[CHLOE L. COLE]

IMAGE OF CHLOE AS A SOPHISCATED POET LOL


"UGH I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BOREDDDDDD!!!! I AM A PRISIONER IN MY OWN HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EVERYONE IS GUARDING THE DOOR AND I AM BEING FORCED TO STAY HERE. LAME LAME LAMEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I WOULD EVEN PICK SCHOOL RIGHT NOW IF IT MEANT I COULD LEAVE! UGH!" As soon as she yelled the words into her room an idea hit her. HER DISGUISE PEN!!

She knew Jackson had warned her about playing with fire, whatever that meant, but she was going to do it anyways. She smirked as she searched around her room, hoping no one got to it and took it away first, frantically. Her eyes glowed once she found it. She held it in front of her face with an evil-type laugh.

Now what should she become today? What would be the furthest thing from who she actually was. She smirked as she figured out exactly what she wanted to be today! She held up the pen and quietly said the beautiful words, which would help her escape. "Cosmos Power, change me into a sophiscated poet!"

With that she reappeared in black mini skirt, a black blouse, a black hat, short black hair, and black framed glasses. She bounced up and down as she looked at herself in the mirror. She placed the pen in her bra and grabbed her phone. She had to get out before anyone could catch her.

With that thought she was out the window. She fell onto the ground as she snuck onto the side walk. People didn't even seem to look twice at her. She smiled to herself knowing that it was working. Now what did poets do? COFFEE SHOPS! She could do this! She could be someone completely different!

She rushed towards the coffee shop and listened to what other people were ordering. Once she heard the word "espresso" about fifteen times, she decided to order that as well. As she took the tini cup, thanked the woman, she walked towards the book shelf in the store. She picked up the most sophiscated looking book and walked over to a table. She sat down and burried face in the book, happy to just be out of the house.

As she placed the tini cup to her lips, she took a small sip. DISGUSTING! This tasted like extremely burnt coffee. She choked on the liquid going down her throat and then placed the cup as far away from her as possible. When someone looked at her she picked the cup back up and whispered to them. "Delicious, but hot! Be careful!"

When the people looked away she placed the cup back to the other side of the table. She looked into the book and sighed. This book didn't even have images at all. Maybe being a poet was a bad option for her to pick. But at least she was out of the house and none of her friends had spotted her yet. OHHH the trouble she would get into. She shuttered at the thought. She would deal with the burnt coffee and the no image book if it meant no one would figure out who she was, and that she was out of her cage.

[• NATALIE A. MARSHALL.]

Natalie smiled as she shifted in her large and comfortable bed, completely happy to be back home again. It had been a few days since she had returned to the land of the living and with the exception of Andy, Alex was the only person that she had spent her time with. After that first night of returning, and having found Andy in the park, Natalie had been thrilled. She had caught up with her sister senshi and had heard of everything that had happened within the last couple of months. Of course, after that, she had headed home for the more difficult encounter, the one she would have with her boyfriend. It had been an emotional meeting as expected. Natalie's heart had been beating furiously in her chest as she stood awkwardly outside of her own apartment, ringing the door and waiting for Alex to open it. Once he had, and had expressed his pure shock of seeing her there, it had been like she had never been gone. The two had a difficult talk, and Natalie had explained so much to her boyfriend, and there had been a lot of crying on her part. But things had been good. Her boyfriend, as usual, surprised her, and the two definitely made up for lost time in the days that followed. Of course, Alex wouldn't let Natalie out of his sight. Natalie understood his concern and perhaps his fear of losing her if she wasn't with him, but he had to live his life. It had taken five days to get him to go back to work, which is why she had woken up alone that morning.

