Nathan twitched in his sleep, face twisted in pain, murmuring some sort of half-gibberish under his breath as he slept. Zoë stood over his bed, her face grim as she watched him sleep. His handsome face was gray, and dark shadows marred the spaces beneath his eyes. She had never seen him look so bad; not even in comparison with the odd illness which had kept him bed-ridden for two weeks a few months ago.

Well, once, she had seen him look worse--but that hadn't been him. And it hadn't been her watching him die, crumpled on the ground by the small girl. It hadn't been her laughing and mocking him. But the dreams...

Then again, there was his shoulder. There was really no explanation for the awful wounds there; at least he claimed he could think of none, in the few moments he had been awake earlier that morning. But in the dream...the vines had...

Bridgette had seemed ready to pull her hair out before Malcolm had gotten her to get some rest. She was sprawled in a chair at Nathan's bedside, looking almost as bad as the younger man did. Then again, Bridgette hadn't gotten any sleep for the past three days--and had kept up her usual packed and active schedule without letting up at all. At least one thing was staying the same; Zoë had never seen Bridgette sitting still for more than a few hours at a time. The only times Bri had stayed in one place, was when some situation prevented her from leaving Zoë or her adoptive sibs to go do one of the hundred other things that she was always burdened with.

Zoë turned back away to stare out the window at Tokyo's skyline out the window, wrapping her arms around herself and resting her forehead on the cold glass. Those dreams were getting worse...and Malcolm; sure she cared for him, but not...and she may fight with Nathan, but they both knew it wasn't serious.

With a shudder, she moved back and sat heavily in a second chair with a thud. Wincing, she glanced at Bridgette's slumbering form, but though her almost-mentor's brow creased and she murmured something liquid under her breath, she didn't wake. Zoë sat back, shoving her hands into her hair and prepared herself for a long night.

* * * * * * * *

Nathan chuckled and leaned back against the tree in the park as Molly laughed beside him. He hit his head on the hard tree, but was too distracted with the laughter, so he didn't even wince. So this was what real laughter was like. **I had forgotten,** Nathan thought as he glanced up at the stars through the branches of the tree above him. It was a good night to see the stars. It was crystal clear, the lights of Tokyo not muting them as much as usual.

He choked, trying not to do more than groan in anguish as the cluster of thorns entered his shoulder, filling his ears with a wet tearing sound, his vision blurring a little as the draining qualities began to set in. The thorns broke off, sparks shooting down their lengths, and he clutched at his shoulder, sagging. He flinched, hearing Molly cry out; why hadn't she run?! He babbled something at her...

...and a familiar, but cruel laugh ringing through his head, as he raised pain-blurred eyes to see...

..."Yo! Nathan! Wake up, would you!"

Nathan's eyes snapped open to see Jared leaning over him. Groaning in pain, he flopped back down on the pillows, his good hand flying to clutch at his bad shoulder, his head pounding. "M' throat hurts..."

Jared sat back into his chair, rubbing his eyes blearily. "I'm not surprised; I woke you up, 'cause you were screaming bloody murder." Jared patted his friend's good hand gently. "You okay? Need something to drink? To eat?"

Nathan finally calmed, sagging into the pillows. The dreams; those damn dreams again. But they had been just fragments before. Tonight, though--tonight it had been a long sequence; one long sequence. And it had been him. Somehow it was him in the dreams; it was him dying, and standing over him was..."Jared?" he winced as his voice grated a bit. "What--what time is it?"

Jared frowned, a bit of concern leaking into his gentle, pale-blue eyes. "Uh--11 A.M., Nate."

"The school--" Nathan said suddenly, struggling to sit up, but not getting up very far.

"Woah. Stop that!" Jared easily held him back onto the pillows, being careful of Nathan's bandaged shoulder. "Bri's taken care of it; it's all right. The classes we were supposed to take in today will be over here this weekend; we'll do the same again for tomorrow's classes, if we have to. You just rest, huh?"

