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[America Mew Mew] Episode Twelve
And now for something completely different! I assure you I'm still working on 38, but the muse for the scene's hard to write even though I know exactly what's going to happen. So instead? I offer you the Panforte introduction episode I promised a very long time ago. ♥ There's some more filler scenes that'll come between Episodes Twelve and Fifteen, but they aren't very important to the story, so... they'll come later?
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy it. o/
Title: Episode Twelve: The Scholar Panforte Appears! Sorrel Accepts Us
Fandom: Tokyo Mew Mew [but so very AU]
Summary: Panforte finally makes his first appearance at the same time Sorrel finally learns to accept being part of the mew mews. Coincidence? We think not.
Claimer: Mimi, Celsia, Primrose, Sorrel, Laine, Maddie, Panforte, Chive, Shawn, and Roy are all my characters. Ryou, Retasu, Masha, and Keiichiro, as well as the original idea of Tokyo Mew Mew, belong to Reiko Yoshida and Mia Ikumi. I'm just borrowing their ideas for a fanfic, okay?
The flower shop felt quieter than usual. Mimi watched from behind the counter as Sorrel quietly gathered flower stems from the back room and brought them to the counter. Inching away from Sorrel, Mimi remarked, "You doing okay so far?"
Sorrel nodded, "Yeah. It's just a flower shop."
Just a flower shop? Mimi made a face. Who was Sorrel Hayden to criticize this wonderful flower shop? (It was kinda weird to think it was also the headquarters for five teenage animal girls to fight crime, but she liked to forget about that part.)
"Excuse me, but this flower shop--"
Gently smiling at her, Sorrel added, "I didn't say it was bad, Mimi. I'm just saying that it's not hard."
"Oh," Mimi mouthed to Sorrel as the purple-haired girl pushed the back door open and walked through it.
Primrose glanced up from her watering can. Skipping towards Mimi, the blonde cheerfully said, "Cheer up, Meems! I'm sure she'll warm up to us eventually. Hey, hey. Do you know if Celsia'll be back from her ballet lessons anytime soon?"
Mimi shrugged. "Beats me. I hope she'll be done soon. I can't take this quiet for much longer." She stared down at her apron and adjusted its strings as she commented, "Have you seen Ryan?"
"He and Retasu left to go check on things," Primrose responded. Refilling her watering can, she sauntered to the front of the store and liberally sprayed the potted plants with water. "He said he'd be back by 4:30."
"Again?" Mimi sighed, putting a hand on her hip. "This is getting pretty irritating."
The front door chimed as Shawn walked through. Waving at Mimi and Primrose, he happily called, "Hey, guys! Guess what!"
Primrose and Mimi asked together, "What?"
"Too excited to comment on those unison skills, but!" Shawn waved tickets in their faces. Practically bouncing off the walls, he laughed, "I managed to get us tickets for this totally awesome concert! Have you guys heard of the Teenage Wolves?"
Mimi stared at him blankly. "I have no clue what you're talking about."
"Okay, that was mean," Shawn pouted. "But you promise you'll go with me? All my friends are busy - and I know for a fact Ryou hates going to concerts."
"I don't see why not," Mimi replied. "Unless Primrose wants to go?"
"No way," Primrose made a face, putting her hands over her ears as she set her watering can down. "Those concerts are always too loud. You two go. You'll have fun."
Shawn laughed, "Okay, got it. Thanks, Mimi. I know Miles is still in Italy an' all, so hopefully we'll have fun too?"
"Yeah," Mimi twirled her hair absent-mindedly, "But it's not a date, right?"
"Absolutely not," Shawn protested just as Sorrel walked back through the back door. Sorrel amusedly looked from Shawn to Mimi, then crossed her arms.
"Are you two dating?"
"Wh-what'd we just say?" Shawn threw his hands up in the air. "Sorrel, that was so not funny."
Sorrel put her hand to her lips; she giggled softly before commenting, "It was needed. But I notice you've got tickets for the Teenage Wolves."
"Yeah," Shawn beamed, putting the tickets back in his jeans pocket. "Have you heard of them?"
Sorrel nodded, "I'm good friends with the keyboarder. If you'd wanted tickets, all you had to do was ask me."
"This did not occur to me," Shawn sighed. Sheepishly smiling, he added, "But I'll be sure to let you know in the future, okay?"
"Sure," Sorrel smiled slightly. Walking around the counter, she yawned, "Is it normally this quiet?"
"Not particularly," Shawn returned the smile. Adjusting his stance, he stuffed his hands in his pockets before adding, "I think everyone wanted to see how you'd handle working here. You know, since you didn't want to be a mew mew and all that jazz?"
Stepping back, Sorrel's mouth made a very visible 'o.' She let her face relax as she pulled up her lavender shirt, "... I see. Well, I'm sure I'll grow to like it."