The senshi of fire sighed as she lifted herself from the bed, grabbing her robe in the process to cover her nude form. She had been informed about the going ons in London and was definitely not impressed. The senshi were in danger and the Earthlings, of all fucking people!, were the enemy. Natalie had been in shock when Alex had told her. Natalie felt like she was in a great position to help considering the civilians didn't know whom she was. Sailor Mars was dead, as everyone believed, so she was in the clear for the time being. Still, it didn't stop Alex from being wary and telling her not to go out unless it was necessary. But Natalie being the person that she was, refused to be told what to do. So after showering and dressing, she placed a call to her boyfriend to inform him that she was going out for a bit. Natalie didn't HAVE to do it but she had been considerate enough just in case Alex did a surprise visit to the apartment and found her gone. She definitely did not want to alarm him. She grabbed her bag and headed out of the door, smiling as she took the lift downstairs to get to her car. She seriously was so happy to be alive again. Who wouldn't be?! Her life was getting back on track. Things weren't good on Earth but at least she was getting everything together when it came to Alex. The senshi were another story, however.

Natalie knew that sooner or later she would have to contact the rest of the girls. The only reason Andy had been special was because Natalie had run right into her that night. Had it not been for that coincidence, then Natalie surely would not have gone to the Jovian senshi any time soon. The brunette didn't know how to approach the others. She didn't know if it should be done individually or in a group. Let alone the fact that the other guys needed to know as well. Alex hadn't told anyone considering the fact that they hadn't left the apartment in five days! She doubted that he even remembered the guys in between all they had been doing. But the senshi would be difficult for Natalie and she needed to be careful. It would be a huge shock to them to suddenly see her alive. Especially Chloe. The princess would probably freak the hell out if she saw Natalie all of a sudden in front of her. She couldn't predict the reaction of the other two. She sighed as she pulled up in front of her favorite coffee shop, parking her car before she headed on inside. She walked up to the counter with her sunglasses covering her eyes, waiting her turn before she ordered her frapacchino along with a scone. Once she had her order Natalie decided that she would sit down and have her snack there. She found a table for herself and sighed in content, removing her sunglasses and placing them inside of her purse. The young woman took a second to search her surroundings, taking inventory of the people there. She had noticed the brunette with the short hair and hat but hadn't paid her any mind. She had to admit that the woman looked familiar but Natalie didn't remember seeing her anywhere before. She shrugged and went back to her coffee and scone.

[CHLOE L. COLE]

Chloe hadn't really noticed anyone sitting near her. She wasn't really trying to cause attention to be drawn to her, so she tried to seem indulged in her book. She sighed after about five more minutes of trying to read the novel. She couldn't be sophisticated, not right now at least. Her mind was in ten thousand different places, and she couldn't just sit here and pretend like most of these people wanted her dead.

She decided to take her leave. She placed the cup of espresso back on the counter, thanked the woman, and then went to place the book back on the shelf. As she walked over to the shelf she thought she saw a face that she knew. A face that she knew very well. A face that stopped her dead in her tracks.

She stood there for a few moments, just staring off at the book shelf. Her crystal blue eyes were wide as they hid behind thick framed glasses. It couldn't be. No, it really couldn't be. Natalie was dead. There was no way that was Natalie.

Still, ever so curious Chloe wanted to confirm this. She slowly slid up to the table. Lingering around the back of the other girls chair she got close to her face for an inspection. She arched an eyebrow as she then turned the other girl to face her. The girl looked like Natalie all right, but maybe it was her twin.

It had to be her twin or something. Because since Natalie was dead, that meant that this would be a ghost. Her eyes went wide as she suddenly took a few steps back from the other female. There was a ghost of Natalie haunting her. This must have been punishment for her sneaking out of her house.

Well this ghost was not getting her today! She quickly walked towards the exit of the coffee shop. She had to get as far away from there as possible for two reasons. There was clearly a ghost of Natalie that was trying to be sneaky around her. And she had drawn a little bit of attention to herself during her inspection. Luckily for her she had gotten out of there before people took a closer look at her.

Now as she stood outside the shop she attempted to figure out where she was supposed to go. She bit her lip as she tried to think of places that sophisticated poets would go. All she knew was coffee shops and she didn't want to endure another taste of espresso. Damn, this was harder than she thought it would be.

