Seeing Stars
By Jason Ulloa
Original story by Moonsong
Continued with her permission.


Chapter 15

As soon as Amy announced the end of the work day - not to mention the work 
week since it was Friday - Tanya wasted no time in finding Darien. "So...," 
she said with a bearly contained grin on her face. "Ready to go?"

"Are you that hungry?" Darien asked jokingly.

"Come on! Come on!" she said eagerly as she ushered him out the studio 
door. "Let's go already!"

Serena watched Tanya herd Darien towards the exit with a dubious look on 
her face. 'What're you doing, Tanya?' she thought to herself. 'Why're you 
so interested in Shields? Don't tell me you're trying to go on a date with 
the guy,' she thought distastefully. 'Your taste in men isn't that bad....'

"Something wrong, Serena?" Amy asked as she walked up to her.

"Nothing," she said haughtily as she turned and strode toward the exit.

"Hmph," Jason commented as he, G.Q., and Lita joined Amy. "Not her usual 
cheery self today, is she?"

"No more than usual, as of late," she said as she shook her head. "Well, 
since we're done for today, let's go get something to eat, shall we?"

"Is that why you let us off early, Amy?" G.Q. asked slyly.

"Maybe she just wants to spend some time with her new boyfriend," Lita 
suggested with a equally sly grin.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied innocently. "I just 
thought that we had done enough work for today."

"Right...," G.Q. and Lita said in a wry, insinuating tone.

"Leave off, you two," Jason said dryly as he rolled his eyes in vexation. 
"Anyways, where're we going?"

"How 'bout we let the master chef choose our dining establishment?" G.Q. 
offered.

"Sounds good to me!" Lita replied as she headed for the door. "I know just 
the place. The rest of you in the mood for some Chinese?"

"Always!" Jason said eagerly as the others went through the door. "You know 
that's my favorite." He closed the door behind him and joined the others 
waiting at their cars.

            **********************************************

It wasn't an extremely fancy place that Darien chose to go eat - especially 
since he was still on a limited budget - but, Tanya didn't seem to mind. 
She told him that she preferred the food over the atmosphere, anyway. That 
relieved him, since he thought that she might be thinking that he was cheap 
or something.

"I know that you're still on a small budget, Darien," she said as she 
nibbled on a tortilla chip. "Not that this place isn't bad, either," she 
quickly added. "You're still starting out in your acting career. I still 
remember when I could only afford places like this whenever I wanted to go 
out to eat. Besides," she added with a wink, "I still like going to 
inexpensive restaurants. Some of 'em have some of the best food I've ever 
eaten!"

"Then, I think you'll like it here," Darien added. "This place has some of 
the greatest Mexican food I've ever had."

"Ooh, really?" she asked as a hungry look shone in her eyes. "What do you 
recommend?"

"Try the enchiladas. Any one of 'em. There're all very good."

After they had ordered and had their menus taken and water served, Tanya 
started to mentally go through some of her best matchmaking strategies. 
After all, Serena was almost like a sister to her. She had to make sure 
that this went well.

"Say, Darien," she began after taking a sip of water, "what do you think 
of the movie so far?"

"Hmm?" he asked as he ate a salsa-covered tortilla chip. "The movie?" he 
asked after drinking some water. "I think it's going pretty good."

"You enjoy working with everyone?"

"Everyone's been really helpful. Amy, Melvin, and Molly have all been 
really supportive, especially considering the risk they're taking giving a 
part like Jack Terrance to an inexperienced actor like me." Tanya nodded. 
"I've also been talking with Jason Evans - you know, one of the stunt 
coordinators? He's willing to teach me a few basic stunts that I can 
perform by myself. It seems that a lot of actors nowadays are trying to do 
their own stunts, so I figured that I could give it a shot." He smiled in 
chagrin. "Also, he said that he'd teach me, just so I wouldn't break a leg 
trying to teach myself."