Nathan stared at Jared flatly for a moment. **Jared; that name is not right for him, somehow.** "I--was--rather hopin' to--see Molly again. To thank her for--"

"Hey! Space cadet!" Jared waved a hand in front of Nathan's face, the soft blue eyes gentling with concern. "You and Bridgette volunteered my services as a cook tonight, remember?" He frowned, face openly showing his concern now. "If you aren't feeling up to it--"

Nathan quickly shook his head. "No, no. I'll be right enough, you'll see." He turned his head to see Bridgette still asleep in a chair beside his bed, her head resting on the padded arm. Malcolm was draped across the chair next to her, almost bonelessly, one of her hands held to his chest against the ends of his silvery hair. **There's something odd; why do I feel like Zoë should be the one with her hand in Mal's?** Malcolm had never said anything about being interested in the younger girl, after all; not in the 12 years Nathan had known Malcolm. **But the name Malcolm isn't right either; and I've never done any of the things I'm remembering. And Zoë is--there's something odd about her too. And Bridgette. What is wrong with me? I am starting to be as suspicious as Beryl.** He stilled a moment, then let Jared help him sit up and help him across the room to the bathroom. **Who in hell is Beryl?!**

* * * * * * * *

"You what?"

Molly flinched and sighed, and glancing back at Serena and the other girls that Serena had started hanging out with a few months before. Molly sat on the bottom end of a slide in the children's park, her shoes scuffing patterns in the sand beneath the slide. "I told you; Miss Corwyn and Mr. Malley invited me and a few friends, which is you guys, I guess, over to dinner tonight. I thought you said that you guys wanted to meet them, so I asked if--"

"Why? I mean, you are the only one who--" started Rei, glancing at Ami.

"Mr. Malley said it was to make up for running off so quickly last night from the cafe. And Miss Corwyn said it was her pleasure--and that 'the more the merrier.' She smiled, so I don't think she was just saying that."

Ami shook her head. "I don't like this; we barely know anything about them." She turned a significant glance on the other girls over Molly's head. "How do we know--"

"I think that's why they're having us all over," said Molly. "They're really nice people; and Jared and Zoë are really funny! Come on, Serena, your mother already okayed it! She didn't want to let me at first, but that's what she and Miss Corwyn were talking about so long at the door last night."

"I--really?" Serena blinked, glancing uncertainly at the others.

"Well, I guess we should go," said Rei, slowly. "I mean, if they invited us and things; Grandpa will be glad to see me getting out."

"Not like I have anything better to do tonight," Lita said. "And it'll be nice not to have to eat my own cooking for once."

"Yeah, and besides, won't the other girls be jealous and all? I mean a private dinner with all those cute guys," said Mina with a wink. Ami just rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Mina!" groaned Rei.

Lita laughed. "In any case, people will know where we're going." She cleared her throat and her eyes shifted to the two cats perched beside each other on the wall.

"Besides," Molly said softly, staring at her hands, "I want to know if Mr. Malley is all right. He--was hurt pretty badly last night."

"What did happen to him, anyways?" Ami asked.

"I--don't know, but I found him in--he was covered in blood; all over his shoulder..."

Serena, Ami, and Rei exchanged glances.

* * * * * * * *

"Wow. Maybe I should be a musician," said Serena, staring up at the large house which the group Wayfarer was using while they were in Japan.

The house had once belonged to a wealthy American, but was built to mimic the traditional Japanese architecture in the neighborhood about it. It was a sprawling two-story home with a garden surrounding the house up within the outer walls. Even in the depths of winder, the gardens were still pretty, flowers stubbornly blooming in the shelter of the walls. A wrought iron gate was set into the wall, an elaborate dragon curled around the bars, looking almost alive. Through the gate, they could see a gravel path winding through the dying plants and the rock gardens and ponds filled with koi. The gate was the sort that was kept locked, but there was a button set into the dry stone of the wall to ring the people in the house.

All six girls were dressed up, wearing some of their better dresses. They all stopped at the gate, nervously staring. Molly finally set her jaw, and took a step forward to press the button. Before her finger could touch the plastic of the button, a cheerful voice called out from behind them, stopping her. "Hang on, Molly, I'll get it!"

"Ahhh!!" Serena shrieked, jumping at least three feet in the air as she spun to see--Jedite's look-alike, keys clutched in one hand, both arms loaded with grocery laden bags, a small parcel balanced precariously on his head. Serena couldn't help herself; she burst out laughing.