[• NATALIE A. MARSHALL.]

Natalie sighed in content as she sat there calmly eating her scone. She was beginning to formulate a plan as to what she was going to do today. Hell, she needed to figure out when she was going to reveal herself to the rest of the senshi. It was just so hard and Natalie didn't know how to approach any of them. She wondered if she should just call Andy and arrange some sort of meeting at someone's house and then have the big reveal with everyone in attendance. It would sure help her case considering she didn't want to surprise people more than once. Two surprises were already good enough, she didn't need several more. The brunette looked down into her coffee in contemplation. Things were dire. She could feel the negative energy around herself and she didn't like it one bit.

As she sat there, completely unaware of Chloe's antics, she could definitely feel the presence behind her. Natalie paused, her skin prickling as she felt someone close behind her. Before she could even turn around to inspect, her seat was turning for her. Natalie was then placed face to face with some sort of weirdo poet. A scowl immediately came onto Nat's face, her temper beginning to take command of her emotions. What the fuck?! Who was this weirdo and why did she think it was a good idea to turn Natalie around when she was in the middle of something?! She could have spilled coffee on her dress! She was going to open her mouth to scold the other woman but was stopped when the wacko ran outside of the coffee shop. Okay, now things were getting weirder.

Natalie stood up from her seat in a hurry, grabbing her handbag, before she ran off after the other girl. There had to be an explanation for this! Once she reached outside she searched for the girl, finding her nearby. Natalie took a hold of her arm and forced the other girl to look at her. "What the hell is your problem?! Why are you --" She stopped talking when she finally realized what was going on. This girl, this brunette, was none other than Chloe! She had missed it before but now that they were face to face again, she could see her features much better. Who else had eyes like these? "Chloe? Why are you....." Natalie allowed the question to hang, confused, before she dropped her hand from holding the other woman. "You shouldn't be out here." Never mind the fact that she was meeting Chloe for the first time in months. Knowing Natalie, however, she wouldn't just launch herself at her. "It's so good to see you again."

[CHLOE L. COLE]

As Chloe tried to find a way away from the ghost of her best friend, she didn't notice the woman approaching her. When the girl grabbed her arm Chloe screamed out in fear. She began to shake her arm away from her. How the hell could a ghost grab her?! "WHAT'S MY PROBLEM?! YOU'RE THE ONE HAUNTING ME! GHOST BE GONE! STOP HAUNTING ME!!!!!!!!!! LET GO!"

She squirmed her arm away from Natalie before she started realizing that ghosts can't grab you. As she stood staring at the other woman, she had no idea what to do. How was Natalie alive right now? Had she been alive the entire time? What was going on? Was Chloe dreaming? The blonde was so confused.

Her thoughts were confirmed when she became face to face with the young woman yet again. This time Natalie spoke her name. Her friend knew exactly who she was. Chloe didn't understand what was going on, but she was beyond thankful that her friend was back. Before she could pounce on her missed friend she was being reminded that she shouldn't be out. The blonde could only respond with a slight roll of her eyes.

Of course she knew she shouldn't be out, but who really expected her to stay cooped up in her room like a bird in a cage? Come on, seriously? This was Chloe they were talking about. Since history already seemed to be repeating itself, her guardians must have figured that she was going to do the same and sneak out of her cage yet again.

She was only nervous about her friends reaction for a mere moment. Then Natalie's face seemed to lighten up a bit. Chloe was relieved when she heard her friend say it was good to see her. It was so good to see Natalie. Chloe could feel the excitement rise up in her stomach.

Natalie was really here in front of her! It finally hit Chloe all at once and she launched forward tackling her dear friend onto the ground. She began to hug her tightly as tears of joy streamed down her face. It was definitely still Chloe behind that disguise. She couldn't help it though, she was just so happy. She didn't know what happened, but she was so happy to just have her friend back.

