*To the tune of "Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid,
sung by Mr. Beach Youma to Serena, hoping she'll kiss
Darien in the stairwell, therefore giving them an
energy boost before the youma drains them*

Rain...
Hail...
Wind...
Words...

There you see him,
Sitting there in front of you.
You, he likes to tease, it's true,
But there's something about him.
Right before your eyes,
Hot as late July,
You wanna...kiss the boy.

Yes, you want him,
And you wanted Tux as well.
Don't you love two-for-one sales?
Go on, make your purchase.
It just takes a dip,
To connect your lips.
Go on and...kiss the boy.

*to the readers*
Sing with me now...

Sha-la-la-la-so he calls you names?
Kiss him, and he'll abstain.
Go on and...kiss the boy!
Sha-la-la-la-la-your nickname,
Is not a flame.
Too bad...
She gonna miss the boy.

Now's your moment, (Ya ya ya)
Sitting on the stairwell floor, (Ya ya ya)
And I'm right behind the door,
No time could be better. (Ya ya ya ya ya ya)
I'll go for the kill,
As you take your thrill,
Go on and...kiss the boy.

Sha-la-la-la-la-is my watch wrong?
It shouldn't take this long,
Just to...kiss a boy. (Whoa whoa!)
Sha-la-la-la-would you hurry up?
And get your energy up?
So I can...drain the boy? (Whoa whoa!)

Sha-la-la-la-la-just close your eyes,
And take him for a ride.
You wanna...kiss the boy. (Whoa whoa!)
Sha-la-la-la-la-la don't be scared,
And leave this kiss unshared.
You've got to...kiss the boy.

You wanna...kiss the boy.
You gotta...kiss the boy.
Go on and...kiss the boy!

*the youma takes its bow, and spotlights falls on
Aimee and Angela, who have their dearest Darien in
a rather awkward embrace*

Aimee: Get off him!
Angela: Look, hussy! He's mine!
Aimee: But...but you're *married*!
Angela: Oh yeah...

*both notice the readers*

Oh, HIYA THERE, minna-chan! Looks like we got a
little carried away and *ahem* inspired by our
newest song parody. Can you blame us? ^^;; Sorry
this new chapter is oh, two or three months late.
You'll forgive us, ne?

Happy reading!

* @}->-- * * @}->-- * * @}->-- * * @}->-- * * @}->--*

...Grasping the door handle that led back into
the store, Darien turned it, alarm hammering through
his senses a moment too late.

	Serena screamed in terror as the still-bleeding
youma they'd left on the street crashed through the
door, barreling into the pair brutally with a
deafening shriek...

* @}->-- * * @}->-- * * @}->-- * * @}->-- * * @}->--*


Tempest Ardor
By Angela and Aimee

Chapter 4

	The unsuspecting pair found themselves hurtled
into the concrete walls of the stairwell as the
youma's foul breath permeated the air in front of
them. The clanging of the flashlight's aluminum tube
could be heard as it tumbled down the steps before it
ended with a disheartening *sploosh*.

	Serena's vision was clearing finally, her eyes
dilated in the sudden blackness as she felt Darien
scrambling to disentangle his body from hers.

	"Transform, Serena...now--"

	Her breath caught in a sickening lump at the
back of her throat as Darien's words were harshly cut
off with his strangled cry, an irridescent glow
instantly filling the darkness.

	"Darien!" she screamed, in a swift movement
yanking her transformation brooch from her pocket.
She could see him, snared within the youma's
surprisingly iron grip, struggling in vain as his
life energy was quickly being drained away. "Get away
from him!!"

	In the cramped cement chambers, the blinding
heat of Sailor Moon's transformation sent a shockwave
of power through the youma's limbs, and in its own
weakened state, it had to release its hold on its
prey and yield to the call of survival.

	 Having already lost consciousness, Darien
plummeted to the tiled floor without so much as a
whimper as the youma screeched and dove after Sailor
Moon's still glowing silhouette that leapt down the
next flight of stairs.

	Sailor Moon's boots hit the landing, sounding
in perfect time with her determined, yet exhausted
grunt as she reached to snatch her tiara from her
forehead. But before she could release the golden disc,
the youma pounced upon her, sending them both sprawling
backwards, down the stairwell and tumbling further
into the blackness. As they crashed downward, Sailor
Moon braced herself for a hard impact with the
ground--possibly even more stairs--but she felt
neither. Her eyes grew impossibly wide in a split
second as she felt their two bodies plunge into the
last thing she'd expected.

	Seawater.

	It was cold and hot all at once, swirling
angrily about her, choking her and tangling her long
hair around her limbs and neck as she fought
desperately to resurface. Already in dire need of
air, she had not anticipated falling down to the
flooded first story of the stairwell.

