Disclaimers and author's notes are at the end of chapter five.









Sleeper



By: Masked Maiden



Chapter Five: New Threats









It was five o'clock in the morning when Chiba Usagi finally accepted 

that she could not go back to sleep.  The nightmare was permanently 

engraved in her mind, adamant to haunt her.  Never had she experienced 

a more vivid dream… or was it really a premonition?  It wasn't a 

question that Usagi wanted to dwell one.  In fact, she hoped the dream 

was just part of the "joys" of pregnancy.




But what in the world was "Sleeper?"  She must have asked this question 

aloud, for an annoyed Luna replied, "It's probably someone who likes to 

sleep, which is something I would like to do…"



Usagi rolled her eyes.  It was too early in the morning for sarcasm.  

"Well, then," she chided, "ignore me."  The young blonde swiftly pushed 

the covers aside, causing the black feline to roll off the bed and 

surprisingly land on her bottom.  (After all, cats were supposed to 

land on their feet!)  Usagi then climbed out of bed, to the best of her 

ability, and walked down the stairs to the kitchen.



"All right, I'm sorry," Luna apologized.  After the slight dizziness 

and shock faded, she followed Usagi.  "Tell me, does this have anything 

to do with that terrible dream you had last night?



"How did you know I had a bad dream?" Usagi asked.



The cat smiled, "I've lived with you longer than Mamoru has, and I've 

also slept in the same room with you all those years.  I know what it 

means when I sense someone thrashing under the covers at night."  Luna 

leaped into Usagi's outstretched hand and settled down on her right 

shoulder.  "Maybe worrying about Mamoru seeped into your sub-

consciousness last night."



"I don't think so," Usagi shook her head.  "Mamo-chan wasn't even in my 

dream, but the twins were.  I couldn't really see them, but I know 

that's who they were.  I was holding the twins in my arms and I was 

being chased by something called Sleeper."



"Was it a youma?"



"I never saw it, so I couldn't tell you for sure.  But for some strange 

reason, I don't think it even had a form.  When it finally confronted 

me, it was like it was everywhere at once.  It took the twins, I 

screamed, and then I woke up."



Usagi opened the refrigerator and grabbed the carton of milk, and from 

the pantry she took out an unopened box of Cheerios.  She didn't feel 

like cooking, especially when she didn't have anyone to cook for.  Her 

morning routine usually consisted of preparing breakfast and eating 

with her husband, which gave them a few minutes together before they 

headed for work.  But with Mamoru gone for the entire week, Usagi had 

no idea what she was going to do with herself.  She wasn't the type of 

person who liked being alone.



During this time, Luna was unusually quiet.  She mulled over what Usagi 

just shared with her, wondering whether she should take the dream 

seriously or not.  Pregnant women were known to experience some obscure 

dreams, and most of them represented the fears and anxieties they felt.  

Usagi had every reason to worry; if a new enemy appeared in the next 

three or four months, she would not be able to fight or even fit in her 

sailor fuku.  On top of that, it was the first time Usagi and Mamoru 

had been apart since the Galaxia incident.  That along was enough to 

cause Usagi's fears to rise.  As Luna considered all the facts, it was 

hard to decipher whether Usagi was more worried than she let on, or 

whether the dream was actually a foreboding vision.



"Was there anyone else in your dream?" Luna inquired.



Usagi sat down at the table with her bowl of cereal.  Luna hopped onto 

the wooden surface and waited for her friend to answer.  She was hoping 

for something, anything that would give her a clue as to what Usagi's 

dream meant.



"No," Usagi answered, "there wasn't anyone else."  She ate a spoonful 

of Cheerios before she asked Luna, "Do you think I should tell Mamo-

chan?"



Luna twitched her whiskers, partly because Usagi spoke with her mouth 

full.  "Well if you decide to tell Mamoru, you should also tell him 

about the twins.  And if you want my opinion, which I highly doubt…



The odango atama dropped her spoon in her bowl and threw her hands in 

the air.  "Here we go again!"



"You're treating Mamoru unfairly by teasing him," Luna went on, 

ignoring Usagi.  "You may think it's harmless fun, but I'm certain he 

thinks otherwise.  Mamoru is not as patient as you think he is.  And 

besides all that, he was the one in the beginning who wanted to know 

the baby's gender, but he respected your decision to wait.  Now that 

you went and found out behind his back, you owe him the same respect 

that he gave you."  Luna cocked her head and locked eyes with Usagi.  