Still her curiosity started to over whelm her and she had to know what happened. "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH! WHAT HAPPENED?! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! HOW DID YOU GET BACK?! TELL ME EVERY DETAIL!!!!!!!!!!!"

[• NATALIE A. MARSHALL.]

This was Chloe alright. No one had a mouth like her! Natalie cringed as the woman started to scream, making a show when it was completely unnecessary. Then again, Natalie had risen from the dead so she couldn't expect her friend to act completely normal upon seeing her! The sailor of Mars tried to reign in her temper as Chloe began to act in such a difficult manner. Natalie hated when Chloe acted like such a child! The Martian frowned, trying to hold her composure as she tried to think of a solution for this crazy princess of hers! The brunette hadn't been planning on running into Chloe today. Hell, she still hadn't figured out how she was going to present herself to the other senshi. It would be odd to just pop up and expecting them to fully accept it like it was okay. 'Suprise, i'm alive!' Natalie felt that clearly it would not be the best course of action. The princess of Mars pondered all of this and then cursed herself for not listening to Alex. She should have just stayed home. She would have avoided such confusion.

It didn't take long for Chloe to react just the way in which Natalie detested. The Martian squeeked as Chloe launched herself at Natalie, the two girls falling to the ground immediately afterwards. Natalie winched in pain as she landed on her back with Chloe's dumb ass on top of her. Ugh! "Chloe, stop it!" She hissed, trying to push the former blonde off of her form. Damn it, she was going to ruin her outfit! When she finally got out of the death grip that Chloe had been holding her in, Natalie lifted herself from the ground, avoiding the questioning looks that the people were giving them. The last thing she needed was for Chloe to draw unwanted attention. According to Alex, the people wanted the senshi's heads so they needed to be discreet about everything.

"Chloe, please stop yelling. You're supposed to be incognito here." Natalie demured as she took a hold of her friend's wrist and tugged her forwards, pulling her towards her car. "You know where i've been, Chloe. I've been dead," she murmured sadly as she tried to explain things to her friend as best she could before driving them both crazy. "There are so many things that I need to tell you and the other girls....but I can't tell you that now. Perhaps when everyone is together so that I don't have to explain things more than once. But all you need to know is that i'm back now....but, i'm not ready to be who you need me to be just yet..." As in Sailor Mars. Natalie still needed to recover from her death. She still needed to take her crystal back from Alex. She still needed time to heal. "But tell me, how are you doing? Things have to be rough.."

[CHLOE L. COLE]

Chloe had missed her dear friend. Even though Natalie had a stubborn attitude the majority of the time, she was an amazing person to Chloe. Natalie had been one of the only ones to ever tell Chloe the truth about what was really going on. And her friend was never afraid to tell her exactly what she should do. Natalie was her back bone, and Chloe loved her friend dearly.

AND she had missed Natalie more than anyone could imagine, especially since she thought her friend was dead. So, the blonde..being herself..had launched herself at Natalie. Really? Did anyone expect anything less? Seriously? This was still Chloe we were talking about. She loved Natalie and thought the other girl was dead, which she was, up until now. SO you can just imagine the excitement bottled up inside of the blonde once she found out that her friend was back.

Of course the excitement continued, even as Natalie protested against it. Really, the brunette should have been used to the blonde by now. Regardless of what Natalie said, Chloe was going to be over excited about this. But the excitement didn't last that long when Natalie began to actually act like her old stubborn self.

The blonde was pushed off Natalie and her friend was up before Chloe knew it. She pouted slightly as she lifted herself from the ground. She could feel the lecture coming on. Chloe's feeling was confirmed as her friend began to lecture her on her own safety. The blonde simply rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. Really? Natalie was back for what..a few moments..? And she was already acting like her mother. What the hell did incognito mean anyways?

She only became more confused as Natalie told her she couldn't be who she needed her to be. The blonde just nodded her head, with an arched eye brown, in response to it. She understood enough that she thought she knew what Natalie was saying. She couldn't be Sailor Mars right now. That was understandable to Chloe. Chloe didn't even know if she was ready to be Cosmos anymore. Chloe was upset over a wedding, so she couldn't imagine how upset Natalie was over her own death.

