Disclaimers and author's notes are at the end of chapter four. Sleeper By: Masked Maiden Chapter Four: Bad Dreams The steam thickened into an opaque fog that wholly enveloped the desolated and deserted city. In the manner of a blind woman she felt her way through the moisture, soon coming across the two silhouettes, one male and one female. And though she was once again unable to see their faces, she watched them intently. They joined hands and kissed as lovers would, soon floating high above Tokyo's mighty skyscrapers. A ball of golden light engulfed their bodies, its brilliance causing the fog to dissipate. As the freezing winds blew and collided with the rising tsunami of seawaters, the entire world turned into ice… "She's hiding something." Hotaru stirred under her bedcovers and woke up to Michiru's soft voice. She and Haruka were across the hall in their bedroom, and whom they were talking about was no mystery to Hotaru. Even now, when she was only two semesters away from graduating from college, her foster parents assumed that she never heard their secret conversations about their only daughter. "What makes you think that?" asked Haruka. From the tone of her voice Hotaru imagined Haruka lying on her side, buried under her comforter and waiting for Michiru to stop talking so she could go to sleep. "Hotaru tells us very little about the visions she's been having," Michiru replied. "It makes me wonder if she does know who initiates the Great Freeze." "I'm sure Hotaru will share with us when she wants to, but maybe she's supposed to know and we're not. She's the one who's having the vision, not us and not even Setsuna." The mattress springs squeaked as Michiru crawled into bed beside her partner. "Maybe you're right," she sighed, "but I can tell that something is bothering her. I wish she would just tell me." Hotaru grabbed her pillow and covered her ears, hoping to drown out her parents' voices. It was too much. While their faces were hidden from her in the vision, Hotaru knew that woman. The outline of her hair and her sailor fuku were enough to reveal her identity. But she wouldn't tell anyone. She couldn't. For if the rest of the Outer Senshi knew the woman's identity, it would change everything. ~*~*~ The next day… Tokyo, Japan 3:00 PM Patience was a virtue, or so Usagi was told. She was about to accept the face that patience was not a virtue she possessed, or at least when it came to waiting to find out her baby's gender. The conversation she had with her husband two nights ago only fueled her curiosity, a curiosity she had successfully deferred until now. The suspense was getting the best of her. She just had to know: was it a boy or girl? "Chiba Usagi-san?" Usagi looked up from the magazine she was absently staring at. A nurse with a chart in her hand stood by the doorway leading to the examination rooms, waiting for the next patient. Usagi arose from her chair (which was low and difficult for a pregnant woman to get out of) and followed the nurse to a vacant room. The nurse took her vitals, wrote them down in the chart and then left, telling Usagi that the doctor would be with her shortly. Usagi laughed to herself. She knew Ami would never purposely make any of her patients wait, but she also knew that her wait would not be a short one. As Usagi gave a loud, impatient sigh there was a soft knock at the door. Ami stepped inside, a warm and apologetic smile on her face, and greeted her friend with a hug. "So… where in the world is Mamoru-kun?" Ami asked. Usagi laughed. "Mamo-chan and Shingo had a four-hour layover in New York late last night, so they should be arriving in North Carolina any time this afternoon. But it'll be morning to them since there's a 13- hour time difference." Usagi made Mamoru take his wrist communicator with him, telling him to contact her the moment he was back in the air. So once Mamoru boarded his plane in New York, and after the pilot announced that all passengers were free to move around, Mamoru headed for one of the lavatories and locked the door behind him. He called Usagi and told her everything was okay. "So don't worry about me," he told her. That was roughly an hour ago. The next time Usagi expected to hear from Mamoru would be when he landed in North Carolina, which would be any minute now. Usagi's communicator was in her purse, just in case. "Well, let's see what this baby is up to." Ami rolled the ultrasound machine towards her and turned it on. "Lie down and raise your shirt for me, Usagi-chan." Ami found the bottle of clear gel and squeezed a small amount on