"Tell me, are you trying to get back at him for wanting to go to 

America?"



Usagi did not answer the feline's question.  Or more correctly, she did 

not answer it verbally.  The last thing Luna felt was a bowl hitting 

her head, along with milk and soggy Cheerios drenching her fur.  She 

hissed and crawled out from under the bowl, miserable and angry enough 

to lash out at the next person who spoke to her… which was probably why 

Usagi decided to go upstairs and take her shower.



"You can run, but you can't hide…" Luna jumped to the floor and 

scurried up the staircase.  Whether she liked it or not, Usagi was 

going to have some company in the shower that morning.



~*~*~



Durham, North Carolina

6:30 PM EST



The wheels of fate were beginning to turn against Stephen.  It was bad 

enough that he was exhausted from jetlag, that he was already late for 

the evening's welcoming banquet, and that he had misplaced his 

presentation notes on his pseudo research.  (Not that it mattered, 

since he knew everything by heart.)  Now his life's mission was in 

jeopardy and he could not stand listening to the dreaded news… 

especially when it came from Bodgar.  There was something about him 

that made Stephen cautious, and that something was probably Bodgar's 

high-tech connections.  The teenager could scrounge any information on 

anyone he desired by using his hacking abilities.  If he wasn't on the 

side of justice, then the cautiousness Stephen felt would have been 

replaced with stark fear.



"I hope that you're joking," Stephen finally spoke.



The sixteen-year-old Romanian with longish blond hair and piercing blue 

eyes looked down at the papers in his hands and said, "I'm not.  I 

double checked all the data before coming to you.  Hu Yen emailed the 

missing Sleeper files to a journalist residing in Japan just before Ms. 

Hoshino killed him."



It took most of Stephen's self-control to suppress the anger raging 

inside of him.  "That woman swore her mission was successful…" He no 

longer cared that he was late for the banquet; he was going to have a 

little talk with Atsuko before he left.



"There's some good news, too," Bodgar continued.  "I've been hacking 

into that journalist's laptop for the past thirty-six hours through his 

modem connection and that's allowed me to track down the times he's 

accessed his email.  We've been quite fortunate.  He's only checked his 

email once since Hu Yen sent him the attachment, and it turns out that 

he's changed his access numbers."



"What does that mean?"



Bodgar wanted to roll his eyes.  How could a man with a doctorate in 

microbiology be so computer illiterate?  It must be that generation gap 

everyone talked about… "It means that this journalist isn't in Japan at 

the moment," Bodgar explained.  "When someone changes the access 

numbers for their Internet provider, it usually means that they've 

moved to a different location."



"So where is he now?"



"Well, he's connected to an access number from Raleigh, and the phone 

line that he is currently using belongs to the Washington Duke Inn."



It was the first time Bodgar ever saw a surprised look on the leader's 

face.  Stephen crossed his arms and sat down on his bed, as if he 

couldn't take the news standing up.  "This time I hope that you're 

*not* joking," he said.



"A computer doesn't give you false information unless you're the one 

that makes a mistake.  I didn't make a mistake, so my computer says 

that this Shingo Tsukino is right here in this hotel.  Would you like 

me to scrounge up anymore information on him?"



Stephen was about to address Bodgar about his attitude when Atsuko 

walked into the room.  The surrounding atmosphere abruptly changed to 

that of a cold and barren battlefield.  Atsuko locked eyes with 

Stephen, the man she loved, and she knew; her secret was out.  And 

Stephen was not happy.



“Bodgar, leave,” Stephen ordered.



No one had to tell him twice.  Bodgar grabbed his papers and walked 

out, though not before he teasingly smiled at the older woman and sang 

under his breath, “Somebody’s in trouble…” He didn’t care too much for 

Atsuko or for the other Children of Mother Earth -- they were all 

blind.  If they knew the things he did, he wondered if their loyalty 

would continue to be so unwavering.