She laughed a little at that. "That would be horrible, now, wouldn't it?" 
she said. "Still, that might be a good idea. Some directors look favorably 
on actors who do their own stunts. Producers, too, though it's probably so 
they won't have to shell out additional money for stunt doubles and the 
like."

"And you've been very nice to me," he continued. "I'm very grateful to have 
a friend like you. And such a great actress, too."

Tanya blushed. "Now, quit that!" she said embarrassedly. "You'll make me 
think you're flirting, or something." They both laughed at that.

"And what about Serena?" Tanya asked after the laughing had subsided.

Darien was quiet for a moment. "Well...," he began hesitantly. "She's a 
very professional actress and very talented. I just wish that she didn't 
hate me as much as she does. I mean, I apologized for ruining her dress and 
I'm gonna pay her back, but...."

Tanya nodded knowingly. "Serena has a tendancy to lose her temper easily," 
she explained. "She also has a tendancy to hold grudges for a long time." 
She sighed softly as she shook her head. "Do you want to know why it seems 
like you're always making her angry at you?"

Darien's expression turned to one of intense interest. "Why?" he asked 
softty, his voice heavy with a desire to know.

"Well, she doesn't really hate you," Tanya explained. "I know this because 
she not only recongizes you as an actor, but she has actually told me that 
you have some acting skill. Coming from a professional perfectionist like 
her, that translates into 'you have a great deal of acting potential'."

"You're kidding," he said, his expression displaying shocked disbelief.

"I'm not," she said, giving him a pointed look for emphasis. "Believe it or 
not, she actually has some respect for your acting skills, or at least, 
your potential. It's just the sudden rise to an equal status to her own 
that's got her pissed."

"That, I know," he said in a dry tone.

Tanya sighed in vexation. "I've known the woman for a long time and I love 
her like a sister, but sometimes I wonder about her," she said, shaking her 
head. "She never used to be so arrogant and haughty, Darien," she confided 
to him. "In fact, she was a very sweet person when I first met her in high 
school."

"Maybe all her fame went to her head?" he reasoned.

She shook her head vehemently. "No, no, no! She's not like that! It's 
just.... Well, I suppose that lately she's been very stressed about her 
work and...." She trailed off for a moment, then stared down at the table. 
"You know, before I got hired for this flick, I haven't heard from her in 
months. She's been so busy that she's had little time to herself."

Darien frowned in thought. "Yeah, I suppose stress could do that to a 
person," he said thoughtfully, then looked questioningly at Tanya. "But, 
why are you telling me all this?"

"There are actually two reasons, Darien," she said quietly as she looked 
back up at him. She held up one finger. "Because I don't want you to get 
the wrong idea about Serena. She doesn't hate you, or anything like that." 
She then held up another finger. "Also - and I don't want you to tell her I 
told you this - I've seen the way she looks at you when she thinks no one 
is looking. Not only is she extremely busy, but she's lonely as well."

"A woman as beautiful as her...," he said in surprise, "...lonely? I 
would've thought that lots of guys would just love to go out with her."

"That's true," she admitted, "but she can't stand most actors. A lot of 
them have become flashy and overconfident to the point of arrogance."

"Sort of like her," he said wryly.

"Now, that's not fair," she said petulantly. "I've already tried to get you 
to see beyond that arrogant, haughty façade that she shows."

"Right," he said with a small grin. "It's because she's a perfectionist and 
it's so she can scare off any of those pretty-boy actors she can't stand."

Tanya grimaced at that remark. "Well, if you want to put it like that...," 
she said dryly. "Anyway, I hope you can understand a little of what my 
friend is going through, so you won't think too badly of her."

Darien considered everything Tanya had told him as a waiter brought a huge 
tray with two large platters of food on them. He also considered what she 
hadn't said to him. 'She said that Serena was lonely, but she also 
mentioned that she sometimes stares at me. Does that mean that Serena's 
interested in me? Can't be... could it? Could Serena Moon actually have 
some interest in me?'

"Don't just sit there and stare at the ceiling, Darien," Tanya said, 
breaking him out of his thoughts. "Your food'll get cold."