She simply took her friends hand into her own and nodded. Then she was asked a question about how she was. Her hand fell away from Natalie's as she looked towards the ground. She didn't know how to answer that. She didn't even know how she was. The first answer that came to her mind was 'numb', but she knew it was more complicated than that.

Chloe couldn't burden her friend with that. So she forced a fake smile and looked up towards Natalie. "Everything is great. It couldn't be better. Rough? No, just a few speed bumps in the road. We just need to find a different path to go down. So what if I am never allowed to get married? Or just be Chloe anymore? So what if I can never have my life back? So what if people want me dead? Maybe it's all for the best right?" Her body trembled a bit as she continued to force a smile, but trembling is what your body did when you held in your own tears and anguish.

[• NATALIE A. MARSHALL.]

Sure, Natalie should have expected Chloe's enthusiastic embrace. However, Natalie also expected Chloe to grow up some. Wasn't she tired of acting like this all of the time? It was exhausting and Natalie had been so aggravated by Chloe's childishness in the past. Still, Natalie was thrilled to see her friend. Natalie got exasperated with Chloe more than anyone else in her life but it didn't mean that she hated the girl. Oh no. Chloe was one of the people that Natalie loved most in her life, one of the people that she would do anything for. Natalie's attitude towards Chloe was often mistaken as dislike or hatred but the Martian truly did want the best for the girl. It was just a shame that Natalie had such a horrible fuse to begin with. It just made it that much more difficult when she became so fucking irritated by her for the simplest of things.

The Martian was pleased one Chloe let up on her enthusiasm. Natalie excused her because she knew how excited Chloe was to have her back. Hell, Natalie was happy to be back! She was alive! She was with her boyfriend and teammates again! There was no better feeling. The situation on the Earth right now surely placed a damper on things but Natalie was not going to let that sour her mood. At least not yet. She had returned only a few days ago and she was still adjusting to life again. It was weird and unexpected but it still felt nice to be back in the game. Surely, in due time, she was going to be whom they needed her to be. For now, however, Natalie could only continue hiding out in her apartment until things settled down.

Natalie could only imagine how worried Jackson would be, or the other girls for that matter, if they knew what Chloe was up to. This was dangerous and Natalie hadn't tried being so strict with her. Really, all of this was done out of concern. It reminded her of the silver millennium all over again. Chloe just failed to understand that they weren't trying to restrict her at all; they were just trying to keep her safe. Why didn't Chloe let them do that for her? It was annoying and sometimes Natalie wished that their princess had more tact. She sighed audibly as she tried to push this out of her mind. Surely there were better ways of going about this. At least Chloe had the grace to disguise herself before going out. Nat assumed this was the work of the fabulous Luna pen. Why hadn't Priya or someone taken that away from her again?

She noticed that Chloe's smile didn't reach her eyes and that confirmed everything that Natalie needed to know: Chloe was a mess. The girl had still not recovered from the wedding disaster and rightfully so. Natalie hadn't been there so she hadn't seen what she had occurred. However, she wished that she could beat the shit out of everyone that had interrupted Chloe's dream wedding. Chloe was such a great person. How could they do that to her? Natalie listened to Chloe speak and felt so bad for the young woman. The pain in her voice was heartbreaking and had Natalie been a more emotional person she would have wrapped her arms around Chloe by now to attempt to soothe her. However, Natalie had never been touchy with other people so she just stood awkwardly next to Chloe as she listened.

"Don't even say that. None of this is for the best. And who says that you'll never allowed to get married? That's bullshit. You and him belong together. Period. We've all seen it. You just have to be a little patient, Chloe." Natalie was sure that Chloe and Jackson would get married. They had to, the future, or what was left of it, depended on it! It was obvious that the future had changed and Natalie didn't even know what would become of them anymore. The only thing she did know was that Chloe and Jackson's love had lasted so long now. It would be a crime if they didn't make it. "Why don't we go do something?' Natalie offered tentatively. "Now that you're already out and all. It would sure beat going back home..." Anything to try and brighten Chloe up again.