"Jared!" Molly beamed at him, grinning and giggling at the sight of him, too.

The cheerful blonde man grinned. "Well, if that's the way it is, then I won't apologize for startling you and your friends." He paused, winking jauntily and chuckling. The parcel balanced on his head shook alarmingly, but he ignored it. "Though that was an impressive jump; think about trying out for the Olympic team?"

Rei laughed. "She can't do it on cue; she'd fall flat on her face if she tried."

"Rei!!!!" Serena wailed.

Jared laughed, shaking his head. "Ack! Oh crap!" The parcel on his head shook and fell--right into Mina's waiting hand. "Thanks, lassie! Umm..." he shifted his grip on the bags, shaking the keys on his fingers under the bags. "Er...will one of you please unlock the gate for me?" He shook the keys.

"Uh--sure!" Mina handed over the parcel to Molly and took the keys from him. She turned back to the gate and tried the keys until one of them fit into the lock. Mina felt a strange tingle of energy run up her hand and shivered as she turned the key and pushed open the gate. "Is--the--uh--gate electrified?"

Jared shrugged. "Gives you the willies too, huh?" He shook his head, edging past her and down the gravel path, toting his bags. "I dunno; have to ask the people who sold this place to us, I guess." He grinned. "Come on in, though, Serena there looks hungry, and knowing our luck it's going to rain."

"I do not!" Serena said indignantly, just as her stomach grumbled. She blushed, and they all followed him through the garden to the front door.

"Malcolm!!! Door!" Jared bellowed, kicking at the carved wood a bit carelessly. When no one answered, Jared sighed heavily. "Could someone get the door, please?" Mina trotted forward, and pushed on the gilded handle and pushed the door inwards, letting Jared past her to set the bags down on a table just to one side. He backed out of the way, into a small side room, pushing the rice-paper screen back, to make more room as the other girls filed in. Molly moved to his side to hand him the package he had dropped.

"Wow! Nice place!" Lita exclaimed, gazing around at the warm glow of the wood, and the painted rice-paper screens. Finely woven rugs covered the wooden floor here and there, and the whole place was warm, lit by candles and fires in the hearths. Some places of the wooden walls were plastered, here and there, the plaster painted brightly in oils depicting amazingly detailed scenes of fantastic places. There were castles that seemed to be built of mists, mystical beasts in the skies and fields around them. There was also a palette and set of worn-brushes, the paint-smell still in the air.

"Thanks, uh--you know, I completely forgot my manners." Jared grinned widely and proffered his hand. "I met Molly already, but--I'm Jared Sims."

"Lita."

"Ami."

"Serena!"

"Rei."

"Mina."

"Nice to meet a bunch of such lovely ladies. But, as Serena told me, you all must be hungry!" Serena blushed and Jared winked. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I've got to finish supper up." He turned his head towards the stairs. "Nathan!" With one last parting grin, Jared grabbed the groceries and trotted off down the hall to one side of the stairs.

Feet appeared on the stairs, followed by the rest of Nathan Malley. The auburn-haired man looked tired, and there was a tightness about his sapphire eyes that hadn't been there before, but his smile was genuine. He wore almost solid dark blue, except for a brooch at his throat with an emerald winking in the center of a complex golden knot-pattern, his right arm hung limply in a black silk sling, and he was wiping faintly-stained hands, carefully on a paint splattered cloth. "Hullo again, ladies. Sorry we weren't able to make it in today, but I seem to have met with an accident last night." He shifted his are a little in the sling, wincing in a little bit of pain.

"It's--all right," Ami said, blushing.

Nathan frowned at her for a moment, then sighed. Molly licked her lips before asking tentatively. "Are--you all right, Mr. Malley?"

"Well enough, Molly; well, enough. Been better, but--well, could be worse, I suppose."

"How?" asked another male voice.

The slender, platinum-haired Malcolm Barnes stepped from the room on the far side from where Jared had ducked, and leaned on the doorframe, one slender hand balancing a steaming mug. He, too, looked tired, and the varied grays he had chosen to wear didn't help him look any less drawn. Nathan looked at him steadily for a moment, his brow wrinkled. "Could be dead," Nathan said finally, a wry not-quite smile twisting his lips.