her friend's round belly, smiling at her reaction to the very cold matter. She then took the transducer and slid it around until a grainy black and white picture of a baby's profile came into view. Usagi stared at the screen, completely amazed. That was her child. She just couldn't wait for the day she could hold her or him in her arms. "Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?" Usagi asked. Ami replied, "I thought you wanted to be surprised." "I changed my mind…" Besides, she mused, it gives me something to tease Mamo-chan with until he comes home. "So, can you tell me?" "Well, let's see…" Ami gradually moved the transducer as she tried to decipher the baby's gender. Her eyes soon widened in astonishment. "Oh my God!" Usagi raised an eyebrow, not quite knowing that to think. "What is it?" she asked the obstetrician. Ami wheeled around on her stool so her friend could have a better view. She pointed to a small form located off center on the screen. "Right here you can see your baby's profile. And right here…" She pointed to a round area close to the baby's feet. "… You can clearly see your other baby's head." Usagi's mouth gaped open. "What…?" She stared at the grainy picture and could clearly see the outlines of the two babies, her babies. She disbelieved yet believed with her eyes at the same, overwhelmed with such pure joy. After all those years of trying to have a baby, this was a wonderful surprise! "Oh my goodness… Twins! Mamo-chan is going to flip out!" "Would you still like to know the sexes?" Ami asked, though already knowing the answer to the question. Usagi wiped away the tears from her eyes and broke in a huge grin. "Of course!" ~*~*~ Durham, North Carolina 9:00 AM EST Located on campus of Duke University was the Washington Duke Inn, Durham's only four-star and four-diamond hotel. Four the next six days and five nights the one hundred microbiologists and emergency room physicians invited to the medical conference would lodge there and attend the seminars held in the meeting hall. It was an exquisite building, but the moment Mamoru and Shingo stepped into their hotel room, they immediately knew there was going to be a problem. Shingo pointed out, "There's only one bed." Mamoru swore under his breath. He had made all the arrangements for Shingo to travel with him that week, and so he had certainly informed the hotel manager months in advance that he would need a room with *two* beds. Now what were they going to do? Mamoru did love his brother-in-law, but not enough to sleep with him! "Well we can forget asking for another room," Shingo commented. "With this conference taking place I imagine all the rooms are booked. We're going to have to ask for a cot." Mamoru shook his head and grumbled, "No wonder that lady at the front desk looked at us funny…" "Hey, don't worry about it." Shingo walked over to the telephone and searched through the nightstand drawer for a list of phone numbers. "You call Baka and I'll call the front desk. It shouldn't be too hard to get some service around here." He looked up at Mamoru with his famous mischievous grin on his face. "So what should I say? Hello, my partner and I--" "Shingo, you're pushing it," Mamoru warned. "Keep this up and one of us will need a coffin instead of a cot." "Okay, okay, I'll be serious." Mamoru sighed in frustration and sat down on the edge of the bed. He took out his wrist communicator from his pants pocket and flipped it open, yawning as he did so. He had to envy his brother-in-law. Shingo was used to traveling. He'd slept through half the flight to New York and through the entire flight to North Carolina. Mamoru, though he tried, couldn't even relax. He just managed to make it through the trip without losing his mind (and his lunch when the second landing was a tad bumpy). Mamoru pressed a button on the communicator and waited for his wife to answer. Usagi's beautiful face appeared on the tiny screen. Just seeing her with her cheerful smile lifted Mamoru's spirits and washed away part of his fatigue, and it made him wonder how he was going to cope without for an entire week. "Hi, sweetie!" Usagi chimed. "How is everything?" Mamoru faintly smiled and replied, "Hey… We're at the hotel. Shingo and I just stepped our room a few minutes ago. How is everything with you?" "Great! I did start to worry about you when I didn't hear from you around four, but I figured you wanted to wait until you got to the hotel before calling me. But anyway… how's Shingo?" "He's driving me crazy," Mamoru rolled his eyes. He suppressed his laughter when