Confrontation

          "Erika, telephone!"
          "Okay, I'll be right there!" Erika called from the bathroom. She was rubbing her towel over her wet hair, and trying to get as much extra water out of it as she could. It was long enough that it could take hours to dry if she didn't help it along a little. But the phone was waiting. Grabbing a comb, she rushed out to the hallway to pick up the phone there.
          "Hello?"
          "Erika, finally!" came the unfamiliar voice from the other end. "I've been trying to get hold of you for the last hour and a half."
          "Who is this?" Erika asked, perplexed.
          "Oh sorry. This is Trina - you know, from last night?"
          "Oh yeah. How's everything going?"
          "Okay, I guess. Um, I have something to tell you." Trina sounded anxious.
          "What is it?"
          "Well, it has to do with everything that happened last night."
          Erika was quiet for a minute, trying to figure out what Trina meant by that. Did she mean the Dance Club or her new-found memories? "Okay... is it about the Dance club or the other stuff?"
          "The other stuff."
          "Well, maybe you should come over then. Do you live very far from here?"
          "I live in the lake district."
          Oh lord, Erika groaned to herself. It's going to take her forever to get here. "Okay, do you ride the U-bahn very often?" (U-bahn = subway)
          "Sometimes."
          "Okay, grab a pencil, 'cause I'm going to give you directions..."

          Two hours and several phone calls later, Trina knocked on Erika's front door. A tall girl answered the door - the girl that Trina recognized as the other Sailor person.
          "Hi Trina. Nice to see you made it," Karin grinned as Trina slipped her shoes off.
          "Hey," Trina grinned in return. "I'm glad I'm alive."
          "Come on in, Trina," Erika called from the front room.
          Karin and Trina made their way into the small front room, and sat down on the sofa. Erika was already sitting in the arm-chair, looking over some small necklaces and earrings that were sitting on the coffee table. Cynthia was perched on one of the chair's arms. Trina leaned over to get a good look at the jewelry, and noticed that each set had little stones the same color as each of their rings.
          "What's all this?" she asked.
          "That will be explained in a minute," Cynthia answered. Trina looked up in surprise as she heard the cat speak.
          "Sorry, I forgot how much you sounded... well, human."
          A look of dismay crossed Cynthia's whiskered face. "Oh."
          Trina paused awkwardly for a minute, trying to think of how she could recover. "Um, isn't someone going to hear you? I mean, maybe we should, like, find a hideout or something."
          Erika allowed herself a small laugh. "No, we're the only one's here. My parents are out running errands, and my brother is... somewhere with his friends."
          "Oh." Another awkward pause as Trina looked from Erika to Karin, and back to Cynthia.
          "Well, what did you need to tell us that was so urgent?" Cynthia prompted.
          Trina leaned forward and let her eyes grow wide. "Oh my god, I had the strangest experience last night."
          Erika glanced at Karin, who rolled her eyes. "Stranger than the Dance Club?"
          "Yeah. I, like, woke up in the middle of the night crying, and I couldn't figure out why until I saw the picture of my family, and I realized that they weren't the family that I'd been dreaming about, so I decided to go outside for a walk..."
          Erika and Cynthia listened intently to Trina's story, while Karin leaned back into the couch and closed her eyes. She yawned largely a few times, even though she found the story interesting. But the way Trina was telling it was enough to bother even the most obnoxious gossip in town. The words "like," "totally," and "ohmigod" were peppered everywhere in the story.
          "...and then I closed the window and transformed back to my pajamas. I looked outside again to see if anything was there, but I still couldn't tell. And that's what happened."
          Silence fell in the room for a few precious moments, and Karin savored it.
          "This kind of incident is precisely why I decided to have all of you come over," Cynthia began. "Some kind of communication between the three of you is going to be essential from here on out. When someone runs into trouble, she'll need a way to contact the other two. So here's what I've come up with." Cynthia jumped down from her perch and strutted back and forth in front of the table as she explained.
          "These are the devices we will be using for communication. Each piece in each set operates differently, so listen carefully." The three girls unconsciously leaned forward. "Notice the set of earrings - one earring has two stones stacked on top of each other, the other has just one. Oh wait. You all have your ears pierced, right?" The small cat looked at each girl separately, and each nodded. "Okay. The earring with two stones is your contact and listening device. When you want to contact anyone, gently press the bottom stone. This will send a signal to the other two and me. The top stone is where the sound originates. Don't worry about other people being able to hear the conversation, because they can't. Only you will be able to hear it. The other earring is for decoration, if you want it. Of course, it's up to you how you wear them, and on which ears. The necklace is... well, your microphone basically. Since it's short and close to your throat, it will easily pick up your voice. However, be careful about where you are and who you're around when you want to talk to someone. Otherwise, it will look like your talking to yourself, and that might cause problems."
          Maybe for Erika and me, but I doubt anyone would notice with Trina, Karin thought to herself, a small grin crossing her face.
          Erika reached down and touched one of the earrings on the table. "I'm assuming that the dark purple stones are mine since they match my ring."
          "That's right," Cynthia answered, jumping on to the table. "Each of you take your set and put them on. I don't know yet if they're going to work, so let's try them out."
          The girls each picked up their respective sets and put them on. Karin tucked her necklace beneath her T-shirt, and Erika fiddled with her earrings trying to figure out which ear she'd rather listen with. Trina inspected her necklace before finally fastening it around her neck. Cynthia jumped down from the table and performed one last backflip, causing a strap with an 8-point star on it to fall to the floor.
          "I hope that's the last time I have to do that today. I'm getting nauseous," she groaned.
          "What is that, Cynthia?" Karin asked.
          "It's my collar. It's part of the communication setup, and it's my way of listening and talking to you." Cynthia picked up the collar with her mouth and jumped into Erika's lap. "Erika, if you wouldn't mind."
          "Sure." Erika fastened the collar around Cynthia's small furry neck.
          "Does everyone have everything on?" The girls nodded. "Okay, Erika let's start with you..."