"That's not funny," snapped Zoë, coming down the stairs from behind Nathan, dressed in a rather severely cut violet dress.

"It wasn't intended to be, Zoë," Nathan said softly, a sarcastic grin on his face as he glanced over his shoulder at her. Sighing, he shook his head, glancing at the girls. "And here we are snarling at each other in front of guests. I'm sorry, lasses, but I seem to always wake up in a foul temper."

Zoë’s body lost some of the tenseness and she smiled after a moment. "You're always in a foul temper, and you didn't just wake up."

Nathan gestured with his free hand. "Well, now, I am Irish. We have a reputation to uphold, y'know; I'm perfectly in my rights to be in a pissy mood."

Malcolm shook his head, a faint smile on his handsome face. "So what about the rest of us? We are all Irish citizens now."

"You're not a native," said a strange woman's voice from the same room Malcolm had left. "The temper only breeds true in those born on Irish soil," finished Bridgette, moving gracefully into the entry room. Her hair was drawn over one shoulder in a long braid. She wore a long, flowing, bright-red, silk skirt that's gold-edged hem brushed the floor as she walked. She raised an arm, decked with many thin bracelets to push a few strands of her heavily-silvered, red-gold hair out of her eyes, the full-sleeves of her creamy silk shirt hissing softly. "Though I think Jared's made an exception," she commented idly, glancing down the hall the young man had vanished down.

The five Scouts all stared at the simple silver locket that hung around Bridgette's neck on a green-silk cord, while Molly peered in concern at Nathan. The injured man cleared his throat finally. "Ah--why don't we go sit down. I'll admit to you, I'm not as steady on my feet as I might be."

Bridgette looked at him a moment, then nodded, her strangely dark blue eyes returning to Serena briefly. "A good idea, Nathan; a good idea."

* * * * * * * *

"Oh, ha ha! I could never be a good singer!" Serena laughed as Jared chuckled, leaning over to refill her glass with more soda.

Bridgette leaned back in her chair, making a steeple from her fingers thoughtfully. "Any can be, Serena. I have known people who couldn't carry a tune in a bucket sing beautifully if they put their hearts to it."

"Take me," Zoë said, spreading her hands. "My mother told me I sounded like a sick crow the first time I tried, but I kept at it, and now look at me!" She grinned, winking an emerald eye. "Rich and famous."

"Bri's rich, Zoë, even if you're famous," Nathan teased.

"Well, girl can't have everything. If she were perfect, who'd date her?"

"Someone desperate?"

"Brat!"

Everyone giggled, and Nathan winked. "Seriously, though, only reason we're any good is 'cause we work at it. Some people just need more than others."

"Well, that'll be Serena, all right," Rei said wryly.

Malcolm chuckled a bit, then grimaced, his silver eyes twinkling at the pouting girl. "Forgive me, Serena." He didn't sound sorry at all. He frowned, then forced a smile. "Bridgette and the others are right, though; good music is more than a pretty voice hitting the right notes."

"It's a whole other language," Zoë said with a crooked smile, her eyes gleaming a bit.

"That sounds a bit corny, Zoë," Jared said, sitting back down into his chair, grinning at her.

Zoë shot Jared a venomous glare--then stopped, looking startled. "Well--it--it is, and you cannot deny it."

Jared stared at Zoë with no little startlement, then grimaced, raising his hands in defeat. "Easy; Zoë! I'm not a bloody target for those daggers of yours! I was teasing; jeez, Zoë, switch to decaf, huh?" Zoë flushed and stared at her hands, and Jared patted her knee gently. "Sorry, Zoë; you're right, it--music--uh--"

Nathan raised his own glass, filled with a dark red wine and stared at the liquid in his glass as he swirled it. "Zoë, you should relax more; you’re going to have a heart attack by the time you're twenty, or at least more silver hair than Bri and Malcolm combined, if you're not careful."

Zoë drew in a breath to snap a reply, but settled back into her chair, face troubled. "You're right, of course, Nate."

Nathan raised his eyes. "Am I? That's a bloody first; what's wrong, Zoë? I mean, y' usually argue more." His eyes warmed in concern, peering at the young woman.