Neither Mimi nor Primrose really knew what to make of that statement. In the end, it was the arrival of Celsia that alerted everyone to the really awkward silence. The black-haired girl eagerly hugged Sorrel; Celsia then cheerfully, almost lovesickeningly commented, "Omigosh! That uniform looks soooo good on you, Sorrel! Do you like working here? 'Cause I think I'll like it more when you're around---"
Shawn chuckled, "Wow, Celsia. You're like a regular fangirl."
Celsia instantly let go, blushing slightly as she swayed from side to side. "Shut up."
"Sure, sure," Shawn grinned, crossing his legs. "So uh... how 'bout we close up shop in a couple of minutes? It doesn't seem like we'll get any customers."
"Works for me," Mimi pumped her fist in the air. "Come on, you guys! We'll clean this place up as well as we can!"
+
Earth seemed like such a boring place. Panforte yawned, casually shifting his feet as he floated above the city. People kept scurrying from one place to another; the cars zoomed by without even a second glance. How impersonal this world felt.
No wonder their leader had set their sights on this city. In this mess of impersonal and cold relationships, it wouldn't be hard to lose a person or two. So what if the animal girls were constantly getting in Chive's way? Perhaps it was because he was too busy flirting with them and telling them how "hot" they looked in those costumes.
(They were probably skimpy too, judging from the clothing on the rest of these Earth girls. Had they ever heard of the word modesty?)
Pulling out a jelly-like creature from his pocket, Panforte sighed. "Where am I supposed to start? This city's bigger than I thought."
The jelly-like creature squirmed in his hands, and Panforte gently put him back in his pocket. Floating down towards a group of trees, he sat on the highest branch and watched the people pass by him. True to his estimates, they didn't even give him a second glance.
They were more focused on their hair and clothes and the thoughts of hormonal teenagers that shouldn't even matter. Panforte snorted, leaning back to block their nonsensical chatter from his ears.
Perhaps these nonsensical people were his perfect first victims. They were so shallow that people probably wouldn't even notice if they were gone! Smirking, Panforte approached them. Crossing his arms, he started, "Hello, ladies."
The first girl took one look at him before making a face, "Um, ew. Who told you that navy fingerless gloves were in? Especially with that ugly shade of orange you call a shirt?"
Panforte furrowed his eyebrows, "Huh?"
The second girl, a blonde, nodded in agreement, "Seriously, Maddie. You would've thought the fashion police would've visited him by now."
Now this was getting ridiculous. Panforte groaned, "Is that all you can think about?"
They both exchanged glances before shrugging and replying in a weird unison, "Yeah, pretty much."
"Ridiculous," Panforte rubbed his temples. "Do you realize who you're talking to?"
"Some guy who looks like he should be in a video game?" Maddie offered nervously.
Panforte stared at her weirdly, "What's a video game?"
Laine crossed her arms, "Don't be smart with us. You're obviously some kind of Tolkien elf or something - or from that weird fantasy TV show Mimi's sister sometimes watches on TV."
Taking out two jelly-like creatures from his pockets, Panforte offered them before the girls, "Hmm? Well, why don't you take my offers of forgiveness?"
Maddie and Laine hesitantly looked towards the jelly-like creatures, but they didn't need to hold their hands out. The jelly-like creatures jumped into the girls immediately, and well? Neither girl registered what was happening. Their faces turned blank as their clothes shattered and were immediately replaced with newfangled dresses and slippers and even black angel wings.
Slumping, the broken Maddie now blankly stated, "What is your command, sir Panforte?"
"Now that's more like it," Panforte smirked as he motioned for the two new Chimera Anima to follow him. "Come on. Let's give the mew mews a challenge."
Chimera-Laine smirked as she kicked the nearest tree, almost as if to say, is that all? She then tossed the nearest trash can a hundred yards. One passerby protested, "Hey!" but immediately stopped once Chimera-Laine glared him down.
Now, Chimera-Maddie leaned over the shoulders of a particularly open couple. Watching them kiss each other for a minute, she snickered as she pushed them both into the nearest fountain. She watched them sputter and let go of each other, but didn't stick around for their yelling at her.
"Is that all?" Panforte raised an eyebrow. "I thought you could actually fight."
Chimera-Maddie created a ball of green energy and shot it straight into the water. Fireworks erupted as Panforte clapped, "That's more like it."
+
"Chimera Anima, masha! Chimera Anima, masha!"
Mimi groaned, rolling in her couch to stare up at the pink fluffball pacing around her ceiling. "You've got to be kidding me," Mimi made a face. "I thought you were supposed to be with Shawn right now."
"He can't fight Chimera, masha! Come and fight, masha!"
"That verbal tic is getting really annoying," Mimi made a face, throwing a pillow at Masha as she rose from the couch. "But how am I supposed to get a ride at like six?"
Grabbing her purse and mew pendant from the nearest table, she put her pendant in her jeans pocket and casually slung her purse over her shoulder. "Hey, Mom," She called, glancing over her shoulder to see her mother working furiously at the dinner table. "Can I take the sub? It's sorta-kinda important."