          "Dain!! Dain, get up!"
          Dain felt himself gradually waking up, but the voice hovering over him was giving him a splitting headache. "What do you want, Rax?" he moaned. His stomach still felt like a boulder had smashed into it, and he didn't want to move.
          "Saphrina's gone," Rax's voice was urgent.
          "So?" Did Rax really think that he cared?
          "She's been gone since we came back last night."
          Dain's eyes flew open. "What? Where did she go?"
          "Oh, let me consult my crystal ball," Rax growled.
          Silently, Dain hoped that Wiseman hadn't decided to listen in. "Shut up, you idiot. Did she say anything to you the last time you saw her?" Rax said nothing and just stared down at his injured partner. "Well?"
          "I'm supposed to shut up, remember?"
          Anger exploded in Dain, and he sat bolt upright, ignoring the pain in his bruised abdomen. The black that swirled in front of his eyes kept him from leaping at Rax's throat, though. "Did she say anything to you!?" he demanded.
          Rax folded his arms across his chest and started walking away slowly. "No," he spat, as he turned to face his supposed partner.
          "Well, did you check any of her mirrors?"
          "Mirrors?"
          Dain was ready to strangle the green-haired fool standing merely a few feet away. "The mirrors in her quarters."
          Rax raised his eyebrows at Dain in a mock-questioning look. "And exactly how would you know about them?"
          Dain stood up as slowly as he could without looking weak, and strode out of his quarters. "Nevermind, I'll find out for myself..."