Zoë shrugged. "I--didn't sleep well."

Bridgette sat up in her chair, looking at Zoë intently, her face still. Then she stood, brushing out the folds of her skirt calmly. "How's this? Why don't we go and show you what we mean--about music. We'll have ourselves a wee--ah--jam session, as Jared likes to put it."

The girls exchanged glances. "Sure," said Serena, "but--ah--"

"It will be all right, Serena," Malcolm soothed, managing a smile. "Get enough people together, and anyone can sound good." He stood, setting his napkin down and followed Bridgette out the door towards another room.

Jared shrugged, standing with a stretch and a lazy yawn. "I don't know why everyone's so damned serious all of a sudden. We can make anyone sound good."

Nathan choked on his wine and set the glass down while he coughed, throwing his napkin at the younger man with a laugh. "You loon!"

"Get it from m' brother, Nate." Jared bowed, with a mad grin on his face, then trotted out of the room with a laugh. Nathan stood, rubbing at his shoulder a moment, then carefully offered his good hand to help Molly up. "Really, Jared is the only one of us who isn’t acting like we're all completely, bloody mad. I apologize."

"I do, too," said Zoë, walking amidst the other girls as they all followed Nathan's retreating form through the house to where piano scales began to ring from the other room. "I'm tired, I think; really, the only one I ever snap at is Nathan and the others, and they know that I am only joking."

"No problem," Ami said with a bright smile, staring around her at the art.

They all followed Zoë into larger room. Bridgette was moving about, arranging chairs into a circle around the room. Instruments of various sorts occupied virtually every other available surface. There were instruments from all over the world laying about the room and hanging on the walls. Some of them were so foreign, that they had the girls peering at them curiously. "Bagpipes?" asked Mina with a laugh, spotting a misshapen heap on one shelf.

Jared grinned, picking them up, "Guaranteed to wake up the neighbors!"

"Which is precisely why I bought this private house, rather than getting us all an apartment somewhere," Bridgette said with a thin smile as she crossed to pull her pedal harp closer to a chair. "We all have a rather bad habit of having spontaneous musical attacks in the middle of the night."

A loud squawk filled the room making the girls squeak in alarm and making Malcolm flinch, his hands pounding onto the piano keys discordantly. "Jared--" he began with a forced laugh, raising his arm to shake his fist in mock-fury at the younger man.

The girls got their heart rates under control as Jared giggled, putting his oboe together, the reed still hanging in his mouth. "Sorry; had to be done, you know. Can't have a messy reed...and everyone should make loud, obnoxious, and slightly obscene noises at every opportunity they can safely get away with."

Nathan shook his head as he steered Molly to a chair, sitting carefully next to her, leaning down and picking up a guitar from beside his chair. "Jared, you never cease to amaze me."

"How's that, Nate?"

"That no one's gotten around to killing you yet."

"I'm too adorable to kill," Jared replied, batting his eyelashes.

"Don't tempt me, demon," Zoë snorted, flopping down in another chair and grabbing up the same flattish drum that the girls had seen her play that morning.

Serena grinned. "Hey! I'll have to get one of those reed things." She giggled loudly as she flopped into another chair near Jared, grinning as he put the reed into the top of his instrument and played a few scales.

Jared grinned broadly at her, perched on the back of his chair, the oboe resting on his knees. "I'll make you one; just promise not to use it IN class. I'd hate to be chased halfway across the world by a group of irate teachers." He grinned. "Though I've never been banished; could be fun."

Bridgette sat carefully behind her harp in the chair beside the piano, smiling as the other girls found seats. "Now. They way this works, is everyone has to join in at some point. "If any of you play an instrument--" When everyone shook their heads, Bridgette shrugged. "Ah well. That means we'll have to get you singing." She glanced at Malcolm with a raised brow. "All right, Mal; you got to your instrument first, what shall we play first?"

* * * * * * * *

"Thank you for a wonderful evening!" Serena beamed, waving at the five musicians, bouncing eagerly on her toes as the girls waved from the base of the stairs leading to the door.

"It was a pleasure; please do come again sometime," Bridgette said carefully, nodding.