Her mother peered over at her from the computer. "Rinnah Miriam Belmont. What did we say about leaving the house late?"
Mimi stared at her mom, "Please don't tell me you're pulling the full name card. That's just embarrassing."
"I am and I'll keep using it if you leave the house," Her mother sighed, pushing the laptop down. "Why do you need to leave now? Dinner'll be ready soon."
Mimi cringed. Oh dear god, she never thought she'd actually have to explain to her mother that she'd have to go fight giant aliens and save the world. And of course, this was one truth her mother would never, ever buy! What to say, what to say...
The doorbell rang. Mimi blinked, then shrugged, "I'll get it!"
Running to the door, she opened it and let Celsia Archer walk through. The girl waved at Mimi's mother, gently smiling as she said, "Good evening, Mrs. Belmont. I don't know if you remember, but I asked if Mimi could spend the night at my house?"
Mrs. Belmont blinked, "So that's why you wanted to use the sub..." Chuckling to herself, she nodded, "Oh, of course. Mimi, do I need to pick you up in the morning?"
"No need," Celsia dismissed the thought with a wave of her hand as she led Mimi to the stairs. "I'll get my butler to drop her off in the morning."
Mimi stared, "You have a butler?"
"Of course," Celsia blinked, pushing her comrade up the stairs. "Now hurry up and get your clothes. My butler's waiting outside."
Making a face, Mimi hastily ran to her room and stuffed her clothes, her tolieteries, and other random but useful junk into her duffel bag. Swinging that over her shoulder, she then ran back downstairs, air kissed her mom good-bye, and hurried into the car waiting outside.
And that's when she stared at Keiichiro at the wheel. "Oh Yalweh," She groaned. "Mr. Akasaka, please, please don't go over 90 again?"
"Agreed," Celsia nodded as she sat in the passenger's seat. "I feared for my life a total of five times on the way over."
"Chimera Anima, masha! Keiichiro needs directions, masha!"
Masha printed out a sheet of paper; Celsia easily took them into her hand as she buckled her seatbelt. Mimi hung to her duffel bag for dear life as Keiichiro started the car and backed out of the Belmont driveway.
To be perfectly honest, neither Mimi nor Celsia wanted to remember the journey to the park. It was a blur - both figuratively and literally. By the time the car slowed, both girls stared at each other in bewilderment before they laughed hysterically.
Keiichiro frowned, "But I was only driving 80 that time."
"It felt like a 150," Mimi moaned as she limply slumped out of the car. "I-I don't feel so good."
"Me either," Celsia held her hand to her mouth as she softly burped. Kneeling over by a patch of thick grass, she opened her mouth and groaned as she vomited.
Mimi winced, "Ewwww, but totally understandable."
"You two alright?"
Mimi glanced up at Shawn, who only scratched his head confusedly as he watched Celsia slowly recover from that arduous car trip. Shrugging, Mimi commented, "I have no idea. Keiichiro drove us here."
"Ohhhhh," Shawn sighed. "Sorry 'bout that, but Ryou doesn't have a driver's license."
"He needs to hurry up and turn sixteen then," Mimi glared at Shawn as she curled up in a ball.
"Chimera anima, masha! Hurry up and fight, masha!"
"Sorry we're late," Primrose called as she ran over to the group. Dragging Retasu and Sorrel over too, Primrose then stared at Celsia and Mimi with widened eyes. "... Uh, you sure you'll be okay?"
"Y-yeah," Celsia slowly nodded. "Just give me a sec and some medicine."
"Here," Ryou knelt down, offering a bottle of liquid medicine and bottled water. "I usually keep some every time Akasaka offers to drive me somewhere."
Celsia gratefully accepted, drinking the medicine greedily. Opening the water bottle, she gulped its contents before tossing it into the nearest recycling bin.
"Now come on," Ryou sighed. "Looks like we've got some Chimera Anima to deal with."
The five mew mews nodded, bringing their pendants out and gently kissing them on the lips. Ryou and Keiichiro both shielded their eyes; the ensuing light show was incredibly bright to the naked eye. (Thankfully, no one else was around to witness the pyrotechnics.)
"I was wondering when you would show up."
Everyone's attention was immediately diverted to a smirking alien. He crossed his arms as he stared down the five mew mews. Mew Mimi, however, dramatically posed as she summoned her cross-staff.
"For the future of the Earth, we'll punish you, mew!"
The five mew mews posed alongside her, though everyone could hear Mew Celsia mutter, "It's been too soon since we've had to say that again."
The new alien raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as the five animal girls summoned their weapons. "It's not me you're going to face right off the bat," He smirked. "Why don't you meet my new friends?"
Right on cue, Chimera-Laine and Chimera-Maddie appeared from the shadows and brandished their weapons towards Mew Mimi.
Mew Mimi stared, "B-but those are---"
The alien smirked, "Have fun."
He disappeared into thin air, leaving behind two extremely infuriated Chimera Anima. Ryou looked thoughtful as he crossed his legs, "So they're capable of turning humans into Chimera Anima..."