he noticed that Shingo was giving him the finger. "Don't worry, you'll learn to ignore him," Usagi assured. Then she paused for a moment, as if she were mulling over what to say next. With that her smile brightened, now with a mischievous glint, causing Mamoru to become somewhat suspicious. "Guess what!" "I don't know," Mamoru gave up easily, not really wanting to play along. "What?" He wondered if he really needed to ask. At this time in their lives, there was only one thing Usagi would tease him about. Usagi taunted in a sing-song voice, "I know something you don't know." Now his suspicions were confirmed. "Usako, you didn't…" "I did!" "Well you're going to tell me, aren't you?" "Maybe… Or maybe not." "Usako, don't you dare tease me. If I remember correctly, I'm the one who wants to know if the baby is a boy or a girl. You didn't want to know. You wanted to be surprised." "I changed my mind." "Well, now that you know I think you should tell me… please?" Mamoru couldn't believe how desperate he sounded. He looked over at Shingo was more, who was now on the phone with someone at the front desk. He turned his attention back to the communicator's screen. "Please, Usako?" Usagi merely giggled. "Bye, Mamo-chan!" she said, and signed off. ~*~*~ 1:00 PM EST The central building of Duke University's campus was its chapel, a majestic and gothic-influenced structure that towered over its surroundings. That was the intention of the university's founder, a man who believed that the chapel would have a profound impact on the spiritual lives of those who attended the school and those who lived in the neighboring communities. Since its dedication ceremony in 1935 the Duke Chapel had served the community through providing opportunities of worship, Bible Studies, outreach programs, weddings, funerals, concert festivals, convocations and even graduation ceremonies. But it was never intended to house a meeting of destruction. Stephen stood in the nave of the chapel, gazing at the massive stained- glass windows. His attention was focused on one of the chapel's most famous windows. It depicted the story of Noah and the Ark. Stephen knew that tales quite well from his childhood days of being dragged to church by his parents. God saw how wicked and depraved His creation called Man had become. He soon regretted ever making Man and planned to wipe out the entire populace of Earth, including all animals. But there was Noah, the sole righteous person on Earth, and he found favor with God. Because of Noah, with his ark and animals two-by-two, Man and all creatures continued to live on Earth to this day. Stephen didn't like Noah. A small group of college students walked past Stephen and headed for the main entrance. Though it was mid-February the day's temperature was in the low 70s. Since it was such a beautiful, sunlit afternoon, the group decided to have their Bible study outside on the grass. It was for the best, Stephen thought. Except for the minister, who was in his study, there was no one to disturb him. Stephen glared at the stained glass window one last time and strolled down the nave, soon entering into the south transept of the grand sanctuary. Between the Memorial Chapel and the lectern was a stairwell leading to the Crypt, the place where the secret meeting of C.O.M.E. was about to begin. C.O.M.E. -- Children of Mother Earth -- was a secret organization comprised of 12 radical visionaries, all of who considered themselves to be the bright beacon of hope for the future. They gathered around the 30 or so chairs in the dimly lit Crypt and conversed amongst each other, all speaking in English. With two exceptions, the men and women were between the ages of 20 and 35. One of the exceptions was a 16- year-old runaway from Romania, who currently lived with one of the older members. The other exception was the uncharted 13th member, Dr. Stephen Lehmkuhl of Johannesburg, South Africa. He was the oldest member of C.O.M.E., its founder and its leader. To the public eye Stephen was considered a miracle worker, for he funded and headed the research program that searched for the antidotes for viral hemorrhagic fever diseases, such as Ebola and Lassa. Yet during those 12 years of research there was little documentation of Stephen's findings. Nothing was published in the most prestigious of medical journals, and the media hounds were only given a few pages of notes to go by for all newspaper articles and special TV reports. Most people assumed Stephen was a paranoid man: he did not wish for his discoveries to be seized by terrorists. In