	She kicked and pushed with her arms against
the angry water, fighting for the surface, but the
youma had attached one tentacle to her ankle, pulling
her further down into the murky depths. Sailor Moon
dared open her eyes, ignoring the sting of the
saltwater. Her eyes widened when she saw the
still-burning flashlight that had been knocked down
the stairwell only an arm's length to her right.
Somehow, it had still remained lighted. She reached
for it, her arm swinging in slow motion through the
water as she felt herself jerked backwards, the motion
forcing precious bubbles of oxygen from her nose and
mouth. Clawing furiously against the tiled floor, her
fingers clamped onto the cold metal barrell as she
snatched it from the rubble and brought it to her
ankle, viscously pounding it against the tentacle
that clung to her. A muted shriek and a wave of
bubbles echoed through the water, and the youma's
grip loosened enough for Sailor Moon to pull away.

	She moved upward desperately, dropping the
flashlight as she flew to the surface, needing air
so badly that she didn't even think to keep the
flashlight within her grasp. She surfaced at last,
sputtering and coughing, attempting to rid her lungs
of the bit of water lodged there. She was only
allotted a few precious seconds to recover, when the
youma's angered shriek sounded at her ear.

	Crying out in alarm, she kicked backwards,
her boots coming into solid contact with the
youma's body, pushing it back as she was vaulted
forward through the water and towards the stairs
that lead back to the second floor. With it's
massive form and multiple limbs, the youma
seemed to have an advantage in the water, and
Sailor Moon recognized soon enough that she needed
to move the battle back onto dry land.

	Sobbing with panic, she swum with all
her might and had to refrain from breaking into
a joyous song when her boots came into contact
with the stairs. She clambered up them quickly,
her hands fumbling to grasp the tiara from
her forehead as she whipped around to face her
adversary. Its red amulet was already aglow before
she shouted her command and snapped her arm back,
releasing the golden discus blade with a forceful
cry of exertion.

	The tiara slapped back into her out-stretched
palm and was shoved back into place on her forehead
as the persistent youma finally bellowed its last and
disintegrated into the blackness with a final flash
of fuchsia light.  Sailor Moon slumped against the
wall, her limbs shaking from a mix of exhaustion and
the remainder of her adrenaline.

	Gasping desperately for air she raised her
gloved hand to her angrily throbbing forehead to wipe
away the layer of sweat.  She felt the wall that
supported her quiver with another horrific clap of
thunder, and she started from her resting position.

	In the eerie blackness of the stairwell, Sailor
Moon attempted to orient herself.  Knowing she could
not retrieve the flashlight that was now sunk to the
flooded depths of the first floor, she strained to
recall in her mind's eye where she stood in relation
to the door.

	"Darien?" she called out, her voice
reverberating hollowly into the dark.  "Darien,
please...I-I can't see..." she whimpered, bending her
knees to lower herself to a crouching position.
Reaching out around her, she felt along the floor for
the ledge of the steps.   From what she could
remember, he was on the landing above her, where the
youma had dropped him after her defensive attack.

	Concerned that he hadn't come to yet, she
shakily climbed the short flight of steps, her hands
catching promptly on his prone body as she cleared
them.

	"Darien!" she cried out, her hands frantically
running along his dark outline until they reached his
face.  She gripped onto his shoulder to give him a
shake, and he let out a disoriented groan of pain.

	"I'm sorry!  I forgot," she gasped. "Darien--?"

	"Uh..."

	"Are you all right?" she inquired.

	"Tired..." he whispered breathlessly.

	"It's all right. Don't move...I'm going to go
back for the light we left in the store," she
whispered, shuffling around him and nearly stumbling
on the next set of stairs.

	"Serena..." she heard him whisper.

	She turned around, chest rising and falling
with frightened gasps of air. But the sound of his
voice calmed her, and she somehow kept her voice
steady as she answered. "Yes?"

	The darkness that cloaked them both was thick
and pushed him even closer to sleep. Drained of the
small remainder of his energy, he was hopelessly
falling into unconsciousness. "Hurry back," he
managed, unable to keep his eyes open. Through the
darkness, she didn't see as his head drooped to one
side, breath leaving his chest in a small sigh as
sleep claimed him at last.

	Sailor Moon bit her lip in fright at the
weakness of his tone, and tears sprung to her eyes.
"I will," she promised before continuing up the
stairs, feeling her way along the wall as she inched
forward, completely blind of her surroundings.

	Running her hands frantically along the wall,
trying to find the exit she knew had to be there, her
wrist slammed roughly into the door handle. She
hissed in pain, and feeling overwhelmed with stress
and fear, the tears soon followed. Opening the door
hastily, she stumbled into the store, weeping quietly
in fright.