"This is not the time to be impressed!" Mew Mimi glared back at her boss. "These are my best friends!"
"Talk about contrived conveniences," Mew Celsia blinked, circling Chimera-Laine with her crossbow. "I mean, they don't know our secret identities, right? And yet they manage to transform Mew Mimi's best friends into Chimera Anima. It's right out of a bad Saturday morning cartoon."
Mew Mimi whimpered, "Don't hurt them! They're my really good friends."
"Of course I won't," Mew Celsia retorted, dodging Chimera-Laine's attacks, "But that doesn't mean that they will."
"Yeah," Mew Primrose pointed out, backflipping to avoid Chimera-Maddie's wrath. "What're we supposed to do?"
"Well," Mew Sorrel tapped her mic, "How do you normally defeat Chimera Anima?"
Mew Mimi offered, "Though brute force and tough love?"
Mew Sorrel sighed, "Maybe we'll try something new today."
"Hey," Mew Mimi's eyes lit up. Keeping her attention on the barrage of attacks from Chimera-Maddie, she yelled, "Mew Sorrel! Sing us a song, will you?"
Mew Sorrel nodded, "Ribbon, Sorrel Melody!"
Both Chimera-Laine and Chimera-Maddie's attention diverted towards the soothing melody. Pushing the other four mew mews out of the way, they slowly made their way to the singer. Mew Sorrel lazily opened one eye, peering at them as she continued singing.
Mew Primrose nodded, "Ribbon, Primrose Enforce!"
Holding her hands out, the yellow mew concentrated on creating one giant barrier around the two Chimera Anima. Chimera-Maddie and Chimera-Laine wailed, staring around them at the giant barrier. Chimera-Maddie attempted to kick the wall; she bounced off it and fell face-first. Chimera-Laine stared. Punching the wall, she too fell over and landed right on top of her friend.
Mew Mimi blinked, "... Wow. Even when possessed, they can't fight."
Chimera-Laine and Chimera-Maddie growled at her in response. Sighing, Mew Mimi walked straight to the barrier, split it just barely so her staff could reach, and murmured, "Ribbon, Mimi Shoot!"
Pink spheres shot towards the girls; Mew Mimi could barely witness the scene, for everything suddenly became a very bright shade of pink. Chimera-Laine and Chimera-Maddie whined and whimpered and howled.
And then? Then?
Two jelly-like creatures disappeared from their bodies, making both Laine and Maddie fall to the ground. Mew Primrose's barrier vanished; Mew Mimi made her staff disappear as she knelt down beside her friends.
"You think they're okay?" Mew Mimi whispered as Ryou and Shawn came running back towards the battlefield.
Masha happily gobbled the jelly-like creatures up as Shawn gently pressed two fingers against Laine's neck. Ryou too felt for a pulse as his fingers moved from Maddie's neck to her wrists. Both boys then nodded.
"Yeah," Shawn confirmed, smiling slightly. "They'll be fine. The battle just knocked them out cold."
Scooping Maddie into his arms, Ryou adjusted the weight on his feet. He looked thoughtful for a moment, glancing from Mimi to her friend before he finally responded, "... You know, Maddie's lighter than you are."
Mew Mimi immediately stomped on his toes.
"OY!" Ryou groaned. "That wasn't necessary!"
"You were being a teenage boy," Mew Mimi scoffed, watching as Keiichiro knelt down and lifted Laine onto his back. "It's only natural you'd make crude comments like that."
"Whatever," Ryou stuck his tongue out. "Let's just get these two ladies home, okay?"
Mew Mimi nodded, detransforming along with the rest of her teammates. Hanging back so that she could walk alongside Celsia and Sorrel, the brunette remarked, "So now what? Are we going to chase after that weird alien?"
"Not likely," Ryou responded. "He'll most likely come after us. And now that we know some of his powers, we'll be ready for him."
"Yeah," Shawn nodded in agreement. "I think this felt more like a warm up course than anything."
Celsia lightly bopped Mimi on the head, "You forgot already? We had to pretend you were sleeping over at my place so that your mom wouldn't get mad at you sneaking out. So... we sorta-kinda have to have that sleepover now."
"Ow," Mimi made a face. "But yeah. It'll be fun, right?"
"Let's have a giant sleepover!" Primrose happily cheered. "Celsia, you won't mind, right?"
"It does sound nice," Retasu commented happily. "May we?"
Celsia helplessly glanced over at Sorrel, who merely shrugged as if to say, 'Hey, don't look at me.'
"Fine," The Korean girl sighed in defeat, waving her arms in the air. "Giant girls-only sleepover at my place, okay? We'll drop Mimi's friends home and then... I dunno, have a movie marathon or something."
"All right!" Mimi and Primrose cheered while Retasu and Sorrel exchanged amused glances.
They piled into the car and let Keiichiro drive them all away. None of them noticed the alien appearing again on top of the tallest tree branch. He crossed his legs as he watched them drive away. Smirking, he remarked, "So they're only human girls after all. This should be fascinating."
