . . . .