Music Conflict Pt. 1

By Sakeru, 9/14/97

*note: This story disregards the time barriers of the different anime characters used in this story (Explaining how they all got stuck in one place is too complicated!! ^_^) Also, the Hamelin stuff is being used from the manga, not the anime. Well, okay; some things are from the anime.

Quatre checked the strings on his violin; they sounded well in tune. He began to play the piece, enjoying every bit of it. Duo leaned by the doorway, listening to his friend play. When Quatre finished, Duo applauded. "That sounded great, Quatre. You should consider playing on stage or something. Hey-that's not a bad idea. I heard our neighbor next-door playing the violin. I think she plays in concerts and stuff like that. You ought to consider playing with her," he said, smiling. "Now Duo, wouldn't that be a little too straight-forward; I mean, we hardly even know her. Besides, I don't know how I'd fare up on stage." Duo grabbed Quatre by the arm. "Aw come on, Quatre! At least say hi!" Before Quatre could say anything else, Duo had whisked him downstairs and out the door.

[Ding-dong] "Oh, I wonder who that could be," Michiru said to herself as she went to answer the door. "Yes?"

"Uh...," started Quatre. "Hi Miss! We're the next-door neighbors! Pretty new in town, actually. I'm Duo, and this is Quatre," cut in Duo. "Oh! So you're the neighbors. Well, it's nice to meet you both. My name is Michiru." She smiled sweetly. "Ah, do you play the violin?," she asked Quatre, upon noticing the instrument he held. "Huh? Oh yes, actually, I do. In fact, that's the reason Duo dragged me over here-."

"I didn't drag you," Duo said under his breath. Michiru giggled. "I see. So I take it that you've heard me practicing now and then?" Duo nodded, while Quatre shrugged. "Yep, and I thought that Quatre played well enough to be playing for concerts and stuff, and I heard that you did that sort of thing. So I thought that it'd be cool if you and Quatre practiced together." Quatre glared at Duo, who just looked at Quatre innocently. "Hmm," Michiru began, "I think that that would be wonderful. In fact, there's a recital coming up soon, and I think it would be nice to have a little duet. Quatre, would you be interested?"

Quatre blinked. "Huh? Oh, well....maybe. I think it would be a nice experience" Duo nudged him slightly. "Go for it!," he whispered, breaking into a wide grin. Quatre was getting slightly irritated by Duo, but he turned to Michiru and nodded. "Excellent," said Michiru. "We can meet tomorrow at one o' clock. Is that fine with you?"

"All right. I'll be there," Quatre said. With that, the two boys went back to their house. Heero 'greeted' them at the doorway. "Where were you two?" Duo waved him off. "Aw, we were just next door. So what's for lunch?" Heero loaded his gun. "Nothing yet, because someone wasn't here to make it." Duo gulped. "Oopsie....," Duo grinned sheepishly and then raced towards the kitchen before Heero could target him.

* * *

Quatre stood before the door to Michiru's house. It was 12:58. He took a deep breath, and rang the doorbell. To his surprise, it wasn't Michiru who answered. "Yes, can I help you?" Quatre couldn't help but feel a little uneasy, especially at the tone of voice that this guy used. "I'm here to meet with Michiru," he said, after building up his courage. "We're supposed to practice for a violin duet together." The young man, a year or two older than Quatre, and certainly taller, raised an eyebrow. Obviously this was news for him. He shrugged, and then moved aside to let Quatre pass.

Quatre entered the house; it was very roomy, much like theirs. The young man went towards the staircase. "Michiru! Someone's here to see you," he called. Michiru came down. "Oh, Quatre. Good afternoon. Ah, have you met Haruka?" Quatre nodded slightly. "How do you do? I am Quatre Raberba Winner." He extended his hand, at which Haruka seemed to reluctantly take. "Haruka Tenou," he said in return. "Well, now that that's taken care of, let's go upstairs." So the three went up to the music room.