Bodgar crossed the hallway to the neighboring hotel room and locked the 

door behind him.  He was thankful that Stephen agreed to let him have 

his own room.  There was no telling what would happen if he had to 

board with the leader, especially with Atsuko in there.  Also, it was 

whole lot better to be the fly on the wall rather than the spectator in 

the midst of the crossfire.  Bodgar turned on his laptop and, with a 

few strokes, tapped into Stephen’s room.  It was only an audio feed, 

since cameras were more difficult to disguise, but it was enough to 

entertain the professional snoop.  And out of courtesy, Bodgar plugged 

in his earphones so the neighbors didn’t have to listen to two 

arguments.  One was more than enough.



“I swear, Stephen, I thought the mission was successful.  I thought 

that I made it before Hu Yen could email anyone the missing files.  His 

computer wasn’t even on when I arrived at his house!”



“Is that so?”  The sounds of bedsprings squeaking and clothes rustling 

indicated that Stephen was moving closer to his prey.  “Then why did I 

see a – as these Americans like to put it – deer in the headlights look 

when you walked in?  Surely you are guilty of something, and I have 

reason to believe that you lied to me.”



“Stephen, please!”



Atsuko cried out as Stephen’s mighty hand struck her face.  There were 

then the sounds of a commotion, and Bodgar could visualize Atsuko 

trying to free herself from Stephen’s grasp.  Something fell and broke, 

possibly a lamp or vase.  One person tripped and the other raced for 

the door, though her way was soon blocked by his body.  Atsuko was then 

knocked down, or at least that was what Bodgar assumed, and her screams 

filled his ears.  Her struggle was proven unsuccessful, as her sobs 

gave away.  Stephen picked her up and started mocking her.



“You are a disgrace to the cause, Ms. Hoshino.  Your pitiful mistake 

has placed us all in jeopardy.  Do you even realize what you have done?  

If this journalist reads those documents, then we will be exposed to 

the whole world.  Years of my hard work will become meaningless and a 

joke, because mankind cannot possibly understand the importance of our 

mission.  We cannot let this happen, now can we?  No, we cannot.  You 

are going to right the wrong that you have committed.  And this time, 

if you do not succeed, you will join Drs. Li, Krynauw, and Sexwale in 

the afterworld.  Is that clear, Ms. Hoshino!?”



Bodgar had heard enough.  He exited the program, pushed his laptop 

aside, and fell back into the pillows.  As he stared at the ceiling, he 

wondered out loud, “Would I be treated the same way is he didn’t 

understand how important I am…?



Very few people knew of Bodgar’s past.  He was the son of a prostitute, 

who left her newborn on the front steps of an orphanage.  That could 

almost be compared to handing a defenseless child to a hungry pack of 

wolves, for Romanian orphanages were known for their poor conditions.  

Children were neglected and malnourished, and many had no hopes of any 

kind of future.  Fortunately, Bodgar was adopted by a South African 

couple when he was a year and a half old, which made Dr. Stephen 

Lehmkuhl his uncle.  And when he lost his parents in a fatal car 

accident two years ago, it also made Stephen his legal guardian.



So what was it like to live with Uncle Stephen?  Bodgar could only 

describe it as lonely.  If his uncle wasn't working late at the medical 

center in Cape Town, he was globetrotting from on research laboratory 

to another.  When he was at home, it seemed as if they were a thousand 

miles away.  The two rarely spoke to each other.  In fact, C.O.M.E. was 

their only connection.  If it wasn't for that, then uncle and nephew 

probably wouldn't have anything to talk about.



Yet Bodgar knew he was being used.  All of the Children of Mother Earth 

were being used, like pawns on a massive chessboard, and they would 

eventually be led to their graves.  Bodgar dreaded that day.  He didn't 

want to die, especially for something he didn't quite believe in.  But 

everyone expected him to.  Out of the thirteen Children, Bodgar was the 

most vital person on the team, perhaps more important than its leader.  

He was the computer genius who could scrounge up any information on 

anyone, who could hack into any computer, and who could stay one step 

ahead of the enemy.  As far as the members were concerned, Bodgar was 

his uncle's pride and joy.  