Staring down particularly at Sorrel, the alien's face softened slightly, "... But perhaps she'll be the most fascinating one of them all."
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy it. o/
Title: Episode Twelve: The Scholar Panforte Appears! Sorrel Accepts Us
Fandom: Tokyo Mew Mew [but so very AU]
Summary: Panforte finally makes his first appearance at the same time Sorrel finally learns to accept being part of the mew mews. Coincidence? We think not.
Claimer: Mimi, Celsia, Primrose, Sorrel, Laine, Maddie, Panforte, Chive, Shawn, and Roy are all my characters. Ryou, Retasu, Masha, and Keiichiro, as well as the original idea of Tokyo Mew Mew, belong to Reiko Yoshida and Mia Ikumi. I'm just borrowing their ideas for a fanfic, okay?
The flower shop felt quieter than usual. Mimi watched from behind the counter as Sorrel quietly gathered flower stems from the back room and brought them to the counter. Inching away from Sorrel, Mimi remarked, "You doing okay so far?"
Sorrel nodded, "Yeah. It's just a flower shop."
Just a flower shop? Mimi made a face. Who was Sorrel Hayden to criticize this wonderful flower shop? (It was kinda weird to think it was also the headquarters for five teenage animal girls to fight crime, but she liked to forget about that part.)
"Excuse me, but this flower shop--"
Gently smiling at her, Sorrel added, "I didn't say it was bad, Mimi. I'm just saying that it's not hard."
"Oh," Mimi mouthed to Sorrel as the purple-haired girl pushed the back door open and walked through it.
Primrose glanced up from her watering can. Skipping towards Mimi, the blonde cheerfully said, "Cheer up, Meems! I'm sure she'll warm up to us eventually. Hey, hey. Do you know if Celsia'll be back from her ballet lessons anytime soon?"
Mimi shrugged. "Beats me. I hope she'll be done soon. I can't take this quiet for much longer." She stared down at her apron and adjusted its strings as she commented, "Have you seen Ryan?"
"He and Retasu left to go check on things," Primrose responded. Refilling her watering can, she sauntered to the front of the store and liberally sprayed the potted plants with water. "He said he'd be back by 4:30."
"Again?" Mimi sighed, putting a hand on her hip. "This is getting pretty irritating."
The front door chimed as Shawn walked through. Waving at Mimi and Primrose, he happily called, "Hey, guys! Guess what!"
Primrose and Mimi asked together, "What?"
"Too excited to comment on those unison skills, but!" Shawn waved tickets in their faces. Practically bouncing off the walls, he laughed, "I managed to get us tickets for this totally awesome concert! Have you guys heard of the Teenage Wolves?"
Mimi stared at him blankly. "I have no clue what you're talking about."
"Okay, that was mean," Shawn pouted. "But you promise you'll go with me? All my friends are busy - and I know for a fact Ryou hates going to concerts."
"I don't see why not," Mimi replied. "Unless Primrose wants to go?"
"No way," Primrose made a face, putting her hands over her ears as she set her watering can down. "Those concerts are always too loud. You two go. You'll have fun."
Shawn laughed, "Okay, got it. Thanks, Mimi. I know Miles is still in Italy an' all, so hopefully we'll have fun too?"
"Yeah," Mimi twirled her hair absent-mindedly, "But it's not a date, right?"
"Absolutely not," Shawn protested just as Sorrel walked back through the back door. Sorrel amusedly looked from Shawn to Mimi, then crossed her arms.
"Are you two dating?"
"Wh-what'd we just say?" Shawn threw his hands up in the air. "Sorrel, that was so not funny."
Sorrel put her hand to her lips; she giggled softly before commenting, "It was needed. But I notice you've got tickets for the Teenage Wolves."
"Yeah," Shawn beamed, putting the tickets back in his jeans pocket. "Have you heard of them?"
Sorrel nodded, "I'm good friends with the keyboarder. If you'd wanted tickets, all you had to do was ask me."
"This did not occur to me," Shawn sighed. Sheepishly smiling, he added, "But I'll be sure to let you know in the future, okay?"
"Sure," Sorrel smiled slightly. Walking around the counter, she yawned, "Is it normally this quiet?"
"Not particularly," Shawn returned the smile. Adjusting his stance, he stuffed his hands in his pockets before adding, "I think everyone wanted to see how you'd handle working here. You know, since you didn't want to be a mew mew and all that jazz?"
Stepping back, Sorrel's mouth made a very visible 'o.' She let her face relax as she pulled up her lavender shirt, "... I see. Well, I'm sure I'll grow to like it."
Neither Mimi nor Primrose really knew what to make of that statement. In the end, it was the arrival of Celsia that alerted everyone to the really awkward silence. The black-haired girl eagerly hugged Sorrel; Celsia then cheerfully, almost lovesickeningly commented, "Omigosh! That uniform looks soooo good on you, Sorrel! Do you like working here? 'Cause I think I'll like it more when you're around---"
Shawn chuckled, "Wow, Celsia. You're like a regular fangirl."