	The store was hopelessly dark without the
flashlight to guide her, but far in the distance, she
could make out the soft glow of the lamp Tuxedo Mask
had placed by the display bed. She made her way
towards it, tripping and stumbling on unseen coat-
racks and piles of merchandise. She cursed and
sniffled in frustration and occasionally in pain, but
somehow the frightened superhero managed to arrive at
the display beds with only a few bruises on her
shins.

	The bed was in shreds, the mattress torn and
destroyed by something sharp and deadly. The pillows
and blankets were twisted and tangled in heaps. The
lamp was turned on its side, but thankfully not
broken.

	Sailor Moon shuddered, remembering the youma,
knowing it had probably followed them here by scent.
Not finding them by the display beds, it followed
them to the stairwell.

	'I could have been in that bed...' she inwardly
whimpered. 'Alone.'

	Wanting to get back to Darien *quickly*,
anxious eyes scanned the objects before her,
consisting of several blankets, a few pillows, and
one lamp. If they lost that lamp or if the batteries
ran low, they would have no other lighting. Where had
Tuxedo Mask gotten it? Surely there were more. She
quickly made up her mind to search for them.

	But what was she to do with Darien, who lay in
an exhausted heap in the stairwell? Would he be able
to walk back here to the beds to rest? She couldn't
exactly leave him where he was! But the beds were in
shambles, and the store somehow didn't feel safe to
her anymore.

	"What do I do? What do I do?" she sobbed,
pacing in overwhelmed fright. With Darien by her
side, the fear hadn't been so hard to restrain. There
hadn't been a moment when she'd felt he wasn't
completely in control. She'd felt safe and protected,
reassured even in the midst of a life threatening
situation. But now, he was injured far worse than
before, and now *she* was the one in control. *Her*!
The one who'd gotten a C+ in her First Aid class! Her
nursing would probably kill him if he weren't already
dead!

	"Calm down, Sailor Moon," she told herself out
loud, teeth chattering as she hugged herself. "What
did Darien do for you when *you* were the one
unconscious and hurt?" Her eyes fell to tangled
blankets. "He kept you warm and let you sleep."

	She nodded, affirming to herself that his
actions made sense. Mind made up to do the same for
him, she snatched up a pillow and blanket in one arm
and the lamp in the other. She couldn't carry him to
the display bed, but she could make him comfortable
where he'd fallen. Besides, should more tornados come
in with the rain bands, which had grown noticeably
worse over the last hour, the stairwell would be the
safest place to sleep.

	Weaving and stumbling back to the slumbering
Darien, she delivered her bounty with a sigh of
relief. She didn't even have to ask if he was awake
or not. The answer was clear from his deep breathing
and the slow, steady rise and fall of his chest.
Setting the burning lamp aside carefully, she slowly
lifted Darien's head up, easing the pillow underneath
him. He moaned softly and shifted but quickly grew
still once more.

	Wrapping the blanket around him, Sailor Moon
bit her lip with worry, a few tears still falling.
But there was comfort in his presence, knowing she
wasn't alone, and soon her cheeks were dry. A shaky,
uncertain hand brushed a few unruly bangs from his
forehead, and she proceeded to touch his cheek
lightly with her gloved fingertips. She stared at his
lips which, while paler than usual, where swollen and
full from their kiss. She swallowed, blushing
furiously as she remembered each little detail of
that intimate moment. It didn't seem as thought it
had *really* happened. "My gosh," she whispered,
"what did we *do*?"

	'Nothing. It was a kiss. Nothing more. People
kiss all the time, and it doesn't always mean
anything,' she tried to tell herself, but it was
useless. You didn't kiss someone like *that* and not
mean *something*.

	'But then again,' she reconsidered, gazing
intently at the ground, 'we're both exhausted,
stressed, and overwhelmed by all that's happened. Any
one of those things could lead to a moment of
emotional breakdown...and that's what happened. We
both let our emotions heal with that kiss. We needed
it, in a way.'

	But was that it? A simple kiss? You help me,
and I'll help you? Nothing more than mutual
satisfaction?

	Sailor Moon's head dropped, and her forehead
creased in worry. She certainly hoped that wasn't the
case. It sounded so cold and unfeeling...and his kiss
had been so warm and...

	'Stop it!' she scolded herself, refusing to
look again at his face. 'You're Meatball Head!
Supreme Klutz. Master of Tardiness. Queen of Eternal
Bad Grades. What could he ever see in you? And
besides, he's *Darien*, the conceited jer..."

	But she couldn't seem to finish the insult.
Somehow it didn't fit him anymore.

	Hopelessly confused, she searched his face,
which was peaceful and calm as he slept, and she
wished desperately that he would wake up and fight
with her. Call her a few names. Make her cry, even.
At least then she would know how to react. But
this...this was impossibly confusing, not knowing
what to think or how to feel. But she was definitely
feeling something, and whatever it was, it was
twisting her stomach into nervous knots.

