SPIN THE BOTTLE By Princess Destiny [princessdestiny@hotmail.com] Chapter Seven Everything exploded into light, momentarily blinding them both. Then the light engulfed them both and a vision appeared. Mamoru recognised it immediately, stiffening. He was standing at the base of a balcony, almost everything around them obscured in a thick fog. His eyes swung upwards expectantly and a moment later SHE appeared at the balcony railing. ["Princess"] "Tuxedo Kamen? What are you-" the Princess began, seemingly shocked at his appearance. Usagi looked up at the figure of a woman at the railing, obscured by the fog. However, she seemed hauntingly familiar. ["Who is she? Where are we?"] "NO! Leave! She is not meant to be here!" The Princess cried out, looking down. Her voice was filled with horror and panic. "Princess! What-" Mamoru cried back, startled. He turned his face to see Usagi standing at his side, eyes wide with astonishment. She looked almost as panicked as his dream Princess. "Leave!" The Princess almost screamed at him. "We can't! I don't know how we got here!" Mamoru shouted back, not knowing what was going on. At his side, Usagi stiffened. A strange sensation had begun at her temple and was spreading through the rest of her body slowly. Her eyes went blank. "It's too late" the Princess' voice whispered despairingly from above them. "Too late...too early. This should not have been..." her form disappeared as if she'd faded like a ghost. Mamoru felt a surge on panic, then the vision began to waver like a reflection on water. "Princess!" he cried out. ["She's the Princess?"] Usagi thought, eyes clearing in time to see everything waver sickeningly. ["I'll love you forever"] The words whispered through both of their minds caressingly. A memory perhaps. And neither Usagi nor Mamoru could say who had thought it, or once spoken it. ["Princess"] As the vision faded and Mamoru could again feel the floor of the closet beneath his back, he realised with faint horror, that he had transformed into Tuxedo Kamen! His breath drew in sharply-then he realised that the gloved hands resting around Usagi's waist were now resting on a different material. He felt curiously, stiffening as his fingers encountered a long bow at the base of the blonde's back, where there had been none before. ["It can't be!"] he thought, shocked. Swiftly he felt down further, encountering the beginnings of a pleated skirt. His head thumped backwards to the floor, eyes glazed. ["Oh my god"] Abruptly, Sailor Moon felt a searing across her forehead. Not exactly painful-more like....a release. Something-filled her being, moving through her body like a warm caress. She felt Mamoru pull her closer, an arm about her waist almost painfully. She felt him feel along her back with strangely seeking fingers, then he went still. Usagi blinked, feeling slight horror. She knew that she was transformed. She could feel the tiara on her brow. ["Oh my god! What do I do? I've transformed into Sailor Moon!"] Mamoru didn't know that she was sailor Moon and now she was laying on top of him, transformed. "Mamoru-let me go" she said slowly, struggling. If she could get out of the closet, before he could see her-maybe everything would be okay. But Mamoru tightened his hands more, clamping her to his length. "Not just yet, Usagi" He said in a strange voice. He narrowed his eyes in the dark and released one arm from about her waist, feeling for her face. His fingers brushed dangling earings, then along the smooth skin of her cheek up to her brow. There, he encountered smooth cold metal. Familiar. His breath hissed out sharply as his thoughts were confirmed. "You have some explaining to do Sailor Moon" "Sailor Moon?" she said weakly, trying to draw away with more fervour. It was too late by then, of course. "Stop that, Usagi! And feel my face" Mamoru said coolly. He silently urged her to obey him. It was important that she did. "Feel your face?" Sailor Moon said with bewilderment. She slowly lifted a hand from his shoulders and felt along his neck and then his cheek curiously. "What am I feeling-for?" she broke off weakly as her gloved fingers encountered a familiar-shaped half-mask over Mamoru's eyes. She traced it carefully, eyes wide in the dark. "Tuxedo Kamen?" she yelped in shock. ["If he's Tuxedo Kamen, then my secret is safe"] Of course, now she had kissed-and several times-not only her enemy, but her dream guy too. "Bingo" Tuxedo Kamen drawled. Sailor Moon sank weakly against him, cheek resting on his chest. Absently, her skin registered that she was