"Oh. Right," he said as he reached for his utensils. He could think about 
his problems with the blonde actress later.

            **********************************************

"What a beautiful morning!" Molly exclaimed as she walked into the office 
on Monday. Just like yesterday, G.Q. and Melvin were going over the movie 
script. The script color was still yellow, so she guessed that they haven't 
made any changes yet... or haven't finished making them so they could make 
the new script revision. Knowing Melvin, it was probably the latter.

"Ah, Molly!" G.Q. said as he looked up at her from over Melvin's shoulder. 
"There you are! We were hoping that you'd stop by before we finished up."

"Finished up?" she asked, curious. "You're done with the new revision 
already?"

"Well, yeah," he replied. "You see, I was in such a rush to get the first 
revision out, that I only made changes to the first half of the movie 
script. This time, I wanted to go over all the changes with Melvin and Amy. 
You know, get feedback on the changes I've made.

"I've already gone over the changes with Amy and the Evans twins, and I've 
also outlined some additional stuntwork and choreography that might be 
needed," he added. "Perhaps you'd like to go over these changes as well, 
so as to add your own opinions?"

"I'm sure you have everything well in hand, G.Q.," she told him, "but I 
wouldn't mind having a copy of the new revision when it is distributed."

"No problem," Melvin replied with a grin. "Actually, we were going to do 
just that."

"That would be wonderful," she said in satisfaction. "Well, shall I go 
inform Amy that she can expect the revision sometime tomorrow?"

"Yes," G.Q. added. "Tell her that the green revision will be ready by 
tomorrow."

"Green, this time?" Molly asked curiously. "Tell me, G.Q., do you just 
choose new colors at random, or is their a set color for each revision?"

"There is a set color," he explained. "White is obviously the first 
revision. Yellow is second. Then, there's green, then red, then silver. I 
reserve the color blue for final revisions. Once I go to blue, then there 
will no longer be any more changes done to the script. If I need to go 
farther than silver, then I'm not doing my job well enough."

Both Melvin and Molly laughed at that. "I suppose so," Melvin said with a 
broad grin. "But, I'm sure that we won't have to go that far, right, G.Q.?"

"I hope so," he said, smiling. "Now, let's go take care of this new script."

            **********************************************

Jack frowned suspiciously. Something just didn't seem right about Juléi 
this morning. She seemed... anxious. Eager.

He had been following her all morning when he started noticing a subtle 
change. For a woman on her last days at her job and having apparently no 
new job lined up, she seemed to be preparing for a long vacation. She had 
gone on a small shopping binge that day, buying clothes fit for a tropical 
getaway: swimsuits, mostly bikinis; some new summer outfits; even some 
rather expensive designer sunglasses. Considering the size of her secretary 
salary, she must've gotten some extra cash somewhere....

Erwight.

            **********************************************

"All right!" Tira yelled excitedly when Jack walked into his office. The 
sounds of a computer game being played filled the room. "Oh! Hey, Jack!" 
she said sheepishly when he came in. "Back so soon?"

He sighed to himself. "Slow day, Ti?"

"Oh, this?" she asked, pointing to the screen. "I just needed a small 
break, that's all."

Jack smirked. "Uh-huh," he said skeptically. "Well, if you're done with 
your... break, you can help me with a little something."

"What is it?" she asked as she ended her game.

"Can you find where Erwight works?" he asked as he went into the back room.

"You mean, where he used to work?" she asked as she turned back to the 
computer.

"What?" he called back, confused by what she had said. "Used to?"

"Yeah," she replied as she brought up the file they had on him. "Used to. 
Remember when you asked me to keep track of their jobs in case either one 
one of them suddenly decides to quit?"

"Yeah. Juléi's two week notice is almost up, so Erwight suddenly decided to 
quit, just like that?"

"As of Saturday evening, Erwight is now unemployed," Tira confirmed.

"But, the question is: Is Erwight still going home each night?" Jack said 
as he exited the back room with a small black bag. "Or, is he now shacking 
up with Juléi?"