          "Pulsar, Neutron, can you hear me?" Karin glanced around the wooded area she was in near the lake, making sure no one was around her. The group had decided to check out the lake and the area where Trina had felt like she was being followed. They hadn't changed into their Senshi uniforms yet, but had agreed to use their Senshi names while they were inspecting.
          "Loud and clear," Trina's voice announced.
          "What's up, Quasar?" Karin answered.
          "I'm coming around the tip of the bay just up from Trina. But I haven't seen anything unusual."
          "Neither have I," Trina whined. "It makes me feel stupid that I dragged you guys over here and there's nothing to see."
          "You don't know that, Neutron," Karin answered. Across the small bay, she could see Trina pacing back and forth on the narrow beach. She'd been assigned to searching the pathway area that lead back to the street.
          "Well girls, we've been here for an hour, and I haven't seen anything, or felt anything unusual," Erika sighed. "What do you think Cynthia?"
          Before Cynthia could answer over the small device, Karin was distracted by a light tap on her shoulder. Startled, she turned around and assumed a defensive pose with her fists in front of her. She found herself staring straight into a navy blue T-shirt, and soft laughter coming from above. Surprised again, she looked up to see a very familiar face looking down at her. A small silver ring sparkled in his left eyebrow.
          "Eric?" she gasped, letting her fists drop to her sides.
          "Hi Karin," Dain smiled, glad that she'd reminded him of the name he'd used the night before.
          "What are you doing here?" her heart was pounding furiously, but at the same time she was confused by his presence.
          "Watching you."
          A chill ran down Karin's spine at his response, and suddenly she found herself very nervous. "Oh. Do you live around here?"
          Dain looked around at the lake and trees surrounding it. "Yeah," he shrugged.
          Karin felt like bolting, but decided that probably wouldn't be the smartest thing to do since he might easily outrun her. Too bad she couldn't transform.
          "Who were you talking to?" he asked.
          "Huh?" Karin felt dread drop into her stomach.
          "You said something just a second ago."
          "Oh, just myself," she laughed lightly. "I was just saying how beautiful the evening was." She paused awkwardly for a minute, and noticed that the communicator had gone silent.

          Erika walked casually back to where Trina was waiting. The conversation between Karin and Eric was being broadcast clearly, and she could easily tell that Karin was nervous. Karin would have to reach up and touch her earring to cut the broadcast, but so far she hadn't. A little ways in front of her, Trina strolled out onto the beach and seated herself against a tree. Erika was glad she hadn't started to panic or say anything - yet.
          "Karin, if you can do it discreetly, cut off your communicator," Cynthia's voice instructed. Erika scanned the nearby trees to see which one the feline was in. A small white and tan blob among the green was perched near Trina, staring intently across the bay.

          Karin shifted her weight back and forth, trying desperately to think of something to say. But with Eric hovering over her, she found that she couldn't collect her thoughts. Mentally, she scolded herself for being so infatuated with a stranger.
          "So, I assume you live around here too?" Eric/Dain broke the silence.
          "Yes... I-I mean, no," Karin laughed nervously. "I have a friend who lives over here, and I'm visiting."           "Karin, if you can do it discreetly, cut off your communicator," her earring instructed. She reached up.
          "Oh, well, where's your friend?"
          Karin pressed the earring lightly, and then turned to look across the bay. "Over there," she pointed, noticing that both Erika and Trina were over there now. "Uh, both of them."

          Trina and Erika watched Karin point in they're direction across the bay, but they couldn't hear anything she was saying.
          "Good, it's off," Cynthia breathed.
          "How can we still hear you, Cynthia?" Trina asked.
          "Because ours are still on." Leaves rustling and a scratching noise made both girls look up to see the cat scrambling down from her perch. "It's a good thing you haven't followed through with your threats to declaw me," Cynthia stated arrogantly.
          Erika shot her a nasty glance. "Funny," she sneered, suddenly very aware of her latest scratch on her ankle.
          "Um, guys, there's something very wrong here," Trina announced quietly. Erika and Cynthia both turned to look at her. "That same feeling I had last night is back, but its not as strong."
          "When did this start Trina?" Cynthia asked.
          "Just a minute ago, when Karin started talking to that guy."
          Erika sat down next to Trina, trying to look casual, and studied the scene occurring across the bay. After a few minutes of watching, something dawned on her. "Oh no," she groaned.
          "What? What is it?" Trina asked.
          "That's the same guy that was terrorizing the dance club last night."
          Cynthia walked over and sat down between the two girls. "Are you sure?"
          "Yes."
          "But I thought that was the guy she was dancing with last night," Trina puzzled.
          Erika felt something cold and hollow shoot through her chest - fear. "If it is, then Karin's in big trouble."

          Rax watched the scene between Dain and the girl he'd danced with last night in silence. He had followed him through one of the mirrors set up in Saphrina's quarters, the mirror that somehow reflected this lake, and found himself standing in a wooded area. Dain and the girl were talking, although the girl wasn't at all comfortable, and Rax found himself getting queasy from the scene. The girl was falling all over herself in front of his jerk partner.