laying against the material of a tuxedo. She hadn't noticed it before. "Is-is this good or bad?" she asked him, biting her lip. His chest rose and fell under her face, lulling her into a strange calm. ["Have I done this before?"] she wondered silently, eyes half-closing. Laying against his chest like this seemed familiar. Tuxedo Kamen's eyes were wide in the darkness. The blonde super- heroine's face laying on his chest suddenly seemed familiar. "Honestly, Sailor Moon?" he said wearily. "I have no idea. But of course, finding out that your worst enemy-who you've just made out with several times- is really the girl that you...care for, is really the girl that you save regularly was a shock" ["Care for?"] Sailor Moon's heart leapt, then began to thunder in her ears. "It's a shock for me too" she whispered, moving her cheek lightly against his shirt. Her blue eyes widened. "What do I tell the other girls? And how did this happen? I didn't say the words!" "Words?" Mamoru's fingers began to lightly stroke Sailor Moon's waist through the Fuku, trying to calm her. "I use my broach and certain words to transform-don't you?" She told him softly, shivering as his fingers caressed her through the Fuku. "No-I use a rose" Tuxedo Kamen said lightly. The question was, what did they do now?" can you de-transform?" he asked her questioningly. "I don't know" She replied nervously. She sighed. "Was that the Princess of the Moon?" "Yes" he said shortly. "You somehow shared my vision. But nothing was the same. She always asks me the same thing-but now she seemed horrified" he hesitated. "It was because you were there" "Me? What happened anyway?" Sailor Moon said weakly, touching her forehead with a tentative finger. "Something strange happened-" Just then, they both heard the outer door to Mamoru's room open. "Oh my god!" Sailor Moon hissed, frightened. She scrambled to her knee's at the same time as Tuxedo Kamen, both crouching awkwardly on the bottom on the closet, heads hitting various items of clothing from above. She pressed herself back against the far side of the closet, huddling close to Tuxedo Kamen. Tuxedo Kamen's eyes narrowed in determination as he swiftly got to his feet, puling the blonde up beside him. He pressed her to his side, reaching into his tuxedo unconsciously for a rose. All he could think about was protecting the girl at his side, as he always did. They stiffened as the other side of the closet was wrenched open-and there was a startled silence. "Where ARE they?" Steve demanded, sounding baffled. Light spiled into the closet from the other side. "Hello? Mamoru? Usagi? How did they get out?" "Maybe they're on the other side?" Rei snapped. "Or maybe they picked the lock and got out! You shouldn't have left them alone in there for so long!" "Tuxedo Kamen!" sailor moon whispered, burying her face into his jacket. "What do we do?" "Stay calm and I won't let anyone hurt you" he answered firmly, arm tightening about her waist. "If Steve opens the closet, I'll hit him with my cane and try to knock him out before he sees anything" "What about Rei?" she said urgently. "You can't-" "I don't WANT to hit Rei, but if she opens the door-" Tuxedo Kamen said reluctantly. Sailor Moon grabbed his arm swiftly, stopping him from making any movements. "NO! Rei is my friend and she KNOWS that I'm Sailor Moon!" HOW does she..." He trailed off as he suddenly guessed. "Never mind" He finished, stiffening. The closet door before them rattled and then was abruptly thrown open. Sailor moon slumped in relief as she saw Rei's startled face. The priestess' eyes swept over her and Tuxedo Kamen and then widened with shock and horror. She let out a loud shriek and before either of them could say a word, the door was hastily slammed shut in their faces. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen waited in tense silence as Rei ordered Makoto to escort-firmly-Steve from the room. Sailor Moon's fingers wound into Tuxedo Kamen's vest tightly as they waited for the closet door to re-open. "Why did Rei look so horrified?" she whispered to her companion. But Tuxedo Kamen had no answer. The priestess should have shown shock at seeing sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen locked into an embrace of sorts at the back of Mamoru's closet...but not the horror that had been displayed in her purple eyes. Something was terribly wrong... Rei unlocked the door and then flung it open swiftly, opening her mouth to say something witty. Her voice died in her through though, when she saw Sailor Moon held tightly in Tuxedo