XXI: ThEnd

As always, the reliable hands of Father Time moved forward. Serena, Raye, Lita, and Mina all experienced a brief culture shock as they were formally exposed to the world of Garden and SeeDs, and Zell, Seifer, Fujin, and Nida each tried to take this brave new world they had vaulted themselves into with a grain of salt. Amy Mizuno, who had gotten a good taste of both worlds, offered to be the ultimate guide to her eight friends, so everyone was busy for awhile.

Amy had not missed anything in her single day of absence. In fact, it was almost as if she had never vanished at all. Sure, her friends had been concerned when they saw her disappear, and even grew a little sick from worry, but when they saw Amy reappear twenty-four hours later, they thought nothing of it. The poor blue-haired genius, on the other hand, had experienced the most shock. She had been gone four months, and an explanation to the difference in time would probably be her next project.

Serena quickly made friends with Zell, who became something of a "best male buddy" to her. The two of them could often be seen grinning mischievously at each other, doubtless coming up with some kind of new scheme. Serena also liked Nida, and as with Amy, she would mooch off of his studies to better her own slipping grades. Seifer, who had literally just started his new life, was now a dear friend of the moon princess (he was dearer still to Lita), and once Serena really got to know Fujin, she treated the pale woman as another one of her closest friends.

Raye was overjoyed to have somebody as into martial arts as she was, and she and Zell could often be seen sparring. One would think that Chad would grow jealous, but he quickly became one of Zell's favorite people to hang around with. Neither Nida or Seifer grew particularly close to Raye, except for those times when Fujin would go over to the temple to meditate and take in the beauty of the new world.

As for Lita, she befriended most everybody. She hung out with Zell like the two had known each other since birth, and also grew close to Fujin, whom she could sympathize with (because of the fact that many people had feared them both). She treated Nida like she treated Amy, and as for Seifer, well……… one can only assume. Their relationship, put simply, grew in the time they spent together.

Mina was one who also took in the four strangers. After Amy had explained to her friends who the strangers were, and where she had been "all that time", Mina instantly zipped over and asked a million and six questions about this strange new world. Zell, ever the know-it-all, told her everything she needed to know and even got her hooked on hot dogs; Seifer received harmless flirts from the loveable girl (as did Nida, unbeknownst to the others), and poor Fujin found someone who was her exact opposite in every way.

As for Amy… well… She spent a lot of time talking about the world her "new" friends came from. She spoke of the two Sorceress Wars, and of the Savage Six and Laguna; she spoke of the orphanage gang, and of Garden and the SeeDs, and how Cid and Edea set out to build a protection against "the sorceress". She told of her friends in the Garden, and sighed about how she missed Selphie and Raijin and Irvine and all of them, and told them everything about her own experiences and how she was mistaken for another girl who looked exactly like her. The entire speech took about two and a half hours to complete, and by the time she was done, all her Sailor friends were in a daze.

The next day, Amy (along with her friends) told the foreigners about their world, and how the Sailor Scouts came to be, and of Beryl and Serenity and the Doom Tree and the Dark Moon Kingdom, and of the Death Busters and Pharaoh 90 and the Dead Moon Circus and everything else in between. Amy personally told Zell about Greg, and he spoke about Gwendolyn, and Lita told Seifer of her boyfriend (he didn't resemble the guy at all), and Seifer told her of Rinoa, and in the end, everybody was as confused and as lost as ever.

But it made for a very amusing story all the same.

And so, time went on…

"Y'ready yet?" asked Zell for the third time. Even though he was growing a little impatient, he still had a big smile on his face. After all, he considered himself quite lucky that someone like Amy would like him, and though he didn't know it (yet), Amy considered herself just as lucky.

"Almost!" she said, painting the lipstick on her mouth. Amy was in a gorgeous icy-blue dress that shimmered as brilliantly as the icy poles. It was conservative enough to show in front of one's grandparents, yet sexy enough to make Zell smile just a little broader than usual. Amy was not one for makeup, but it was a very special occasion that night. She was going on her very first fancy group date, and had wanted to prepare herself.

"You women…" Seifer moaned, stifling a yawn as he laid sprawled on a couch. "I don't understand why you take so frickin' long to get dressed. I managed to slip this on in under three minutes." He pointed to the black suit he was wearing, and got several other of the guys to agree. Zell, in his blue suit, made no comment.

"And you look very nice," pointed Lita, putting eyeliner to her own face as she gazed in the mirror. "But we women have to look even nicer so you men don't go and flirt with some other chick!"

"Now would I do that to you?" asked Seifer slyly. Lita smiled, and turned around to gaze at him. She was wearing a shiny dark-green dress, much like Amy's except larger and in another hue. Her hair had been combed out of her ponytail, and if one did not know her well, one would not have recognized her.

"I dunno…" she said doubtfully. "I haven't know you for that long."

"Well, what's the purpose of this date then?" he asked. Lita chuckled lightly, let him win the little debate, and turned around to pretty herself up a little. Darien had been waiting patiently with the other guys, as had Nida, and Raye's boyfriend, and Mina's boyfriend…… In fact, in an almost-humorous way, all the men were waiting for their individual romantic interests, all of whom (even Fujin, believe it or not) had crowded around the same long horizontal mirror. They had previously slipped into a dress of their favorite color: white for Serena, red for Raye, green for Lita, blue for Amy, orange for Mina (Darien noticed a disturbing pattern at this point), and black for Fujin.

Fortunately, the girls all finished within the next fifteen minutes, and after the men took their loves by the hand, they all guided them single-file out of Lita's house and into the warm summer night. The moon was shining a gorgeous silvery glow, and the stars twinkled merrily, and the trees outside waved gently in the wind. Crickets chirped, a nearby pond bubbled with singing frogs, and a shiny limousine sat waiting for them in the driveway.

It was going to be a wonderful night on the town.

The End