Serena swallowed. For all that the others reminded her of the generals, and a hundred other bad things associated with them, Bridgette, with her steady calm and piercing gaze, was the most unnerving of the lot. She laughed nervously, tucking her arm behind her head. "Sure, ah--no problem!"

Nathan smiled. "I thank y' for your concern, o' course." He glanced at Molly suddenly, his face turning more gentle and warm. "I'll see you all tomorrow, then, hmm?"

"Yeah," Molly smiled a bit tremulously, blushing furiously.

Waving, the girls all turned to leave, but Zoë’s voice stopped them. "Tell Darien 'Hi'."

Serena jumped, blue eyes wide, glanced at Rei, then grabbed Molly's arm and headed at top speed for home, the girls waving and beating a hasty retreat.

Nathan turned a perplexed face to Zoë as the girls vanished out the gate and onto the street. "Who's Darien?"

Zoë shrugged helplessly, her emerald eyes troubled. "Damned if I know, Nate." She quickly turned and walked back into the house.

Bridgette's level gaze followed the retreating singer for a moment, then turned to the clear night sky and the moon, pain tightening the skin around her eyes. "She is just troubled, Nathan; just troubled. It's nothing to worry about."

* * * * * * * *

Darkness stirred. Whispers--a stir of power where there should be none. A flicker of light--life. A thin laugh began at a whisper, then grew in strength as the light began to spread. The light only made the darkness seem thicker.

* * * * * * * *

"Molly! Helloooo! Hey, Molly!" Serena waved her hand at her friend's face dream-dazed face.

"Sorry, Serena," Molly said, blushing furiously with an embarrassed laugh. "It's just that--Nathan is-I mean, he's just so wonderful, and then he looks like..."

"Molly, it's time that you learned something about Serena," said a firm, purposeful female voice from somewhere near the girl's feet.

Molly jumped, looking for the source of the voice. Her eyes fell on Luna, the blue-gray cat looking up at her from the floor near her feet. The feline's eyes held a strangely serious and intelligent gaze as she peered at the red-haired girl. "Serena, did you just hear--"

"I can talk, Molly, and those people are dangerous," said Luna. Molly merely stared, stunned as the cat's mouth moved in time with the words. "And Serena is--"

"A talking cat?!" Molly gasped, staggering back and falling to sit on the bed with a thump.

"I am not an ordinary cat, Molly. And Serena isn't a normal girl, either." Molly just blinked in almost-shock as the cat jumped up onto the bed beside her. "Tell me, Molly, do you know of Sailor Moon?"

Molly jumped, then nodded, reaching out a tentative hand, touching Luna's head as if she didn't believe that the cat was there. "Sure; she's saved me lots of times. And she--was there when--" Molly broke off, her face twisting and a few tears spilling from the blue-green eyes.

Luna nodded. "Serena is Sailor Moon; and the other girls you were with tonight are the rest of the Sailor Scouts."

Molly blinked, then laughed in almost-relief. "Oh, come on! Now I know I'm seeing and hearing things; Serena is Sailor Moon? I must be dreaming! Nothing else could be so silly."

Serena growled, pouting, and stomping her foot a bit impatiently. "Look, Molly, Luna is trying to tell you something important, so just listen, would you?"

Luna shook her head. "You'd better show her, Serena, if we are to get anywhere. You have to admit that it is rather far-fetched sounding."

Molly giggled distractedly, almost hysterically as Serena glared daggers as the unperturbed cat. "Show me what?"

Serena sighed, then stood up raising her hand to the sky. "Moon Prism Power!"

Molly could only watch in shock.

* * * * * * * *

"I dunno, Nate; I mean, I don't know what’s going on. All three of you have been acting strange lately. Ever since we got here; I expected to see a sign over the gate at the airport that said, 'Abandon all hope ye who enter here' or something from the way you lot were acting." Jared scratched the side of his head and shrugged as they walked down the side of the street.

Nathan sighed, rubbing wearily at his head with his good hand, flexing the fingers of the arm resting in the sling. "It's dreams for me. Call me mad, Jared, but it's hard to tell what's real or no any longer. I mean--do you know anyone named Queen Beryl?"