          "Well, Eric, I hate to do this, but I really have to go. We're supposed to, um, be watching my friend's little sister. Sorry." Karin folded her arms in front of her chest, and gazed up into Eric's face. His eyes were the coolest color she'd ever seen, but so far, he'd seemed really creepy tonight.
          "That's alright," Dain replied, reaching out and brushing a long strand of hair away from her face. Karin's face drained of color. "What's wrong?" he asked, surprised by her reaction.
          "Nothing," she shook her head, and plastered an innocent look on her face. "Why?"
          "Because you just got very pale."
          "Oh, did I?" Karin swallowed hard. She tried to smile.
          "Are you nervous?"
          "No," Karin shook her head quickly. "I don't think so, anyway."
          Dain studied her face for a minute. "Yes you are. What's wrong?"
          This was getting to be too much for Karin. She wanted to run as fast and as far away from him as she could, but something kept her from doing it. "Nothing. Really."
          Dain took a step back, watching every little detail of her face. "Is it me?"
          "Eric, what are you talking about?" Karin protested. "I'm fine! Really, I am." Unconsciously, she reached up and started playing with her earring, and activated her communicator.

          Erika, Cynthia and Trina all looked at each other as the sounds from the scene began to broadcast again. Clearly Karin was uncomfortable, and Erika finally felt like her suspicions were confirmed. She reached up and covered her necklace.
          "That's him. That's the same voice that threatened us last night," she whispered to the other two. "I can't believe Karin doesn't recognize it."
          Cynthia nodded. "Maybe you two should get ready to help in case she needs it."
          Erika glanced over at Trina who nodded the affirmative. She stood up, brushed off her shorts, and started walking toward the pathway in the woods. Trina and Cynthia followed.

          Across the bay, Dain noticed the two girls stand up and walk back into the forested area. "Looks like your friends are going home," he nodded in their direction.
          Karin looked over to see them walking away, and suddenly felt very hopeless. Mentally she prayed that it was only a temporary thing. "Yeah, see? I have to go, too. I'll talk to you later." She started to turn and walk back toward them, but before she could go very far, Eric was beside her, holding on to her shoulder.
          "Karin, don't go yet. I have something to tell you."
          The tone of Eric's voice was enough to stop her dead in her tracks. She turned. "What?" But before she could realize what was going on, he'd grabbed her and pushed her to the ground, and fell beside her. "Eric, what are you doing!?" Karin began to panic.
          "Saving your life again," he snarled. "Get up and run, NOW!"
          Karin stood up and started sprinting toward the tip of the bay, Eric close on her heels. After only a few seconds, something large crashed to the ground behind them. She turned her head just long enough to see one of the huge trees that surrounded the lake settle in the spot where she'd just been standing. Adrenaline surged through her, and she started running even faster.

          "How did he know that was coming!?" Trina-as-Sailor Neutron protested. "I didn't say it very loud!" Her Neutron Matter Smash had caused the tree to fall over, since the impact of it had disintegrated the lower part of the trunk.
          "He saved Karin's life," Sailor Quasar gaped as she watched the two sprint down the beach. "He pushed her away from Neutron's attack and told her to run."
          "Are you sure he's the same guy as last night?" Cynthia asked.
          "Absolutely. There's no doubt in my mind," Quasar defended herself. "Otherwise, he wouldn't have known Neutron's attack was coming."

          Karin came running around the last stretch of the beach before she'd reach Erika and Trina, and Eric was close beside her. In one tiny moment of revelation, she noticed that he wasn't breathing hard at all, but fear for herself and her friends kept that thought pushed to the back of her mind. She slowed to a stop and looked around for her friends, worried.
          "They're not here. I hope that's a good sign," she panted.
          Seeing that Karin wasn't scared of him anymore, Dain stormed toward the trees and the pathway leading out and began to yell. "Sailor Senshi, get out here! How can you possibly say that you fight for love and justice when you just about killed one of your own!?"

          "Love and justice?" Neutron was utterly confused. "I've never said that."
          "Neither have I," Quasar looked hard at Neutron. "But Sailormoon does, and she's our leader."
          "She is? She does? Who's Sailormoon?" Neutron looked completely surprised.
          Quasar rolled her eyes. "I'll explain later. Right now we need to concentrate on helping Karin. Let's go."