Haruka leaned in the doorway, listening to Michiru and the Winner boy play. She huffed. I guess he plays all right, but still.... She looked up as the two finished. "Oh Quatre," said Michiru, "You play wonderfully. I think you'll do fine." She turned to Haruka. "Don't you think so?" Haruka shrugged. Quatre thought that he was being a little rude. Michiru brushed back her sea-green hair. "Well Quatre, why don't we meet at the Concert Hall tomorrow. That way, you can get used to playing on stage."

"Same time tomorrow?," asked Quatre. Michiru nodded. "All right then. I'll see you tomorrow. Good-bye Michiru, Haruka. It's been a pleasure." He smiled and went downstairs. As soon as Haruka heard the door click shut, she let a out a breath. "So where'd you dig this guy up?" Michiru smiled. "He lives next-door, Haruka. He came with his friend the other day." Haruka folded her arms. "Ah."

* * *

Quatre sighed. He thought he'd never reach the Concert Hall. It seemed to have taken forever for him to persuade Duo to stay home. Of course, he had a little help from Heero. Heero had started chasing Duo around the house with his gun again, and although Quatre feared that they'd mess the house up, he thought that perhaps he should take advantage of the situation and leave. He glanced at his watch. One o' clock; just in time. Quatre started up the steps.

Michiru and Haruka turned to see who had come. "Quatre! Good, now we can start. Haruka, can you accompany us on the piano?"

"I wouldn't want to screw up your duet," she said stubbornly. Michiru shrugged and got her violin. Quatre took up his own, and set the bow. They started the piece. Halfway through the song, a sudden burst of light came from out of nowhere. Michiru and Quatre stopped playing. "What-!?" The light engulfed the two violinists. Haruka jumped up from her seat. "Michiru!?!"

* * *

"It is done. Soon they will come." Four figures stood in the dimly lit room. "This had better work," said one in an ominous tone. "And if it doesn't?," asked another. "Look! They come!"

A small speck of light pulsated at the center of the room, and grew larger and larger until two distinct figures could be seen. When the light had died down, the two looked about. "Where are we?," asked Quatre.

"They are not the ones!!!"

"Bass-sama, what went wrong?" Bass turned to face the two new-comers. "I do not know. However, I do know that theyare not Hamelin nor his friends," came the two-toned voice. Michiru gasped as she saw that the boy called 'Bass' held in his hand a bearded head that spoke on its own. "Perhaps," spoke one of the others, partially hidden from view by the shadows, "It is because they both wield violins as well." Another of the four cleared his throat. "Sizer-sama may be right. It seems to be a reasonable enough answer. Perhaps we should have been more specific." Bass nodded slightly. The last figure; a huge, bulky one; stepped into full view of the two violinists. "Bah! That's not the point! The point is that this plan didn't work!!!" Quatre gulped; this character certainly wasn't human. It was a two-headed dragon-like creature. Bass tapped his staff on the stone floor to gain attention from that of his associates. "Well, obviously this won't do us any good."

"Then what will we do with these two?" Bass smirked. "Get rid of them; I have no use for them." Quatre and Michiru stepped back. "I don't like this, Quatre."

"Guitar, you may do away with them.," said Bass. "My pleasure, Bass-sama," said the dog-like warrior. He drew his sword. "Michiru, I think we should RUN!!" Quatre grabbed her by the arm and they both took off.

"STOP!!," shouted Guitar, but to no avail. Quatre and Michiru rushed out the door. "Bass-sama, should we pursue?," Sizer asked. Bass shook his head. "No, leave them be, for now. They have no one to turn to."

* * *

They had been running for what seemed like forever. Finally, Quatre decided they had run far enough. Michiru leaned against a tree. After Quatre had caught his breath, he spoke. "Michiru, where are we? This certainly isn't Tokyo." Michiru shook her head. "Definitely not. I don't even think we're in the same world. Wherever this place is, so far, the residents aren't very friendly from what I've seen." Quatre smiled weakly. "I'll say; half of them didn't even look human!" They laughed a bit; it seemed to ease themselves, if only a little. Quatre looked around. "So now where do we go?" Michiru shrugged. "Good question. Well, as long as we're not being followed by those people, I'd say we could go just about anywhere. It wouldn't do us much good though; the only person that can get us back to our world is probably that guy called Bass."