Celsia instantly let go, blushing slightly as she swayed from side to side. "Shut up."
"Sure, sure," Shawn grinned, crossing his legs. "So uh... how 'bout we close up shop in a couple of minutes? It doesn't seem like we'll get any customers."
"Works for me," Mimi pumped her fist in the air. "Come on, you guys! We'll clean this place up as well as we can!"
Earth seemed like such a boring place. Panforte yawned, casually shifting his feet as he floated above the city. People kept scurrying from one place to another; the cars zoomed by without even a second glance. How impersonal this world felt.
No wonder their leader had set their sights on this city. In this mess of impersonal and cold relationships, it wouldn't be hard to lose a person or two. So what if the animal girls were constantly getting in Chive's way? Perhaps it was because he was too busy flirting with them and telling them how "hot" they looked in those costumes.
(They were probably skimpy too, judging from the clothing on the rest of these Earth girls. Had they ever heard of the word modesty?)
Pulling out a jelly-like creature from his pocket, Panforte sighed. "Where am I supposed to start? This city's bigger than I thought."
The jelly-like creature squirmed in his hands, and Panforte gently put him back in his pocket. Floating down towards a group of trees, he sat on the highest branch and watched the people pass by him. True to his estimates, they didn't even give him a second glance.
They were more focused on their hair and clothes and the thoughts of hormonal teenagers that shouldn't even matter. Panforte snorted, leaning back to block their nonsensical chatter from his ears.
Perhaps these nonsensical people were his perfect first victims. They were so shallow that people probably wouldn't even notice if they were gone! Smirking, Panforte approached them. Crossing his arms, he started, "Hello, ladies."
The first girl took one look at him before making a face, "Um, ew. Who told you that navy fingerless gloves were in? Especially with that ugly shade of orange you call a shirt?"
Panforte furrowed his eyebrows, "Huh?"
The second girl, a blonde, nodded in agreement, "Seriously, Maddie. You would've thought the fashion police would've visited him by now."
Now this was getting ridiculous. Panforte groaned, "Is that all you can think about?"
They both exchanged glances before shrugging and replying in a weird unison, "Yeah, pretty much."
"Ridiculous," Panforte rubbed his temples. "Do you realize who you're talking to?"
"Some guy who looks like he should be in a video game?" Maddie offered nervously.
Panforte stared at her weirdly, "What's a video game?"
Laine crossed her arms, "Don't be smart with us. You're obviously some kind of Tolkien elf or something - or from that weird fantasy TV show Mimi's sister sometimes watches on TV."
Taking out two jelly-like creatures from his pockets, Panforte offered them before the girls, "Hmm? Well, why don't you take my offers of forgiveness?"
Maddie and Laine hesitantly looked towards the jelly-like creatures, but they didn't need to hold their hands out. The jelly-like creatures jumped into the girls immediately, and well? Neither girl registered what was happening. Their faces turned blank as their clothes shattered and were immediately replaced with newfangled dresses and slippers and even black angel wings.
Slumping, the broken Maddie now blankly stated, "What is your command, sir Panforte?"
"Now that's more like it," Panforte smirked as he motioned for the two new Chimera Anima to follow him. "Come on. Let's give the mew mews a challenge."
Chimera-Laine smirked as she kicked the nearest tree, almost as if to say, is that all? She then tossed the nearest trash can a hundred yards. One passerby protested, "Hey!" but immediately stopped once Chimera-Laine glared him down.
Now, Chimera-Maddie leaned over the shoulders of a particularly open couple. Watching them kiss each other for a minute, she snickered as she pushed them both into the nearest fountain. She watched them sputter and let go of each other, but didn't stick around for their yelling at her.
"Is that all?" Panforte raised an eyebrow. "I thought you could actually fight."
Chimera-Maddie created a ball of green energy and shot it straight into the water. Fireworks erupted as Panforte clapped, "That's more like it."
"Chimera Anima, masha! Chimera Anima, masha!"
Mimi groaned, rolling in her couch to stare up at the pink fluffball pacing around her ceiling. "You've got to be kidding me," Mimi made a face. "I thought you were supposed to be with Shawn right now."
"He can't fight Chimera, masha! Come and fight, masha!"
"That verbal tic is getting really annoying," Mimi made a face, throwing a pillow at Masha as she rose from the couch. "But how am I supposed to get a ride at like six?"
Grabbing her purse and mew pendant from the nearest table, she put her pendant in her jeans pocket and casually slung her purse over her shoulder. "Hey, Mom," She called, glancing over her shoulder to see her mother working furiously at the dinner table. "Can I take the sub? It's sorta-kinda important."
Her mother peered over at her from the computer. "Rinnah Miriam Belmont. What did we say about leaving the house late?"
Mimi stared at her mom, "Please don't tell me you're pulling the full name card. That's just embarrassing."