Bodgar knew better.  Stephen only asked him to join C.O.M.E. because of 

his computer skills.  He needed a mole who could keep track of all the 

members, just to make sure no one betrayed.  So on a personal level, 

Stephen saw Bodgar as an obligation to his dead brother, maybe even a 

burden.  If he didn't have any use for him, then there was no telling 

what kind of boarding school Bodgar would be forced to attend.  But on 

a professional level, Stephen respected him, and he felt a sense of 

trust towards him.  He needed Bodgar, more than he wanted to admit.  If 

it weren't for his nephew, all of the world would have known about 

Sleeper by now, and their mission would never be completed.



Bodgar rolled onto his side and stared at his laptop's monitor.  A 

light flashing in the corner indicated that one of the members had 

returned to his or her room.  It was ironic: the person who kept 

Sleeper a secret was the very same person who had the power to expose 

the truth to the world.  But it was a lose-lose situation for Bodgar.  

If he kept his mouth shut, he died.  If he did the right thing, his 

uncle would surely kill him.  He knew he was a coward, but he just 

didn't want to die for anyone.



"I wish I could just fade away…"



"Oh please, that's a terrible wish.  Power!  Money!  Come on, why don't 

you wish for those things?"



The Romanian felt a jolt of shock at the sound of a stranger's voice.  

He turned his head and sat up, and there before him was a woman cloaked 

in black robes.  Without hesitation she pushed the hood away from her 

face and took off her dark shades.  Her complexion was pale, almost the 

color of new fallen snow on a winter's morning.  Ringlets of marigold 

tresses flowed down and touched the floor as topaz eyes locked onto the 

boy in front of him.  She then waited silently, patiently for him to 

speak.



"Who are you?" Bodgar demanded to know.



The woman bowed and cheerfully smiled.  "My name is Janus," she 

introduced herself.  "My lord would like to speak with you."



~*~*~



Shingo knew he was supposed to be working on his feature story, but 

that didn't stop him from turning on the television and flipping 

through the channels.  Whenever he traveled to a foreign country, it 

was tradition fro him to watch the commercials.  Most of the popular 

American shows were being dubbed into Japanese nowadays, so the 

commercials were the next best way of seeing the differences in 

cultures.  Shingo has several favorites, like the ones for Budweiser 

and Geico.  But this one in particular caught his attention…



A Barbie-gone-bad replica of his older sister appeared on the small 

screen as a voice over enthusiastically exclaimed, "I am Sailor Moon!  

And in the name of the moon, I'll punish you!"



The journalist fell back onto the bed, laughing his head off.  "Woo!  

She doesn't have that figure now!" he hollered.  Upon saying that, 

Shingo was very thankful that his brother-in-law was at the banquet and 

not within earshot of the comment.  Still, that commercial was now his 

most favorite of all time.  Nothing could ever top what he just saw.



"And I am Tuxedo Mask!"



He thought too soon.  Now on the TV was a horrific doll of Tuxedo 

Kamen, wearing a plastic top hat that swallowed his head, not to 

mention the painted lips and the *brown* bangs that covered his eyes.  

Shingo did his best to calm down, though he barely succeeded.  If it 

weren't for the beeping noise coming from his laptop, he would have 

eventually caused everyone on the third floor to call security.



Once he stopped laughing, Shingo sat down and placed his computer on 

his lap.  A message on the screen indicated that the mysterious email 

attachment had finished downloading.  He was about to unzip the 

documents when he was surprised by a loud knock at the door.  He knew 

it couldn't be his brother-in-law, unless the banquet was boring and 

Mamoru forgot his key… Shingo sighed and slid off the bed.  When he 

answered the door, he suddenly realized that he was in for another 

surprised…



Like a gun barrel directly in his face, and a bullet with his name on 

it.



======

End of chapter five





12.17.2002





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:

I do not own Barbie, Budweiser, or Geico.  Just thought I'd get that 

out of the way…



There's nothing much that I want to say.  I do want apologize for this 

chapter being three months late, but as I told everyone, college has 

taken up a lot of my time.  I am grateful for my Christmas break.  I 

get to spend some time with my family, shop for presents, and catch up 

on my writing.  I hope you all enjoyed it.  May the Lord bless all of 

you with a wonderful and safe holiday this year.  And from me to you, 

Merry Christmas! ^_^





Email: masked_maiden@hotmail.com



Web Site: http://miracleromance.cjb.net/