reality, he and the C.O.M.E. were the terrorists. There were no antidotes, only the terminal disease known as Sleeper. After seven years of studying the basic structures of VHF diseases, from their physical appearances to their genetic makeup, followed by five years of creating and perfecting a genetically engineered version of Lassa Fever, Sleeper was now ready to be unleashed… whether the world was ready or not. A Brazilian man asked his confidants, "Has anyone thought about the reason why the university is sponsoring this medical seminar?" "I certainly have," a college student from Chicago remarked, "and it's ironic. It's to protect themselves from being eliminated, yet there will be no way of protecting anyone when Sleeper is released." "A man can only hide in his home for a short time," added a Russian woman. "He may survive for a couple of months, but eventually Sleeper will infect the very air he breathes. No one shall escape." "How very true," Stephen agreed. He stepped out of the blanketing shadows cast by the stairwell and entered the Crypt. As he walked to his disciples their conversation ceased. Every eye and all attention were directed towards him. "Before I call this meeting into order, let me set aside a moment for those who waver. This is the time for you to back down, if that is what you wish. And if that is your decision, I ask for you to leave immediately." No one moved. The idea of leaving was considered a blasphemy, for it would mean regretting the one thing they believed in. Yet the leader stared at the Romanian teenager, hoping to lock eyes with him. There was something about Bodgar that made Stephen… cautious. "Very well," Stephen broke the silence. "Atsuko, dear, do you have the tickets?" "They're right here." Atsuko produced 13 plane tickets from her clutch purse, each with a name and a different destination written on them. She passed them out to their assigned owners and kept hers. "Miguel and Katrien," Stephen asked the Brazilian and the Russian, "do you have the backpacks?" Both radicals nodded their heads. "We placed them at the end of the stairs," Miguel said. "Each of us can pick one up on our way out when the meeting has ended." An Aussie pointed to the pile of backpacks and smirked, "Hey, mates, wouldn't it something if one of those cans inside went off?" Everyone was aware that the joke was intended to lighten the mood, yet it was hard to find humor in their consecrated mission. A couple of scattered chuckles were all that was heard. Stephen cleared his throat to regain the floor. "I want us all to remember our mission until the very end. Mother Earth has given birth to life for over six thousands years. Now is the time to relieve her from all her heavy burdens, even if it means martyrdom. Her children have taken her for granted, us included. They have abused her, despite all of her sacrifices. She is tired, depleted, and needs rest and solitude. Mother must be saved and her wretched, spoiled children must be aborted. We, the Children of Mother Earth, are now the arbiters of life, and we choose for Mother to live." The radicals chorused, "Long live Mother!" ~*~*~ Tokyo, Japan 4:15 PM Artemis loved Mondays, for he had the entire apartment to himself until Minako came home from work. He yawned and stretched his front paws, sharp claws digging into Minako's new and expensive floral bedspread. It was one of those long and lazy wintry days, when a person wanted to do nothing but sleep late, lounge around the bedroom or living room and order pizza instead of cook. That also included white kitty cats with crescent moon insignias on their foreheads. Of course, Artemis couldn't exactly order pizza but there was a leftover slice in the refrigerator. He made the mental note to eat it before Minako got her "paws" on it, but right now he was going to take a nap. Luna had just left a few minutes and informed him that Usagi was having not one, but two babies. Artemis couldn't tell if Luna was excited or only pretending for Usagi's sake. (Females of all species were near to impossible to understand.) Perhaps it was a mixture of both. In the histories of the Silver Millennium and the Golden Kingdom, the royal families never had a set of twins. Just what we need, Artemis silently jeered: something else to worry about. But the news of twins did bring up a few speculations. If ChibiUsa was the inheritor of the Ginzuishou then who would inherit the Kinzuishou? Someone had to. Was it one of the twins, or perhaps both? The guardian cat didn't know the genders of the twins because Usagi was keeping