"I am and I'll keep using it if you leave the house," Her mother sighed, pushing the laptop down. "Why do you need to leave now? Dinner'll be ready soon."
Mimi cringed. Oh dear god, she never thought she'd actually have to explain to her mother that she'd have to go fight giant aliens and save the world. And of course, this was one truth her mother would never, ever buy! What to say, what to say...
The doorbell rang. Mimi blinked, then shrugged, "I'll get it!"
Running to the door, she opened it and let Celsia Archer walk through. The girl waved at Mimi's mother, gently smiling as she said, "Good evening, Mrs. Belmont. I don't know if you remember, but I asked if Mimi could spend the night at my house?"
Mrs. Belmont blinked, "So that's why you wanted to use the sub..." Chuckling to herself, she nodded, "Oh, of course. Mimi, do I need to pick you up in the morning?"
"No need," Celsia dismissed the thought with a wave of her hand as she led Mimi to the stairs. "I'll get my butler to drop her off in the morning."
Mimi stared, "You have a butler?"
"Of course," Celsia blinked, pushing her comrade up the stairs. "Now hurry up and get your clothes. My butler's waiting outside."
Making a face, Mimi hastily ran to her room and stuffed her clothes, her tolieteries, and other random but useful junk into her duffel bag. Swinging that over her shoulder, she then ran back downstairs, air kissed her mom good-bye, and hurried into the car waiting outside.
And that's when she stared at Keiichiro at the wheel. "Oh Yalweh," She groaned. "Mr. Akasaka, please, please don't go over 90 again?"
"Agreed," Celsia nodded as she sat in the passenger's seat. "I feared for my life a total of five times on the way over."
"Chimera Anima, masha! Keiichiro needs directions, masha!"
Masha printed out a sheet of paper; Celsia easily took them into her hand as she buckled her seatbelt. Mimi hung to her duffel bag for dear life as Keiichiro started the car and backed out of the Belmont driveway.
To be perfectly honest, neither Mimi nor Celsia wanted to remember the journey to the park. It was a blur - both figuratively and literally. By the time the car slowed, both girls stared at each other in bewilderment before they laughed hysterically.
Keiichiro frowned, "But I was only driving 80 that time."
"It felt like a 150," Mimi moaned as she limply slumped out of the car. "I-I don't feel so good."
"Me either," Celsia held her hand to her mouth as she softly burped. Kneeling over by a patch of thick grass, she opened her mouth and groaned as she vomited.
Mimi winced, "Ewwww, but totally understandable."
"You two alright?"
Mimi glanced up at Shawn, who only scratched his head confusedly as he watched Celsia slowly recover from that arduous car trip. Shrugging, Mimi commented, "I have no idea. Keiichiro drove us here."
"Ohhhhh," Shawn sighed. "Sorry 'bout that, but Ryou doesn't have a driver's license."
"He needs to hurry up and turn sixteen then," Mimi glared at Shawn as she curled up in a ball.
"Chimera anima, masha! Hurry up and fight, masha!"
"Sorry we're late," Primrose called as she ran over to the group. Dragging Retasu and Sorrel over too, Primrose then stared at Celsia and Mimi with widened eyes. "... Uh, you sure you'll be okay?"
"Y-yeah," Celsia slowly nodded. "Just give me a sec and some medicine."
"Here," Ryou knelt down, offering a bottle of liquid medicine and bottled water. "I usually keep some every time Akasaka offers to drive me somewhere."
Celsia gratefully accepted, drinking the medicine greedily. Opening the water bottle, she gulped its contents before tossing it into the nearest recycling bin.
"Now come on," Ryou sighed. "Looks like we've got some Chimera Anima to deal with."
The five mew mews nodded, bringing their pendants out and gently kissing them on the lips. Ryou and Keiichiro both shielded their eyes; the ensuing light show was incredibly bright to the naked eye. (Thankfully, no one else was around to witness the pyrotechnics.)
"I was wondering when you would show up."
Everyone's attention was immediately diverted to a smirking alien. He crossed his arms as he stared down the five mew mews. Mew Mimi, however, dramatically posed as she summoned her cross-staff.
"For the future of the Earth, we'll punish you, mew!"
The five mew mews posed alongside her, though everyone could hear Mew Celsia mutter, "It's been too soon since we've had to say that again."
The new alien raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as the five animal girls summoned their weapons. "It's not me you're going to face right off the bat," He smirked. "Why don't you meet my new friends?"
Right on cue, Chimera-Laine and Chimera-Maddie appeared from the shadows and brandished their weapons towards Mew Mimi.
Mew Mimi stared, "B-but those are---"
The alien smirked, "Have fun."
He disappeared into thin air, leaving behind two extremely infuriated Chimera Anima. Ryou looked thoughtful as he crossed his legs, "So they're capable of turning humans into Chimera Anima..."
"This is not the time to be impressed!" Mew Mimi glared back at her boss. "These are my best friends!"