Jared cocked his head. "Nope," he said without hesitation. Then his face split into a wide grin, "But then I don't go to those kind of bars."

"Dammit, Jedite, I'm serious," Nathan snapped. The fiddler stopped, a strange expression on his face. Grimacing, he turned to his friend, licking his lips a little nervously. "Um--what in the world did I just call you?"

Jared stared at him. "Jedite." The younger man's face creased in concern. "Are you feeling all right? I mean really."

"I don't know, Jar'; I just don't know," Nathan said, shaking his head. He looked up out of the corner of his eye at his friend. "What's got me thinkin' I'm even more crazy, is I could swear my soul I met Molly before last night. I get--odd feelings from her. And that girl--the one with the odd balls on her head--"

"Serena," Jared supplied, cheering back up.

"Yes. Serena." Nathan paused, turning slightly to look into a store window at the televisions, watching some sort of animated fight between a panda and a red-haired girl. "Odd girl, that Serena. It's like she's hiding something--something that I'm supposed to know--" Nathan shook his head with a deep sigh.

"I think she's kind of cute," Jared said, grinning. "Do you like that Molly person? Is that why? She's pretty cute, as well. Nice girl, too!"

Nathan barked out a laugh. "Oh come now, Jared. I'm 20 and she's what--can't be past 16."

Jared shrugged. "So? Look at Malcolm! Hell, do you think he cares how old Bri is? He's been pining for her as long as I've known you all."

"That's crazy, Jared." Nathan sighed and rubbed at his shoulder. "Malcolm and Bri are...well, it's totally different."

"I don't really think so, but suit yourself." Jared immediately became serious. "Are you all right? You've been looking a bit green, you know?"

Nathan smiled without much humor. "Been worse."

Jared snorted as they started to walk again, keeping concerned eyes on his friend as they moved. "What--been dead without letting any of us know?"

Nathan stopped in his tracks, staring at his friend. "That--that wasn't very funny, Jared."

"Wasn't meant to be, dummy." Jared said sarcastically, looking up. Then the younger man's his eyes widened in surprise. "Hello, Nate. Er...did we do something illegal?"

"What--" Nathan started to ask and turned to see two uniformed policemen heading straight for them.

* * * * * * * *

"God, but a nice soak in a hot tub would be welcome," groaned Malcolm, running a hand through his thick hair, shaking the few silver strands that came away on his slender fingers to the ground. He moved to stare out the window of his room and into the dark garden below.

Those dreams were getting worse; It didn't help that at least one girl right out of his worst nightmares had popped in for dinner this evening. Then there was Zoë...

Malcolm winced and turned away from the window, stretching. The dreams were still scattered and confused, but more was coming through each night, with more details--details he didn't really care to know. Zoë, for instance, was playing a larger and larger part. He could remember the feel of her in his arms--seeing her die. Malcolm shook his head, shivering, and headed for the bathroom with his robe.

* * * * * * * *

"I'm telling you," Nathan said again, his voice layered with weariness as he blinked at the bright lights of the police station. "I don't have the faintest notion who this 'Maxfield Stanton' is." He leaned back in the hard-backed chair with a wince, staring almost pleadingly at Jared. "I'm telling you, I am Nathan Kyle Malley; I was born in Ireland 20 years ago on March 21." The police kept on writing down what he said, never looking up from their note pads. "I have never been to Japan before Sunday afternoon; closest I bloody came was Seoul two years ago."

"We're part of the Arts exchange thing," Jared piped in. "Call the British Embassy; or better yet, call Bridgette, our mentor." He lowered his voice, muttering under his breath, "Besides, she's always been better at talking our way out of sticky things."

"Who is Maxfield Stanton, anyway?" Nathan asked after a moment, a bit irritably as he pawed out some aspirin from a pocket and downed it with some of his cooling tea.

One of the policemen, dressed in a nice suit, rather than a uniform, finally spoke up. "Maxfield Stanton is a multi-millionaire who vanished about a month or so ago."

"Woah," Jared said. He grinned at Nathan. "Sure you aren't him?"

Nathan shot him a scathing glare and gestured for the cop to continue. "Anyway, Stanton's got a large amount of property: a car, mansion, and old cathedral on the West side left over from some Christian missionary attempt, and all that money sitting in a Swiss bank account, and other holdings scattered across the world. Unfortunately, he seems to have vanished of the face of the Earth."