Quatre nodded. "You've got a point there. Too bad we don't want to go back that way." Just then, they heard a rustling in the bushes. Quatre stood protectively before Michiru. "Show yourself!," he demanded. A tall young man with a long, black cloak stepped out from the bushes. "I'm sorry if we startled you. We mean no harm." Several others followed the first. "Allow us to introduce ourselves; I'm Hamelin."

"My name is Raiel," said the other young man in green, with a giant gold piano on his back. "I'm Flute," said the girl with a curtsy. "I am the Prince of Daru Senyo-Tron Bon!" Michiru smiled at the little blue-haired prince. "It is nice to meet you all. My name is Michiru, and this is Quatre. We're strangers to this world. We were brought here by a person called Bass-I believe he said that he was trying to summon you, Hamelin."

Hamelin folded his arms. "Hmm, well, I don't see how he could have confused you for me." Quatre held up his violin, which he had been gripping tightly ever since they had run from Bass's castle. "Ah, I see," said Raiel, snapping his fingers. "Ha-chan, they have violins, and you are a violinist! Therefore, if Bass was trying to summon you, then he probably neglected to specify which violinist he wanted!" Hamelin nodded slowly. Tron threw his arms behind his head. "Pah! Why doesn't that guy just leave us alone?"

"As if you didn't know, little brat," came the reply. The six looked up to see who the intruder was. Sizer stood up in the tree, smiling. "Ah, so here you are Hamelin. Bass has been looking for you." Hamelin grasped his violin, which Michiru and Quatre gawked at-they had thought that the thing was a cello. Tron brought out his sword, and Raiel swung his piano around in front of him, his fingers positioned over the keys. Michiru and Quatre exchanged glances; surely they weren't thinking of playing their instruments now! Sizer leaped off the branch. Michiru was surprised to see that she had wings. Hamelin began to play his violin; Raiel joined him. Two seirei formed and blasted their way towards Sizer. She dodged them and slashed a tree with her scythe, in hopes that it would fall on top of the two musicians. Tron leaped at the falling tree, slicing it in half with his sword, so that it fell harmlessly to the sides of Hamelin and Raiel. "Hmm, I guess this is going nowhere; Drum!!"

Heavy footsteps sounded as the big warrior pushed his way through the trees. "Waa!," cried Tron, rushing over by Flute. Michiru and Quatre stood there, feeling helpless. I've got to do something!, thought Michiru, but Quatre will know! Drum brought down his fist in an attempt to crush them, but they scattered. He started towards Flute and Tron, since Sizer was busy dealing with Hamelin and Raiel. Tron stood in front of Flute, his knees knocking. Drum towered over him. Michiru made up her mind. Sorry Haruka, but I have no choice! "Neptune Planet Power, MAKE-UP!!!!!" Quatre watched in disbelief. "Michiru-!?"

"Shinkai no hoshi, kai ousei wo shugo ni mo tsu houyou no senshi-Sailor Neptune!!" Drum only glanced back at the senshi, as if there was no threat. "Deep Submerge!" Sailor Neptune launched her attack; it hit Drum dead on. Quatre could still not believe what he was seeing. Drum, now angered by the girl, started towards her. "Michiru! Watch out!," cried Quatre. Michiru evaded the blow just in time. Quatre stood off to the side. Michiru! How did she do that? It just makes me feel more useless, but what can I do?

Hamelin and Raiel continued to battle the winged fiend. Sizer twirled her scythe and slashed at them, yet all attempts were useless. "This isn't getting us anywhere!,"she shouted, obviously irritated. "Why don't you make it easier on yourselves and surrender!?" Raiel pounded the keys of his piano. "Here's your answer!" He summoned a water seirei, which caught Sizer off guard, knocking her back. Drum wasn't doing any better. He had created a great many potholes trying to smash the annoying senshi. Finally, he decided to go after an easier target. The two-headed dragon warrior headed back towards Flute and Tron. "Ahh!," cried Flute. Tron, still with sword in hand, continued to tremble. Sailor Neptune gasped. She was too far to get to them in time. Tron's hands grew sweaty; Drum was getting closer. I can't let Flute ne-chan down! He finally managed to get a grip on himself. "SCISSOR SLASH!!!!!!!!!"