"Talk about contrived conveniences," Mew Celsia blinked, circling Chimera-Laine with her crossbow. "I mean, they don't know our secret identities, right? And yet they manage to transform Mew Mimi's best friends into Chimera Anima. It's right out of a bad Saturday morning cartoon."
Mew Mimi whimpered, "Don't hurt them! They're my really good friends."
"Of course I won't," Mew Celsia retorted, dodging Chimera-Laine's attacks, "But that doesn't mean that they will."
"Yeah," Mew Primrose pointed out, backflipping to avoid Chimera-Maddie's wrath. "What're we supposed to do?"
"Well," Mew Sorrel tapped her mic, "How do you normally defeat Chimera Anima?"
Mew Mimi offered, "Though brute force and tough love?"
Mew Sorrel sighed, "Maybe we'll try something new today."
"Hey," Mew Mimi's eyes lit up. Keeping her attention on the barrage of attacks from Chimera-Maddie, she yelled, "Mew Sorrel! Sing us a song, will you?"
Mew Sorrel nodded, "Ribbon, Sorrel Melody!"
Both Chimera-Laine and Chimera-Maddie's attention diverted towards the soothing melody. Pushing the other four mew mews out of the way, they slowly made their way to the singer. Mew Sorrel lazily opened one eye, peering at them as she continued singing.
Mew Primrose nodded, "Ribbon, Primrose Enforce!"
Holding her hands out, the yellow mew concentrated on creating one giant barrier around the two Chimera Anima. Chimera-Maddie and Chimera-Laine wailed, staring around them at the giant barrier. Chimera-Maddie attempted to kick the wall; she bounced off it and fell face-first. Chimera-Laine stared. Punching the wall, she too fell over and landed right on top of her friend.
Mew Mimi blinked, "... Wow. Even when possessed, they can't fight."
Chimera-Laine and Chimera-Maddie growled at her in response. Sighing, Mew Mimi walked straight to the barrier, split it just barely so her staff could reach, and murmured, "Ribbon, Mimi Shoot!"
Pink spheres shot towards the girls; Mew Mimi could barely witness the scene, for everything suddenly became a very bright shade of pink. Chimera-Laine and Chimera-Maddie whined and whimpered and howled.
And then? Then?
Two jelly-like creatures disappeared from their bodies, making both Laine and Maddie fall to the ground. Mew Primrose's barrier vanished; Mew Mimi made her staff disappear as she knelt down beside her friends.
"You think they're okay?" Mew Mimi whispered as Ryou and Shawn came running back towards the battlefield.
Masha happily gobbled the jelly-like creatures up as Shawn gently pressed two fingers against Laine's neck. Ryou too felt for a pulse as his fingers moved from Maddie's neck to her wrists. Both boys then nodded.
"Yeah," Shawn confirmed, smiling slightly. "They'll be fine. The battle just knocked them out cold."
Scooping Maddie into his arms, Ryou adjusted the weight on his feet. He looked thoughtful for a moment, glancing from Mimi to her friend before he finally responded, "... You know, Maddie's lighter than you are."
Mew Mimi immediately stomped on his toes.
"OY!" Ryou groaned. "That wasn't necessary!"
"You were being a teenage boy," Mew Mimi scoffed, watching as Keiichiro knelt down and lifted Laine onto his back. "It's only natural you'd make crude comments like that."
"Whatever," Ryou stuck his tongue out. "Let's just get these two ladies home, okay?"
Mew Mimi nodded, detransforming along with the rest of her teammates. Hanging back so that she could walk alongside Celsia and Sorrel, the brunette remarked, "So now what? Are we going to chase after that weird alien?"
"Not likely," Ryou responded. "He'll most likely come after us. And now that we know some of his powers, we'll be ready for him."
"Yeah," Shawn nodded in agreement. "I think this felt more like a warm up course than anything."
Celsia lightly bopped Mimi on the head, "You forgot already? We had to pretend you were sleeping over at my place so that your mom wouldn't get mad at you sneaking out. So... we sorta-kinda have to have that sleepover now."
"Ow," Mimi made a face. "But yeah. It'll be fun, right?"
"Let's have a giant sleepover!" Primrose happily cheered. "Celsia, you won't mind, right?"
"It does sound nice," Retasu commented happily. "May we?"
Celsia helplessly glanced over at Sorrel, who merely shrugged as if to say, 'Hey, don't look at me.'
"Fine," The Korean girl sighed in defeat, waving her arms in the air. "Giant girls-only sleepover at my place, okay? We'll drop Mimi's friends home and then... I dunno, have a movie marathon or something."
"All right!" Mimi and Primrose cheered while Retasu and Sorrel exchanged amused glances.
They piled into the car and let Keiichiro drive them all away. None of them noticed the alien appearing again on top of the tallest tree branch. He crossed his legs as he watched them drive away. Smirking, he remarked, "So they're only human girls after all. This should be fascinating."
Staring down particularly at Sorrel, the alien's face softened slightly, "... But perhaps she'll be the most fascinating one of them all."