it a secret from everyone until Mamoru came home. (In fact, only he, Luna, and Ami even knew about the twins.) And when it came to the two elusive crystals, gender did make a difference. Or did it? Artemis always assumed that the Ginzuishou was "feminine" while the Kinzuishou was "masculine." That kept the powers of Earth and the moon in balance, and that was essential since their kingdoms were once so close together, at least in distance. Then again, he could be wrong. In the great scheme of things, what did he know? Artemis rolled onto his side and deeply exhaled. It was difficult to decipher the future when he remembered so little of his past. Luna knew less than he did, and perhaps it was for the better. When she broke the news to him, Artemis recalled an ancient superstition that the Golden Kingdom populace heavily believed in. Identical twins were considered to be freaks of nature, second class citizens. Families of nobility would have the second twin murdered minutes after birth, just to uphold their honor. Those from families of poverty were simply cast out of the community. This was not something Artemis would ever share with Usagi, or anyone else for that matter. But one thing's for certain, Artemis concluded. Those twins would never know how lucky they were to be born in the 21st century, and to have parents like Mamoru and Usagi. ~*~*~ Durham, North Carolina 5:00 PM EST The enemy silently lurked amongst the blanketing shadows before it screeched and leapt towards his wife, grasping her, a hand around her neck and a hand upon her round stomach. Mamoru charged towards the phantom, yelling Usagi's name, yet it seemed the hallways was unending. The more he ran, the farther away he was from the only family he had. Still he persisted. "Hey, Mamoru!" Shingo watched his brother-in-law jump ten feet off the bed, and practically out of his skin. It's just as well, Shingo mused. He'd been trying to wake Mamoru up for the past minute or so. Usagi said that her husband was a light sleeper, but this contradicted her statement. It made Shingo speculate… For a moment it was as if sleep refused to let Mamoru go, but why? "What do you want?" Mamoru asked, sounding perturbed. "Don't get mad at me," Shingo fended, "I'm doing what you told me. You said you wanted me to wake you up an hour before the banquet so you could get ready." "Not by shouting in my ear!" "Well, excuse me. Next time I'll pretend that I'm your wife and kiss you full on the lips. How does that sound? And I'll make sure it's a slobbery kiss." Mamoru rolled his eyes and rose from the bed. There were times when he wondered what it would've been like to have a brother. But with Shingo as his brother-in-law, there were also times when he didn't want to know. "I'm going to take a shower," said Mamoru as he headed from the bathroom. "If Usako calls me, just say I'll talk to her before I leave for the banquet." Shingo gave him the A-OK sign. "No problem," he assured. Once his brother-in-law closed the bathroom door, Shingo searched for a phone jack and connected his laptop's modem with a phone line. It was such a hassle whenever he traveled. To access the Internet he had to change all area codes, all phone numbers and even program his provider to dial a certain number before he could reach an outside line. He wanted to upgrade his laptop so it would have wireless connectivity but that cost money, and Shingo was more interested in paying back his college loans before he did any splurging on himself. (Splurging on Mika was another story…) Once Shingo was settled, lying on the queen-size bed with his laptop in front of him, he logged onto his email account. There were four new messages. One was an e-card notification from Mika, another was from his boss, and one was from Usagi. The last message was the one Shingo ignored two nights ago, the one from Hu Yen Li. The young reporter studied the e-mail subject. "To the Most Important Man in the World," it read. Shingo was unsure whether or not to open the e-mail. If it weren't for the foreign name, he would've suspected that someone was sending him yet another chain letter. Yet his journalist instincts told him to pursue, and so he did. Mr. Shingo Tsukino: Because of your reputation I decided to send you these documents. All necessary information and details are in the attached files. Do not ask questions. Do not contact me. Just read over the information and decide for yourself. Dr. Hu Yen Li "Right…" Shingo muttered in Dr. Evil fashion. From the short note he concluded that this was something he shouldn't