Kamen's strong arms, both backed against the far side of the closet and eyes wary. Tuxedo Kamen had an arm about Sailor Moon's waist and his eyes were wary. "Arrgggggh!" Rei shrieked, practically throwing the door away from her. It banged close and then clicked shut automatically. "What is it Rei? Did Usagi bash Mamoru into a blood pulp?" Makoto asked in a blood-thirsty manner, green eyes gloating. "Yeah, give" Steve said, walking over to the closet. "What's in there?" "No, no!" Rei flung her hands out, waving them frantically at Steve not to come any closer. ["He CAN'T look in there! Oh my god!"] she thought in horror. "Rei?" Ami said curiously, eyebrows risen. "Umm-give me a sec. And YOU stay there!" Rei hissed at Steve. She flung open the door in his face, staring inside again as if expecting to see Usagi and Mamoru fighting-and not the two most famous superhero's in Tokyo crushed together in a small closet-looking ready to fight whoever opened the door- "Rei?" Sailor Moon whispered, looking frightened. She clung tighter to Tuxedo Kamen, as if he were the only stable thing in the world. "Oh my god!" Rei shrieked again, slamming the door in Sailor Moon's startled face. She hadn't been completely sure that she wasn't seeing things-but NOW she was. Not only was Sailor Moon clutched to Tuxedo Kamen's side as if by glue-she was DIFFERENT! ["What happened?!"] "What is going ON?" Steve asked, afire with curiosity. "Nothing!" Rei shouted. She gestured at Makoto quickly. "Take him out!" It was an order, from one Senshi to another and the three girls knew it. Rei had not asked it, Sailor Mars had. "What?" Steve said, shocked when the brunette abruptly grabbed him and startled to shove him from the room. "Get him out, Makoto" Ami said urgently, heading for the closet. "What? No way? What's going on in there" Steve demanded, a moment before he was thrust from the room violently and the door slammed in his face. "Now" Rei said, slowly opening the closet door. The other two girls watched in shock as Sailor Moon...and Tuxedo Kamen stepped out of the small space. But something was wrong. And it had not only been Tuxedo Kamen's presence with their leader-and them transformed-that had made Rei so shocked. "Your-your HAIR, Usagi" Rei whispered, eyes wide and disbelieving. "God!" Makoto hissed in shock. Tuxedo Kamen looked down at the girl next to him for the first time, in the light and-his mouth fell open in astonishment. "Sailor Moon" he said softly, deep blue eyes wide. "My hair?" Sailor Moon tentatively reached for a lock of her hair, bringing it around to where she could see it. She almost shrieked when she saw her hair. The once blonde locks-had turned completely silver! "My hair!" she whispered, not as shocked as she should have been. Something-seemed just too familiar about the colour. As if she had seen it before. "WHAT happened?!" Makoto shrieked, much like Rei had earlier. "What is going ON here?" Ami demanded, eyes wide as saucers. She reached into her sub-space pocket and removed the Mercury computer, quickly scanning Sailor Moon. Other than the hair colour, nothing else seemed wrong. There was nothing that the genius could detect. "We don't know" Tuxedo Kamen said darkly, a hand reaching out to wrap about Sailor Moon's waist protectively. He pulled her closer, watching the other girls carefully. ["They must be the other Senshi"] he thought, eyes flickering over Mercury's computer. Now that he knew, he could easily see through their glamour's. "What happened to you? You've-changed. Your hair..." Rei murmured, looking at Sailor Moon helplessly. "What happened in that half an hour? Where is-" she trailed off, staring at Tuxedo Kamen. He'd always seemed to have a strange bearing and presence to her-and now she knew why. ["I should have guessed it"] she murmured mentally. "What happened?" Makoto demanded. "And how did YOU get in there, Tuxedo Kamen? Where is Mamoru?" The girls all looked expectantly at Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon-all but Rei, who had already guessed. Sailor Moon stiffened as Tuxedo Kamen pulled her closer, protecting her seemingly from her friends. One arm was completely around her waist, the other rested on her opposite shoulder, holding her almost facing his chest. She had to tilt her head back to even look at Rei and the others. She looked up at him tentatively. He seemed reluctant to let her go. Tuxedo Kamen smiled grimly at them, eyes cool It seemed that not only Sailor Moon had changed-but HE was changed inwardly by their revelation. "I AM Mamoru"