[CHLOE L. COLE]

Chloe knew she could be way too much for Natalie at points in time. She knew her friend thought that she needed to grow up greatly, but she just couldn't contain herself sometimes. It wasn't like the blonde was purposely trying to piss off her dear friend, but it was understandable. Last thing she knew was that Natalie was dead, and she couldn't bring her back. But now her friend was back. Of course she was going to be excited, okay maybe a little overly excited, but really Natalie should have suspected a scene like this.

Chloe knew that a scene like this was dangerous for her, but she couldn't help it. This should have been understood! So what if a massive amount of civilians wanted her dead and she shouldn't be out right now? So what if she was probably going to get in trouble for being out like this? Hopefully Natalie wouldn't tell anyone. But if Chloe hadn't bent the rules and gone out she wouldn't have known that Natalie was back.

It kind of saddened her that her dear friend didn't pursue her when she came back. Chloe thought that Natalie would have held a surprise meeting or something to announce it to all of them. But then again Chloe could understand if Natalie wanted peace and quiet for a bit before all the chaos returned. Chloe would give anything to have peace and quiet, and be normal, for once in her life.

Just then an idea popped in her head. If she could fake her own death then people wouldn't be looking for her anymore. Then she wouldn't have to disguise herself all the time. No, that wouldn't work. Because people knew what she looked like. Her and Jackson would have to move to an island or something, but that ruined the future of Crystal London completely. No, she would have to wait this out and hope for the best outcome.

The future seemed ruined to her as it was though. She kept thinking that it was her own fault, regardless of what people told her. If she hadn't messed up the past so bad then people wouldn't have a grudge to hold against her. Endymion's mother must have really hated her in order for her to ruin such a wonderful day. The woman really desired her dead? But on what grounds? For loving her son? It didn't make sense. Chloe was completely dumb founded by it.

As Natalie stood next to her the blonde attempted to hold back tears. She didn't want to cry, not here, not in front of Natalie. She was thankful for Natalie's kind words. They made more sense coming from the brunette for some odd reason. She nodded her head towards her friend, in agreement. Those people ruining her wedding was completely uncalled for. She deserved to live, just like everyone else in this world. Was her smile that hideous that everyone had to constantly try to ruin it? It just wasn't fair.

The next thing that happened seemed completely fair to Chloe. Natalie offered for them to go do something. The blonde looked up at her friend with wide eyes. She was in shock that the girl that stuck to the rules was offering for them to go out and do something. The opportunity to spend the day with her friend who she missed dearly and get out of the house?! The answer was a no-brainier.

Chloe had to remain calm with her excitement. She knew if she kept pushing her excitement onto Natalie her friend would just get annoyed with her. The last thing the blonde wanted to do was annoy Natalie, especially after her friend had offered to spend the day with her. Plus, Chloe did need to grow up a bit and learn to be more mature. She had come so far from high school, but she could do much better. As an attempt to prove herself to her friend she kept the tone of her voice soft and calm. "I would love that. Thank you so much for offering that. I really need this. I missed you Natalie. It is great to have you back. I love you, my dear friend. Welcome home."

[• NATALIE A. MARSHALL.]

Natalie's relationship with Chloe was the most complex than the relationship she shared with other people. Chloe was her friend and her princess, someone that she both admired and found annoying. It was a weird dichotomy, not knowing which Chloe she would get on any given day. It was true that Chloe's personality was way too much for the fire senshi at some points in time. The woman had way too much energy and Natalie found it exhausting more than half the time. It was just hard dealing with someone who still behaved like a child. This was the person that she was supposed to protect? It just made Natalie feel inadequate more than half the time because a warrior such as herself should not have to resort to such nonsense.