Drum's eyes grew wide as he saw the blade draw close. He leaped back, just in time, thinking he surely would have lost a head if he hadn't. His shoulder guard was shattered by the blow. Sizer turned to where Drum was. "We'd better head back! We certainly were not expecting this..." Drum reluctantly followed her as the two retreated. Hamelin let out a sigh. "It's about time they left. I don't know if I can take this anymore. So, what's the story with you?," he asked, looking over at Michiru. She smiled sheepishly. "Well, it's like this...."

* * *

"What is your excuse?" Sizer took a deep breath. "Well sir, it seems that one of those violinists you accidentally summoned was more than that."

"Yeah! She blasted me with this weird thing-and then that kid nearly hacked off my neck!!" Bass remained unmoved. "Hmm, well, if this is true, then maybe I shouldn't have just let them go after all. Bring them to me; I will see for myself what all this is about."

The travelers had stopped at a small clearing. "This looks fairly safe," said Hamelin. "We'll camp out here." Tron stretched out beneath a tree. "[yawn], Good-night Flute ne-chan." Flute smiled at him. "Good-night Tron." Hamelin leaned against another tree, his violin laid beside him. Raiel, who had already fallen asleep, was propped up by his piano. Michiru, still in the Sailor get-up, looked up at the starry sky. Quatre sat beside her. It was quiet. "Michiru," he said, slightly startling her, "So, you're a 'Sailor Senshi'. To be honest with you, I haven't heard about any of this; but then again it's probably because I've just moved into the neighborhood." Michiru nodded. "Probably. Don't worry though; I think it's better that you haven't heard about us. That means that there hasn't been any trouble to deal with." Quatre sighed. "Sailor Neptune...So does that mean there are more? More Senshi, I mean." Michiru nodded again. "Yes, there are many Senshi. The seven that I am more familiar with represent the other eight planets, and we are all dedicated to protecting the Princess of the Moon." Quatre was slightly taken aback. "Moon Princess? Um, is she really from the moon? Never mind, don't answer that. It would probably get too complicated." Michiru looked at him quizzically. "Well, if you insist. I guess we should get some sleep." Quatre smiled. "Good-night Michiru."

Evil eyes watched with great interest. "Finally-I thought they'd never fall asleep!," Guitar said under his breath. He cautiously made his way out into the clearing. "Now how should I do this?" Around the clearing, his warriors were moving in to surround the unsuspecting travelers. Unfortunately, they weren't as cautious as Guitar. One stepped on a twig; the snapping sound aroused Tron. "Huh? What was that?" Guitar glared at his troops. So much for the element of surprise, he thought. "Move in!!" Tron gasped. "AHH! Hamelin, Raiel, Flute chan! Wake up!!" One of Guitar's soldiers grabbed him. Flute awoke. "Eh? [gasp] Tron! You let him go, you monster!!" Hamelin and Raiel got up. "Sheesh, can't we get some sleep around here?!," cried Raiel, running his fingers along the keys of his piano. Michiru and Quatre got to their feet as well. "Not again!," moaned Quatre. Michiru threw herself at the nearest bunch of troops. "Deep Submerge!" Quatre, not knowing what he should do, grabbed a rock and hurled it at Guitar. The Warrior King sliced it in half with his sword. "That was a deadly mistake, boy." Quatre stepped back. Uh-oh. A black, bird-like seirei swept in front of him and towards Guitar. "Argh! Hamelin!" The tall violinist played on; the clear notes combining with Raiel's part on the piano. Quatre recognized the song from the 'Nutcracker's Suite'.

Tron struggled to get away from the soldier, but was stuck. Michiru came to his aid. "Hyah!," she shouted as she socked the soldier, causing him to loosen his grip on Tron. Quickly, the little prince grasped his sword and joined his friends in battle. Guitar snarled as he charged at Hamelin. "I'm getting fed up with you!" Hamelin leaped aside. "Oh? And how do you think we feel about you? This isn't exactly a party!" Guitar swung his sword again. "Grrrr..."