"And what about the man Miss Silver wants you to find?" Tira asked 
suddenly. "How have you been doing there?"

Jack shook his head. "No luck so far," he replied. "I've asked around at 
the bars and clubs. None of the bartenders have seen our nameless friend." 
He raised up the bag and shook it a little bit. She knew he had his 
telescopic camera in that bag. "Anyway, I'm off to go follow Juléi some 
more. If Erwight's not staying at home anymore, then I want to know where 
he's staying. She'll lead me to him. I know it."

"Before you leave, Jack," she interjected, holding up a slip of paper, "I 
have a message for you from Miss Silver. She wants to know when and where 
you want to meet her today."

Jack grimaced. "I almost forgot!" he muttered to himself. "Ti, can you tell 
her to meet me at the club on Harrison and Colorado Ave. It shouldn't be 
too hard for her to find."

            **********************************************

"Mmm...," Ryoku moaned weakly as he stirred. He felt so faint and his 
head was pounding fiercely. Everything was in pitch black darkness; he 
could hardly make out any figures in the blackness. The only light he could 
make out was a narrow, horizontal slit of light; more than likely it was 
coming from underneath the door to the next room. There didn't seem to be 
any windows in this room. That fact worried him.

Underneath his head, he felt his pillow move. "Ryo-chan?" he heard Hotaru's 
voice say softly from close overhead. That's when he realized that his head 
was lying on her lap. "Are you awake?" Her voice was filled with concern.

"Hai...," he muttered quietly.

She carefully shifted herself so that they both could be a little more 
comfortable, since her leg was falling asleep from letting him use it as a 
pillow. "Ryo-chan, daijoubu?"

"I have a splitting headache and I feel very weak, but other than that, I'm 
okay," he said as he reached up to feel his head. There was a bandage tied 
around and over his head. "The last thing I remember was that man tossing 
me over the balcony." Unseen in the darkness, his expression turned to one 
of apprehension and fear. "What happened, Hotaru-chan?"

Hotaru took Ryoku's hand with both of her own. "It was awful," she said, 
on the verge of tears. "That man... Mr. Jade... he almost killed you, 
Ryo-chan! You were bleeding heavily from having your scalp split open. 
That's why you have the bandage on."

"Where are we?" he asked warily. It couldn't be the hospital; they don't 
let paitents sleep using their girlfriend's lap as a pillow.

"After I tried to run down to see if you were still alive, Mr. Jade caught 
me and threatened to kill me," she continued. "After he got his knife back, 
he told me that if I wanted you to live, I had to willingly go with him as 
his hostage."

"We've been kidnapped?!?" he exclaimed in shock.

She nodded silently. "He doesn't lock our door, you know," she said 
quietly. "You're not well enough to be moved, and he knows that I won't try 
to escape without you."

"You mean to tell me that you're a captive because of me?" he asked, still 
shocked. "Why? Don't you know how worried your father's going to be? You 
should've just left me to die!"

Hotaru started to cry. "Don't you dare say that!" she choked out between 
sobs. "You risked your life to protect me, Kino Ryoku, and for that, I 
would do almost anything for you. If I can save your life in return, then 
that would be worth the risk. I'm sure Dad would understand why I'm doing 
this."

Ryoku lifted his other arm and gently caressed Hotaru's cheek. "My brave, 
loyal, lovely Hotaru-chan...," he murmured softly as he wiped away her 
tears. "I truly am a lucky man to have such a wonderful girlfriend like 
you. We shall take care of each other, then."

"Ryo-chan...," she said happily as she leaned her head against his hand.

"You sound tired, Hotaru-chan," he said with a small yawn.

"You do, too," she added tiredly. "We should get some sleep." She gently 
lifted his head off her lap and placed it gently on the bed she was sitting 
on a moment ago, then stood up.

"Where are you going to sleep?" he asked curiously.

"On the floor," she replied with a yawn.

"That's not right," he said quietly. "Ladies should not have to sleep on 
the floor."