Still, she cared for the blonde -now brunette- before her, and Natalie could only wish for the best. These were going to be hard times for them all and they all needed to band together as a team. It was the only way they were going to win. They had an uphill battle to climb and all Natalie could think about was the people they were opposing. The last thing she wanted to do was find herself across from Jadeite in battle again. She wouldn't be able to, not a third time. Especially now that their relationship had been much stronger than the one they had shared in the past. She couldn't fathom fighting with her boyfriend to the death. She doubted that anyone else wanted to do the same. The fire senshi glanced at Chloe as she calmed a bit, the moon princess becoming more subdued now that Natalie had spoken.

Chloe wasn't supposed to be out of the house and Natalie would return her in due time. For now, however, she wanted to give Chloe some sort of freedom. The young woman deserved to be out, if only for a little, before she had to be locked up inside for who knows how long. Natalie offered a small smile as Chloe spoke again, nodding her graciousness. "Thank you Chloe. It's good to be back home again," she murmured as she looked around the streets of London, watching as the people passed them by. Yes, it was good to be home - good to be back with her sister senshi and dear friends. She took a hold of Chloe's arm and smiled more happily this time. "Now come on. We can walk around the city and you can tell me all that i've missed and then some!" Natalie offered as she began to pull her friend in the opposite direction of the coffee shop.

[CHLOE L. COLE]

Chloe and Natalie had always had a love hate relationship, but her friend was also the only one who told her her her honest opinion. Chloe was fragile, which made other people hide a lot of things from her. But not Natalie, Natalie told her exactly what she thought and what was going on. The true blonde appreciated her friend's honesty, even if it was too much at points in time.

Due to Natalie always seeming one way, it shocked Chloe when the other girl was so rebellious right now. The brunette had to know that Chloe was not to supposed to be out right now, but yet she was offering for her to go wondering around for the day. This made Chloe beyond happy, but she wasn't going to show her friend too much of that excitement. She knew how her over excitement could make her friend annoyed, and with a chance like this annoying Natalie was the last thing Chloe wanted to do.

As she linked her arm with Natalie's she was pulled in the direction opposite of the coffee shop. She was thankful for that, espresso was disgusting. She would never ever try that again. That was for sure. She had mentally noted it to herself about a thousand times, but her thoughts were interrupted when her friend mentioned that she could catch her up on things.

She thought about what had happened and it made her smile fade. She didn't want to think about things like that, so she tried not to. She wanted to think about positive things. She wondered if Natalie knew that Andy was married. As the two walked in the sunlight she decided to see if she did.

"Well..I never got married, but maybe we could discuss something else and save that for later. I don't want to ruin the mood. Have you seen anyone else yet? Have you seen Andy? What do you know about everyone else?" Chloe hoped that Natalie knew Andy was pregnant, because she didn't want to ruin the surprise for her friend. And if she did, maybe she could get her friend to host a baby shower with her. She smiled at the mere thought of it. Oh, she prayed her friend would agree to the idea if she did end up asking her. OHHH SHE PRAYED!

[• NATALIE A. MARSHALL.]

Natalie didn't know how to be any way other than how she was now. It was ridiculous to assume that she would hold things back from Chloe just because she was innocent or because she was the princess. Natalie had always been an honest person, someone who told people exactly what she thought at any given time. She was so against holding her tongue and she only did so when she absolutely had to. Chloe was so coddled by everyone else that Natalie felt it necessary to tell her the truth when she needed to hear it. Sure, she made Chloe cry sometimes and they fought like nobody's business, but Natalie did it out of love. She preferred to be honest with Chloe than lie to her to her face. Chloe needed to hear when she was acting ridiculous or when she was being a baby. It was just in Natalie's nature to be upfront and honest.