Michiru stood by Quatre. "Did you have to go through this in Tokyo?," Quatre asked her. "No. Well, at least, not all the time!" Tron fended off the numerous enemies. He was suddenly swept up from behind. Sizer swung her scythe around, so that the blade came close to Tron's neck. "Hamelin, either you and your new friends come along quietly, or the little brat will join his parents real soon." Hamelin lowered his head. Flute glared at Sizer, but knew they couldn't do anything. Michiru nodded to Sizer. "All right. Just don't hurt him."

* * *

"Welcome back," sneered Bass as he turned to face Hamelin and the others. Tron clung to Flute's side. "Happy, Bass? We're here. So what do you want?," Hamelin inquired, knowing very well what Bass's intentions were. "I'll deal with you later. First I would like to speak to the other two; the strangers." Bass looked over to where Michiru and Quatre stood. "Listen you! I don't know what your problem is, but you seriously need help!," shouted Quatre. Michiru was a little surprised at him. Bass was unmoved. "Sizer tells me there is more to you than just being violinists. They say you have strange powers, which interests me. Who are you?"

"I am Sailor Neptune," answered Michiru. "Sailor Neptune, is it?," pondered Bass. "Would you just send us home already?!," Quatre cut in. "Quatre's right," agreed Michiru, "We never asked to be brought here, or get involved with the likes of you!"

"Nor was it my intentions. Yet, you are here, and perhaps something can come out of this after all."

"I don't think you're getting the point!," cried Michiru. She grasped her violin. "Submarine Violin Tide!!" Bass managed to shield himself before the blow struck. Quatre looked at his own violin. "I wish I had my Gundam." Hamelin and Raiel took advantage of the situation. They began another song; the powerful seirei emerged and attacked. Bass stood his ground, the shield shuddering with each blow. "You better let us go Bass! And return our friends back home too! Otherwise this place will be a mess when we get through!," shouted Raiel over the noise. Bass was getting really ticked off. He tried to blow them away, but didn't have a chance; the relentless attacks kept him from doing so. "Submarine Reflection!," shouted Michiru. Bass had all he could stand. "All right-get out! LEAVE!!" With a swift movement of his arm, Quatre and Michiru found themselves being swallowed up in another portal. "Kyaaaah!!!"

* * *

Haruka stood on the stage of the Concert Hall, along with her friend, Setsuna. "You say that they disappeared yesterday and haven't been back since?," she asked Haruka. Haruka nodded. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted that Quatre-kid; I tell you Setsuna, I couldn't stand him from the start! When I get my hands on him..."

A swirling portal opened up above the two. "What is that?!," Setsuna said. Suddenly, Michiru and Quatre fell through; violins and all. Unfortunately, they landed right on top of Haruka.

Haruka shook her head to clear it. "Wha....YOU!!," she shouted, grasping Quatre by the collar of his shirt. "All right kid, I want some answers." Michiru got up from the floor. "Haruka, stop! It wasn't his fault! We were transported to this weird world by accident. Look, what matters is that we're back." Haruka looked at Michiru. Reluctantly, she released Quatre. "All right, Michiru. If you say so." Setsuna smiled. "Well now, don't you two have to get ready for a concert?"

It was a full house. The Concert Hall was packed with people. Usagi groaned. "When is this thing gonna start?," she complained. Minako elbowed her. "Pipe down, Usagi! It's almost time!" In front of them, Duo looked around anxiously. "Hey-this place got any popcorn?" Heero just stared at him, while Wufei looked the other way, pretending he didn't know them. Trowa motioned towards the stage. "Shhh! It's starting."

"Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen and thank you for coming to this special musical presentation. And without further delay, we now present Ms. Michiru Kaiou and Quatre Raberba Winner!!!!!!!!"

The spotlights flicked on. Michiru smiled at Quatre, who smiled back. "You'll do fine," Michiru mouthed. With that, the two violinists set their bows and began their little song.

In another land, a third violinist joined in; he stood atop a grassy knoll with his friends as they gazed up at the night sky. Owari