"But, that's the only bed and you need it," she told him. "Unless you're 
suggesting that we share it," she added with a playful laugh.

"Why not?" he asked sincerely. "Besides, I know you're a little frightened. 
I am, too. I know I'd feel a lot better if you were close to me."

Hotaru's smile couldn't be seen in the darkness, but that didn't matter 
when she climbed into the bed with him. She sighed in contentment as she 
felt his arms encircle her waist. Both of their lives may've been in mortal 
danger, but right then, she felt protected in her boyfriend's loving 
embrace. Sleep came easily.

            **********************************************

In the other room, Jed was gazing contemplatively at the two Nijizuishou 
crystals in his possession. It was too dangerous to go after the next 
crystal right now, since the police were busy searching for the man 
responsible for kidnapping Tomoe's daughter and her boyfriend.

It was his good fortune to have found a place to live so quickly upon 
arriving in Washington. Hotels were horrible places to plan his aquisitions 
from; too many petty criminals used them to base their burglaries from. 
Police knew that fact, too. That, and some hotel workers have long 
memories. It would only take one person matching face to name for him to be 
in a world of trouble.

Back to the Tomoe girl, again. Those two were going to be a burden on him. 
He could hardly perform his job and babysit those two. He couldn't kill 
them; at least, not unless it was a last resort. If the boyfriend had died, 
then he would've killed the Tomoe girl. Since he lived, he had a means to 
control her with. That was also the only reason he didn't have her tied up. 
But, that would have to change when the boy starts to get better.

On the table in front of him, his cell phone rang. The screen displayed 
Max's private business line. He only used that line if he needed to contact 
him for something important.

"Jed, here," he said, answering the phone.

"Where are you?" Max asked. His voice sounded annoyed.

"D.C.," he replied. "Some unforseen circumstances are keeping me here, but 
I think I might be able to find a way out and on to Vancouver soon."

"I want you to forget the crystals and come back as soon as you can," Max 
said urgently.

Jed blinked in surprise. "Forget the crystals? Why? What happened?"

"I have a more important job for you to take care of first," Max replied 
darkly. "It involves taking care of an ex-employee and retriving an item 
she took from me."

"That's it?!?" he exclaimed. "Why do you need me? Can't the police take 
care of it? What could be so important that you don't want the police 
involved...." His eyes widened in shock. "You don't mean...."

"The police may take forever in getting it back," Max said calmly. "I don't 
want to wait that long. I can count on you to get the job done. Get back my 
Yellow Nijizuishou crystal, Jed. The sooner, the better."

Jed frowned slightly. "It'll be hard getting out of here, but I think I can 
handle it." He was going to have to find a way to keep the Tomoe girl and 
her boyfriend from escaping, as well as keep them from starving to death 
since he wouldn't be there. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Good. I'll be waiting." There was a click as Max hung up his phone.

Jed hung up his phone and frowned thoughtfully. He was going to have to 
start preparing for his departure. As he got up, he turned toward the door 
to the room where he captives were being held and grinned to himself. He 
had just come up with an answer to his problem.

            **********************************************

                              To Chapter 16

            **********************************************

Author's Note: And another chapter comes to a close. Things are picking up 
as Darien starts to wonder if he could actually get Serena interested in 
him. Meanwhile, on the movie side of the fic, we're coming closer to the 
point where Jack and Diane will get caught up in the hunt for Nijizuishou! 
Next chapter: Jack meets with Diane; Darien tries to get to know Serena 
better; Hotaru and Ryoku discover that they're trapped with no way out; and 
Jed makes his way to L.A. to retrieve the Yellow Nijizuishou crystal.

Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective 
owners. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and a bunch 
of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended. This 
story belongs to Moonsong and myself, and I would appreciate 
you emailing her or myself for permission before posting it 
anywhere else. Thank you.

Prologue Copyright © January 24, 2000 Moonsong.
Other Chapters Copyright © August 12, 2000 Jason Ulloa. 
All Rights Reserved.