          Karin walked slowly around in a circle, trying to keep her breathing regular, and her panic under control. What did he mean when he'd said he was saving her life again? "Eric, what's going on?" she asked sincerely.
          "My name is not Eric, and you know perfectly well what's going on, Sailor Pulsar," he snapped at her.
          Karin stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him. How on earth would Eric know that she was a Senshi!? That's when it hit her. "You," she breathed. "You're the same guy that was trying to kill everyone at the dance club." His voice, his figure, everything snapped into place.
          "Dance club, yes. Killing everyone, no."
          "Well then, what exactly were you doing!?" Karin demanded.
          Quasar and Neutron stepped out of the trees and into the quickly-fading evening light, but didn't say anything. Cynthia watched from up high in one of the trees.
          "I was collecting energy for Wiseman of the Dark Moon kingdom."
          "Oh, okay. You were collecting energy," Karin nodded in mock-agreement. "And what did you think it would do!? Leave everyone in a peaceful deep sleep!? Good lord! That is SO naïve!!" she shouted at him.
          Dain was shocked by Karin's outburst. The only person that dared speak to him that way was Saphrina, and she was his superior. This girl was supposed to be his enemy. "I was following through with my orders," his reply was ice.
          Karin shook her head. "I don't think so, friend," she spat. "Where you come from, that excuse may work just fine. But here in Germany, far too much has happened because someone was 'just following orders!' Try again!"
          Dain's temper was flaring to the breaking point. If he didn't do something or find some kind of outlet soon, he just may end up killing this girl - beautiful or not. "Rax, get over here!" he shouted, knowing full-well that the imbecile was still hiding in the bushes on the other side.

          Furious at his "partner's" desertion, Dain turned and unleashed a wave of dark energy toward the grove where Rax had been hiding. The entire section of trees that had Karin had been walking through earlier was now gone, with nothing but charred ground to show where they had been. Seeing this display, Karin stepped back from Dain and looked over to Quasar and Neutron.
          "Karin, since he already knows who you are, you might as well transform," Cynthia's voice came through her earring.
          "Don't bother," Dain bit as he turned back to face her.
          "You can hear that?" Karin gasped.
          "Of course I can hear the cat. She's right above me."
          Karin allowed herself to feel a little bit of comfort since he didn't know about the earrings, but now Cynthia was in danger.
          "But I'm not sticking around here. I have a score to settle with Rax." Dain walked over to Karin, watching her intently. He lifted her chin with his finger, and for the first time Karin noticed just how cold his hands were. She looked directly into his violet eyes, which, this time, shone with cold fury. "Just remember, though, you approached me first." He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, and then was gone.
          Karin stood there in shock for a minute, and then slowly turned to face the other two, her cheek still burning from the cold of his kiss, and started to walk toward them. She made it two steps before her legs gave out and she fell to her hands and knees. Quasar and Neutron rushed toward her.
          "Oh my god, Karin, are you alright?" Quasar knelt on the ground next to her friend. Neutron stood over them, looking around the bay to see if anyone else was near. Nearby, Cynthia scrambled down from her watch.
          Karin began to sob, glad that her friends hadn't been hurt, but at the same time scared to death of what might happen to her now. "Yeah, I think so," she answered. "But we're in big trouble now. There's no telling what he's going to do next."
          Cynthia walked up to the despondent girl and placed her small paw on her knee. "It's alright Karin. It's not your fault. They would be here just the same, even if you hadn't danced with him last night."
          "I know, but now things are worse," she choked.
          "We'll just have to deal with it one day at a time," Cynthia tried to sound soothing. "Maybe now that he knows who you are and what you're like, things will be that much harder for him. After all, he didn't unleash his anger on you, and he saved your life."
          "He saved my life again," Karin half-whispered.
          "What do you mean again?" Quasar asked.
          "I don't know. I just remember that he said he was saving my life again," she wiped tears from her eyes and sniffed. "But I don't remember him saving it before."
          "Well, it doesn't matter now. Let's just get you home," Cynthia replied.