Nathan frowned slightly, rubbing at his forehead with his free hand. "I wasn't disappearing a month ago, I was getting sick." He shook his head, setting aside his empty cup. "And he looks like me, does he?"

The cop glanced at the desk in front of him, then grabbed a manila folder, and passed it to Nathan. The musician opened it, Jared peering curiously over his shoulder--and stared. "Bloody hell. So he does." It could have been him, dressed in a light grayish jacket and a yellow shirt. But there was a cunning, almost cruel, gleam in the eye and the wavy, flowing hair on the man in the picture reached his mid-back. "No-not me; this is the longest I've ever let m' hair grow." He glanced closer at the picture, and noticed the top of a red-haired head with a bow standing in front of Maxfield. The face of the redhead was turned away, as if she were talking to someone not within the picture, but Nathan suddenly knew exactly who it was. "Who's the girl here, then?"

"Can't say. Sorry."

Nathan shrugged. "I am sorry I can' help you. Unless I had a twin brother I wasn't aware of I--" he felt a wave of dizziness, like he had felt last night before he had collapsed, and he grimaced as Jared shot him a slightly alarmed look. "May--I go now? I--think I-need to get some rest."

The cop frowned. "Certainly, Mr. Malley, and we do apologize." The policeman cocked his head to one side as Jared helped Nathan to stand. "What'd you do to your arm anyway?"

Nathan looked up, an ironic smile on his face. "If you can tell what happened to Maxfield Stanton, perhaps you could tell me what happened to my shoulder." He turned and pulled the oiled wool 'Piper's' cape on over his clothes, easing the heavy cloth onto his shoulder. "Good night, sirs. Come on, Jared."

* * * * * * * *

Malcolm lay back with a sigh, his eyes mostly closed, relaxing a little in the steaming water of the tub. A sharp herbal scent rose from the waters, and Malcolm reached lazily over to a small jar, sprinkling in another handful of pale salt crystals. **One of these days,** he thought, sleepily, **I am going to have to ask Bridgette what she puts in this muscle-relaxing mix.** A faint knock disturbed him and he sighed, pulling one side of the carved wooden shower door closed. "Come in."

Zoë slipped into the steamy room, blinking a bit as she accustomed herself to the humidity. "Sorry. I--just wanted to--apologize--for earlier. I don't know what's been getting into me lately."

Malcolm cracked open an eye, peering at the woman he had called his sister for years. "What for, Zoë? None of us has been exactly ourselves lately--well--apart from Jared, of course. I doubt an earthquake could phase that warped sense of humor."

Zoë shrugged. "It's just that--"

"Never mind, Zoë; it's all right."

"Yes, Lord."

Malcolm raised his head, eyes snapping open. "What?" he stammered, a cold place filling his chest as he sat upright in the water, staring at her.

Zoë paled, clutching a hand to her cheek. "I--" Turning quickly, she fled the room, leaving Malcolm cursing, and trying to get to the towels.

* * * * * * * *

Jared helped Nathan to sit on a park bench, crouching at his friend's feet, a supportive hand at his friend's side. "Nathan? Did you bring the phone?"

"N--no." Nathan murmured through clenched teeth. "I--will be--fine in--no time. You'll see." He closed his eyes, trying to catch his breath, his good hand rising to wipe sweat from his brow.

"Nathan--you look awful." Jared stood up, nervously looking around. "I've got to call Bridgette. She--she'll be able to help. Wasn't there a pay phone back--"

"No. No--she--means well, but--I--need to--let this--finish. Whatever is happening. It--has to finish. Bri's got enough to worry about." Nathan raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow again, and stared as it came away with smears of blood on it.

"Like hell!" Jared exclaimed, his voice cracking in worry as he half-threw himself to his friend's feet again. "My God! What is happening to you?" He pulled the cream silk scarf from around the neck of his leather jacket and pressed it to the blood on the side of Nathan's face. "Tell me what I can do, Nate! If I have to, I'll bloody carry you to the nearest hospital!"

"Freeze, NegaSleeze!"