	Smoothing the blanket a bit, she leaned over to
kiss his forehead. Why she did so, she didn't know
herself, but her lips were slow to part from his
brow. Hesitating momentarily over his face, she
swallowed the lump in her throat, closed her eyes,
and gently touched her lips to his, thinking she
might never have the opportunity to do so again.

	Still he slept, though Sailor Moon swore she
saw a hint of a smile pull at his lips.

	But her own smile soon slipped from her
features. She pulled away from him quickly, blinded
with confusion. Snatching the lamp up from the
ground, she ran up the stairs and back into the store
for supplies.

	Quickly de-transforming herself, Serena stood
on the other side of the door after yanking it shut,
pressed against the drywall of the store as her chest
heaved with exasperation.  She knew she had better
get control over such foolish notions before he
awakened, or she would never be able to handle
herself.

	Blankets.  More blankets. And pillows.
Batteries, and flashlights. Lots of them.

	It took two trips to simply carry what
she deemed a sufficient amount of blankets and
pillows down the stairs to make them as comfortable
as possible, another two to gather an arsenal of
batteries and artificial light sources.
Strategically positioning the small camping lantern a
few steps above the landing so that it threw a soft
wash of light about every corner of the damp
stairwell, Serena piled puffy cotton-filled pillows
about the tiled floor, taking every precaution not to
wake her exhausted companion as she struggled to
situate him on her makeshift mattress.

	Finally unable to flitter about nervously any
more, Serena nearly collapsed to the floor, dizzy
from weariness and the innate need to rest.  For a
drawn out moment, she huddled in the corner beneath a
blanket, watching Darien continue in his sleep. Her
gaze fixed upon his face, his subtly chiseled
features set in becoming olive skin, his thick black
eyelashes curving ever-so-slightly before they could
touch his cheekbones.  The slight crease that seemed
to unerringly grace his brow had disappeared in the
embrace of his slumber, and Serena felt her face burn
with a blush as she thought to herself how sexy the
line of his eyebrows were.

	Pinpricks began to tingle in random locations
all about Serena's legs, particularly in her feet,
and she realized that she would never be able to
sleep coiled up as she was.  Warily, she stretched
herself out along the floor of pillows, and carefully
pulled the blankets over herself and Darien, her
halting movements pausing every few inches to steal a
glance towards him in case he was awakened.  Under
the circumstances, she was quite sure he wouldn't
argue with sharing sleeping quarters, but
still...with everything else that had confounded the
events that led them here...

	And once again her mind allowed her to feel the
pressure of his lips against hers as if it were some
kind of daydream, and not an actual event.  She bit
her lip in perplexed concern, staring at him once
more.  She avidly hoped there were no long-term
effects of the youma's energy drain, tucking the
blankets around his lightly shivering body.  She
herself was cold and her body ached from the damp
air, her head throbbing angrily from the swollen bump
beneath her bangs, and yet she couldn't quite bring
herself to close her eyes for fear it had all
actually been a bad dream, and that one blissful
moment amidst the chaos was as much a figment as the
rest. The thought made her stomach plummet into a pit
of pitiful depression.

	'Then if it's a dream,' she told herself in a
burst of determined finality, 'I'm going to command
it's final moment...'

	With that, she wriggled closer to Darien and
underneath the pile of blankets they shared, his head
resting against her chest as she gently intertwined
her arms under his, cradling him in an embrace that
brought an instant sensation of warmth before
clinging to her and drowning her with the thick blackness
of a dreamless sleep.

* @}->-- * * @}->-- * * @}->-- * * @}->-- * * @}->--*

	"...next 4 hours...winds increasing...per hour..."

	The soft light of the camping lantern reflected
solemnly off of the tears that tainted Ilene Tsukino's
pale cheeks. She sat quietly in a state of silent shock
and fright, absently listening to the radio newscaster
issue warning after warning.

	"...catastrophic speeds...extremely dangerous
situation..."

	Sammy and Ken paced the floors like a caged
animals, wanting to do something--*anything*--to help
their missing family member, wherever she was. But they
could do nothing. The tempest's anger was insatiable.
Two attempts had been made by Ken to venture into the
storm to search for his daughter, and both had failed.

	They were helpless. And the storm was getting
worse.

	"...storm's eye-wall...Tokyo...direct hit..."

	"God in heaven..." Ilene whispered, burying her
head in her palms. "Have mercy on us this night..."

	"...warning...warning..."

* @}->-- * * @}->-- * * @}->-- * * @}->-- * * @}->--*

Stay tuned for more! ^^

Moonlit_eclipse@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/moonlit_eclipse/