be involved with. If Hu Yen Li requested not to be contacted then he was either in serious danger or playing a terrible, international prank. Still curiosity got the best of him, as it always did, and he clicked on the attachment and downloaded it to his computer. ~*~*~ Tokyo, Japan 4:00 AM Covered in a cold sheen of sweat Usagi writhed under her bed sheets, a maddening vision playing in front of her mind's eyes. Her panicky breathing and escalated heart rate accompanied her rising fear. And as she fought to awaken, shaking her head and digging her fingers into her pillow, she was only forced deeper into the nightmare that illustrated what she prayed would not happen. The corridors of Tokyo Memorial Hospital were a contrast to their usual state; they were dark, defiled, and deserted, leaving the impression that the building had been abandoned many years before. Usagi stood in the middle of a hallway wearing a tattered hospital gown and bathrobe. In her arms were the twins. She clutched her babies to her bosom, shielding them from the dangers that approached them. An agonizing wail penetrated the silence. The determined mother raced through the halls, opposite the direction she heard the screams. Yet Usagi was brought to a dead end. She frantically spun around and wondered if there was another hallway she could take or if danger was near. With no where to flee Usagi crouched in the corner and fervently prayed that the shadows were veil her and her babies from the unknown enemy. One of the newborns started to cry, giving away their hiding place. As Usagi tried to soothe her child the unknown force confronted its victims. It ripped the twins from Usagi's embrace and immediately disappeared into a state of oblivion. Shocked and torn Usagi reached out to the nothingness surrounding her, screaming at the top of her lungs. "NO!!!!" ======= End of chapter four 09.11.02 <-- (did not plan this…) Disclaimer: Sailormoon and the characters of "Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon" are property of Takeuchi Naoko, Toei Animation, Kodansha, etc. "Sleeper" is inspired by the novel "The Most Important Little Boy in the World" written by Dean Briggs. It is property of the author and Word Publishing. I do not have ownership and I do not make any profits from the use of Sailormoon or the novel in this fan fiction. Author's Notes: Because it came to my attention that I made a mistake with Mamoru's age in chapter one, I decided to list the characters' ages. It'll help me, and it'll probably help some of you. Aino Minako .................................. 26 years old Chiba Mamoru ................................. 29 years old Chiba (Tsukino) Usagi ........................ 26 years old Furuhata Motoki .............................. 29 years old Furuhata Reika ............................... 29 years old Hoshino Atsuko ............................... 28 years old Kaiou Michiru ................................ 27 years old Kumada-Hino Rei .............................. 26 years old Lehmkuhl, Stephen ............................ 48 years old Meiou Setsuna ................................ 27 years old Mizuno Ami ................................... 26 years old Morioka (Kino) Makoto ........................ 26 years old Phillips, Hideki ............................. 28 years old Tenoh Haruka ................................. 27 years old Tomoe Hotaru ................................. 21 years old Tsukino Ikuko ................................ 46 years old Tsukino Kenji ................................ 50 years old Tsukino Mika ................................. 24 years old Tsukino Shingo ............................... 24 years old Heheh… I wonder if Kenji likes being the big 5 0? Washington Duke Inn is an actual hotel and it is located on the Duke University campus. Also, the information for the Duke Chapel is accurate. If you want to take a virtual tour of the chapel, just go to www.duke.edu and click on Virtual Duke. The speech Stephen gives during the secret meeting is a very, VERY condensed version of the essay in the novel. I mean the essay is three to four pages long and the speech is a paragraph. Even so I feel I cannot give myself credit for writing it, so the credit goes to author Dean Briggs. The e-mail subject "The Most Important Man in the World" is obviously a spoof on the novel this fan fiction is based on. And in case you have been living under a rock for the past five years, Dr. Evil is a character from the Austin Powers movies. Email: masked_maiden@hotmail.com Web Site: http://miracleromance.cjb.net/