The only reason she was conceding with Chloe's rebellion was because it was the only sure fire way to keep track of her. Chloe was going to do what she wanted to do no matter what. It was clear to Natalie that she needed to be near her in order to keep her safe. The only problem was that Natalie could not transform, if need be, into Sailor Mars right now. She would not be able to protect Chloe in the way that she needed to but Natalie didn't care about that at the moment. She just couldn't allow Chloe out of her sight! The brunette glanced at Chloe as she began to walk with her. Good, now they were going somewhere. Chloe seemed much more subdued and that was a blessing for Natalie whom couldn't stand all of the hyperness that Chloe exhibited on a day to day basis.

As Chloe explained that she never got married, Natalie could only nod somberly. Andy had mentioned that the wedding had never come to pass but they had been so all over the place with their conversation that she never got to hear the reason why. Chloe herself didn't want to get into the whole story. Normally Natalie would have pressed the issue because she was nosy and wanted to know, but she let things be for the moment. They were out in public and she could tell that Chloe was hurt by the news. As Chloe asked if she had seen anyone else, Natalie nodded with a soft smile on her face. Yes. She had seen Andy and she had seen Alex, of course. And Jackson. And Priya. Wow. She had seen everyone but Bee at this point. "Yes, i've seen Andy. She was the first person that I ran into when I first came back to Earth. And since then i've seen Jackson and Priya...and Alex, of course. You're just the latest i've run into. I have yet to see Bee."

[CHLOE L. COLE]

Chloe had always admired Natalie's honesty, but she had found something much more inspiring in her friend than that. She found the way that Natalie dealt with pressure situations inspiring. Sure, the blonde was usually the optimistic one, but her brunette friend was more logical about situations. The blonde believed that everything would be alright in any given situation, and if she had been more realistic than she would have seen the destruction coming. She noted this factor for future situations. It would be something that Chloe had to learn, but it was something that Natalie already knew.

All of the Senshi had their own strengths and weaknesses, but Chloe never saw any of their weaknesses. To the blonde they were all nothing but heroes. She knew the media spoke ill of them all, including herself, and she would speak against the rumors if she was only allowed to. But Jackson had forbidden her to be recognized to the public, which she could understand. She usually did what she was told, but she just couldn't stay inside anymore. She had started to feel guilty after a few minutes, and she was intending to go back home, but seeing Natalie changed her attention entirely.

She now was set on figuring out how her friend was back. She knew that Natalie had perished on that mournful day, so how was the girl standing right in front of her? She had tried everything to bring her friend back, and nothing worked. So what prompted the girl to come back to life? And did that make her a zombie? Chloe shook that thought from her head and figured out that she needed to stop watching horror movies, forever. Her life was enough of a horror film for anyone to see.

She sighed as she thought about her wedding going to pieces, and after she explained it a bit to Natalie she watched for her friends reaction. She watched as Natalie nodded in response. Slowly the blonde looked towards the ground. Some form of hope had died within her that day, and she couldn't seem to get it back. Due to that fact she was far from her normal hyper self. That was something she figured Natalie was probably very relieved about.

She knew it was hard to handle her at times, and she blessed the people in her life for doing so. Sometimes she knew she could be too much, so that's why when Natalie had suggested the day for them she was happy about it. It got her out of the house, and she could spend time with the dear friend she missed so much. She wondered if anyone else had seen her dear friend. With one question her curiosity was settled.

But much to Chloe's surprise many people had seen Natalie, including Andy. Now Chloe wondered if Natalie knew about Andy's pregnancy. The blonde had figured that a baby shower would help them lighten up their spirits a little, especially Andys. She figured that Andy must have been going crazier than she was. Andy was stuck inside her house and pregnant. Chloe couldn't even imagine.

The only thing was Chloe didn't know if Natalie knew that much about Andy's pregnancy so she decided to leave that subject be until later on in the afternoon. She had more important things to discuss with her friend anyways. Though she was unsure of what was allowed to be discussed in public at this very delicate time, so she kept things as simple as possible.

"I'm glad that you've seen other people. I missed you, a lot. We all did. I'm glad you're back. And I am happy that you want to spend the day with me. It gives us some more time to catch up. What did you want to do today? Did you have any ideas?"